Exhaust Rip Off, exhaust

Hi

You might think owning an XM in France would ensure spares back up but no !

I have just had to have the front intermediate box changed because the pipe at the joint to the rear transverse box had fractured. Cost 350 euros!

The same problem, less severe applies with the transverse silencer and quote for that was 340 euros excluding labour. The tail box hasn't long to go but I haven't bothered with a quote for that.

Can anyone recommend a UK source with contact details who can ship to France?

Thanks

Sean

You can get those from the french ebay for much cheaper.
cheers
G

Hi Sean,
One suggestion is Google Bosal and find out if there is a French distributer and supplier near you or if mail order is possible. You don't say what model but Bosal seem to do the range except the odd CAT. I recently saw prices for 2.5 at a UK stockist, Intermediate Section (2 boxes) at £125 and tail section around £50, both + UK carr. I think it was Leisure Shack. Let me know if you wish me to look it up again.
Is the pipe beyond welding? Best to enquire about MIG welding on XM and any extra precautions with computers etc before jumping in. I might raise that issue on another thread anyway so as not to sidetrack your thread.
Robert.

There is also a German firm on ebay doing them cheaper and the odd firm stock clearing. I got a rear box for mine for £19.99.

Peter.N.

I personally think that the best solution to running an XM would be to run two.

I have been caught out with a non running car which needed to be fixed as it was my only transport. You are then at the mercy of mechanics and whatever parts supplier is local or open. With two cars you have time to shop around for parts, ask for help from this forum and think about it, meanwhile the splendid chaps here have been known to lend working parts to each other to try on a non working car. This sort of thing is not possible without alternative transport.

Sadly I don't have room for another car as they can be picked up for peanuts (If like me you like Petrol engines).

John

Hi , Just to add my comment. I'm in France and I dealt with a German firm through French Ebay which was both quick on delivery and very reasonable on price. Quality looked ok but as is the way with things like this only time will tell.
Just as a matter of interest I was able to get a dizzy cap for the v6 from England at, if memory serves me right something like half the price and quicker than my local garage could manage. (he asks if he ever needs one could I get it for him....!!?).
Cheers, Carl G

If you look at French ebay, you will see that they value their XMs much more highly than we do, perhaps that's why the spares are dearer.

Peter.N.

Hi

Thanks for all the replies.

I already tried the German company on French Ebay but they can't supply for my model, S2 estate petrol manual with cat. Fortunately, I do have a second car so I'm not completely at their mercy.

Sean

A scrap yard then -although the estate must be dear in France also-?
G

Thats what I'm doing at the moment, people think I'm mad and I really should put the money into something else but this time last year I was getting the bus around town and to work and that really didn't work well for me. The same people were advising me to pick up a cheap Mondeo instead of the S2 XM I now have.

Of course, as soon as one of your pair of XM's picks up a fault, you're back to thinking "What happens if the one that IS working picks up a problem" which is an incentive to get the one with currrent problems sorted I guess.

Also, having a backup car doesn't help if you're travelling away from home and pick up a fault.

regards

XM diesel still good at 300k - Mondeo tdci 60k dual mass flywheel, clutch, or injection system failure £ lots. Same goes for most other common rail diesels. That's one of the reasons I run an XM

Peter.N.

Hi Peter,
It's not just the locality that affects the price of parts - but also inter-model.

Years ago I needed a small "curly" hyd. pipe that went to the NS rear wheel from the trailing arm - about 8" long stretched out.
CX price was £22.00, SAME part exactly but for a 2CV was £6.99 !!!!!

Ditto - my first XM suffered the dreaded exhaust manifold crack - XM's were only 2 years old at the time, so s/h parts virtually unobtainable.

My local Citroen parts wizard [ Paul at Bordesley Garage ] checked it out in the parts book - XM part £80 - exactly the same part but for a BX £48.00 !!!

It pays to check the interchange out.
Beachcomber
BTW - I'm still looking for an o/s chin spoiler

Hi Beachcomber

I wish I had known about CX - 2CV interchangerbility, I used to run CX's ! I did discover though that the 2.2 and 2.5 diesel cylinder heads were almost identical and used a 2.2 head on my 2.5 td!

Peter.N.