thinking of buying an xantia :).

[Cipher]

hello folks, im new here so be easy on me lol.

anyways im thinking about buying an xantia but i have a few questions.

now before we go any further my dad used to own a 1.9td lx which i thought was amazing and never let us down apart from when the linkage to the height adjuster had came loose which i fixed myself lol.

firstly what are they like reliability wise?, i ask this because ive heard loads of horror storys about dodgy suspension and weak engines even though my dads seemed solid, could this just be bad press???

i think the one im going to go for is the 1.9td (due to insurance and running costs) but what trim level would be the best to go for??

ive been told that the vsx is the best one due to having the same suspension setup as the activa's but i wasnt too sure about this, any truth to that??

Cheers,

Cipher

[Sid_the_Squid]

Hey new guy,
You have come to the right place, strangely enough the question of what trim/equipment level should one purchase comes up quite often.

Most will recommend the SX level, as that provides full round electrics, whilst keeping the simple 5/6 sphere suspension setup.
If you get one of the later mk1's or a mk2 Xantia you will get ABS and AC as well

I personally would prefer a version with Hydractive 2, that's the suspension in the VSX or exclusive trims, which, keeping the explanation simple, gives you a soft mode and hard mode. Soft mode being slightly softer than a SX and hard mode being slightly harder, This is not the same as the Activa which also has ARCS.

I'm not going to go in to a great detail about the hydractive 2 or ARCS, there are many posts on this forum which cover those two topics in greater depth than I can cover here.

Reliability wise, these cars are solid especially the diesel engines, with many members having cars with mileages over 200k miles without major work. Saying that though, if your unlucky enough to get an abused example i.e. no LHM changes, or coolant changes, you could be in for big expense as bits of the suspension and cooling system start to fail.

The 1.9D's and TD's are brilliantly reliable and if your mechanically minded easy enough to work on yourself, also you can run on WVO/SVO without issues (assuming you get a BOSCH pump). The HDi is very powerful and fast for a diesel, but no veg option available.

One last word of advice the automatics will be problematic if high (100k+) mileage and no maintenance, don't get a 1.8 auto its too underpowered off the line, the 2.0 apparently is quite acceptable.

[HDI]

Don't , whatever u do buy a Xantia , they are rubbish !!




Only joking

Take your time , look around and wait for a good one to come up , u won't be disappointed.

The 1.9 TD engine is one of the best diesels ever and will do stellar mileage if correctly maintained. Later HDI common rails are also bullet proof but fault finding is more difficult due to the electronics.
Highest trim level u can find is good , u can never have enough toys and comfort

[addo]

I feel there is a chronological aspect to some costs, too. Stuff like the heater hose connections at the firewall, seem to last about ten years (give or take) with less weight to the car's mileage.

Series II cars have the benefit of revised, far less failure prone front suspension mounts. They also won't have the immobiliser keypad.

Harsh treatment of a Xantia will hasten failure of the upper motor mount, and rear muffler inlet.

A Xantia is probably best owned in conjunction with access to a well-tooled independent garage and CCC membership. You'll really need someone with a Lexia and sphere testing facilities - either the club or the indy will be of use here.

With older PSA cars, I recommend a "zero tolerance" approach to maintenance. Swat any issues right away; deferring repairs will compound your grief and negate pleasures of driving a good car.

Cheers, Adam.

[Citroenmad]

Welcome to the FCF

A VSX car would be my choice, as it has the same hydractive2 suspension as on the Xm. Which means it has a sports setting, or hard mode. This cuts in automatically when your pushing the car hard, it controls the body roll. However if you flick it into sport it will still ramain soft on normal roads but if you come to a bend it will firm up the suspension much quicker and give you a far better ride and handling.

I love this feature on the Xms, they really handle well with it, so on a Xantia id expect much of the same.

If your wanting a S2 Xantia then the Exclusive trim level has this hydractive2 feature, plus heated leather seats etc. But these seem to be getting hard to find and im not sure if the 1,9TD was even available in that trim.

If you dont want a car this complex (it rarely goes wrong but you do have more spheres and the suspension ECU diodes) then id recommend the SX trim. No earlier Xantias came with air con as standard. It was standard on the higher specs around 96-97 i think, someone will confirm that im sure, so those are the ones to look for.

SX trim levels are easier to find than VSX cars, so thats possibly the one to go for, just get a later model for more spec.

You could still get the 1.9TD in the S2 car, which tend to be quite highly spec with all, apart from the X spec, cars having air con.

All Xantias, apart from the base which there are very very few of, have remote locking, electric front windows and an electric sunroof if not fitted with air con.

Id recommend the HDi engine, you can get two powers in the 2.0 HDi. 90BHP and 110BHP. 90 bhp came with the X, LX and some SX cars, 110 was also available in the SX and exclusive trims. S2 SX cars have a rear spoiler, so thats an easy way to spot them. The HDi is a good engine, they seem to last and last as well, so long as they are maintained. However as has already been said you can not run these on veg oil like you can the 1.9TD.

The HDi is more econimical than the 1.9TD and i cant see insurance being much different between the two.

Mainly though it comes down to supply, whats available in good condition and with a good service record. Its very difficult to get the exact spec you want, better to buy on condition and history.

Im pretty sure there is a good check list of what to look for when buying, have a search on here im sure you will find one. Xantias are very reliable so long as they are maintained. Many owners dont have the first idea of what its suspenion is and therefore it gets neglected.

Chris.

[Citroenmad]

Just had a quick flick through autotrader there, some really nice Xantias on at the moment, would seem now is a good time to buy.

If your after a nice 1.9TD there is these:

Looks nice, good colour, special edition - has air con:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... &logcode=p#

Another one with the same Sensation special Ed. trim:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... &logcode=p

This is nice, a 2.1TD Exclusive, great engines the 2.1TDs..... Looks like the front height corrector might be sticking, unless its 'on the move':
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... &logcode=p

Though you said you wanted cheap insurance, so a 2.1 might not be the best there. Xantias are not expensive to insure unless your quite young. Im 22, it cost me £770 for the C5 this year, Xantias should be cheaper im thinking ...

There are a whole host of HDi models on there too, certainly a lot of choice.

Would love one myself at the moment actually, get rid of this Peugeot im driving
There is a very nice green Exclusive HDi which id like on autotrader. I get withdrawal symptoms when im not in an Xm , the reason i bought a C5, but it didnt fill my need for an Xm. Maybe ill try a nice Xantia next then ....

Chris.

P.S: I was quite interested in the green Exclusive HDi so ive just phoned them. Sounds a tidy car but it doesnt have any service history. Bit of a no in my opinion that so its not for me.

[Krede]

Go for as many toys as you can.
But do so knowing that its a Citroen which in my experience, makes for an overall solid car... but with lots of minor flaws (trim, electrics and such).

Be aware that ANY Xantia diesel has most likely done quite high mileage by now, so go for one that comes with some documented service history
The xud's are good engines, but a generation older than the HDI's. Drive , both and it will show.
As for repair cost.... If you have access to a diagnostics computer I wouldn't shy away from buying a HDI.
The 110 Hp version is the one to get if you are after a HDI. It has an intercooler VNT turbo and different ECU.
But with the HDI's you need to ensure that the injectors are not worn. early injectors would begin to "rattle" over time some after no more than 100000 km. And they are very expensive to replace and can't be refurbished the same way as old school injectors.

The main advice when buying a Xantia however would be to get as well maintained a car as you can possibly find.
Be aware of the state of the hydraulic plumbing. The pipes aren't expensive, but its a lot of work replacing all of them.
And unless you are a French car enthusiast, get one without the Hydractive suspension. the mechanical system is very unlikely to cause you any trouble.

[admiral51]

Welcome to the forum
You may not have spotted the very informative guide to Hydraulic suspension you can find it in the Activa Buyers Guide in the Activa Area along with another link a few posts down by Sir Jim

Colin

[Cipher]

Cheers for all the messages, after reading what u guys have wrote i think im going to go for an sx or lx but anything that comes up local and reasonably cheap will get looked at.

as for insurance, im 19 and since ive started driving ive had 2 suzuki sj's lol one was a 410 and the other was a samurai which sadly was involved in an accident and is no longer fit for road use, anyways i got a quote of 1400 for pretty much any 1.9td model which in my eyes isnt bad compared to the 1300 im paying for a 1.3 death trap right now lol.

im also a semi-trained mechanic so not alot puts me off when it comes to cars .

[deian]

Welcome,

Yea get one, they are great cars, everything's been well covered in this thread so far, and all is accurate.

As for me, having not driven the HDi, I would certainly go for the 2.1 in exclsuive trim, I had one before and I need shooting for selling it. It's a bigger engine yes, but overall it will be AS economical as the 1.9 in the same body. It is a sweet engine, more diesel like as in lazy, but it does go very very well indeed.

The 1.9td is an absolute cracker of an engine and i'm looking for a ZX with one right now. They are more basic and crude and take some beating. Regarding the pumps, the 2.1 will almost certainly have a lucas pump which when treated nicely will run like a dream, the 1.9's will very likely all have a bosch pump, which is robust, can take wvo or rapeseed oil from the bottle, and can be tuned much easier.

If you feel silly do consider the Xantia V6 (or get one when ur older and before they all disappear), absolutely stonking machine, I thought my old 325i (e30) was quick, but that Xantia V6 is gorgeously swift!! Only Auto though, which is still very fun indeed.

[Krede]

If you are going for safety. You should get an X2 model. This should supposedly be much improved in this regard.

[CitroJim]

Welcome to the forum Cipher

You'll do well with a Xantia. Our very own Red_Drwarfers on here is about your age and runs one. Any thing at all you ever need to know about them is to be found on here...

With older PSA cars, I recommend a "zero tolerance" approach to maintenance. Swat any issues right away; deferring repairs will compound your grief and negate pleasures of driving a good car.

Adam, best piece of advice ever. I strictly adhere to that policy and my Xantias have only ever let me down once and that was because of a failed ignition coil and you can't predict that. Even then it still was game to struggle onward running on 4 cylinders!

Cipher, as for a guide of what to look for, there's not much really so I'll give some headings and you can then flesh it out.

No.1 weak point is strut tops. They rust and fail catastrophically, pushing a strut through the bonnet. There's a long thread about it on here.

Heater matrixes leak and give a curry smell in the cockpit.

Rear arm bearings fail. Look for negative camber (/ \) on the back wheels.

Radiators fail. Check the cooling system very carefully, especially on diesels. Look for good coolant with good antifreeze strength. Diesels will pop head gaskets if the colling system is neglected; they often take the head with them.

Rust is not a problem except on some estates where the tailgate leaks and the tops of the sills in the double-skinned area by the C pillar suffers.

Look for heavy clutch action on 1.9TD diesels. It means the clutch is getting near time for replacement.

1.9TDs often have starting issues. Very easy to resolve, either duff glowplugs or perished leakoff pipes.

Hydraulics seem scary but are not. Don't worry overly about suspension issues, it's all easy to fix.

Virtually every other fault you may find will not be difficult to resolve.

Most will have some issues and as a result, can be picked up cheaply. Those issues are rarely showstoppers.

As a new owner, stay away from the Activa and V6 until you are at home with a lesser model They can come later when you become addicted...

[Cipher]

Cheers for the heads up jim, i remember seeing the strut thing a while ago on a car on ebay and tbh it looked really serious but after reading through the thread on here i guess it just looks worse than it actually is lol.

anyways another couple of questions,

what do they handle like on the corners?

is there a significant handling difference between the ones that have active suspension compared to mechanical?

also what sort of mpg figure should i be expecting from a 1.9td?

anyways as you might have guessed i like to step away from the crowd when buying cars, ive told a few folk about what im thinking of buying and i got a few sniggers but tbh i dont care what folk think, aslong as i like what im going to buy i will drive it everywhere with a smile on my face lol.

[CitroJim]

Hi Cipher,

Handling is good on all models. Obviously a normal non-Hydractive Xantia does not corner like an Activa (It has roll correcting suspension and is unbelievable) but they're extremely good, soft and comfy but without the downside that normally brings. Hydractive models (VSX/Exclusive) handle a bit better as the suspension firms up going round corners as it switches into hard mode.

I'd say they're very safe and it's hard to get into trouble with them. And of course they have the most excellent brakes thanks to the high pressure hydraulics. Try to get one with ABS though.

If a Xantia does not handle there is something amiss; easily fixed though.

I don't think you'll find anything to complain about but after driving one for a bit and then driving a tin-sprung car you'll surely notice a difference They say if you drive a hydraulic Citroen for 30 minutes then you'll never drive anything else; true of a lot of us here.

You may have had a few sniggers but when your mates want a lift, I'll bet they'll choose you and Xantia for comfort and ride

Fuel economy averages about 45mpg for the 1.9TD. It'll have a Bosch pump and that allows some scope for running on veg with no conversion work needed.

[red_dwarfers]

Poor Reliability?! Came from someone who doesn't agree with servicing/looking after their cars I imagine Take a look at my signature

Which horror stories about the suspension/engine/french cars in general have you heard? They always make me chuckle

With regards to trim levels, LX and SX are more than good enough for us young'uns. It was a treat for me to have leccy windows/mirrors/aircon/no squeeks etc
One point to bear in mind is that S1 Xantias (squarer front and straight cut bonnet) get better and better equipment levels as the years went on, as soon as you look at the S2's from '98 onwards you will find that equipment levels dropped back. Eg Davethrave (sorry to rub it in again mate :twisited) has an S2 Xantia LX without ABS whereas my older S1 LX has.

The main things have already been covered so I won't go there.

Me and a few of my mates tend to go on roadtrips every 3 or 4 months for a weekend. We've been on several now and its got to the point where there's no discussion about who's car we should take, its ALWAYS my Xantia Yet they still diss it?!

EDIT: Its good to see another young Xantia driver, I'm 19