Look at Ebay, lots of cars available, selling at low prices, (some attracting only very silly low bids ) even with full MoT, history and new parts! people just dont want them, I guess because they are frigtened by reputation of something french.
Against all my own stock advice I bought a a BX Diesel turbo (very cheaply) and after 20k (at 125k)it has only cost me about £50 in parts (non consumables) over nearly 3 years at 50mpg!. I am even thiunking of now looking for a replacement BX estate!
If you can find a good one these must be good value. Cheap motoring even if it only does a year!
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pmh (was peter)
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Thanks again for all your responses. I am still struggling to understand why these cars are so cheap. Although I have never owned a Citroen, my brother has and he used to swear by them. I can only think it's largely a historical dislike for the complex suspension system, perhaps dating back to the old GS/GSA which were a nightmare to work on.
I've looked on the carsurvey.org site and the overwhelming view is that these are good cars, so I'm going to take a closer look.
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"the old GS/GSA which were a nightmare to work on."
Not really - they were just different, as are many Citroens, which means that garage mechanics can't operate on autopilot.
I had a GS Estate until it rusted out, and did most jobs myself. I admit that the exhaust system (which also provided heating) wasn't too accessible, but on the other hand, I replaced the front suspension spheres in about 10 minutes. The advantage of the car remaining level when fully loaded is hard to exaggerate - ours regularly took my daughter to Uni and back (400m round trip) in a day, and could maintain 100mph on the level, however laden.
Hydropneumatic suspension is generally well sorted and reliable, but it still scares garages, and that affects s/h prices. Worth a punt, I would say, if the history looks OK.
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Some people swear BY Citroens and others swear AT them! I owned a DS, great when it worked and expensive when it didn't, and an SM, written off 2 weeks old - don't ask!
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>pmh
thanks for that.
madf
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Just to clarify abs became standard on all xantia from 1997 onwards, and i would have thought the lx model mark 2 was certainly standard. Even the base models are very well equipped.
By the way is this car the one on autotrader, if it is, the trader has put cash on the advert, why would he do this?
On the issue of why they are so cheap, I think is its because of either one of two things 1) the issue or the reliability of the suspension must come from the older hydro cars which may have had a reputation for unreliability, 2) people and garages don?t know what they are talking about or understand it.
Re the cost to keep the suspension going, correct me if i am wrong but all this involves is a change in LHM fluid every 36000 miles and sphere change when the spheres wear out (anything between 4-8 years). Well lets see LHM change £50, 4 x sphere change £150 at a specialist, so if you own a xantia for 5 years you?ll probably spend £100 on LHM changes and £150 on spheres ie £250 over five years or £50 a year... don?t know about you but ill take that thanks.
If you can change the spheres and LHM yourself (fairly easy) then your costs are halved again.
Re poor electrics not really had any problem with mine and its done 100k and 9 years old.
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Yes it was the one on autotrader but I didn't see the cash bit? What's that all about then?
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I saw the ad around 2 weeks ago and was shocked at the price too, however ive just had a look on the site and its not there anymore.
I remember reading the brief description of it and at the end it said cash, don?t know any more than that. Funnily enough when i saw this thread yesterday i checked on the autotrader site and it was still there.
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On a slightly different note when i brought my xantia in Feb 2004 i remember seeing another xantia ad, incredibly it is STILL there on the site. that?s 18months advertising costs!
Still wants £1500 for a 1995N 16v without air con (in his dreams), probably explains why it still there!
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that should read 20 months advertising costs i think!
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Car Mechanics mag had one for somewhile and they covered Spheres etc. And that was relatiely cheap. What wasn't was seized rear axle pivot bearings, even done on the cheap it was nearly £ 400! They admitted that this sends a lot to the scrappies as its not economically viable. So no I wouldn't want one at £ 650. Also every one I get stuck behind seems to be driven relatively slowly so the image is poor as well.
Jim
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If you are stuck behind any car, it will, by the fact that you are stuck behind it, be being driven slower than you want to travel.
Ours has always been driven briskly.
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Just spent this afternoon servicing my sister's N reg Xantia. I also had one myself for 9 years before the C5. Xantias are much underrated cars. They are tough cookies - rust is simply not an issue AT ALL !! Engines are as tough as old boots and surprisingly, so is the suspension. Electrical gremlins are exaggerated - never anything serious or elusive in my experience.
They do, however, need regular servicing by someone who understands the car. Many garages run a mile when they see a Xantia coming in nose up / backside down or vice versa - yet very often the cause is something like a stuck linkage. A generous scoot of lubrication and some mild aerobics will often set things to rights. Changing spheres is relatively simple and cheap and once done, you have a suspension that is 'good as new' - to achieve that effect on a conventional suspension you'd probably have to replace all the dampers and springs (NOT easypeasy OR cheap!)
Don't worry about all the pipes - they are well coated these days and will probably last the life of the car.
Remember the handbrake works on the front wheels - but provided it's properly adjusted there are no issues.
Back calipers can twist - the aluminium reacts with the steel backplate and resultant 'wodge' of corrosion pushes the whole caliper around - in bad cases the caliper body can hit the disc! Again though, not difficult to fix - just unbolt - get an angle grinder in behind - grind off the corrosion and bolt back up again.
Check usual things like cambelt changes, state of catalyst etc. These are not at all troublesome but would be expensive to replace if they've been neglected earlier in life. Exhaust system is a little pricey if everything needs to be replaced but the systems last a long long time as a rule on Xantias.
A plastic clip at the end of the clutch cable sometimes snaps. Garages claim the dash has to be removed to fit a new one (pennies for the part!) This is rubbish - check on the forums for instructions on how to winkle one in. This having been said, I sold my Xantia at 105,000 miles and the clutch, cable and clip were all original. My sister's one is on 62,000 - again - nothing changed as yet.
Lovely cars - miss my one a lot!!!
Graeme
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Just to add my experience with the ABS. I did have an ABS issue on my L reg 2.0 16v. The problem was traced to the ABS ECU having blown. How it was coaxed through an MOT with that I don't know. It was the only problem it had when I bought it.
A local non franchise Citroen specialist determind the problem for around £15 IIRC. He advised me to source a replacement component as the new ECUs cost more than £600 plus VAT. I found an exact match from a Citroen breakers in Redruth for £80 including vat and postage.
The citroen specialist advised me against fitting it myself, so I took that and the car back to him, and for another £15 he fitted it and tested the system. It was fine.
There are plenty of sources out there for reconditioned ABS components. Indeed I found the chap who supplies GSF and Euro Parts with their units. He actually offered to buy the duff unit off me for £60!
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Why so cheap? - repair costs, and may have been used as a taxi.
My old garage in North Shields was cheap and reliable, but the next repair bill would have been £600+
140k on the clock, new ride height corrector (for estate) , spheres & shocks; timing belt (diesel).
The car is still around locally tackling speed humps...
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