'96 Xms, Has anybody got one?

[Peter.N.]

I have had two Jan '96 2.1 td manual estates, which according to the figures they only sold 61 of, they both have similar registrations : N4--YBL, practically every other '96 I have seen for sale has a similar number, any idea why? The registration area is apparently Berkshire.

Peter.N.

[mebedforduk]

My soon to be dead 2.1 is apr 1996

N544 YNN

Mark

[chadders]

N 536 BKP

Saloon SX TD Auto

But I know what you mean, almost every other XM Mark 2 I've ever seen has been a YBL, and my Mark 1 was UBL

Weird, maybe all registered in Slough????

[Peter.N.]

Well, that is a surprise! Nottingham and Kent registrations I believe. All the ones with photo's in Auto Trader and e-bay, except one, have been YBLs.

Peter.

[xmexclusive]

Hi
I think citroen used to block book numbers for pre registered cars. My guess is that the YBL's were done at Slough. I have a 2.5TD in the N???RAC range and have seen a good number of other similar numbered Cit's (all models not just XM's) suggesting that Citroen took at least the first 500 RAC numbers that year but these were all 1995 cars. From a few years ago (when it only had 30k on the clock) I seem to remember Paul Johnson telling me that this one of mine was a Citroen HQ (London) block registered car. I will ask him about registrations next time I need to go to Oxford for bits.

Regards

[noz]

One of my 2.5TD's is also N???RAC series (number 39 to be precise).

Car manufacturers make some cars to special order but this is no good from a production planning point of view so they pre-make a good number speculatively. They need to guess at the most popular engine size/type, colour and also the trim level. Several thousand vehicles are then manufactured. Those are the ones which arrive on the forecourt. The franchised dealers will sell a good number of them as new cars first registered by their new owners.

However, if they get their guess wrong, they're left holding a number of cars at the end of the season. To get rid of them they start offering deals. One method of reducing the price to entice someone to buy is for the franchise or Citroen to pre-register them in their own name (eg Citroen or Arnold Clark). There's some shenanigans in terms of tax because when they are then sold to Joe punter they're actually sold as second hand cars. Thus the new owner is not liable for the 'New Car Tax'. The new owner will be registered as the second owner of the car on the registration document.

The other interesting point is that I have two 2.5TD's, one registered as an 'N' reg and the other as a 'P'.
However, the N plate has an RP number of 6679 and the P plate has an RP number of 6600.
The N plate date of manufacture is 21 Feb 1995 but the registration date is 30 Aug 1995. (The first owner bought it on 30 Aug 1995)
The P plate date of manufacture is 04 Dec 1994 but the registration date is 03 Aug 1996.

Which indicates that the P reg car sat for 21 months in the showroom (or somehwere) before being registered. The N reg sat for 6 months between being made and being registered.


Cheers

noz

[Peter.N.]

That accounts for all the problems I had trying to obtain a new radiator for mine, although it was registered in Jan '96 it was actually made sometime in '95 and actually uses a Mk1 radiator! it also has a fully mechanical fuel injection system, but it is definitly a MK2 it has the Chevrons in the centre of the grill and the right shaped instrument housing, so, anyone who has a YBL registered 2.1td beware of getting the wrong radiator!

Peter.N.

[carliterature]

Mine's on a T plate (BVC suffix) having been registered in May 1999 - checked the RP number calculator to find it was built on 1 December 1998. 5 and a half months before being sold but I'm totally unaware as to how long it was sat in the showroom. Guess with the small numbers of late V6s this isn't too bad..?