Greetings from Spain!, 1st post: My presentation

[Manualeitor]

Hi everybody!

First of all, let me apologize for any mistakes regarding my english skills... I've been working during two years in the past there in Britain, but that was about ten years ago and language tends to rush, you know...

Anyway, my name's Manuel, aka Manualeitor around the web. I'm from Vigo, in the North-West coast of Spain, in the Galice region (celtic nation!) and I'm the proud owner of a nice 1994 Citroen XM 2.0i, 121 CV catalysed, with leather seats (plug-in, there were fitted in by myself, including the electric connections, full working).

It needs some fixing, mainly in its bodywork because some scratches and small dents for years of street parking (here in Vigo people tend to park 'by hearing', you know...). It don't work the remote control for central locking (batteries are new, so probably the remote itself is faulty), and the heat control (altough the cooling circuit is well and there's no leaks in the passengers' zone), probably some electric motor inside the unit is faulty. Anyway little things to keep an eye at, but what's a XM without little hassles like these...

The main point is that the car performs very well, its 2.0 litre petrol engine runs so smooth and the hydropneumatic system is at 100% (very good condition, I mean). So that little annoyments are simple that: Things to spend a great time repairing them as a hobby.

Here are some quick pics of the car in its actual condition:

Front left:


Rear left:


Inside front:


Inside back:


Engine:


By the way, my father worked during almost 40 years at the Citroen PSA Group factory here in Vigo, so you can suppose that in our family there's always been one or two Citroens. Myself got two Citroen ZX (both atmospheric diesels, Avantage versions), a GS Pallas, a Xantia Break (Estate) 1,9 TD, a Visa, and now this XM plus a BX 19 GTI (on sale) and a BX 19 TZD (on sale also). My father had a Dyane 6 as its first car ever (down in 1977), a GS Club, a ZX diesel (one of the two of wich I had), and now a XSara HDI 110 VTS.

I hope to collaborate here with my knowledge (based on all my living with this Citros), and also to learn from the various talents here. I'm also a Senior Computer Engineer, 39 years old and more than 25 of great experience in this field, so if I can help regarding this please let me know.

Greetings to everyone!

Manu

PS. Edited one time to correct a bad link

This post has been edited by Manualeitor on January 20, 2012 01:17 pm

[kenhall1202]

Hola Manuel! and welcome to the club.

That is a great introductory first post you have made and you obviously have a long experience with various Citroen cars. I am sure you will find this forum a valuable source of information and help.

Ken

[Peter.N.]

Hi Manuel

Welcome to the forum, nice car, pity about the steering wheel being on the wrong side

Peter

[Manualeitor]

Tanks, mates...

Ken: Yes, sure I'll find some useful infos, and I expect to help a lot also. Thanks for reading the whole post

Peter: Yes, pity everyone at the continent has the steering wheel at the wrong side, historically you are so right... But in practice, that's not completely true... Only a few countries are maitaining the tradition. I honor everybody. When in England some years ago, I bought a nice Ford Capri with the steering wheel at the right. And apart to accomodate myself to the (for me) unusual position, and to have always to remember the correct side of the tarmac, it wasn't a bad experience...

Greetings to all of you and thanks a lot for your warm welcome!

Manu

[Peter.N.]

Hi Manuel

My son has a 2.8i Capri - welcome to that club as well.

Peter

[Manualeitor]

QUOTE (Peter.N. @ January 20, 2012 08:58 pm) 

Hi Manuel

My son has a 2.8i Capri - welcome to that club as well.

Peter

Ooooh... I miss that car so much... And the people there too. For me, regarding the actual recession situation, would be a pleasure to come back to the UK for a job improvement...

Here the situation is bad to the point that a Senior Engineer as myself must work at a callcenter... And I'm not the only one. Anyway one must be happy for having a work, nevertheless the type of this job is.

Even the climate was nice for me... In Galicia, the region where I live, there's also a lot of rain in autumn, winter and spring. Luckily the summer is really A summer, and not an "english summer" as I've seen there... But any place has its own enchantment, and the UK in general is a great place to live in.

Cheers everybody! I'm sure I'll take a look at the Capri club!!

Manu

[citroenxm]

welcome..

nice intro and good english from what i read.. now im jelious.. yur car has NO sunroof... i wish our uk cars were like that.. they all seem to have them here and i hate them.. they rob head room and give you showers and are noisy with wind noise..

lovly leather...

[Manualeitor]

QUOTE (citroenxm @ January 22, 2012 09:55 am) 

welcome..

nice intro and good english from what i read..

Thanks a lot, mate. Really I'm tryin' to maintain my skills in good shape, by watching all the series I follow and the most of the films in original version, and to read as much as I can in english (wich, regarding my profession, is almost the day-by-day).

QUOTE

im jelious.. yur car has NO sunroof... i wish our uk cars were like that.. they all seem to have them here and i hate them.. they rob head room and give you showers and are noisy with wind noise..

Here there are very few with sunroof, and is curious because here we have a true lovely weather from spring to autumn (both included), but is a expensive extra and very uncomfortable mainly because of the heavy sun and the leaks wich tends to give an extra shower from time to time, as you correctly said before. I had a VW Golf II 1,6 GTD, wich was a very nice car too except for that stupid extra. To be honest, that was the only spare I ougth to change twice or three times, the car reached 800.000 km before I retired it...

Curiously the sunroof seems to be a "must-have" as much as you travel to the North. In Germany, for example, many and many cars got it. Same thing there in UK, dunno why...

QUOTE

lovly leather... 

I felt comfortable when there, maybe because here in the sunny Spain, as much as you travel to the north of the country, climate is much like in Wales or Ireland, for example. Same kind of people too, and much of the manners are similar (i.e. bagpipes' folklore, similar costumes, etc)

Greetings and thanks for comment, folk!

Manu