[PaulB]

Thanks for that..... most of the ones I looked at seemed to be either breakers or wanted to sell me bits that I could get at Halfords.

Reflecting on yesterday, I think the dealer just couldn't be bothered and tried to fob me off to an accident repair centre. They clearly hadn't looked at the car and hadn't listened to my description of what the issue was. This was a main dealer that used to be Citroen UK until a couple of months ago.

I'm a bit time poor at the moment so would have paid for them to fit the hinge and re-align the tailgate to ensure that it doesn't leak.

[Elecy]

A genuine hinge is £29 (couple of different part numbers according to chassis number), book time to unbolt and fit a new one is 0.4 hours, and does not need painting.

If you want to PM me your chassis number (starts VF7....) I'll confirm all above.

Mark

[PaulB]

PM sent.

If it takes a professional 0.4 hours to fit, it'll take me 5 x that!!

P.

[cockney steve]

My late partner had an 06 plated C1....20 quid a year road tax, 45 mpg town....needed a bit of thrashing, but a great little Daihatsu 3-cylinder engine and parts cheap as chips.
IIRC the tailgate was all-glass ,with the hinges/lock/struts secured through pre-drilled holes.

NOTE you can buy conductive pens/paint to repair damaged "tracks" on heated windows....a broken-off wiring-tag requires a big, hot soldering-iron and a certain amount of nerve!

Sounds like you need to find a small, independent garage who has integrity. they're still about!

Daughter-in Law swore blind her family's preferred repairer was one-such......then the power-steering failed on her 13-year old Ibiza....fluid had never been checked in 13 years! (cap covered in paint from accident repair when it was 6 months old.....it wiped off as soon as I tried to unscrew it! What else did they skimp?

[PaulB]

A genuine hinge is £29 (couple of different part numbers according to chassis number), book time to unbolt and fit a new one is 0.4 hours, and does not need painting.

Well, the part was indeed £29 and it did indeed take this rank amateur less than 30 mins to work out what he needed to do, remove the old hinge and fit the new one. The only tools required were an 11mm and 12mm spanner.

The tailgate opens and closes smoothly and has survived 2 hours up the M1!

Thanks all (@Elecy especially) for help & advice.

[cockney steve]

well done!....not only do you have the peace of mind, knowing it's been done properly, you've probably saved £40 in labour.
(Preston Audi was well over £90 /hr. 2 1/2 years ago )