Saxo VTR 2003/4
 

A mate is going to look at one. All the usual things will be checked.

But anything to look for specific to the VTR model?

A lot of them get driven as if they were the VTS....

Blue - electrics. Check everything thoroughly. Any sign of mods, leave it.

Brilliant handling little cars - I had one for 18 months from new - but the VTS is the one to have.

Given the type of drivers it's likely had (young, in experienced), check for crash damage and that all 4 wheels are pointing in the same direction.

They were sold with a years free insurance with very few qualifying conditions so ended up in the hands of young lads as their first car.

Steve

as matteeboy said check everything electric, my girlfriend has one and the central locking has a mind of its own. the sunroofs leak on them quite a lot and water gets into the alarm sensors.
depending on how many miles its done have a good look at the back axle as the bearings go quite often in them, especially if its had big wheels on at some point.

check sunroof as says and check for mayo under the oil cap! valve stem oilseals go alot on saxos so check for smoke on start up and make sure its cold when you go look at it mate.

Thanks all so far.

We are viewing it today, so the water leak problem should be obvious (Wales is wet). I have heard of the immobilser fault and the release bearing on the clutch whining.

I thought of the electrics, it is french!

Think I'll take the small trolley jack then.

:thumb:

gearboxs are ****e

Check the inner wings, around the airbox and ecu for rust.

Exactly right :thumb: And like gold dust because of that , beware of many of these running around with dodgy boxes from bog standard 1L saxos.

Also power steering pump rocking horse poo to get hold of £450 from dealers been there n done it pants pulled down n got shafted by the biggest tool there pmsl no seriously not many ppls taste stick with ford or vauxhall imo get parts from local shop there that common lol

I used to own a 2002 VTR, I part-exed it for the Impreza. I really liked mine.

IIRC the sunroof leaking was often down to just the seal not being clean or shifting slightly.

The rear quarter external plastic panels were often fit wrong causing it to look bumpy.

Make sure that the door pins have been removed too. The AA had to get in to my car and it only took the man about 3 seconds to do this! Mine also had no standard alarm fitted.

How did you get on?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/citroen-saxo-v...item3a5f22235e

Starting to get a bad vibe. The seller asked us not to go and view last night :Suspiciou. Should be having a look tomorrow now.

:Suspiciou

Looks like that's been lowered to me but I didn't see that on the description.

Seats, wheels and exhaust are add ons, it's been lowered, it has a filter and strut braces, most of the extras he lists are standard. Treat with caution.

I had one of these and then part ex'd for a c2 GT, both the cars had sh!t gearboxes (the c2 one actually exploded- AND Citroen didn't pay warranty!)
The saxo had sensor fault due to water ingress.
These cars have a torsion beam at the back, so are quite basic, suspension wise.
Alot have been molested, and the one you show on the link, looks quite messed about with.
Personally, i'd look for a cleaner one buddy. :)

idle control, common fault too mate.

Where do you see the filter and strut braces?

Although I do agree, its looks messed with. You have to want one modified, and you have to be really careful to make sure it was done right. Torsion bars at the back can be hard to get, and if lowered cheaply they can damage the splines on them.

radius arm bearing go causing the rear wheels to tip in toward the inner arch,also if its been near the coast you will need a new axle to fix as the torsion bars will be seized solid
rust around front chassis legs and in the boot floor
stepper motor plays up causing irratic revs at idle
plastic arches and door mouldings can become slack and need new clips
remote control for alarm/central locking can play up
hg can leak oil from the rear of the head
radiators are quite prone for leaking as there so very thin/poorly made
other than that they aint half bad cars lol,hope this helps mate.

I'd forgotten about that! My old one did that once or twice when at the lights, randomly reved hard and then dropped half a dozen times :lol1:

my mates old one was a cracker with very little going wrong on it till it passed the 100K barrier then the head gasket went, was never right afterwards and the bodykit just fell apart. The only thing I that stuck with me about the Saxo is the thinness of any metal structural body parts, i'd really hate to ever been in an accident in one.

Yeah and don't ever try using the chassis/floor box section as a jacking point as my mate did,it pushed the floor up by about 6/8 inches it was hilarious to see him shouting 'what the hell has happened there' and going to find the floor bulging up through the carpet inside:lol1:

Big hammer should sort that out! lol

Heater matrix, common on all pug/citroen models :( central locking issues, down to the wonderful way that the french designed the door looms, only available at dealers for replacement parts :rolleyes: and lowered cars can have big issues if the arb's have not been adjusted, Ryan has already said about the rear beam, passive rear wheel steering and the bearings wear, badly lowered ones put undue strain on that bearing and it wears much quicker :(
Radiators suck (valeo I think make them, and make them very badly too, inc the heater matrix), if your unlucky then you can be replacing them every few years.
Check the air filter housing, its badly situated and can rot.

Tony:)

I've got a mate who's a retained firefighter. Saxos have a reputation as the last car you want to be in if it all goes wrong. Wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy TBH. Can you imagine one of them hitting a Discovery 4 or something similar :(

Are there any parts of these cars that are actually meant to work!

This is one heck of a list to put off anyone thinking of buying one :lol1:

Its not likely to work, but if it does it won't for long, oh and if you crash it will kill you. :lol1:

:lol:

My sister knows about that last part, 4 out of 5 in a saxo/106 (cant remember which), about 2-3 winters ago, she was the first paramedic on scene, the lucky one was in the back, the rest didnt make it :( (supposedly doing 30(ish) in a 30 zone, icy/snow conditions and a head on with a bus).

Tony:(

It says so in the ad.

When I used to jetwash mine (yes it was an industrial grade one!) the bodywork would bend...!

TBH they aren't very strong BUT that means they are light and really are one of the all time FWD handling greats. Mine had a piffling 90bhp but you could maintain speed (once you got there!) because it really was a little go kart.

I did eat front Michelin Pilot Sports at an alarming rate though!

Yeah, I had a Pug 106 GTi, very similar car. Loads of fun, not that great in a crash...yup had one when someone pulled out in front of me :(