f1

anyone had one / got one / driven one ? Thinking of looking at one, figures don't seem to bad. Just sold my car, looking for something with a bit of performance but.......& it's a big but....... less than a grand and MUST be auto (can only drive autos) Any help or ideas welcome.

Cheers

vindaloo

Citroen never were renown for bombproof electrics and electronics.
Suspension is specialist hydro-pneumatic spherey things.
Good cars in their day for long distance travel.

Vindaloo.

Stuart J

I bought a M reg Xantia 1.9 Diesel as a write off for a cheap car, it was just under 3 years old when I got & the total cost including putting it back on the road was 5000, I intended it to be a cheap car for 18 months until I got my finances sorted. In the end I kept it for about 5 years, & towards the end it was the daily car as the Scoob I bought was for FUN.
In the end I gave it away as the heater went & it meant a complete dashboard removal to get at the heater & it didnt make economic sense.
I serviced it once a year & I think apart from a set of rear discs, a few wipers etc nothing apart from service items was needed, It generally got abused & was always thrashed everywhere. Many times the rear seats were laid flat to carry Bricks, logs etc. The Suspension means you can load the car very heavily & it still runs level although you can be fooled with the brakes, I once had the back full of logs + a trailer on the back & the brakes just overheated.

One tip before you buy, try & find a private Citroen specialist in your area, most independents are scared of some of the Citroen quirkiness & charge accordingly & as for the suspension, had no problems at all & aparently according to the guy who used to service mine its not really that complex & its so so comfortable.

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

well my dad has a turbo diesel with about 200,000 on the clock but it handles so badly i hate driving it!

Stuart J

Yep,
handling isnt their strong point but for economic motoring you cant go far wrong

MooseRacer_1

Find one with active suspension and it most certainly will handle.

Dog rough old french cars like these make excellent cheap motoring in my view. Most of the 'niggles' have been sorted by previous owners, and the base car will go on for ever.

Phil M

Have you thought about an old E30 320 323 325 auto (the one that finished on around a H plate) or something like that, likely be cheaper to run than the Zantia if not to buy in the first place..

f1

had a 325i a few moths back, bit too cramped inside, nice car though.

Reffro

I used to own a Xantia VSX auto, had it for a year and did 17k miles in it. If you want to know anything drop me a line with your phone number, I'll give you a call.

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

the old boys car has active suspension but still continues to understeer all the time and the back end loves coming out!

MooseRacer_1

The Activa was only 2.0 petrols

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Avoid Citroens like the plague: I've had 3, and will never have another.
Poor residuals, high insurance, suspension problems which are VERY expensive, and VERY poor customer service from Citroen UK.

THe upside is that you WILL get to know the service manager personally, and most of the mechanics too.

Alcazar

Stuart J

Alcazar, you may have been unlucky, Weve had 3 & no major problems, Agreed residuals are poor so dont buy new, at least 3 years old & lastly as I said before, find a good independant to service it. Weve had no major suspension problems & when the shocks go you just change the spheres, the last ones I did were 6 years ago but it was £12 a corner + 1 hours labour.

[Edited by Stuart J - 1/22/2004 3:38:56 PM]