Hello From The Scorched Midlands Uk

[demag]

Hi,

I've been lurking here for a few weeks now, just reading stuff on the site. There is a lot of info on here! I recognise some of the names from Frenchcarforum so thought I would join and pick a few brains if that's ok. I am a lapsed Citroen owner. Quite fancy an XM, I've always admired them from way back.

I would quite like a diesel, preferably auto S2 with a/c. Are these boxes reliable? Or easy to get repaired? I don't want to spend a lot, probably up to 1k max. I tend to get fed up with motors after two or three years and look for something else. Maybe I just haven't found the right one yet!

I've owned a few Citroens in the past: Two ID 19's, DS 23 pallas, an early CX 2000 (no pas), CX 2400 and a BX 1.4 Leader, that was a lovely little car and we had many great times in it. And yes of course, the ID's were out of this world.

I have a Peugeot 405 TD estate now which is a nice motor but was unfortunately vandalised by a bunch of morons and although still perfectly driveable, has a few damaged panels. Annoying to say the least when the body was really very good.

I see a lot of XM's with 6 figure mileages on them. Are these ok? Do I need to watch out for anything in particular when buying? Or does anyone on here have anything for sale?

Many Thanks,

Glad to be here.

Dave.

[techmanagain]

It has been said by many before me and I've no doubt many will say it again - Service History (backed up by a knowledgeable analysis of the history) is the only sure way to buy an XM, especially an auto model.
Unless someone is desperate to sell due to illness or death of the owner, no reliable XM is going for less than £ 1,000. A poorly looked-after XM can be a money drain, but that goes for any used car, be it a Lada or Lexus.
Caveat Emptor is the buzzword in buying any car!

[techmanagain]

There are 4 or 5 XMs for sale on the Citroen Car Club website (Mutual Aid section).
It is not commonly accepted, but the XM diesels are an appreciating asset, expecially the 2.5 (which are like hen's teeth) and the prices in France are even higher, I understand.

[Peter.N.]

I would go for a Mk2 2.1 td manual, if you can find one. While the 2.5 is undoubtably nicer to drive, the 2.1 is virtually bomb proof, also easier to work on and obtain spares for. I personally dont like auto boxes but you are probably far more likely to find one than a manual, but not on a 2.5, they didn't make any. If you do get an auto, make sure its a good one as failure will write it off unless its a very late car.

Peter.N.

[demag]

Thanks for the info.

[Ciaran]

I was very lucky to pick up my '95 2.1TD VSX manual in good nick for £250. The car belonged to a guy who sadly died. It had a valuable personalised numberplate, and his family sold that off, and were happy to let the car itself go for peanuts, as they just wanted it away.... too many painful memories with it sitting outside their door apparently...

I found that a bit odd that they didn't want to keep it, as they were obviously a Citroen family.... had a fair few Xantias and a nice looking GS there.... but I wasn't going to argue. The car itself, though it had been standing for a year, was very well loved. The owner had paid someone two years previously to convert it from a 2.0 petrol TCT auto to the 2.1TD manual that it is now. The engine only has 80k on it. The interior and exterior bodywork are close to immaculate, and though it came with the usual XM foibles (temperamental headlights, suspension occasionally stuck in hard, etc), they've all been very minor issues that are easily cleared up.... in fact the biggest thing I've had to do to it really is two new tyres on the front.... touch wood.
When I saw the car in the free ads paper (a paper I never ever buy, but did that one day, to look for a donor Mondeo for some parts for mine), I couldn't believe it was in for 250, I thought there must be something wrong with it. XM's are very rare here in Ireland, and I could count on one hand the number I've seen on the road in the past year, let alone those for sale. I rang the guy up immediately and drove the 70 odd miles to see the car after work. Seems I got in in the nick of time, as the seller later told me when I came back to collect it that he had been utterly pestered by phonecalls about it all week, with people offering double the money in some cases. Interestingly, he had a fair few Peugeot people who also wanted it for the engine, but he thought it would be a shame to break it.
So yes, I touched lucky and got a good one for 250, but as Techmanagain says, you will be hard pushed to find a tidy example for under a grand in some places...

This post has been edited by Ciaran on August 11, 2006 01:02 am

[demag]

Hopefully going to look at one this week. K reg 2.1 manual hatch back 115000. Same owner last 10 years.

[beachcomber]

You can sometimes strike lucky on e-bay. I've bought 5 cars via that source [ including my current XM ] and ALL have been absolute bargains.

My XM was in for a £500 reserve [ 1996 , 82K genuine miles ], and was in immaculate condition. The guy had bought it as a trade car from a local Citroen dealer who HAD SOLD THE CAR IN THE FIRST PLACE. So all history from day one and the only "defect" - someone had lost the load cover and parcel shelf! Didn't bother me as I had a spare.

Short version - the car didn't reach the reserve of £750 [ my bid ] and the owner subsequently contacted me to see if I would up my bid to £900. We agreed £850 and everyone was happy - me I was delirious. This was 2 years ago. car has been perfect ever since [ apart from the heater control fuse! ] and has now covered an additional 20K miles. The last journey was a 100 + mph dash across Germany [ 1300 kms ] as I had to get back to the UK for an important appointment.

I wish I had known about the club earlier as I had to virtually give my 2.1 TD Estate away. It was IMMACULATE as I'd owned it from 16K miles [ 18 months ] and it was an ex. Citroen management car. The auto box failed after I allowed the fluid level to become dangerously [ fatally ] low on a long tow [ 2 tons ] back from the south of Germany.
As stated elsewhere, the cost of the box prohibited an economical repair. I DID save my 15" x 7" TSW alloy wheels with new tyres and they will go on my VSX in due course.

If you have the time it's all down to waiting for the right one to come along. That's what I'll be doing for the next addition to my fleet - V6 Estate or 2.5 TD Estate.

ATB
beachcomber

[jamieb]

My two pence worth re automatics and manuals

After the automatic gearbox gave up at 85,000 miles on my 2L Turbo (properly mainatined and all) I decided to go for a manual. I found another 2L turbo - a bit younger admittedly - but the difference in performance and mpg was immediatley noticeable. I haven't got any figures on this but the first time I drove the manual, I assumed it had been souped up. So it seems to me that the auto box, though lovely and smooth, does create a lot of drag.

JamieB

[archman1]

Having drive both the petrol turbo manual and the petrol turbo auto, they are very different beasts.
My turbo manual was as fast as hell teeth and really had some fierce acceleration, even way above the speed limit.
My turbo auto is a much more of a cruiser and yet still fast enough and with the auto kick down you have the acceleration. It just does not feel as 'raw' as the manual.

Just to let you know - the manual eventually retired with a cracked tubo at 250k miles. The autobox one is still going strong at 100k.

Best regards
Steve

[Loopy]

Hi,

I was very lucky to get my '91 2.0 Si for peanuts from an old chap who was giving up driving at 80+ years old; he had owned the car for 12 years and loved it to bits, and had it serviced at the prescribed intervals by an indie, when I got the car it had a few minor faults but nothing unsolvable; in fact the thing that I was dreading dealing with (the sunroof, which had not been operating since before the last owner acquired the car!) turned out to be quite simple to solve. I was able to fabricate the small part needed to repair it.
As far as your dilemma as to buying a car, I can only advise as to gearbox, my first XM was manual and this one auto. The manual was quite acceptable but my preference is for the auto, it's a smooth drive and makes urban motoring more pleasant. I can only suggest that you make your purchase based on condition of car, a neglected XM has the potential to reduce you to an impoverished and tearful pedestrian......as full a history as possible from a good Citroen indie and a long MOT to give you breathing space to put your 'programme' of work together.
What I've decided with mine is a monthly budget and a timetable of work which will over a period of six to nine months mean that I'll have replaced all spheres with new, and all steel pipework with more durable copper. I'm also planning on rebuilding the steering rack with new seals and brake calipers too. The height correctors will be getting the same treatment if repair kits are available. My XM is going to be 'part of the family' for many years to come and I think that doing the things that are likely to fail before they do is the best way. I'm lucky in that I don't have to rely on my XM as daily transport and it's more an enjoyable leisure activity to work on her than a chore. Maybe I'd do things in a different way if it was my only car.
Whatever car you get I wish you the best of luck with it, and should problems arise the guys here have a wealth of knowledge that they are very happy to share!

Regards

Loopy