Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

[daviemck2006]

My 07 reg 2.0hdi cost me in total about £1300 so far. The body is immaculate and the inside just some picked threads on the drivers seat. As Mike said beware electric items. My heater will not change temperature on the drivers side and the dash will have to come out which is a 2 day job. The 2.0 hdi returns about 50 mpg, real life driven by me and is the most comfortable car I have ever been in and I have one of the most knackered backs known to man kind! You will either love them or hate them there does not seem to be any middle ground. You wouldn't need to spend anything over £3000 for the very best c5 of that style and for me that would be a 2.0 hdi exclusive with leather and reasonable mileage.

[mikesporting]

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[mikesporting]

My 07 reg 2.0hdi cost me in total about £1300 so far. The body is immaculate and the inside just some picked threads on the drivers seat. As Mike said beware electric items. My heater will not change temperature on the drivers side and the dash will have to come out which is a 2 day job. The 2.0 hdi returns about 50 mpg, real life driven by me and is the most comfortable car I have ever been in and I have one of the most knackered backs known to man kind! You will either love them or hate them there does not seem to be any middle ground. You wouldn't need to spend anything over £3000 for the very best c5 of that style and for me that would be a 2.0 hdi exclusive with leather and reasonable mileage.

Thank you for your reply and helpful information! I'm really struggling to find any in that price! All the ones I've looked at vary in price but I'm yet to find any in that price range.... What would you consider reasonable miles? I'm searching no more than 70,000 at the moment.

[Northern_Mike]

I'd still say that one was well overpriced. Anything up to 100k is fine, a bit more if it has history of the timing belt and waterpump being changed, and the FAP fluid being refilled.

[Hell Razor5543]

The thing to remember is that the 2.0l HDi engine is very strong. Taxi drivers used them for quite a while, which tells you what their reliability is like (when properly maintained). Don't be frightened of high mileage provided all the major parts have been done as and when needed (such as the timing belt and water pump (this should be changed at the same time as the belt, as they start to leak when disturbed)).

[mikesporting]

I'd still say that one was well overpriced. Anything up to 100k is fine, a bit more if it has history of the timing belt and waterpump being changed, and the FAP fluid being refilled.

I'll be honest, the thought of buying a car with 100,000 miles scares the cack out of me! I guess it's dealers being dealers!

[Northern_Mike]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-C5-2- ... 3392275bda

This one looks nice, overpriced?

Yeah, just a little!

I think what you are seeing here is dealers trying it on with "unsuspecting" punters. Bigger Citroens, especially those with the hydropneumatic suspension (which is reliable) are simply not worth much however nice they appear to be - hence Davie getting his for a complete bargain price. You see an 06 plate car, the dealer sees pound signs. It's something to be wary of when buying these cars. It's probably worth £3000 tops. You can guarantee that the dealer will have stuck a 30 or 40% markup on it, even allowing for you to knock him down a little..

[Northern_Mike]

I'd still say that one was well overpriced. Anything up to 100k is fine, a bit more if it has history of the timing belt and waterpump being changed, and the FAP fluid being refilled.

I'll be honest, the thought of buying a car with 100,000 miles scares the cack out of me! I guess it's dealers being dealers!

It shouldn't. The engines in modern cars don't need a rebuild every 30,000 like my dad's old Moggie minor did. The last C5 I had had over 170,000 on the clock, I've just bought one with 164,000 on the clock (passed MOT with no advisories and is in good nick), I bought a Xantia with over 200,000 on it (and had at least 2 Saabs and an XM with over 200k on them) and the Xantia 2.0 HDi is still going strong with 240k+ on it. Paul (CitroenXM)'s Xantia HDi has something like 280k on it, and there's some on here with over 300k. It's not a problem. As lon as it's had oil changes and belts, and been cared for, there's no reason why they won't effectively last forever - I'd be more concerned about the electrics than anything else.

[mikesporting]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-C5-2- ... 3392275bda

This one looks nice, overpriced?

Yeah, just a little!

I think what you are seeing here is dealers trying it on with "unsuspecting" punters. Bigger Citroëns, especially those with the hydropneumatic suspension (which is reliable) are simply not worth much however nice they appear to be - hence Davie getting his for a complete bargain price. You see an 06 plate car, the dealer sees pound signs. It's something to be wary of when buying these cars. It's probably worth £3000 tops. You can guarantee that the dealer will have stuck a 30 or 40% markup on it, even allowing for you to knock him down a little..

How much did Davie pay for his if you don't mind my asking? I would much prefer to buy from a private sale, they're much more realistic with prices and tend to know what the car is worth..... I'm just struggling to find any close to home right now! As I said, I've been looking at other cars so this is my first day of really looking at/for a C5.

[daviemck2006]

The blue one with the c5 plate is the same car as mine, a bit older but less miles. Mine has done 111000 just now which is high, but not really that high. A November 06 car is nearly 8 yrs old and average of 12000 a year makes 96000. If your not going to be doing too much miles then even at 100000 miles I would not see many problems. These engines will do 200, 250 k no problem if looked after. Really simple to service, only costly thing is the DPF and Eolys fluid, recon on getting the fluid topped up about 80k and the DPF cleaned or replaced maybe 120000k If you were to get one at 80k that had the fluid topped up and with a decent service history I could see it lasting for a long time.

[Hell Razor5543]

Mike, without taking the mickey, ask a Citroen C5 aficionado to show you around theirs, what things to look out for, might let you have a drive (so you can see how it feels), and (if possible) to come along with you when you look at one. Dealers love a newbie punter, as they can big up the car without letting on about the problems. A knowledgeable punter knows what to look for, and how much it costs to fix problems.

It is worth having a drive in one, to see how you like the ride. My cousin, Robert, doesn't like the ride in my Xantia, as it makes him feel slightly seasick, but Tamara loves it (her of the back problems).

[mikesporting]

I'd still say that one was well overpriced. Anything up to 100k is fine, a bit more if it has history of the timing belt and waterpump being changed, and the FAP fluid being refilled.

I'll be honest, the thought of buying a car with 100,000 miles scares the cack out of me! I guess it's dealers being dealers!

It shouldn't. The engines in modern cars don't need a rebuild every 30,000 like my dad's old Moggie minor did. The last C5 I had had over 170,000 on the clock, I've just bought one with 164,000 on the clock (passed MOT with no advisories and is in good nick), I bought a Xantia with over 200,000 on it (and had at least 2 Saabs and an XM with over 200k on them) and the Xantia 2.0 HDi is still going strong with 240k+ on it. Paul (CitroenXM)'s Xantia HDi has something like 280k on it, and there's some on here with over 300k. It's not a problem. As lon as it's had oil changes and belts, and been cared for, there's no reason why they won't effectively last forever - I'd be more concerned about the electrics than anything else.

You make a good point, you really do! But I've always had this thing about buying a new car with anything over 70,000 miles.... I don't know what it is, or why it's that number but it's something that has always been in my mind and something I'd find very hard to change.

[mikesporting]

Mike, without taking the mickey, ask a Citroen C5 aficionado to show you around theirs, what things to look out for, might let you have a drive (so you can see how it feels), and (if possible) to come along with you when you look at one. Dealers love a newbie punter, as they can big up the car without letting on about the problems. A knowledgeable punter knows what to look for, and how much it costs to fix problems.

It is worth having a drive in one, to see how you like the ride. My cousin, Robert, doesn't like the ride in my Xantia, as it makes him feel slightly seasick, but Tamara loves it (her of the back problems).

I don't know any C5 aficionado's

[mikesporting]

The blue one with the c5 plate is the same car as mine, a bit older but less miles. Mine has done 111000 just now which is high, but not really that high. A November 06 car is nearly 8 yrs old and average of 12000 a year makes 96000. If your not going to be doing too much miles then even at 100000 miles I would not see many problems. These engines will do 200, 250 k no problem if looked after. Really simple to service, only costly thing is the DPF and Eolys fluid, recon on getting the fluid topped up about 80k and the DPF cleaned or replaced maybe 120000k If you were to get one at 80k that had the fluid topped up and with a decent service history I could see it lasting for a long time.

Thank you for the helpful information!

[Northern_Mike]

It is worth having a drive in one, to see how you like the ride. My cousin, Robert, doesn't like the ride in my Xantia, as it makes him feel slightly seasick,

This is a good point. One of the reasons I've given up on Xantias is that Mrs Northern_Mike feels sick in them within about a mile of setting off. She never had this problem in a C5 though, maybe the "damping" is better or more like a normal car.