My dad had two, the first was a new R reg early "big banana" beige CX2400 Safari. It was just amazing seeing that for the first time, especially when you think of the standard sort of cars around then. Just like something out of "UFO".
It was a great car to be driven around in, fast, roomy, with super squidgy seats and leccy front windows , when those were rare (the leccy windows anyhow). The brakes were just incredible - and once really saved us from head on with a mad A-road overtaker. Trouble was, it rusted like mad in no time (sills and tailgate were both very bad), and the electrics really were shite. The alternator was replaced three times, once stranding 8 of us on the Embankment for almost 6 hours one Christmas night
. In the end my mum and sisters and baby neice all had to get a cab home at 11.30, while the rest of us waited for a breakown truck that was prepared to look at a CX, tow it to a nearby yard, and then run us the 40 miles home. Loads of other leccy things went wrong.That unreliability put dad right off Citroens. It was even worse than the Wolsley 18/85's he'd had, and we were forever pushing those to the side of the road when the clutches failed, but at least those didn't rust quite as badly.
The last one he got was a CX2500 TRI Safari. A few years had gone by , my mum, despite all the aggravation of the last one, had really liked driving it, and they were supposed to be much more reliable. The new one was a smart metallic silver, automatic and felt really sorted. The controls were now a bit ordinairy, but hey, it was dead reliable and never stranded us anywhere.
Anyhow, I've done the deed, and joined the happy band of XM owners (assuming the seller completes the sale). I'll be plundering this forum for handy hints etc. and I've already got a couple of questions, so I think I'll go and post them now.
CU all around,
Ade
