Ranked #26 van in the UK · Large van · 3,447 units sold last year
The Citroen Relay is the large van twin to the Peugeot Boxer and Fiat Ducato - the same front-wheel-drive Stellantis big-van platform under a Citroen badge. A huge spread of lengths and roof heights, strong diesels and the electric e-Relay make it a versatile heavy hauler with a low, flat load floor. Spacious, simple and inexpensive to run and repair, it's a sensible large van whose ubiquity keeps parts cheap and plentiful.
combined
The short version
Forecourt score
Value 21 · Reliability 3 · Insurance 79
The Citroen Relay loses value faster than most cars and costs about average to run. Its MOT-based reliability is below average, 50 out of 100, ahead of 3% of the cars we track. On three-year value retention it ranks better than 21% of models. The main things to check on a used one are the brakes.
The Forecourt score blends how this car ranks against the catalogue on value retention, reliability and insurance cost (weighted 40/40/20). Higher is better; running cost is not yet folded in.
Estimates are tuned to the version you choose.
Fuel
Diesel · 2179cc
Power
140 ps
Drivetrain
FWD
Quoted MPG
36 mpg
The volume Relay (shares its body with Peugeot Boxer, Fiat Ducato). L3H2: ~13 m3, ~1,400 kg payload, 3.5t GVW - the workhorse Luton/box-van base. 2.2 BlueHDi cam-drive not confirmed here, so left blank rather than guessed.
Tidy and well looked-after for its age — the typical car.
Remembered as you browse other cars.
Optional — fills in the exact year and ULEZ status for your specific car. The registration isn’t stored.
Estimated market value
How we got this number — click for the breakdown, or to challenge it.£16,800
Range £14,150 – £19,650
medium confidence
Still shedding value quickly — buying older saves the most.
At 40,272 miles it’s below the ~55,134 typical for a 3-year-old — a well-kept reading.
Seen one for sale?
It keeps shedding value across the ages we track, though a 8-year-old one is down to about 15% a year from 15%. An older example (a ~2018 plate) is the cheaper entry.
A data-led guide from the depreciation curve, UK parc trend and reliability — not financial advice.
How a 2023-registration Citroen Relay loses value over time.
Based on the 2023 car with 40,272 miles you entered above — worth about £16,800 today — here is the cost of owning it for the next 5 years, at roughly 13,424 miles a year.
5-year total
£25,310
Per year
£5,062
All-in per mile
£0.38
Fuel per mile
20.6p
Best age to buy — around 2 years
A 2-year-old example loses roughly £5,200 a year — under half the £11,050 a one-year-old sheds. The steepest drop is behind it.
Uses current UK pump and home-charging prices (DESNZ weekly), typical-driver insurance and manufacturer service intervals. "Fuel per mile" is just the energy input — so an EV at ~9p and a diesel at ~22p make running-cost comparison direct. A guide; your own costs will vary.
Where this car ranks against the 340 vehicles in our index — higher is better.
Percentile rank across our full index. A measure is shown only where the data spreads meaningfully across the index.
How the available versions compare on price, running cost, and the headaches each tends to develop.
Citroen badge of the Stellantis SEVEL large van. Identical to Ducato + Boxer. The Stellantis SEVEL trio (Ducato/Boxer/Relay) dominates motorhome conversion ecosystem and large fleet operators.
Watch for
Fuel/energy costs based on this week’s UK averages (w/c 22/06/2026) · Petrol 153.3p/L, Diesel 172.5p/L, Electricity 27.0p/kWh · DESNZ
Group 16 of 50 (mid — around the UK average) · Comprehensive · 3 years NCB
Indicative annual comprehensive premiums for this car, by driver age band and risk profile. Pick the combination closest to your circumstances.
Estimated annual premium · typical, age 33-39
£856/ year
Roughly £71 per month
Typical
Average UK driver — 3 years NCB, average postcode, no recent claims.| Age band | Lower risk | Typical | Higher risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 17-25 | £1,952 | £2,440 | £3,171 |
| Age 26-32 | £1,019 | £1,198 | £1,462 |
| Age 33-39Selected | £753 | £856 | £1,010 |
| Age 40-49 | £639 | £710 | £824 |
| Age 50+ | £570 | £633 | £747 |
How we estimate this
Indicative annual comprehensive premium estimates. The 'Typical' figure represents an average UK driver in each age band; Lower and Higher risk show the realistic spread driven by factors UK insurers legitimately price on (postcode, occupation, claims history, NCB, voluntary excess, modifications). Based on 10,000 miles/yr, £250 voluntary excess, and the no-claims bonus selected above. Always get individual quotes before buying.
Adjust the annual mileage to match how you'll actually use the car. Insurance is what you selected above (age 33-39, typical risk, 3 yrs NCB).
Routine service
£185
Annual main-dealer service
Major service
£210
Every 2 years, annualised
Road tax
£195
Standard rate, post year-one
Fuel
£2,526
38 mpg, £1.49/L
Insurance
£856
Age 33-39, group 17
Clean-air zones
⚠ Depends on variantBased on London ULEZ standards — Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Sheffield, Glasgow and other UK clean-air zones generally follow the same rules.
Excludes depreciation and unscheduled repairs (see next section).
What out-of-warranty repairs typically run, by mileage band. Your selected mileage is highlighted.
0-30k miles
£80
per year · low risk
30-60k miles
£240
per year · low risk
60-100k miles
£520
per year · medium risk
100k+ miles
£900
per year · high risk
195/65 R16 · 215/65 R16C
What a full set of four will cost you (including fit and balance), and which brand each tier of buyer should pick. A typical set lasts about 24,000 miles.
Budget
£300
set of 4, fitted · £60 per tyre
Mid-range
£440
set of 4, fitted · £95 per tyre
Premium
£620
set of 4, fitted · £140 per tyre
Factory options ranked by how much of their original cost they recover at resale. Anything above 70% return tends to make money back; below 40% is paying for your own enjoyment.
| Option | New cost | Added used value | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
Tow bar Strong return — actively sought by trade buyers. | £650 | £450 | 69% |
Full bulkhead Cheap, and most working buyers expect one. | £300 | £200 | 67% |
Parking sensors & reversing camera | £500 | £300 | 60% |
Ply-lining / load-area protection | £350 | £200 | 57% |
Twin side loading doors | £450 | £250 | 56% |
Air conditioning About half its cost back; widens the resale audience. | £900 | £450 | 50% |
Drawn from owner reports and warranty data. Filtered for relevance to 40,272 miles.
Watch now
Failure typically happens around your current mileage.
Upcoming
A known weak point — but you haven't reached its usual mileage yet.
Already due
Past its usual failure mileage. Either already fixed, or about to.
Recorded in 17.2% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 1,310,726 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 13.0% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 1,310,726 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 13.5% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 1,310,726 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 7.1% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 1,310,726 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 6.1% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 1,310,726 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 5.5% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 1,310,726 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
"Parts low/medium/high" indicates how easy the replacement part is to source — discontinued or specialist parts mean longer workshop time and bigger bills.
How this model fares at its MOT as it ages — from 1,328,122 real DVSA test records.
MOT pass rate by age
A 3-year-old Relay passes its MOT 75.1% of the time; by 25 years that has slipped to 66%. The y-axis is zoomed to this model’s range so the trend is readable.
Longevity
From 663 vehicles registered in 1994.
Survival by registration year
Each point is one registration cohort. Older cars on the left, newer on the right. A flatter line means the model holds up over time; a steep drop means cohorts disappear from UK roads faster.
Common MOT failures by mileage
The defect categories this Relay fails on most often, and how the failure rate climbs as the miles add up — from the same DVSA test records.
| Category | 0-30k | 30-60k | 60-100k | 100k+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 5% | 9% | 13% | 17% |
| Lighting & signalling | 4% | 6% | 10% | 13% |
| Suspension | 2% | 4% | 9% | 13% |
| Driver's view | 4% | 5% | 6% | 7% |
| Tyres & wheels | 2% | 4% | 5% | 6% |
| Identification & other | 1% | 2% | 4% | 5% |
Share of MOT tests in each mileage band with at least one defect in that category. The peak band for each is highlighted.
Typical mileage by age
The average odometer reading for a Relay at MOT, by age — measured from the same DVSA records, not assumed. A useful yardstick for whether a given car has done more or fewer miles than its age suggests.
Mean recorded mileage at MOT by vehicle age, from DVSA test records (ages with at least 10 tests shown).
Below average
Composite of MOT pass rate, defect prevalence and cohort survival from 1,310,726 tests — high confidence.
MOT outlook · age 5 years
2th percentile — Among the worst — investigate carefully
Based on 139,384 MOT tests · ranked against 248 catalogue models with comparable data
Where this car sits in the catalogue
Pass-rate distribution across 248 catalogue models
Safety recalls
Manufacturers occasionally issue safety recalls to fix a fault free of charge. You can check whether the Citroen Relay, or your exact vehicle, has any outstanding recalls on the official DVSA service.
Check on GOV.UKOpens the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency recall checker. Choose the make, model and year of manufacture — no registration needed.
A general indicator from UK 2025 theft data and this car’s characteristics — not a prediction for any one vehicle.
Whole-car theft
Higher
Higher-value cars like this are relay-theft targets — keyless entry can be exploited from the driveway in under a minute.
Parts theft
Around average
Parts-theft risk is around average — catalytic-converter theft is the main thing to be aware of on any petrol or diesel car.
Worth doing
Whether driving a Citroen Relay into a UK clean-air zone will cost you anything. Rules use the same Euro standard across most zones — petrol from 2006 and diesel from 2015 onwards are exempt; pure electric is always exempt.
| City | Area | Daily charge | Likely outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | All of Greater London (within the M25) | £12.50 | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Birmingham | Inside the A4540 Middleway | £8.00 | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Bristol | City centre and part of the Portway | £9.00 | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Glasgow | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Edinburgh | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Aberdeen | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Dundee | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
Model-level guidance only. To check a specific registration, use the official gov.uk clean-air zone checker. Zone charges and boundaries are set by local councils and change over time.
How well-supported Citroen is across the UK — a practical read on how easy servicing, parts and warranty work will be to find.
Franchised UK dealers
~140
Large network
Mass-market
Network size relative to the UK's largest (Citroen is 3.1% of all franchised outlets)
Servicing, parts and warranty work are easy to find UK-wide, and most independent garages know the brand well — which keeps maintenance competitive.
For context, the UK has roughly 4,500 franchised car-dealer outlets in total, plus about 15,500 independent garages.
Approximate figures, curated from public UK industry sources (NFDA, Car Dealer Magazine). Franchised networks shrink year on year — these indicate network size, not an exact count.
Length
5,000 mm
Width
2,000 mm
Height
2,000 mm
Kerb weight
1,900 kg
Boot
4,000–9,000 L
Fuel tank
48 L
Load capacity and payload across the body-length and roof-height variants. The bigger spread means more versatility — but also more choice to get wrong when buying used.
Load volume
3.5–8 m³
Payload
600–1,400 kg
Gross weight
3,100 kg
Body variants
L1H1, L2H2
Of every Citroen Relay ever registered in the UK, this is what's actively on the road, parked off the road on a SORN, or gone for good.
Total ever registered
92,101
Currently taxed & on road
76,492
83% of all registered
SORN (off road)
15,609
17% of all registered
Scrapped or exported
0
UK fleet trend — 2014 to 2025
-0.9% vs 2024Source: DfT VEH0124 vehicle licensing statistics (year-end 2025) · Updated 1 Jul 2026
Common questions
Same underpinnings
Mid-size and large commercial platform. Different badges, often substantially different residuals, but broadly the same mechanicals and repair cost profile.
Stellantis large van/SUV platform · Stellantis
Common questions
Answers are generated from this car's Forecourt data — DVSA MOT records, DfT licensing statistics and our valuation model — and update with the weekly data refresh.