Recommendations for my car change?

[Stickyfinger]

Agree.....history and condition.....but I will add a few

Under the bonnet, lower inner wing, left side....that is where the electric suspension pump is.....check for leaks/weeping and if the unions have been "opened"
Pump it up, check the rear pipes and sphere mounts, you can see under from the ground.
Check the front struts for leaks
Check the steering rack end seals
If it "clunks" on full lock...it is the lower ball joint, not expensive (not like a drive shaft, a single "clunk" felt thru the steering wheel) don't let that put you off an otherwise good car.
Check Drive shaft gaiters

[SaabC5]

1st thing i'd get done is a tranny fluid change. This "sealed for life" is BS, all transmissions need fresh oil to maintain them. Also make sure the climate is nice and cool, theres a history of the large bore pipe going to the condenser cracking with heat. The replacement is a revised part to negate it happening again. By the way there's more room in them than you think, i've had mine 4 up with two people in the back who were 6' and 6' 8", they both commented they were surprised how much room they had.

[Lex Andrews]

Where are the drain points on the manual transmission? My local garage has stated that it's sealed (which I thought was a bit strange).

[SaabC5]

There has to be a plug somewhere, how else would you fill the gearbox with oil if you had a driveshaft seal leak oil? They do put them in strange convoluted positions sometimes however. It wouldn't surprise me if it was on top of the tranny underneath the airbox.

[mad_at_french_cars]

Agree.....history and condition.....but I will add a few

After my latest C4 purchase, I'd be of the opinion that history means sweet FA.... It's got loads of *dealer* service history, receipts, yet some jobs clearly haven't been done. I know this because, for example, the air filter and pollen filter had dates written on them in marker pen when they were last changed - in 2009! Both should have been done more than once in the dealer services it's had since.

History can also be "missed". Like the history for my C4 that would have told me it had already had a clutch change, when? Who knows, because all the records of that are gone, but it was replaced with a "cheap non-genuine sh1tty clutch kit" (TM Savoy Malcolm) which failed again at 86k miles. I'd presume this means it's been thrashed to f**k by at least some of it's previous owners..

So, has it really had those oil and filter changes the service record says it has had? Did it really have a timing belt and tensioners?... who knows..

I'd say go off condition, cleanliness, and check that *everything* works - all the minor switches, and things you might not care about. Download an owners handbook and make a list of stuff to check if it helps. If all the accessories, work, especially on a Citroen, it shows the previous keepers have cared about it and had things repaired rather than let it fade away slowly. I'm sure many of us have heard "oh the AC just needs a re-gas", and such like, when it's lies..

The rest of the advice you've had, especially Sticky's list, is great, but just because it's got a load of bills, don't presume all is OK. I've been bitten by that..

[daviemck2006]

Mike, my c4 vts clutch was juddering at 54k, one of the reasons for its sale.

For the op looking to buy a car look at the tyres. Those who do not care about their cars and run them on a shoestring just replace them with a budget one as it needs one at a time, so will have 4 different tyres of varying wear and unknown makes. Those who look after their cars will change an axle at a time and often a big name. Folk like me, in the middle, replace tyres an axle at a time, usually the same budget/mid range tyres from the same manufacturer. I don't mind budgets but must be the same across the axle.

[Moderator] Some unhelpful posts were deleted following this one.

[rmunns]

I bought the car today. Other than a few scratches, it's in lovely condition. 400km drive home, seems good, nothing concerning. But acceleration, for 160hp diesel car, doesn't seem very good. My 'old' VW Passat 140hp diesel (for which I hardly ever had a good word) was much quicker.