New Citroen Owner

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malawich
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New Citroen Owner

Post by malawich »

First post on the forum which relates to the first French car I have ever owned. I am due to pick up my new Citroen C5 x7 2008 tomorrow. It has covered 120,000 miles and has been serviced regularly. I have decided to purchase this on finance to get the extra cover if something does go wrong, (over 3 years at £80.00 a month, cheaper than some people's mobile phone bills these days :shock: ). I know some people may see this as a silly decision but cashflow and a failed head gasket in my last car, xmas and a holiday has put a dent in my ever so bare finances.

I estimate I am going to cover 22,000 - 30,000 miles a year, this is mainly due to a large commute.

I know that with a diesel on other models, 120,000 miles is nothing really and is more akin to a petrol engine with half the mileage. I have only owned Japanese cars previously and the only knowledge I have of French cars is that they can be unreliable.

Obviously, the purchase has been agreed and the finance signed so no going back now.

What I really want to know is, have I made a good purchase. The car does appear to be well looked after and everything appears to work and the engine and gearbox do pull well. How reliable are these cars and is there any high mileage examples on the forum.
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Well you've certainly come to the right place. There is a lot of info here, but you do need to be aware of some of the key areas to watch out for:

Steering Racks - almost guaranteed to go due to rusty pinions deteriorating the pinion seal.
Wiper Motor can be an issue (these are both independent ECU based motors - no linkage)
Front suspension Struts can be a cause.
Electric Window Regulator wire can rust and snap.

They are generally good cars, and they like cruising on long journeys, so you will certainly help with regular particle filter regenerations.

Anyway there are a good many of us here with X7s if you need help.

I did put together an X7 poll a while ago for members to record their X7 woes, take a look to get an idea of common failures:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=59630&hilit=poll
Please Don't PM Me For Technical Help

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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

Hello, and :welc: to the Forum. Do you know if your new wheels have hydractive suspension? If it does, be prepared to enjoy a nice, smooth ride.
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malawich
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by malawich »

Yes they do have the Hydractive suspension. Part of me thinks I must have been daft to finance the car but then again it may not be bad in the long run if it allows me to save up the money to buy a newer C5 outright if I like it.
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

Then you will have one of the smoothest rides of modern day cars. There are issues (as Marc said, the steering rack is a major one), but if you stay on top of things you will have a good car that you may well want to keep.
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by Paul-R »

Welcome from me as well.

At 120,000 miles you also need to be aware that the particle filter (DPF or FAP) might need replacing before too long. OTOH it might be another 50,000 miles if the car has been well treated. The particle filter is something that other diesel cars have so it's not a Citroen only problem. It's probably already had the Eolys topped up but it might be worth while finding out if at all possible. Eolys is something that Peugeot/Citroen use to help the DPF work more efficiently.
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by bobins »

Being a 2008 model, it's a fair bet that your steering rack has already been replaced once (if not twice :roll: ) already, and hopefully it will have been replaced with one that's been modified by a decent steering rack reconditioner - so you may be OK with that one. There are preventative steps you can take to slow down the deterioration of the racks - it's the pinion shaft that rusts out and causes leaks - but you need basic tools and an understanding of what you're doing..... and a pot of grease :-D What engine and gearbox is it ? 2.0Hdi with a manual gearbox ?? Auto box ?? If a manual gearbox, then the dual mass flywheel can wear out causing a vibration and noise - but at 120k miles, yours has either already been replaced or the previous owner(s) were gentle on it. If an auto box then it would benefit from an oil change. If you hear a clonk coming from the front when going over bumps or 'sleeping policemen' then it'll be an anti-roll bar drop link. Not a difficult job to do or particularly expensive, but make sure they're replaced with very good quality ones or you'll be replacing them again by the time you've driven to the bottom of the road :lol:
I seem to recall a few of our foreign correspondants on here have cars approaching or exceding 200k kms - so it would seem they can keep going quite well.... if you're prepared to keep replacing the odd bit (or 2, or 3, or,um......) that fails. :)
Sadly no longer a C5 owner :(
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

If you were to post up your VIN the Moderators can read it off from the Citroen Service system, and let you know what your car had when it came out of the factory. Don't worry about security; there is a system that obscures and VIN posted on the forum, but the Moderators can still read it.
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malawich
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by malawich »

Thanks guys. I guess this another reason I bought the car on finance. If it does go wrong I am covered with the deposit that was paid on my credit card and with the finance company as well. I do hope it is a good car. I guess it is just the same thing with cars, they either work of they don't haha.
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by admiral51 »

Hi malawich welcome to the FCF family, we all have our problems as all families do but mainly here its only issues with our cars :).

The C5 X7 is a wonderful car, i will get another one when i can gather some decent readies, and i say that whilst having a 2008 C5 X7 for 7 years that has now kicked me really hard where it hurts most.

Best bit of advice i can give is if in doubt ask, someone here will know the answer or who to ask to get the answer, no such thing as a silly question, though you may get the odd silly answer :)
A lot of members have a Lexia/Diagbox diagnostic machine so have a look through the location thread and see who is close to you, i can assure you tea and biscuits are the most common currency when it comes to a diagnostic session, much more enjoyable than a garage.
Most of all enjoy your new car, because as its French your new family will become your best friends :rofl2:
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by Bick »

Hi and welcome. To be fair Citroen fair better than the likes of Ford, Vauxhall, BMW in the real world reliability sakes although i still think the Jap stuff is more reliable the gap is not as big as you might think.

For the money you can get some really good Citroen vehicles for little money compared to other brands. Ive owned Citroens for many years now and do think the C5 is a brilliant car.
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by admiral51 »

I totally agree with you Bick
Apart from an 18 month spell when i had a 1998 Focus as a get me to work and back car ( replaced a xsara ) i have had citroen since 2007 and my son likes the C5 that much he part exed his BMW 5 series in for one :)
We now have 3 working citroens, a Xantia, a C4, a C5 2012 X7 and a very sick 2008 C5 X7 :)
malawich
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Re: New Citroen Owner

Post by malawich »

Thanks guys. I think it is a bit of an old adage that they are as bad as they say they are. The good thing is at least I am covered by the finance and the credit card if something goes wrong. I do hope it is alright as I need a reliable diesel for my 500 or so mile a week commute.
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