I've always liked Citroens. My dad got me all keen when he pointed out a DS rising on its haunches (I was 10 - it was in the French outpost in New Caledonia). I've only ever ridden in one Citroen: a GS. Deep down I knew I had to have one. Do I get a DS, or try for a Xantia with all the bells and whistles (leather, ABS, gas bags, etc). Xantia spantia! If you're going to have a Citroen it really needs to be a CX or XM - kind of a modern D.

So anyway, I was surfing a car sales website, and I saw a 1993 XM 2.0i turbo at a Citroen car yard in Auckland (I live in the capital city in New Zealand, Wellington - about 9 hours away by car, 1 hour by plane). The XM had been traded on C5. The site said it had always been serviced, and had 144,000 on the clock, but didn't say much else. They wanted $8,000 for it (in UK divide by 3, Euro divide by 2).

So I call them up. I don't like car sales people, by the way. Could this guy answer my questions (I had done research using this site, plus a few others): Didn't know if it was series I or II (I knew they changed sometime in '93). Is it SEi spec'd? Didn't know. Didn't have leather or air con. Damn, they couldn't tell me anything useful. Oh, except the 144,000 was miles not kilometres. Cripes, that had me worried. Too many k's for my liking. Ah, hell. I offered $6,000 over the phone and the sale was done. That's right: I didn't see the car, drive the car, or do anything one should do when buying a car (I work for a consumer rights organisation too... should have known better).

Anyway, I paid the money the next day (Monday), signed the papers by fax, and booked a cheap flight to Auckland, and got that day off (Friday). 4 more sleeps.

I did more research (on this forum on others). Steer clear of high mileage XMs, they said. Check the service history before you buy! I started to worry. I'm in the middle of house renovations and really couldn't afford to buy the car in the first place. Also, my consultation with my sig. other was a bit slack. Yep, she was a bit mad. She hates the shape of most Cits - BX/CX's. She likes Ds. I showed her a few websites - at least she wasn't barfing when she saw some pikkies. I avoided showing the posts about XM problems.

I didn't sleep well that week. Not coz I was excited, but coz I was s**t scared about having bought a dud.

Friday came, and away I went. Got to the car yard, and signed the final papers. He tells me a bit of its history. Made in 1993, imported from UK in 1995 by a Citroen fan. One owner since then - a mechanic who’s also active in the local Cit Car Club. Things were looking up.

They drove the car around. What a beauty. The photo on the website showed a red car (kind of pinky - bad digital image). This car is "Mandarin Red" (I guess it's something to do with China, not the citrus fruit) - have you seen it? Deep burgundy... the 'grand crus' kind. It's only has the basic specs - hand powered rear windows and seats. But tidy! I don't think anyone had ever sat in the rear seats. Totally original. Clean. Sweet.

The engine turns over nicely. The guy shows me how to work the 'handbrake'. "What's that warning light? The exclamation mark and the big STOP". Look in the handbook... low hydrau pressure, go directly to Citroen service, don't pass go. Not good. He gets the mechanic. Damn nice chap. Tells me all about the car, and what the warning means. Pumps the car up, does the brake, car settles, warning light off. Just needed to do a self check. Also tells me that because the ABS light came on for a few seconds means I've got ABS brakes (also points to 4 connections under the hood, also means I've got ABS)- I'm happy about that.

So I hit the road (after buying a litre of LHM - advice from Norrie - 'first aid kit for the car'.

It's a 9 hour drive back home. Though I'm stopping half way at my parents’ house to give my dad a heart attack. The yard didn't fill the tank, so I do. $80 later - that's one big tank [apparently petrol is heaps cheaper in NZ than UK - still that's double what my old Ford filled for].

The car drives nice. The temperature gauge rises a few notches and holds there. Good sign. The XM does what XMs are supposed to do... a road sign warns of "uneven surface". I scoff as I float along. No CD, and the tape deck is shit... I listen to the engine the whole drive.

Had a bit of trouble trying to switch to Sports. Kept pushing the little button (took me 4 hours to figure that's just the lock button - by the way, the thing slides up to change the setting).

Our open road speed limit is 100kph. I think the XM needed to go faster. Didn't hit top speed...our roads wouldn't allow for it (our main highway is 2 lanes - separated by a painted white stripe). Did 100 miles when passing once though - in 4 and changed up to 5th during the manoeuvre. Has anyone told you how smooth Citroens ride?

I reached my overnight destination where my parents live. Driving along the main street I saw them driving the other way. Dad saw the car, and apparently made some noise (does this anytime a Cit goes by... he drives a Mondeo; always wanted a Citroen so buys a damn Mondeo when he retires! It's his own fault). So I do a U-turn and follow them into town. They park. I drive up along side and ask for directions... took him a while, but he was pleased to see me. "You bastard!" is a term of endearment. I take them for a drive along the coast. The car does all it was meant to. Dad reckons they'll get one more car after the Mondeo.

Next day I drive myself home. No obvious problems with the car. It has the service book from its first 2 years in the UK - serviced every 6,000 miles. No record since then... I'm going to try to get hold of the previous owner and get a verbal service record (timing belt, etc). I've booked it in at a reputable indy Citroen guy - that's next week, so I see if there is anything wrong with the car. Also joined up with the local Citroen Car Club. I'll let you all know how next week goes.

Cheers
Ross