1998 Citroen Xantia 1.9TD threw cambelt damaged engine.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

fortunately I am divorced so I haven't got one to nag me

sorry couldn't resist.

[Xantidote]

very long three hour drive doing the 150 mile trip down to Portsmouth

That's hard luck Nigel, all that way for nothing - problem is that there are fewer and fewer Xantias around, so further to travel unless you're very lucky. Exasperating to then find car's not quite as described.

I looked at an HDI over in Yorkshire this summer which turned out not to be in that good condition, bodily. However, what did it for me was that the engine's oil level was hardly on the dipstick, and this in a very hilly area. I wonder how often the engine was starved of oil.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

martin,
I did buy a laptop for my sons birthday today whilst I was near the main Novatech outlet in Portsmouth, they are just about the only store that sells naked (no operating system) computers to the public these days.
That was one of the problems with the S2 in Portsmouth it was starved of oil, it started and ran ok but the dealer didnt bother to check the oil level, if I was a dealer and wanted to sell a car I would make sure that my cars all had oil in them, it sells cars.
However there seems to be quite a lot of fairly decent Mk1 xantias about and I'm getting quite tempted over an N-reg at the moment
of course it means starting all over again getting the car just right ready for the road decent brakes and discs front and back and no wobbly driveshafts, putting some gear addative in the box to aid gearchanges all the nitty gritty stuff, I am actually quite suprised at the amount of S2's that have damaged keyfobs when the Mk1 keyfobs seem to have survived a lot better.
something else to look out for is that the HDi's have a lock in front of the height adjuster to turn off the Airbags a lot of stealers have turned off the airbags to make it look like the system is working and disposed of the keys so you cannot turn the airbag system back on again. in my case with my health condition I regard this as a bonus but some people might not.
regards
Nigel.

[RichardW]

Intersting about Novatech, Nigel - I am in the market for a new laptop but everything is saddled with Win8 these days!!

The switch for the airbags only turns off the passenger airbag (for carrying a rear facing child seat), is operated by the main key, and should put the airbag light on to remind you that it is turned off (and hence an MOT fail)!

I don't know what people do to the keyfobs - both my original ones are still in-tact - indeed still on the same batteries they came on 6 years / 100k ago - mind you, I suppose I only lock it twice a day....

[myglaren]

Intersting about Novatech, Nigel - I am in the market for a new laptop but everything is saddled with Win8 these days!!

The switch for the airbags only turns off the passenger airbag (for carrying a rear facing child seat), is operated by the main key, and should put the airbag light on to remind you that it is turned off (and hence an MOT fail)!

I don't know what people do to the keyfobs - both my original ones are still in-tact - indeed still on the same batteries they came on 6 years / 100k ago - mind you, I suppose I only lock it twice a day....

Had a quick check of the Novotech site and couldn't see any naked laptops.
I wanted one a year ago but couldn't get them to wipe Windows.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Richard Ive sent you a fairly detailed PM about the laptops. when you get on the homepage for Novatech click laptops select the one your interested in and then click customise (blue button on the left of the page) and a list appears of choices when you come to operating systems you can choose no operating system (naked).
hope this helps.
regards nigel.

[Xaccers]

Good ol´Novatech. They were the legit computer store back when I lived in Hampshire (although they did go through a period of selling laptops with low end speakers about 10 years ago). The not so legit computer store was M2 (M squared) who had a habbit of shutting down and opening under new management. They used to ask no questions back when RAM was really expensive and often stolen from businesses.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Don't tell me you lived in Pompey to Xac?
we had 27 years down there.
boy the roads are busy now though. the M27 approach road is 8 lanes wide.
I used to live right next to it when it was four lanes wide glad I moved really.
Novatech have moved to Porchester now they are in the same road as the old Vosper
thorneycroft trainning centre was, before MRS T kindly shut it down, midd plumbing aprentiship.
Nigel.

[Xaccers]

Born in St Marys hospital, lived in Tipner for a few years then moved to Purbrook.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

may parents lived in Purbrook and I was born in st Marys to, small world eh?
we Lived in Bognor after that then moved to pompey copnor, just round the corner from Baffins Pond
(tennis court end behind hayling Ave)
I went to Langstone junior school and then City Boys school.
when I left home I lived in weacock farm then moved to summerstown, then buckland, then hilsea, then stamshaw,and finally bottom of copnor road before moving to Northants. I spent my boy racer days in pompey in a Mk5 cortina and a CB radio on the view point.

[Xaccers]

I made the mistake of buying a house in Weacock farm. The kids around there torched my first Xantia.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

awww no it wasnt a very nice place to live at all thats why I left to go back to pompey
Where my Cavalier was torched by vandals which led to me buying my first Citroen a BX 1.4 petrol.
god it would be worth an absolute fortune now. I saw one on car and classic a couple of days ago for £3,000
it was the only place available council flat wise in those days.
I used to cycle the 14 miles nearly every day to portsmouth and back again.
boy I slept well in those days. I think I have been a gluton for punishment ever since.
I bought a light blue Mk1 cavalier once from a chap in weacock farm.
I consider it fortunate it still had wheels on it to be honest