Car dealers told to suspend sales of Citroen cars

Car dealers have been told to halt sales of second-hand Citroens awaiting an urgent recall to replace potentially lethal airbags. Last month, the French manufacturer's parent company Stellantis issued a Europe-wide 'stop-drive' order for C3 and DS3 cars produced between 2009 and 2019 until their airbags have been replaced. It came after a French woman in June was killed when the airbag was deployed during a crash and sent metal fragments into her face causing fatal injuries. While tens of thousands of owners in Britain have been forced to park-up their motors on the orders from Stellantis, last week we revealed many of these cars were still being listed for sale across the UK with no mention of the 'stop-drive' notice being in action.

As such, buyers could have been driving away in potentially dangerous motors while also invalidating their insurance. It has now emerged that a team of motor trade lawyers has issued a nationwide warning to used car dealers to suspend sales of vehicles in stock - and they could be stuck with these unsellable Citroens for months due to long delays getting them fixed. Some 120,000 owners are believed to be impacted by the stop-drive order, which was issued in Britain on 20 June.

Drivers of second-generation Citroen C3 and Mk1 DS3 hot hatches produced between 2009 and 2019 have been sent letters telling them to immediately stop using them over safety concerns for the original Takata airbags installed. Owners have been told to book their vehicles in to be rectified as early as possible and to not drive them in the meantime. However, a study by Which? last week revealed that hundreds of these cars were listed for sale on major used vehicle websites with no information that the manufacturer had issued a stop-drive notice.

Owners have been voicing complaints about the long wait times given by Citroen dealers to have their cars fixed, with Stellantis acknowledging that its customer care team and dealers 'have been overwhelmed' by the volume of requests for recall bookings. And these delays are likely to hit dealers even harder, industry insiders have warned. This is because private owners are likely to be prioritised over the motor trade, meaning dealers could be stuck with unsellable Citroen models until 2026.

Affected cars being sold at auctions are currently being handed over to buyers with stickers telling trade buyers 'not to drive them'. And following Which?'s investigation last week, Auto Trader now flags adverts on its site if cars have the outstanding recall notice, with around 1,000 of these motors listed on the platform. Lawgistics solicitor Nina Bowkis told trade magazine Car Dealer that the situation has been further complicated by the fact the affected cars will pass an MOT with this safety recall in place.

She said: 'Any used car dealer with one of these vehicles to sell would be best advised to wait until the vehicle is fixed or sell it as an unroadworthy vehicle.' Under section 75 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a motor vehicle is considered unroadworthy if its use on the road would be unlawful due to issues with its construction, equipment, or if it poses a danger of injury to any person, which would include a safety recall notice or stop-drive order. 'This is why we have separate invoices for spares and repairs via which unroadworthy vehicles can be sold to people whom dealers have made fully aware that the vehicle cannot be used on the road if and until it's fixed,' Bowkis added.

Any motor dealer selling a car that has an outstanding safety recall is likely in breach of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR). This is based on an interpretation by the DVSA that states that 'a product with an outstanding safety recall should not be passed to a consumer'. It also says that the law does not distinguish between new and used products; so, businesses selling used cars are equally responsible as those who sell new models. But while GPSR likely covers anyone who purchases one of these cars from a dealer, there is no legal protection for those who buy from private sellers.

In this instance, the new keeper is solely responsible for checking if an outstanding recall notice is in place for their vehicle – not the vendor. Failing to check if there is an outstanding recall can land new owners in hot water. For instance, if a fault linked to a safety recall causes a crash, the driver's insurance policy could be invalidated. 

The DVSA also points out that if police find you at the wheel of a car with a major safety recall, you can be 'fined up to £2,500, be banned from driving and get three penalty points for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition. The Association of British Insurers says: 'You should always let your insurer know if your car has been recalled and follow the guidance that it gives you.'

Owners can check whether their motor has the outstanding airbag recall notice in place. They can do so by entering the vehicle identification number (VIN) on the recall page of the Citroen UK website . The VIN can be found on the V5 registration document for the car. Owners of Citroens with an outstanding recall alert must register their vehicle for a repair as soon as possible either online or by calling the company's recall helpline on 0800 917 9285, or by phoning Citroen customer care on 0800 093 9393.