C5, C6, Gasp !

Congratulations Noz on being the first to drive a C6! and I agree entirely about the auto boxes. I do your trip up and down the A9 often several times a year and very rarely have to change out of fifth except for the afore mentioned roundabouts and the occaisional slow vehicle (even the A9 is beginning to get busy now) I hear Caithness Glass at Perth is closing, shame, its one of our favourite 'services'.

I saw a couple of C6s at the dealers in Exeter soon after they came out, I was impressed with the space in the front although not so much with the back. I am afraid I wont be considering one unless they bring out a manual estate! and then it would have to be at least 6 months old, so as to have lost about 75% of its value.

Many years ago I had this longing for the CX 25DTR Turbo Safari, and I used to go to the motor show every year just to look at it. Once they got cheap enough for me to afford, I bought one and it fully lived up to my expectations, except for having to change the head gasket about twice a year! I ran it for seven years and 150k + and never went to the motor show again!

I don't think that there is a viable alternative to the XM. I have been trying others for when the dreaded time comes. The only one that matches it for size is the Merc E Class but apart from being expensive they seem to be unreliable and go rusty! I drove a friends Rover 75 diesel estate a few days ago, as its reckoned to be one of the more comfortable cars, it was nice by modern standards, but the seats are to short, it has very little room inside and the ride is not a patch on the XM. The only one I half fancy is the BMW 5 series estate, its still not as roomy as the XM but it does have a decent engine and it does look as though some thought has been given to repairing it, you can actually get to most things, and that goes a long way with me. Mind you I hav'nt actually driven one yet! I might change my mind completely when I do. - Any suggestions (about a replacement car).

Peter.N.

Hi Peter
I saw you said Caithness is closing at Perth?I used to work for them!!Mind you they have gone bust and risen from the ashes so many times in their short history I am not surprised.The sad thing is their paperweights are superb-I can't understand why they always have had these problems.I worked for them in the early 1990's when they were owned by Drambuie!I was entrusted with 400 bottles of Drambuie and sent to Wick to deliver them in my black Mk1 1800 Golf GTI.And before you ask all 400 did arrive safely although I quite like a "rusty nail".I then carried on to the factory at Oban where I was made redundant in a phone box on the harbour by the Sales Manager...happy days and what a place to lose your job!!!They also had a factory at Kings Lynn as well.I have just had a look on their website and they have been acquired by Dartington although the pages still showed the 2006 range.I would be surprised if it did close as there are large grants given to keep producing glass in the areas mentioned.
They were a very friendly company to work for especially Colin Terris-Mr Caithness.
Regards Rob

I really like the C4 3 door VTS, the styling on that is lovely! If there was a hydropneumatic rear wheel drive double wishboned version of that then i'd rob a bank for it! BUT there isn't!

Hi Rob

I don't know how they can call themselves 'Caithness Glass' now as they no longer have a factory there! We first visited the original factory in Wick about 25 years ago when it was in the town, and then they built that super new factory by the airport, that also had a very good restaraunt! That closed a couple of years ago and was being vandalised but I am pleased to see that someone else has moved into it now.

I have a video that I shot from the viewing galleries at the Caithness, Caithness Glass factory a year or so after it opened, Just before it closed I saw a notice that said 'No camera's or videos' but it didn't used to be there, honest!

I had a friend that worked at Caithness and then Perth, he is retired now, his name was John Grainey, did you come across him?

Peter.N.

Hi Peter
No the name doesn't ring any bells....but it was a fair time ago,he didn't make me redundant though-that was Stewart "Napoleon"Hopkins On further investigation it appears they are no more.In fact they are selling off the contents of the museum in Nottingham next Tuesday so I may well pop up there for that.It is sad as the products they made were great and my mum collects them!!!
Regards Rob

Hi Rob

Perth was still open in October, the last time we 'used' it but was told its closing soon if not already. They had some very nice stuff at wick, although we only used to buy seconds, when we saw the notice in the shop 'Credit cards accepted' we thought it must be a bit expensive. The end of another era! Well, I still have the video!

Peter.

That's jolly nice of Citroën! That nice Mr Ibbett has sent me a voucher
that can be redeemed against the purchase of a new C5 or C6 - seems
I can have £1000 off a C5 or £1500 off a C6 - NOW THAT'S OVER AND
ABOVE ANY OTHER DEAL ON OFFER FROM CITROEN OR A DEALER!!

Cor, that C6 is even nearer being purchased...

Damn, just need to find the other £25+ now it's gotten that bit extra
cheaper...

Nice mailer too!

"A goddess returns, more beautiful than ever"

Latest TopGear mag issue shows the latest update on it's C6 longtermer:

"I came under what felt like a barrage of goodwill; a riot of compliments.
I tell you now, it's very hard to dislike a car when people think you're
just that little bit cooler for driving one" Laughing

"You can get optional roof bars for the C6 now. Could this car get more
hip if it had a snowboard or surfboard strapped to the roof? I seriously
doubt it."

"So I've been reading the handbook and have discovered some amazing
things. Next month 'how to raise the rear spoiler using the indicator stalk'."

Nice to see the good'ol Citroen spirit lives on!

Andrew

Just seen a C6 on my road! parked outside one of the houses.. I wonder if they ahve actually sold one? its a blak one, appaers to have some sort of spolier affairon the back don;t know much more

Stewart

The spoiler affair raises at certain speeds. I forget exactly what speed, but I believe its higher than the motorway limit, a surefire way to say to everyone 'look at me, I'm speeding'. What a lovely Citroen touch

Speaking of the C6, and Cit innovation in general, I saw a review of that new Mondeo the other day. One of the points it was praised on was how it handled, thanks to its self levelling suspension system, with a choice of 'comfort' and 'sport' modes..... I turned to Leanne and said 'Oh wow, what an invention!! If only someone had thought of that 20 years ago... Oh no, wait....'

Same with that inflatable Porsche SUV thing. Superior handling due to Porsche's innovative hydraulic suspension system.... apparently.

Dontcha just love how things that we Cit drivers have been accustomed to, and even derided for, for years, are suddenly the best innovation since sliced bread when wheeled out decades later by the Fords and BMWs of this world?
It really does amuse me when the same people who slagged off my Shitron with it's 'crappy gas suspension system', later oooh and aah at inferior, copied implementations of it, fitted to run of the mill vehicles!

I got caught in severe flash floods yesterday, ended up trapped in a flooded street. The fact I was able to raise the suspension and reverse to safety, saved the car from becoming a write off. Not so fortunate were the Corsa, Scenic, and MG I saw....


Ciarán

Raising suspension has saved me a couple of times too. Although adding an evil laugh at the other punters makes life that little bit more enjoyable!

As I get to pass by the Glasgow (Finnieston) dealr almost every day, I was happy to see that they had shifted about 3-4 C6s since the first one they brought. Or, this is what I thought! Last week they suddenly have 3, yes 3, of them for sale, outside, parked on the grass (!) , the last bit of free ground they could find. They are all 2nd hand. I'm so pitty of them I wish I had the 29k the cheapest is for. God knows what exactly was the path they followed. Where they really ever sold? Did they keep them locked in somewhere and brought them out now? Plus, there's a new one in the showroom. Also, I had noticed a couple of times a black one parked at the side, looking like a car that someone uses (not "showroom" clean). I assumed it was in for service or something -or to fix a bad earthing point!-. Aaaahhh, who's the lucky, I thought. One day, travelling from Kilmarnock to Glasgow on the A77, a black C6 passes by furiously on the fast lane. It was prob doing 100, and it continued opening the road ahead to evry car that was slower, till I lost it from sight. I spotted the plates: it was the dealership car! So probably another Citroen-registered car.... :-( BTW, the silouete of the thing from the rear is quite distinctive from any other standard car even from faraway -it looks a bit "inflated"-.

BTW, in a french forum I read, they are reporting the first problems with C6s: at 20,000kms, one-touch button window closing to the top and then opening again and stopping in the middle. At 30,000km, rear antiroll bar drop links. Usual XM problems...yours, only for eu55,000. My God, I hope they haven't, and I will not believe it if it turns out they *have*, that they again constructed a car with such tame problems and dare to put it on sale, after the record they have had for the last 40 years. It takes *really* big balls to do it...I mean, don't they realise people do them a favour to buy this car? That it is their last chance ever?

George

Hi all.

Surely one of the biggest 'look what we've got new' cons is the turning headlamps ?
What --- barely 30 odd years after the DS ?

Mike.

the three C6's at Glasgow that you mention.....

I have been making one of the salesmen at Glasgow think i have £40k to spare on a C6.

Then the other day when i was passing i saw them so went in.

The Dark Blue one they have with the Cream Leather interior appealed the most.

it also had a price tag of £34,495 in the windscreen, this time however he did believe me and let me have a drive.

Like Norrie says, you dont feel a kick in the back, but it does get to speed effortlessly.

The salesmen then told me that i could have it for £670 a month for 5 years i think it was.

However, there was a ding on the drivers door, the wheels were curbed, couple of scratches, and the interior was dirty.

It was a 56 plate, so 6 months old and had 12k miles on the clock.

This particular one had been used as a pool car, used to pick up "important" people according to the salesmen, and had also been on loan to Partick Thistle Football Club and they had abused it.

It was a lovely car to drive, and the ride was very smooth, however the seats were not as comfy as my V6 24v Series 1 XM.

I will definately buy one when they are 3 or 4 years old and worth about 8k.

David.

Very deep flooding a few years back saw me pop the electric switch on my Cx Safari onto
high whilst I drove towards it and I carried on through serenely without a pause! Actually
it was very deep and at one point must have been just above the sill - the bow wave ran
midway up the car's doors on the sides...

There'd just been a lot of salting/gritting on the roads and I'm sure this rain water did a
marvelous job cleaning it all off being blasted up onto the underside of the car, though in
hindsight I didn't think about the exhaust at the time being filled up (!!) but it didn't seem
to suffer the water around it!!

I can still picture the fella who followed in behind me as he seemed to disappear and stall
getting well stuck, though I can't recall what he was driving now. Moral of the story is don't
follow a Hydraulic Cit into a flood/ford in a 'normal' car!!

Yep, I still have an evil chuckle thinking about this even now!!

Andrew

Hi all.

For those of you keeping an eye on C6 prices etc., there are a couple languishing at auction at the moment --

V6 Exclusive, Mar 2006 reg, 11500 miles. Guide price Clean (top trade) £23850
Average £22650

2.7HDi Exclusive Jul 2006, 8206 miles Clean £26400
Average £25150

The 'price' is, of course, purely academic if they're not shifting -- by definition, they can't be worth that much ! It's also pretty obvious from the mileages that these are both demo motors, now too embarrassingly old to put in the showroom.

Mike.