Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

mikesporting wrote:
Hell Razor5543 wrote:Mike, without taking the mickey, ask a Citroen C5 aficionado to show you around theirs, what things to look out for, might let you have a drive (so you can see how it feels), and (if possible) to come along with you when you look at one. Dealers love a newbie punter, as they can big up the car without letting on about the problems. A knowledgeable punter knows what to look for, and how much it costs to fix problems.

It is worth having a drive in one, to see how you like the ride. My cousin, Robert, doesn't like the ride in my Xantia, as it makes him feel slightly seasick, but Tamara loves it (her of the back problems).

I don't know any C5 aficionado's :?
If you were to post up your rough location, and ask nicely, I feel sure that there will be forum members willing to help.
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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by myglaren »

mikesporting wrote:
Hell Razor5543 wrote:Mike, without taking the mickey, ask a Citroen C5 aficionado to show you around theirs, what things to look out for, might let you have a drive (so you can see how it feels), and (if possible) to come along with you when you look at one. Dealers love a newbie punter, as they can big up the car without letting on about the problems. A knowledgeable punter knows what to look for, and how much it costs to fix problems.

It is worth having a drive in one, to see how you like the ride. My cousin, Robert, doesn't like the ride in my Xantia, as it makes him feel slightly seasick, but Tamara loves it (her of the back problems).

I don't know any C5 aficionado's :?
Give us your approximate location and someone here in your vicinity may well step forward.

If it isn't too far away from you there is a rally in September that you could turn up at and ask there and most likely be offered the chance to drive one or two of them.
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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by mikesporting »

northern_mike wrote:
Hell Razor5543 wrote: It is worth having a drive in one, to see how you like the ride. My cousin, Robert, doesn't like the ride in my Xantia, as it makes him feel slightly seasick,
This is a good point. One of the reasons I've given up on Xantias is that Mrs Northern_Mike feels sick in them within about a mile of setting off. She never had this problem in a C5 though, maybe the "damping" is better or more like a normal car.
When I find one that is reasonably priced i'll take it for a test drive and see how I like it :)
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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by Mandrake »

northern_mike wrote:
Hell Razor5543 wrote: It is worth having a drive in one, to see how you like the ride. My cousin, Robert, doesn't like the ride in my Xantia, as it makes him feel slightly seasick,
This is a good point. One of the reasons I've given up on Xantias is that Mrs Northern_Mike feels sick in them within about a mile of setting off. She never had this problem in a C5 though, maybe the "damping" is better or more like a normal car.
If its a major issue it's possible to tweak the damping of a Hydractive Xantia in soft mode to eliminate the "float" while still leaving a very good ride, I did it on my first (2 litre VSX) Xantia for a while although I eventually changed it back because I prefer a little bit of float..

Remove the large steel pipes from both Hydractive control blocks. Remove the plugs that the pipes go into with a large socket. Inside are two damper valves that will then lift out, one on each side - they're just like the valves in a sphere neck but they can be removed.

The centre bypass hole in the damper valves is 1.1mm. Solder the bypass hole on each side closed with normal electrical solder, (a high wattage or gas soldering iron is needed) then drill the hole back out to 0.9mm with a precision drill then refit the damper valves, plugs and pipes. Job done. 0.2mm is all it takes.

The soft mode will no longer have any float or overshoot and will feel more secure but will still ride very well by steel sprung standards. The hard mode is unaffected. Should be enough to satisfy anyone that suffers sea sickness in a Citroen.
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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by bxzx16v »

Some good advice regards the C5 from everyone, I've had two a 2.0 hdi and a 2.2 hdi both series one cars with over 100k on them when bought privately for a very good price, never had any serious issues with either. My wife ran a renault laguna 2 at the same time as my C5's and tbh I preferred that myself. We had a laguna 3 after that and we were very happy with that, this would be my choice at the sort of price range your looking at with the 2.0 dci (150bhp) engine, get one with fsh and it will serve you well, I'd have another one in a blink.

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Post by daviemck2006 »

I paid less than a grand for mine, it needed two tyres, a handbrake cable, two track rod ends, and a rear radius arm bearing for its MOT, when I bought it 3 months ago it had 2 months test. I got part worn tyres from a mate then decided to use the spare and a new tyre, and I did some of the repairs myself and a garage did some. It has cost just over £1300 now. I bought it unseen off eBay, but had foned the seller before I bid for it. I would value my one privately at maybe £1800 if I got lucky. However this car is a keeper for me, it's my second c5 I have previously owned a 2.2 Hdi which I also loved, and was reliable, and I regretted selling it.
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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by mikesporting »

bxzx16v wrote:Some good advice regards the C5 from everyone, I've had two a 2.0 hdi and a 2.2 hdi both series one cars with over 100k on them when bought privately for a very good price, never had any serious issues with either. My wife ran a renault laguna 2 at the same time as my C5's and tbh I preferred that myself. We had a laguna 3 after that and we were very happy with that, this would be my choice at the sort of price range your looking at with the 2.0 dci (150bhp) engine, get one with fsh and it will serve you well, I'd have another one in a blink.

Mark
Something like this????

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by mikesporting »

myglaren wrote:
mikesporting wrote:
Hell Razor5543 wrote:Mike, without taking the mickey, ask a Citroen C5 aficionado to show you around theirs, what things to look out for, might let you have a drive (so you can see how it feels), and (if possible) to come along with you when you look at one. Dealers love a newbie punter, as they can big up the car without letting on about the problems. A knowledgeable punter knows what to look for, and how much it costs to fix problems.

It is worth having a drive in one, to see how you like the ride. My cousin, Robert, doesn't like the ride in my Xantia, as it makes him feel slightly seasick, but Tamara loves it (her of the back problems).

I don't know any C5 aficionado's :?
Give us your approximate location and someone here in your vicinity may well step forward.

If it isn't too far away from you there is a rally in September that you could turn up at and ask there and most likely be offered the chance to drive one or two of them.

I'm currently in Leyland, Lancashire. Although in a few weeks I'll be moving just a place just outside of Wells, Somerset.
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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by citroenc5mad »

I owned this car for 2 years it has just done over 106-107,000 miles and I know it has been serviced every 6,000 miles and has new tyres all round in the last 6 months, new brakes all round top discs and pads, and it also benifits from a new water and cambelt change which got done just after I purchased it from the same garage, since the cambelt and water pump had been fitted its covered 25-30,000 miles it averaged around 78.6 mpg if driven carefully and that's how I drove it, its at a local garage and I only changed the car because I wanted to upgrade, I have added a link and see what you think.

http://www.peterandersoncars.co.uk/used ... 8086453987" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hope it helps

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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by bxzx16v »

Nice model the dynamique S, I had the estate / tourer one. Very underrated cars.

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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by mikesporting »

citroenc5mad wrote:I owned this car for 2 years it has just done over 106-107,000 miles and I know it has been serviced every 6,000 miles and has new tyres all round in the last 6 months, new brakes all round top discs and pads, and it also benifits from a new water and cambelt change which got done just after I purchased it from the same garage, since the cambelt and water pump had been fitted its covered 25-30,000 miles it averaged around 78.6 mpg if driven carefully and that's how I drove it, its at a local garage and I only changed the car because I wanted to upgrade, I have added a link and see what you think.

http://www.peterandersoncars.co.uk/used ... 8086453987" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hope it helps

Dan
Thanks for your help Dan! I were originally interested in a 1.6 HDI but after some of the replies I have been put off buying one....
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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by mikesporting »

bxzx16v wrote:Nice model the dynamique S, I had the estate / tourer one. Very underrated cars.

Mark
It does look a lovely car, slightly over my budget though....
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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by mikesporting »

Morning guys,

Does this car have the same engine issues as the C5 1.6?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by citroenc5mad »

I would presume so being the same engine, however the engines foes need to pull such a heavy car around so maybe it doesn't suffer with them sort of problems, I'm not 100% sure so don't quote me tho.

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Re: Advice on buying a C5 1.6 HDI

Post by micky707 »

They use that engine in many cars inc the Mini, Focus, Peugeots and a few others. I bought my 2.0L HDI 138 on a 56 plate last year at auction, it only had 47k on it with full history, and is a dream to drive and has a massive amount of space inside. The one thing with these cars is they like motorway cruising and not continually used for short trips. It has been very reliable and is cheap to run and I average between 48 and 52mpg which will do me.
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