View Full Version : Citroen Xantias now...
Jeffers_S13
31-10-2002, 12:44
405's in my price range within 200 miles of my house seem to be quite scarce :) but there are a few Xantias that are newer and cheaper. AFAIK they use the same 1.9 TD engine and stuff so am now thinking about getting one of these instead. Any advice ???
Cheers
James
Darksurfer
31-10-2002, 12:49
Our lass has a 1.9 D Xantia.
It does 55mpg.
We are not allowed to talk about MPG in my house.
:D LOL :D @ Darksurfer
Does that Citroen have hydrolastic suspension? That needs checking carefully, very expensive to fix:eek:
dave_s13
31-10-2002, 13:30
I've heard/read that that hydrolastic suspension isn't hard to fix at all and the horror stories re expensive repair bills are from eejits taking it to main dealers for sorting.
As long as its not the Activa one with the electronic controlled doodas they're supposed to be very simple. It is, after all, a suspension system thats been in use for over 40 years or something.
Don't let it put you off I say.
I wanted a Citroen XM estate over a 405 but couldn't find one near me.
Filmidget
31-10-2002, 14:42
Just bought the Fiancee a Citroen BX for Christmas pressie...
DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! :eek: ;)
It really is the car she wanted - I offered her a nice little MR2 Mk1, or perhaps a Pug GTi... but NO, she wanted a BX...
Found a '92 TXD turbo (diesel) 100k miler in good nick for 600 quid.
Her father is a mechanic and reckons hydrowhatsit Citroens are totally underated... he has 2, and quite fancies an XM next.
The gas spheres are less than the usual price of a damper, and the extra pump etc is offset by the fact you will never have to replace master cylinders or servos…
But I have also been advised never to buy the Xantia with the electronic cleverness
Make damn good tow cars as well (though only for car trailers and the like obviously – for caravans are the work of Satan and his evil minions). I was surprised how entertainingly different to drive the Fiancee’s BX was to drive – and a fair bit quicker than I expected.
Cheers, Phil
Jeffers_S13
31-10-2002, 14:56
Cheers guys,
Looks like Ill be test driving Citroens finest aswell then ! have to ask about this electronic gubbins.
James
dave_s13
31-10-2002, 15:19
The electronic stuff was only on the Activa model, I think thats right....isn't it???
Jezz_S13
31-10-2002, 15:27
My mates dad has a Xantia 1.9 turbo weasel.
Last time i saw him he said. "you can command some respect with this car" my reply was "from who exactly"
Didn't see the funny side, my mate did though fortunately. :D:D:D
yeah, the ACTIVA was the top of the range model that stopped the car from leaning around corners!! Must have felt weird!
They came out in 1995 or so. I don't think I have ever seen one!
There was a warning that some models when parked would roll down hills with the hand brake on:eek:
Due to the hb position preventing it from being fully applied. This resulted in several damaged xantia's tis a shame:rolleyes:
Anyhoo the best part was there current advert slogan read:
.
.
.
.
.
.
"The Xantia even when it's stopped it's moving"
;)
Don't do it, not unless you want to be on first name terms with you local dealer principal. Great cars when they work but reliability wise they make '70s Fiats look good!!!!!
I had one (and an XM) and it spent 64 days off the road in 9 months. If it hadn't been a company car I'd have gone ballistic.
Never, never, never again:mad:
I suppose as long as you remember it's French and ignore the rattles, bangs, thumps, shakes, squeaks, groans, knocks, squeals and general ugliness you'll be ok :D
Test drove a BX years ago, when my ex-girlfriends parents were looking to buy her a car, and seeing as I was the one with the license, I was going to the chaffeur.
It was.. quite simply, horrid. :(
Filmidget
31-10-2002, 20:52
Nah it's great fun.
I have a strange (given my age) liking for canal boats and things related.
Driving the BX with any enthusiasm kinda required the same skills as piloting a 60ft narrow boat down the river soar :) ;)
Even has the same engine noise :)
Cheers, Phil
LOL Phil, hopefully you won't need a bilge pump :D
The hydrolastic suspension's great, as long as the strut's are ok. Check that it goes up and down smoothly and doesn't gerk (ooooerrr) tis great fun when your bored at traffic lights :)
Good for heavy loads too, empty, or with an engine block in the back, dead level all the way :eek:
Cheers
Sideways Danny
01-11-2002, 01:10
yuk..... Diseasal.......yuk
Jeffers_S13
01-11-2002, 07:54
I have had the misfortune of driving a BX, Im hoping they arent as bad cos that was FCUKING awful. Its was my friends Dad's and he said you wanna have a go ? so we went for a little spin and I was gonna do a tiny handbrake turn at the end and he said NOOOO ! the handbrake is to the front wheels ?? ? ?? It was such a nasty boat.
Anyway now Im not sure about the XM anymore after you lot have slated it and praised it in the same thread ! have to hope there are some decent 405's in the Autotrader mag, cos I cant find any on the website. If all else fails it WILL BE an XM...
PS Yeah I am used to squeaks, groans, rattles etc etc etc as I had a 205GTi before my 200, made the 200 feel like a Rolls :D
dave_s13
01-11-2002, 08:41
XM's are the most underated car on the planet.
My dad had a 2.0 Turbo VSX and it was fecking wicked, If you can find a good one snap it up.
Like I've said I nearly bought a 2.1TD Estate model but it had gone before I got there, I was gutted. They're ugly as fuk but supremely comfortable, full of toys and loadsa room, ideal as a second car to my mad bastid MR2. The 405 does the job with no bother but it is a bit dull.
It's true, they are very underrated cars. When they work well they're excellent but I'm afraid that's not often. As my old dealer used to say nothing minor ever goes wrong with them, when it's a problem it's always major. If something goes wrong with the suspension, you've got to take it to a dealer (the specialists I went to were generally crap) and the dealers were about as good as I imagin Fiat dealers to be, ie. useless. The heater matrix went on the XM when it was 3 weeks old (:eek: :eek: ) and it took the dealer nearly 4 weeks to get it back on the road:eek: :mad: :rolleyes: :(
If you really must buy something so unreliable, can I tempt you to my Lancia ;)
dave_s13
01-11-2002, 10:06
Good point M8, having said that though my old man only had to take his to the dealer once for a minor repair. It was trouble free for the 2 years he had it.
Originally posted by dave_s13
Good point M8, having said that though my old man only had to take his to the dealer once for a minor repair. It was trouble free for the 2 years he had it.
Fair enough. So some were reliable then, but now, when the cars and their components are starting to age a bit the chances of finding a reliable one even slimmer. Don't get me wrong, when it was working I thought it was a VERY good car but sadly...
I found the perfect turbo diesel... a Citron ZX Volcane TD... it cost me £1450 about 18months ago, it will keep up with most things, 0-60 in about 10.2 and 116mph... given that I only seem to manage 45mpg (on a good day), but hey I've got a heavy foot.:D ... ow, and no hydromantic suspension!! which is nice.
Luke
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