French Car Forum

Just a quick hello out of courtesy. If any of you also frequent discussion boards surrounding the topics of vintage technology, Skodas, Saabs or Ladas, you may recognise the name.

Figured that it was about time that I introduced myself.

While most of my automotive experience has been with stuff from behind the Iron Curtain, I have long had a bit of a love affair with French cars. Probably starting back when I was about 5 when one of our neighbours had a BX (it was red, diesel and had an epilepsy inducting white and black striped interior). Then further reinforced when I spent several years at a used car dealership as a saturday job valeting the rolling stock. Xantias were one of our mainstays, and I remember basically falling in love the first time I drove one. They weren't cheap back then though! Remember trying to buy one once, it was an early one, up on miles and with a short test...but even so was nearly two grand...well outside my student budget! Still remember it though, black with a tan interior and I think it was a purple and cyan pinstripe...anyone remember the special edition? Can't count how many spheres I've changed!

Then stepped up a notch when I was lucky enough to take ownership of a Renault 25 Monaco that came in as a trade in. That still has the award of the most comfortable car I have ever been in. If I ever can, I will have another! Sadly, E100MSE had to be let go as the rear suspension arms were rotten...now I would have fixed that...but back then it was well beyond me. Still regret passing the car on...she was a lovely thing, especially in that deep bronze colour that the Monacos came in.

Since then there have also been a couple of 306s (one of which (a 97 1.6 LX Sedan) will shortly appear in the classifieds as she has fallen on hard times due to a recent 500 mile house move!) And a 2009 Pug 107 Verve which I bought new and still have and enjoy.

Currently I am looking to pass on my Saab for something a little different and more modern (and economical! 23mpg these days hurts!). I am hankering after a Xantia. Possibly a cheaper example for now, with a better one further down the road...it's quite exciting to be honest seeing a car that I clearly remember the launch of, and being new and exciting being in the "few hundred quid" hence achievable money area.

There's one on Autotrader at the moment not far from us for £395 with a year's ticket...seriously considering going for a look. It's up on the miles and has a couple of dings, but at that price seems worth a look, even if it needs a bit of work. Unless anyone here knows otherwise!

Anyhow...hello folks! Will stick up a couple of photos of my fleet tomorrow when I have access to a real computer rather than my phone.

Current fleet:

87 D Skoda Estelle 120LX.
89 G Saab 900i Automatic.
09 Peugeot 107 Verve.
97 R Peugeot 306 1.6LX Sedan.
80 V VW Transporter T25 Camper.

Edit: Forgot...my father also has a lovely white Pug 208 as his current vehicle...took me forever to nag him into looking at something French...but the moment he test drove the 208 he was sold! Being honest I would probably buy it when his lease is up if I had the cash, is a lovely little thing to drive, even if the tiny wheel takes a bit of getting used to.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome Zelandeth

I'm not so far distant from you. I'm up in Newport Pagnell...

If you want to have a look around a couple of choice Xantias to see how they'd suit you (neither are for sale) then get in touch and come and see me...

You may well have seen my me and my Xantias around town, they’re quite distinctive...

Welcome to the Forum Zelandeth.

Thanks for the warm welcome folks.

For the sake of curiousity (it is a car forum after all!), here are some snapshots of my current fleet. Which does actually contain some French metal - even if the Xantia is still being looked for.

Firstly, the little 107. This isn't actually being used by me at the moment, but rather by one of my housemates for their daily commute. First new car I've ever bought, and probably the last for a while to be honest. Still a fun little motor though. Raven Black is a really nice colour when the car's clean on a sunny day. ...is a pain to keep clean though!



Second is a pretty old photo of the 306, an R plate 1.6LX Sedan. She's a bit greener now having been sitting for a year while I've been trying to find time to deal with the relatively small list of things needed to get her back on the road. Sadly life kept getting in the way, and I've since had to move 500 odd miles south, so it's a bit tricky to co-ordinate with the car being at my parent's place.



Bit of a shame really as it's a generally a really tidy motor, and a really nice drive. I had planned this to be my daily for a good few years...except for the fact that my Saab appeared unexpectedly as a target of opportunity. I wouldn't generally have gone for aftermarket wheels, but I needed a full set of tyres, and a friend was selling those with nearly new tyres on for less than I could get two tyres for (and the original wheels were pretty badly rusted). Actually think they suit the car pretty well though in hindsight. Said 306 is likely to appear in the classifieds shortly as hopefully someone here might be able to give it a good home. It also lives parked next to a large block of rust that is held together by some bits of metal, vaguely resembling in shape a VW T25 camper van. That was another project that never really got off the ground...but it was free so who was I to refuse? Saved it from the scrapper which is where it would have otherwise ended up anyway. It's one of those odd cases where the chassis is actually perfectly sound - but the body is utterly rotten! Never really got far with that simply because of the huge premium that seems to be charged on even simple bits just because of the VW badge.

Which brings us to the next one, which had been my daily driver until very recently when a growing to-do list lead to me deciding to take it off the road over the winter, with an aim to getting that list sorted out over the winter and to get a fresh ticket on it in the spring. Probably look to sell it on then as it's just getting to that age now where I'm feeling a bit guilty using it as a daily driver - and the 23mpg is starting to hurt, even though I do fairly few miles these days as I don't commute. I think this is the member of the fleet which the Xantia is likely to fill the role of.





My only currently roadworthy petrol propelled transport is this...







According to the DVLA, this is the last remaining Skoda 120LX in the country. Can't remember how many of the rear engined cars are left in total, but seem to recall that it was in the region of the very low hundreds.

...And this is to shortly be taken off the road for a little while when I rip its head off at some point in the next couple of weeks to resolve the fact that it's blown its head gasket.

More local journeys see the Sinclair C5 out and about on a pretty regular basis - which gets almost as many baffled looks from passers by as the Skoda does.

Gosh, I never knew you could get styling bits and accessories for a 107... Yours is a bit different to my C1, which also was the first new car I've had in about 27 years, which is the most basic spec. you can get.

Great little cars though. I love mine to bits

All dealer fit parts, still have the leaflet floating around somewhere, though exactly where I'm not certain after the house move...In fact, not sure where much of anything is to be honest!

If I can figure out how to get there, may well be heading out to have a look at a Xantia today, if not will be tomorrow. Less than three hundred quid for a car with a year's test on it has to be worth at least a look.

Aaaaand this afternoon I have added to the fleet a 1998 S plate Xantia 1.9TD Sensation.

Photos to follow later when I'm at the computer.

Love the SAAB - my youngest daughter would too!

Zelandeth wrote:Aaaaand this afternoon I have added to the fleet a 1998 S plate Xantia 1.9TD Sensation.

Excellent Looking forward to hearing all about it...

All right, here we are.

...Have to admit to rather liking the colour.











She floated effortlessly back the hour and a half home without missing a beat. Honestly drives like a brand new car. Gremlin list so far consists of an intermittent heater fan (well documented issue I'll investigate tomorrow), A/C that needs a regas, and a handful of illumination bulbs that are out around the dash. Slight smell of coolant in the cabin as well, so I may be looking at a heater matrix change (sure that will be all sorts of fun). Have to stand on my head to investigate the heater blower anyhow, so will be able to have a look then. Oh...and some muppet has fitted an aftermarket stereo...that will have to go as it looks rubbish. Anyone got an OEM one and the code rattling around in the spares box?

Few bits outside where the laquer is peeling off and some scuffs, but nothing catastrophic, and there doesn't look to be a spec of rust anywhere that I saw (including the strut tops). Will get some new laquer over the peeling bits to halt their spread at least and touch in the bumper corners. The majority of the scrape on the NS is limited to the rear door, so changing the door may well be the easiest option to sort that out.

Engine bay is disgustingly grubby, but aside from what I think at first glance is the washer bottle missing its cap, looks to be disgustingly grubby but unmessed with. Reckon a session with the degreaser and the pressure washer (and common sense) should help track down what's actually relevant leakage and what's just 16 years of accumulated gunk.

To drive I honestly would have said if you stuck some black tape over the odometer that this was a 50-75K car. Nothing like the 197K that it has on the clock.

What are the recommended cambelt changes for the XUD power unit? Haven't had a look at the wad of documentation which came with it yet to be honest!

For the £295 I paid for it (with a year's MOT) I certainly wasn't going to haggle over details...Especially given I've wanted one for the last twelve years.

When you come to do the dash light bulbs make sure to get about 40 (as it makes sense to replace them all with the dash out). The most tricky one is the cigarette light one. The two for the heater controls are capped, with a very short cap, while all of the others are capless. I will be able to let you know what the capless ones are in daylight, as I had a few left over.

Would be handy to know!

Certainly would be planning to do them as one set while I've got everything apart. Being no stranger to older cars I know full well that while you've got everything apart you may as well do them at the same time.

...Spoiled by the Saab where you can change all of them without taking anything apart! ...Even if you do need six inch long, triple-jointed fingers to get to the one at the bottom of the air distribution control for the heater...

That's a very nice tidy 1.9TD and looks like it's been well looked after too... Excellently bought...

Heater matrixes are a common problem and there's plenty on here about doing the job. It is a dash out job...

Lacquer peel on red is common too...

Some lovely cars on this thread.