A Bad Case Of Citroenitis! ;-)

I reckon I cover around 3-4k each a year with my affections/attentions spread evenly amongst
them all though the red one was the backbone of the outfit and towed the world and covered
massive swathes of the UK. Still badly miss it - the base manual velour seats are the best in
ANY Xm for comfort and warmth on a cold winter's day! I'm not the biggest diesel fan so every
one pictured is a petrol - in my bitter experience diesels are hard work and a heartache waiting
to happen no matter how vigilant you think you are.

Apart from the very sadly departed maroon red 2.0i base spec non cat, they're all around still
with two on the road at the moment;

the blue front car with a CAZ number 'was' my sister's daily reliable transport when the picture
was taken though that's now back in exactly the same spot handy for family 'pool' use - it's
a 1990 base 2.0i manual like the red Xm without cat. Caroline now drives a new C4 HDi 16v
that does gazillions to the gallon and emits the cleanest ever air recorded from an exhaust!
Well, that how she justifies the C4 as a business tool with her work.

The car on the road being driven on the right is my K plated 24v v6 (obviously a manual),
the back green car facing away, which looks like it's running on a steel spare rear wheel is
a K plated 2.0i Prestige manual. It's currently having a rest on SORN with no issues apart
from sticking front brakes due to the lay up.

My biggest worry is actually losing keys which I have a tedious habit of managing to do despite
being totally paranoid about them...

I used to have a valet style board of labeled hooks on the back of the kitchen pantry door but
it fell off numerous times due to the weight!! One of my stranger problems to have!!

Andrew

This post has been edited by Andmcit on November 08, 2008 12:03 am

Dunno why.... But I really like that red CX

Hi Andrew

I just saw your comments re diesels and wondered what sort of experiences you have had. I have been running Citroen diesels for the last 20 years or so with few problems attributed specificaly to diesels. The 2.1 engine is almost bomb proof and apart from head gasket failure which usually occurs at about 150k they give virtually no trouble. Replace the HG and they will go on for another 150k. Admittedly the 1.9 had its fair share of problems but the redesigned head on the 2.1 cured virtually all of them. Now the 2.5 ..... (I don't want to make enemies)

Peter.N.

Update - I FINALLY got around to washing one!!

So I took pictures of KYAC to record the momentous occasion!
It was quite moving but I guess you'd have to have been there...





48k miles on the clock so Robert is gaining on me...

Andrew

and I forgot I took these of the 2.1 VSX auto a while back too!!

W REG!! A nice find!! There is something about the T, V's and W reg ones. prehaps because they are such late ones.....

K YAC Looks VERY nice indeed... are the Alloys an after thought? Or standard? She looks like an Si Turbo... I know later SEi Turbos had them as standard..


Paul

Thought id reply here instead of taking Phils readers rides thread even more off topic...

How many Activas do you have? Are any of them road going?

I really like this colour in the Activa, i dont think ive seen many in grey - which is probably one reason i like it so much!



Thats a fair few Xms you have there!

The electric blue (i think its Balmoral blue?) is a great colour for the Xm, very rare too!

Is that a silver xantia i see with a black roof? Second or third page?

Any pictures of your Xantias/Activas?

Im very intrigued

Chris

This post has been edited by Citroenmad on November 20, 2008 01:24 pm

Hiya Chris.

No - I've seen a grey Activa but didn't buy it as it had too much wrong with it for too much
money! No time to stop at the mo but will make a more thorough reply when I can - I have
these pics handy of the 5 Activae:

I've got a green one I can't find a pic of!

Black:


Silver (yes with metallic graphite grey roof!):


Blue:


Dante Red:


I should make an effort to take some pics if not just so I can use these to sell a few!!

TTFN,
Andrew

Andrew you are delightfully mad. I hereby invite myself to come and have a browse through your collection one day, assuming there's a cup of tea on offer too

What a collection! Im jealous

Ah, so thats the silver Xantia in the early pictures, does it have a steel rear wheel? Looks a bit like a 1.8 LX Xantia trim on there, If it is, id not noticed how alike they are to the activa alloys - which seem to always flake


Phil, let me know when your going and ill meet you there It would certainly be great to have a look around your collection. Id no idea you had so many of them!

I think out of all the colours your activas are, i like the dark blue, very nice. I do very much like the black ones reg though, im sure if seen that somewhere before?

Ive just had an idea (my ideas are not good ones!) you should organise a auction of all the cars you want to sell, invite all of club-xm and see how you get on

Fantastic collection, i wish it was mine

Look forward to the in depth reply!

Chris, (and anyone that's totally bored and doesn't have something more interesting to read on
club-xm...!)

I now realise I've managed to fill more info and pics about the gaggle of cars I have elsewhere
on the forum than this more relevant niche!

In truth, my 'collection' is nothing to get jealous about and could be seen as a BIG liability.
Some argue I'm hoarding cars from people who'd rather have them on the road although
I've never had to beat people away when I was buying any of them. Even off ebay! In the
case of some of the Activa's I bought them to stop them being scrapped for their engines
- yes really! Out of the undisclosed number (I'm not saying!) almost all work fine and simply
need silly things sorting though there are a few exceptions. Some I'd mark as near perfect
and others I wonder why I'm bothering to keep them and there's no logical reason why I am!
Something else to think about too - barns don't come for nothing (sadly).

So, yes I'm mad, everyone keeps telling me I am so I guess that really means I AM!

Well, depending on the definition, certainly mad about Citroens. First car was a 1222 GSpecial
in Bleu Mytosis (or somesuch - was corrected on a forum somewhere before about incorrect
spelling...) which had a profound impact on a car mad 17yo who's dad drove a Rover SD1 and
Ma drove an Avenger Tiger (well, OK, it was a make believe one as it had the full running gear
of a 'Tiger' in a 4door bodyshell).

It basically snowballed almost the minute I got that and about a year later I had 3 or 4 Gs's and
a LHD CX GTi 2.4.

I really haven't stopped since and now have a silly amount of arguably worthless old Citroen relics
that would take every waking moment of the rest of my days to marginally sort and enjoy but I'm
happy with my lot and only now have to deal with the BIG issue of trimming down by a noticeable
%age due to the ongoing plan to decamp from one of the barns I store things in.

The roadgoing and fully legal 'collection' currently stands at:

- A6TVA latest fave toy and stupidly heavy on fuel - yes an Activa! Needs a heater matrix
- KYAC the 2.0i TCT (yes with the 24v's rims and new Continentals Paul)
- the white CX GTi Turbo2
- CAZ 1820 my sister's 2.0i base H plater that she's no longer using currently in a state of limbo
- the white 1.9TD Xantia SX estate - fab holdall with potentially iffy clutch life left
- the green 1.9TD Xantia SX estate - fab holdall that never complains even when used mercilessly
- the new red 2.5TD VSX - currently receiving surgery for nonexistent front n/s floor box section
- the 24v v6 Xm - 191,675 miles and counting - going well again and fresh from the MOT man

and there's the occasional sighting of my father's 2.1TD W plater auto - now his as it's an auto!!
and the VSX Xantia 2.0i auto - again ditto auto.

The garage - dead GS estate as stalled rebuild project next to a Suzuki Whizzkid.

Then there's the local barn!!

Old Rover, old Gs's, older 2CV's and a good smattering of Cx, Xm and yes, Xantiae where the
Activa's hang out.

The far away barn!?

The main collection which needs pruning
Cx's, Xm's Xantiae and yes, another Suzuki Whizzkid!

I'll try to make efforts to get some pictures but think more scruffy garage next door rather than
Citroen's Conservatoire!!

Pictures I have in Photobucket account not posted here yet!
First: scruffy me - hiding behind Guinness glass at Dublin Guinness Storehouse on my Birthday:


my favorite black Cx estate with a different passenger in tow:


one of the other various Cx estates:


one of a pair of early VSX 2.0i 16v Xant's:


I must have been mad as I gave this 2.0i VSX auto away for nothing at the start of this month:


KYAC collecting a CX GTi T2:


and then a v6 auto which is almost identical down to the reg/colour as the 24v'er:


Anyhow. I don't think the forum allows many more pics in one posting so watch this space
for more when I'm not half asleep!!

Andrew

This post has been edited by Andmcit on December 28, 2008 12:05 am

Another view of my original s2 GTi turbo1 petrol - it's a rare car for having a not rusty
XM/BX style tilt and slide glass sunroof - best of all, it still works!!



I love this CX and it's probably one of my more precious cars. I've been all over the Uk
and France in it and it never missed a beat until I had a 'moment' with a plant trailer that
wasn't happy with and shouldn't have tried towing - hindsight being very cruel but a hard
lesson learned. It needs a new offside front wing and nearside rear 3/4 wing at the
moment and when I'm not being distracted with work and other Citroens IT WILL be fixed!!

Still runs and works well!!

It's now been joined by it's near identical twin - even down to the glass tilt slide sunroof,
but the new arrival has a flat burgundy (and in fact the paint has badly clouded flat in upward
facing areas as only red cars seem to manage) where the other is metallic florentine red:



This one is very special having been a one owner car and showing 65k miles. Drives like new!

Then the latest addition to the collection - 2.5TD VSX from Serge a fellow club-Xm forum member here:





and the other s2 I've bought in and passed on to my father who enjoys driving it more than me!!


Andrew

This post has been edited by Andmcit on December 20, 2008 11:27 am

Very good reply! All of your cars look very tidy, I especially like the Xantias.

No, im still jealous I can imagine they are costly to keep though, what with tyres, servicing, MOTs, Tax, exhausts, spheres ect etc. Its bad enough having 7 cars, remembering when the mots run out on them all, making sure they get serviced at the right time, checking the oil, water, tyres etc every other week. At one point we had 10 cars (which stretched our parking somewhat!) which was way too many, although they were all road going and usable. I hate selling carsm, id rather keep them all.

I dont really agree with people saying you are keeping them from other people. A few you seem to have saved from the scrap yard or being broken. Which i agree with 100%! As long as they are kept running and moving often (not necasserily on the road) unlike WHMs cars which are, to be honest, pretty runined after being stood in a field for 3-4 years.

I wonder, if someone really wanted a car you have and dont use, an activa maybe! you would possibly be willing to sell it to them, providing it would be looked after. Afterall Activas are possibly one of the most recent Citroens which should be saved, it is like Citroens modern day Concord - in a way, that system will never be put into production again.

I cant imagine barns are cheap or easy to come by either. How do you go about insurance for so many cars?

If i had the room id possibly have as many (if thats possible!) cars as you do, i hate seeing good Citroens being scrapped. Although i hate not having a car road going, or a car stood with problems, even cars with scrapes, dinks or the annoying white chrome on Xms - id always be spending money seeking perfection for them all!

Ive been considering selling my Seat and buying a Citroen, probably a nice Xantia diesel VSX or Exclusive (must have the sport button!), so ill see about that. Id love an Activa, but it would just bee too costly to use for my everyday car. Ive also thought about a diesel Xm too, ive decided against that, as if i had a diesel Xm, it would be quicker and more economical than our 2.0 auto so that would hardly be used. I cant see us ever selling any of our current Citroens, the van was built for us by citroen, the traction we have owned forever and is a rare model and the Xm is a good, faithful car which is very tidy and a very nice drive. Another reason id not want to sell it, is its not really a desirable model of the Xm, so if anything did ever go wrong with it in the hands of someone else, it would most likely be scrapped, when its far too good for that, so we would repair it.

See an advantage for your collection, you dont have to choose which to buy, as you probably own one of each model anyway, i bet your main dilemma is which one to take to work today!

Do we get a list of the cars you need pruning? Maybe one or two of them may take a fancy to someone on here ...

Ill look forward to more pictures of our own Conservatoire!

Hmm, I seem to have been dribbling on a bit there! Sorry, Chris.

I don't think so, I'd say that you've saved most of them from the knackers yard, and I think most would agree.

Nice to see some pics of your collection Andrew, thanks for posting them.


BTW.........that field doesn't look anywhere near full.......still room for a few more cars in there I think.......best save a bit of space for all those C5's and C6's that'll need saving in the future.....

The crazy thing is the fact that I've not been able to find a single picture of what I consider to
be the best or most unusual cars I've got!!

Undoubtedly one of the best has to be a low miles CX GTi Turbo2 with the cherished plate
A10K CX; the Cx my father got as a retirement gift for himself and the number a parting
memento from years of making DVLC (as was!) work. He's got 4x 60's Sunbeam Alpine's
resting in one of the barns too including the one he bought new a year before I was born!!

There's a black CX GTi Turbo2 that one of the production team for Aardman in Bristol used to
own, a LHD CX DTR2 S2 Prestige with no doors!!, a gold s1 2.5i Auto Prestige with chocolate
leather interior that's a bit cosmetically sorry for itself and another s1 black 2.5i Auto Prestige
that's not in too bad a state for an ebay purchase and seen piggyback on a trailer in one of
my pics!!

And I have more of a 'thing' for Cx Gti Turbo's than Activae plus another thread of past Citroens
that I rate very highly - the slowly dissolving metal bumpered Gs's - when was the last time one
of these absolutely fabulous cars was seen on the road I wonder...

I stopped using them primarily because I realised they were just too good to be used as daily
use cars yet they thrive on such usage. In fact, before I was guilty of a 'bit' of duplication, some
of these were deliberately taken out of daily use because they were too precious for me to lose
- crazy that an item that many folk view as a means to an end daily chore can get the old heart
strings and emotions all in a fit!!

To look at some of them covered in sheets and/or dust now I really fancy getting more life
back into them all - I really need a lorryload of car batteries and this aspect alone is a bane
of my Citroening spannering.

Andrew

This post has been edited by Andmcit on November 27, 2008 12:37 am