Right, it's going!

[RichardW]

The final straw....looks the AC condenser has burst on our Picasso - AC no longer works and there is a suspicious wet patch on the front crossmember that I thought was PAS fluid, but no evidence the pipe is leaking.

I was resigned to dumping it this year anyway - our second son was born on 27th Feb , so now when the in-laws come up we need to take 2 cars to go out. So, on the look out for a C4 Grand Pic. I'm hoping to get one ex-motability from the local auction, but I'm a bit miffed about the 'private indemnity charge' which is roughly 10% of the hammer price, and £25 to notify DVLA of keeper change - all + VAT Saw a couple last week where the price was not abd, but by the time you;ve added those in, plus disposing of the current Xsara Pic, just going to a dealer and getting one off the forecourt with a part ex included looks a bit attractive. May even go petrol, given the premium diesels are attracting. Hope to avoid EGS, but many of the motability ones are EGS, and my Dad is getting on OK with his

Anyone want to buy a slightly battered 92k mile Xsara Picasso....

[citronut]

what sort of dosh are you after Richard,

we put a ne condenser in my daughters pissscasssoooo when we fitted the second hand lump,

condenser was about £100 quid then my freind de and re/gassed it for £40

your is a HDI aint it

regards malcolm

[Lighty]

Dont buy a C4 with air rear suspension, they are VERY problematic, unless you can get one already broken for cheap money

[Richard_C]

As far as I know the air suspension ones don't have room for a spare wheel. Lots don't come with a spare wheel. I suppose that was a cheap way to fix the Xsara Picasso stolen spare problem. I'm not keen on the "goo and puff" solution - a shredded tyre at the weekend up an Alp or on a Scottish Island spells ruined holiday. If you buy one without a spare but with space for one, I think you need about £200 for a steel wheel, cheap tyre and a 'basket'.

If you go the Citroen dealer route, the warranty is worth a bit: the 30 day exchange is full of T&C get outs, but would give an option if you bought a dog. End of March draws nigh - financial year end for some dealers so maybe they will be keen to shift some stock?

[RichardW]

Purchase of C4GP now arranged although I haven't seen it yet..... I don't know what it is about my Dad but he always seems to be in the right place when it comes to cars - knew we were looking, phones me up on Sat and says "trader down the end of the road has one, do you want me to have a look". Turns out to be a 1 owner, 4 year old VTR + HDi manual with barely a mark. Slightly above average miles at 50k, but then that means it's been used. Price was OK although compared to what I have been used to! Hoping to pick it up Easter weekend - if the tanker drivers are not on strike and I can get some diesel in it to drive it the 150 miles home....

So, Xantia is due MOT, so I will be getting shot of either a ratty 01 Xantia HDi 110 estate with no test (I hope not!), or a ratty 03 Xsara Pic with 4 months test (I hope so!). Watch this space....

Malc if you are interested in the Pic, it is an HDi SX, known faults at the moment: A/C condenser, off side CV joint noisy, just had a new MAF, not 100% but it's OK. 93k so coming up for cambelt change - suspected oil leak from either cam or crank as well. Appears to run a bit cold, so could probably do with a stat, and the temp sensor can be intermittent. It's got a few bangs and scrapes - not least the NSR door which has a big scrape in it (SWMBO vs gatepost ), and the N/S sill has had a patch welded on it. It's got 4 decent tyres on it though - Ved all seasons on the front (<20% worn) and Toyo Proxes on the back (<40% worn). Rear brakes probably need a look at as they occasionally scrape. In our time it's had new front arms, springs, dampers, wheel bearings (muiltple times!), TREs. New LP fuel pump, new drivers door lock, new windscreen (3 times - last only a few weeks ago ). Book is a bit more than £1k, but I don't feel it's worth more than £750 in its current state....

PS - it's rather a long way from you, being near Glasgow!

[citronut]

ok thanks Richard but i thoght it might be going for scrap money

so how about the ratty XANT whilst it has no MOT and will that be with a full tank of fuel

regards malcolm

[RichardW]

Almost unbeliveably the Xantia has scraped through the MOT (at 129k) without needing anything (immediate)

There are, garage reports, a fair few advisories, but I suspect I know about most of them. So, looks like it will be out with the bucket to wash the Picasso, and get it moved on, then look at some of the work the Xantia needs.

I was hoping for a bit more than scrap value Malc, but if it doesn't shift in a couple of weeks for more money, then scrap value may well take it away!

[CitroJim]

Almost unbeliveably the Xantia has scraped through the MOT (at 129k) without needing anything (immediate)

That's excellent news Richard Good old Xantia, eh?

[Chris570]

Almost unbeliveably the Xantia has scraped through the MOT (at 129k) without needing anything (immediate)

That's excellent news Richard Good old Xantia, eh?

That's because it's low mileage

[KennyW]

Richard,

My 1.9 TD xantia passed several tests without any problems in the 120,000 to 160,000 mileage range then there were only a couple of faults easily rectified until the accident.

Kenny