Ebay listing Xantia 3.0 ,with faults

fatherjack2002 · Unread post by **fatherjack2002** » 22 Oct 2008, 16:05

Hi folks,with reference to the 3.0 Xantia (Ebay Number 220297864165 ) mentioned in the forsale/wants section under the posting" save a cheap Xantia" , i've been considering buying a 3.0 for a while now, but most seem to be too far away to make it practicle to travel and collect, this one however is on my "doorstep". so i'll watch this with interest, and may leave a bid if i get some favourable answers from this posting.
Hopefully i can call upon the wealth of knowledge here in the forum to go thru the list of "faults" mentioned and see if its worth pursuing, or should it be left well alone ?
..........................
1... What would be the reason for the gearbox "whine", could this be down to fluid levels ?
2...Is a new heater fan resistor still available from GSF/etc, and how expensive and difficult is it to replace ?
3...Why would a split heater hose be by-passed and not replaced ?, are there any in-acessable hoses buried around the back of the engine bay that would constitute stripping out half the motor to replace the hose ?
4...Cruise control not working ?
I don't think i could justify, or afford to run this full time , but as a weekend " toy" it could just be possible

Thanks in advance for any feedback this post may create.........

Paul......................

P.S. what is the magical method of highlighting a link,

i tried to cut and paste the Ebay link for this but it didn't work

hence the listing number only

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 22 Oct 2008, 17:15

Vert tasty and at the right price, an excellent project.

I know nothing of autoboxes. Potentially bad news possibly. With luck a fluid change or three may resolve the issue. All depends on how bad it is and what the cause of the whine is. It might be the diff, a bearing or maybe not the gearbox at all.

The heater resistor is more likly to be the blower speed control module. Repairable easily and cheaply. A common enough fault.

The heater will have been bypassed more than likely because the matrix is doing the usual thing and leaking. Long and tedious but ultimately a cheap fix.

Cruise control. Same as the XM vacuum system. Known fixes. Usually relays or connections. Not fatal nor too pricey.

A very big plus-point is the cambelt had been done. It's an expensive, specialist job on the V6.

As I say, a great project but could be a tad expensive to sort if the gearbox is on its last legs. It'll be worth it if the rest of the car is OK.

Against that, a V6 Exclusive is THE Xantia to have. They are simply wonderful in every respect

Go for it

If I had a vacancy in my fleet, I'd be bidding on this one.

One ride in a V6 a few weeks ago left a deep and indelible impression on me...

deian · Unread post by **deian** » 22 Oct 2008, 18:47

citrojim wrote: One ride in a V6 a few weeks ago left a deep and indelible impression on me...

Did you drive it? In sports mode?

Anyway....

It looks a nice car, altough it does sound as if the heater matrix is the thing that has been bypassed, so it must be leaking, this is hiding deep in the bowels of the car, and would take a good few hours and a lot of patience, not that i've ever done it.

the autobox is a zf box and is a good one, it does sound like a problem that isn't that common, if fluid changes are overdue, or have been neglected, there would have been hydraulic problems sooner, but hard to tell on this one, a whining noise sounds like something is wearing down internally, personally, i would wait to buy the next one unless you can get it for about £350 - £400(max).

good luck

KevMayer · Unread post by **KevMayer** » 22 Oct 2008, 19:41

I was recently quoted £1200 for a rebuild of a ZF auto box on an Audi A4.

That's rebuild with all new internals.

deian · Unread post by **deian** » 22 Oct 2008, 20:12

Which practically writes off that xantia v6 should the autobox goes bang, as they can do usually with no warning, although this one has 'a' warning.

KP · Unread post by KP » 23 Oct 2008, 08:24

Im sure you could get another auto box if you searched for long enough as i think they are shared with the 406's and xm's are they not?

The other bits are cheap enough as others have said but it will take a lot of labour and a labour of love to get it good again.

I'd personally convert it to LPG in the current climate....

Pleiades · Unread post by **Pleiades** » 23 Oct 2008, 11:04

Just a realy SNEAKY thought

Do you think that it would be a good idea to let folks on here know when you are bidding on a car on ebay?

It would stop us bidding against each other and we may get our bargains a little cheaper

Or would that be TOO SNEAKY

Regards
Martin.

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 23 Oct 2008, 11:16

It's a line of thought I've long supported.

Gentlemanly conduct, really.

KP · Unread post by KP » 23 Oct 2008, 11:42

Quite true i have thought about this but ebay does seem to go for silly prices...

Martin maybe you should register(if not already done so) with AG Watsons and other such large breakers and then when cheap xantias come up for like £30-50 on there with bumper damage and the like you can buy them and sell on for a modest commisson maybe??

4salvage.co.uk is quite like that but is still open to the public so prices are quite high on it compared to trade places like watsons

handyman · Unread post by **handyman** » 23 Oct 2008, 15:08

Hello Martin, I think you are proposing ring bidding!

I am sure Ebay, along with other auction sites will exclude any known participants.

But, an expression of interest is possible, ie "I think I will bid on this item......" should get past it, as it is a public forum.

Having said that, with the current prices of Xantias, Citroens, cars in general at all auction sites, I doubt that the bidding will get to astronomical levels.

Handyman

fatherjack2002 · Unread post by **fatherjack2002** » 23 Oct 2008, 21:24

Hi. just a quick up-date, i've contacted the seller and i'm off to view the car at the weekend, i asked if he could tell me more about the faults, no more info on the the gearbox , but the hose that was leaking is one that goes thru the bulkhead to the heater, " mainstealer" quoted him around £130 for a replacement

from what he was saying its a 2 into 1 hose with a " Y " junction, its apparently split at the " Y", so it doesn't sound like its the matrix thats gone ,
I asked the obvious question, did he have a " buy it now price" in mind, his reply was he would have been happy with £150 , but he's going to let the auction run its course

.and anything over £150 is a bonus, i'll "report" back after the viewing
Cheers Paul

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 23 Oct 2008, 21:40

£150 would be about right!!

As appealing as that 150 price sounds it'll only be good for spares if the
autobox is crocked but yes BUT a nice fix if you can DIY a replacement
for 300-400quid mind.

That all said, I'd still work on the basis that you account for the worst case
scenario and not get blinded by the upside of a 24v V6 EXCLUSIVE Xantia.
I really REALLY want one and am watching every one with interest. Can't
help thinking back to the recent case of a 68k miler going for 400 on ebay
so bear this in mind!

I think in this case I'd consider something else! But he who dares wins...
Wonder if I could do swapsies for a working one with the odd Citroen or
two I've got spare...

Anyone?

Andrew

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 23 Oct 2008, 21:43

If the heater hose has snapped at the silly plastic elbow adjacent to the firewall, it may still be possible to do a careful repair by cleaning the broken barb out of the hose, and slipping it further up the elbow with some Permatex #3 and a proper good worm-driven hose clamp.

Mine has now done about 1500km after fixing, so it can probably be considered a durable approach (touch vinyl)! I don't scrimp out of cussedness, but try to spread repair costs out where feasible.

Regards, Adam.

citroen7 · Unread post by **citroen7** » 23 Oct 2008, 21:58

just slightly off topic i was in an auction for some alloy wheel caps and got beat by a member of this forum but i only found out afterwards because of the private bidder thingy so may be it does make sense let the forum know when you have interest , i am not saying we should deliberatley keep prices down but at least it would stop silly money being paid for things.....just a thought.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 23 Oct 2008, 22:35

Due to the nature of this discussion, moved to the Members Area.