Is this worth buying?

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blueboy2001
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Is this worth buying?

Post by blueboy2001 »

Mate of mine took me to see a Xantia TD today, I can't make my mind up whether its worth the money or the few problems could cost a few bob to put right.
Its a 97 P 1.9TD LX. Its in metallic blue and has done 150k. Its very tidy bar a knock on the rear quarterpanel. It has a decent service history bar the last 10k but the oil looks clean and he's put a couple of spheres on it so it seems well looked after. Its ex fleet.
Good points - Hydraulics seem in very good condition, no ticking and it self levels at both ends. The brake action felt very good, in fact its made me realise mine are pretty bad. Interior is very tidy and its on 4 nearly new tyres. Its drives very nicely and seemed to have a much more controlled ride than mine. Clutch has done 20k.
Bad points:
The rev counter doesn't work - it doesn't move at all.
Its ready for a timing belt
Cam cover gasket needs replacing and the engine giving a good clean
Several dash bulbs need replacing
The one touch down relay doesn't work on the drivers window
Theres something wrong with the exhaust - its not blowing I don't think but it burbles quite a bit. It looks like a cheap and nasty fast fit job so I'm thinking the baffles may have collapsed a bit.
It didn't seem to pull as well as mine. Its difficult to tell without the rev counter really but it didn't seem as quick. That said, there seemed to be a bit of dead travel in the throttle so it may well just be that - I always set the cable dead tight on my cars.
The aircon didn't seem terribly cold.
The bloke will take £1000 for it but won't go any lower. Is it worth that?
My main concern is the rev counter, are there any known weakpoints with these? Also the AC didn't seem very effective but it did cause the fans to run at low speed and sap a bit of power so I assume it just wants a regas.
Also, has anyone put fogs off an SX on an LX? If so how easy is it to do?
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

Too many bugs to make it worthwhile in my view. The aircon prob could be cheap or £200. The tacho sender is known to fail and fairly cheap. Add on £100 for the exhaust or thereabouts and assume that any car you buy at this mileage wants tensioners and waterpump as well as the belt. You have a high mileage car which doesn't pull right and these are just the faults you know about. I wouldn't.
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

Too many bugs to make it worthwhile in my view. The aircon prob could be cheap or £200. The tacho sender is known to fail and fairly cheap. Add on £100 for the exhaust or thereabouts and assume that any car you buy at this mileage wants tensioners and waterpump as well as the belt. You have a high mileage car which doesn't pull right and these are just the faults you know about. I wouldn't.
Jonesy
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Post by Jonesy »

Sounds a bit steep to me with the problems/mileage. Knock him down a couple of hundred quid to sort the problems out!
Dave Burns
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Post by Dave Burns »

He's got to come down from a grand if he wants to get rid, if he doesn't he'll be stuck with it.
Dave
SGould
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Post by SGould »

There are others on the market. Best to be patient and view a few others
blueboy2001
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Post by blueboy2001 »

He's looked at a few now and this one is probably the best of a very bad bunch! He's after a cheap motor for his Mrs to bus his 3 kids around in and I've told him he should be able to find a decent Xantia for about £1500 but its proving a bit more difficult than I thought!
There are plenty of cars in that price bracket on Autotrader round here, got a P reg 1.9TD LX with Aircon to look at tonight, done 90k so a not too heavy on miles and from the photos the blokes emailed to me it looks nice and tidy and its FSH. Up for £1250 but I'd be looking to buy it around £1000-£1100. Is this a reasonable price?
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davek-uk
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Post by davek-uk »

Is it really true that hydraulic Citroens are really hard to sell? I read this everwhere. I know depreciation is dramatic but to some extent this provides a market of its own. Has anyone any recent experience?
Blueboy, I'd not consider the faults you have listed at that price for a hatchback. There are plenty around in my area, it is the estate that seems in short supply.
bxbodger
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Post by bxbodger »

What do you expect for a grand? This is very much the bottom end of the used market, below this you are well into banger territory, and its the sort of price you buy at only if you can do most the jobs yourself, otherwise its just unviable.
On the other hand, make a silly offer, leave your number, and if he still hasn't sold it you may get a phone call and a bargain in a couple of weeks time.....
blueboy2001
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Post by blueboy2001 »

Bought the 96 P LX TD we went to see today for £1050. Lovely condition, absolutely spotless inside and out and FSH at a local dealer for the full 91k. Only criticism I could find is that the clutch is getting a bit heavy but even if it costs £300 to get the clutch done its still worth having.
Last service it had discs and pads all round, 5 spheres, and a new radiator, dashboard blubs and new plip at a cost £575!
Hugo
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Post by Hugo »

Sounds Like you got a good car there, with all the main problems sorted.
My local garage said that the clutch on a Xantia is 10 hrs labour because of the pipes etc.
Having said that, phone around a few clutch fit places for prices, then price up the clutch from Andyspares then add on labour quotes.
I once did this for a car, and the £200 price came down to £130 by sourcing a good clutch myself then getting garage to fit.
H
timmsd
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Post by timmsd »

I expect the rev counter is the sensor mounted at the back of the engine. I have a s/h one if you are interested (I think). If its the rev counter unit itself I also have a s/h instrument panel.
Timing belt is less than 20 quid and a few hours to change and I would expect to do this with any s/h car with out service history.
Cam cover gasket goes every few years and is a simple job and cheap.
The elctric window may be a fuse, either way it is a cheap job to fix and s/h parts are easily available.
Air con.... could be expensive but check the pollen filter. If it is working then the system has not degassed so thats good. Anyway its winter now!
Exhaust... live with it until it leaks.
I wouldn't worry about the mileage. Its got plenty of life left as long as it has been serviced properly.
In summary I would put consider £200 to fix the mechanical problems but if a garage is doing the work nearer twice that.
The car is worth around £1500 in good nick with little or no faults and a full MOT.
So £1000 with the known mechanicals and knock off another £250 for the panel damage.
I wouldn't pay more than £750!
Dave
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