Small 5 door diesel/petrol

[xantiagreen]

Been looking for a small diesel or petrol car for a few months now as a replacement for the corolla which is still running sweet but is only a 3 door.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-AX-1- ... 93de4dceks" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAND-NEW-12- ... 1e978cea45" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Ax has been advertised for a few weeks now and I've never owned a diesel version so need some advice on whether its worth the price and the eventual costs of keeping it on the road, it's only ever going to be used for town driving/school runs, the xantia with all the work it's had done in recent months may end up going (I'm hopeful it will stay)

Cheers.

[spider]

Odd pedal position on RHD Saxo / 106 (unsure if AX has this)

Steering can be very heavy for a small car if not power assisted. TUD is cast block and not terribly light, having said that steering can be heavy on the petrol models too.

Check carefully for rust in front wings (around washer bottle and headlight area) also rear floor area too. Very old models are starting to need a patch around the front / rear sill areas underneath now, at least from what I recall.

TUD5 has not a lot of power but its a steady plodder. Very late models (TUD5B from 2000ish) are slightly slower. Increasing the fuelling makes no difference it seems apart from turning it into a smoker. Avoid 1.4 diesel (not many left) as its a bit fragile and has even less power (in my opinion)

Usual 106/AX/Saxo stuff really I guess, front wishbones and things.

No real horrors with this unit really. Walk away if coolant is very rusty, ignore owners comments about it just needing changing, hides too many horrors. Heads to not take kindly to being skimmed on these.

Timing belt 72K / 5 or 6 years. Change oil every 6K not 9 for best results. Rec. water pump if doing cambelt. Tensioners seem to be good though. Manual tension on these but pump fixed position (adjust three bolts on cam and pump pulley to 'set' timing)

Manual clutch adjustment cable on most models for some reason. Non power steering cars can have auto adjust cable but it got changed back to manual cable on PAS models, never investigated why suspect the adjuster section of the cable fouled the steering ram possibly.

Brakes a bit wooden. Rear brake shoe adjusters not the best type (two opposing sets of teeth design) although they can be setup perfectly with some practise (and swearing) , some front brake types can seize a bit but its just the caliper slides usually, easily fixed.

Quite a few models do not have a temp gauge so check its not been cooked. EGR does not give much trouble either, but even less when its vacuum port is removed and blocked. Leave electrical plug connected (its on the bulkhead on the solenoid if its fitted) if present.

Keypad can be traumatic if fittted, at least compared to tranponder unit. Any issues (red+green at same time) examine round multiplugs in front corner of engine bay.

Fuel filters seem to be neglected on these for some reason, odd as its a spin on job. Only issue is airbox / battery out for access. Talking of that, the airbox can rattle due to the curious bolt and 'peg in rubber hole' mounting, fixed by some washers. It is annoying as you can hear it buzzing at idle in some cases ( ! )

[ekjdm14]

Nice post ^

If that AX is as clean and nice as it looks in the photos, and there's lots of good service history then I'd say it's well worth the money, as it's increasingly hard to find one in decent shape (hard to find one at all really, 7 in total on ebay currently and the one you've picked is the only one sensibly priced IMO. The only other diesel was priced @ £1795 shocking).

[bxzx16v]

There's a couple of nice Ax's on autotrader, my choice would be a Citroen Zx, there's one too on the autotrader site with good history and sensible mileage, a better choice than an Ax for a daily imo.

Mark

[Peter.N.]

Look for a 206 with the 2.0.8 valve Hdi engine, cheap as chips and very reliable and very economical 60+mpg.

Peter

[spider]

Look for a 206 with the 2.0.8 valve Hdi engine, cheap as chips and very reliable and very economical 60+mpg.

Peter

Its funny you mention that unit as some people have said (I did not think so myself on the few I tried) that its too heavy for a small car. To be honest I'd rather than in the 206 than the smaller HDi units as its easier and cheaper to fix not that it would go wrong as much anyway. It is a tight squeeze though especially if you've got AC as well, the oil filter is only a few mm away from the radiator.

[Peter.N.]

I haven't actually had a good look at one Andy but anything with the 8 valve Hdi has got to be good, its only 90hp but I'm sure adequate for a car of that size. I hadn't considered the serviceability but if its anything like as reliable as mine it shouldn't need much.

Peter

[xantiagreen]

Odd pedal position on RHD Saxo / 106 (unsure if AX has this)

Steering can be very heavy for a small car if not power assisted. TUD is cast block and not terribly light, having said that steering can be heavy on the petrol models too.

Check carefully for rust in front wings (around washer bottle and headlight area) also rear floor area too. Very old models are starting to need a patch around the front / rear sill areas underneath now, at least from what I recall.

TUD5 has not a lot of power but its a steady plodder. Very late models (TUD5B from 2000ish) are slightly slower. Increasing the fuelling makes no difference it seems apart from turning it into a smoker. Avoid 1.4 diesel (not many left) as its a bit fragile and has even less power (in my opinion)

Usual 106/AX/Saxo stuff really I guess, front wishbones and things.

No real horrors with this unit really. Walk away if coolant is very rusty, ignore owners comments about it just needing changing, hides too many horrors. Heads to not take kindly to being skimmed on these.

Timing belt 72K / 5 or 6 years. Change oil every 6K not 9 for best results. Rec. water pump if doing cambelt. Tensioners seem to be good though. Manual tension on these but pump fixed position (adjust three bolts on cam and pump pulley to 'set' timing)

Manual clutch adjustment cable on most models for some reason. Non power steering cars can have auto adjust cable but it got changed back to manual cable on PAS models, never investigated why suspect the adjuster section of the cable fouled the steering ram possibly.

Brakes a bit wooden. Rear brake shoe adjusters not the best type (two opposing sets of teeth design) although they can be setup perfectly with some practise (and swearing) , some front brake types can seize a bit but its just the caliper slides usually, easily fixed.

Quite a few models do not have a temp gauge so check its not been cooked. EGR does not give much trouble either, but even less when its vacuum port is removed and blocked. Leave electrical plug connected (its on the bulkhead on the solenoid if its fitted) if present.

Keypad can be traumatic if fittted, at least compared to tranponder unit. Any issues (red+green at same time) examine round multiplugs in front corner of engine bay.

Fuel filters seem to be neglected on these for some reason, odd as its a spin on job. Only issue is airbox / battery out for access. Talking of that, the airbox can rattle due to the curious bolt and 'peg in rubber hole' mounting, fixed by some washers. It is annoying as you can hear it buzzing at idle in some cases ( ! )

Cheers for the in-depth info Spider, between the Ax 1.5d and 206 2.0 8v Hdi, if both were in tidy nick with good history which would be worth buying, I'm not bothered if there's no AC or electric widows/mirrors or power steering. I suppose the AX diesel would be easier to repair with ample space in bay.

[xantiagreen]

Nice post ^

If that AX is as clean and nice as it looks in the photos, and there's lots of good service history then I'd say it's well worth the money, as it's increasingly hard to find one in decent shape (hard to find one at all really, 7 in total on ebay currently and the one you've picked is the only one sensibly priced IMO. The only other diesel was priced @ £1795 shocking).

Cheers for replying, would you say both the petrol and diesel AX are prone to head gasket failure, the Ax diesel on ebay has just over a 100k I think. what's the realistic mpg round town for a 1.1 petrol and 1.5d AX.

[xantiagreen]

There's a couple of nice Ax's on autotrader, my choice would be a Citroen Zx, there's one too on the autotrader site with good history and sensible mileage, a better choice than an Ax for a daily imo.

Mark

Cheers Mark, have looked at a few ZX's and BX's 1.7tzd but can't find a decent diesel or would I be better off with petrol versions what's the realistic mpg round town for both BX and ZX, I'm really looking for a small 5 door, cheap to run, nothing over £600ish.

[xantiagreen]

I haven't actually had a good look at one Andy but anything with the 8 valve Hdi has got to be good, its only 90hp but I'm sure adequate for a car of that size. I hadn't considered the serviceability but if its anything like as reliable as mine it shouldn't need much.

Peter

Would that mean the 206 90 hdi is more expensive on tax than the 110hdi and what's the real world mpg roundown on both and what about the previous 206 1.4 hdi and 1.9d are they reliable or not.

Cheers Peter

[Peter.N.]

It is in the 406 and C5, the next group up but I think it may be cheaper in the 206 as its a much lighter car.

Peter

Just looked it up. The Eco comes in at £30 per year the standard one is £145 per year the same as the 406 110hp. emissions 144gm per km. But those prices only apply to cars registered after March 2001.

Peter

[daviemck2006]

The biggest problem with a 1.4 hdi is injector seals. Ask me in a week or two how much of a pig of a job to do. How do I know about this with a fiesta 1.4 tdci? Same engine and only done 83000

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[Peter.N.]

My 2.0. Hdi in the 406 hasn't been touched for 233k miles.

[daviemck2006]

I think if I get hacked off with this ford then next car will have a 2.0 hdi. Don't think it will be a 206 as i didn't get on with the driving position of my ex wife's 206, and I don't particularly want a big car again. Any 2.0 or 2.2 hdi I have owned or driven has been good. The 2.2 I loved but was a bit thirsty, the 2.0 138 was good, 2.0 ulysse brilliant after 260000 and a 2.0 expert was good mechanically but abused by builders. All good engines. I haven't taken to the 1.4 yet but that may improve when the seals are done, and if not, we'll it will be bye bye to it.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk