buying an Xantia Diesel

Sid_the_Squid · Post by **Sid_the_Squid** » 23 Jul 2009, 17:21

jgra1 there was defiantly something wrong with your car, I suspect a stuck/broken electro valve, or dead diodes, preventing soft mode from engaging, I'm lucky enough to have a V6 with really good condition suspension, in soft mode nothing comes close, in hard mode its slightly harder than a normal Xantia.

I'm sure anyone here with a hydractive Xantia will verify just how soft they are when working correctly.

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 23 Jul 2009, 17:59

ok, I wish I had kept it now

I sold it on ebay and delivered it to France

why the nice gent wanted a third V6, and RHD at that, is beyond me..

It definately was harder in sport mode, for what it's worth

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 23 Jul 2009, 18:23

jgra1 wrote:ok, I wish I had kept it now

I sold it on ebay and delivered it to France why the nice gent wanted a third V6, and RHD at that, is beyond me..

It definately was harder in sport mode, for what it's worth

All sport mode does it switch it to hard sooner.
Did you replace the hydractive centre spheres front and back?

I think this is demonstrating that while not neccesarily more complex, there are more components to the VSX and above specs with regards to the suspension, so when buying second hand, there is likely to be more remedial work that needs doing (ie a few more spheres that may need replacing)

THELABMAN · Post by **THELABMAN** » 27 Jul 2009, 00:03

I'd say the best spec for the majority of folk has to be an SX, you get 4 electric windows and both mirrors are electric, they also usually come with the built in sun blind in the parcel shelf after that the choice is series 1 with sunroof or series 2 with air con, I'd opt for the series 2 as the extra hedroom is a god send as the sunroof does rob a bit of head space.

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 27 Jul 2009, 00:27

Mk1's also came with A/C and no sunroof.

KP · Post by KP » 27 Jul 2009, 13:33

In my experience the electrics aren't so bad between SX and LX varients so where available get an SX with AC and just make sure the AC has recently been vacumed and refilled and you should be fine really and use it every now and again to keep it in good nick, i used to kick mine in when coasting down slip roads or to roundabouts so that it was using the braking energy of the engine and not the normal running power

On the engine side the 1.9td is a very good engine and with the fuelling played about with a little and the boost can be quite potent, not as good as the 2.1td or the 110hdi but much more economical when running on veg and more proven in reliability and easy enough to work on

red_dwarfers · Post by **red_dwarfers** » 27 Jul 2009, 17:36

THELABMAN wrote:I'd say the best spec for the majority of folk has to be an SX, you get 4 electric windows and both mirrors are electric, they also usually come with the built in sun blind in the parcel shelf after that the choice is series 1 with sunroof or series 2 with air con, I'd opt for the series 2 as the extra hedroom is a god send as the sunroof does rob a bit of head space.

You've got to be careful as the specs of the comfort levels do change throughout the years for example, my '97 S1 LX has electric mirrors, ABS, AirCon, front leccy windows and body coloured bumpers. Specs changed yearly!
Another example. My LX has aircon, yet a VSX I know of doesn't.

Krede · Post by **Krede** » 27 Jul 2009, 18:40

This Xantia is my first car that has air-conditioning... and now I don't think I will ever buy a car without it. Unless it was a sportscar etc..

Post by **citroenxm** » 27 Jul 2009, 22:36

Air con WAS an option UP TO 1996, were it was available INSTEAD of a sunroof..

Then in MAY 1997, as the Run out of S1 cars - they upped the spec, as mentioned, and LX got upgraded to elec mirrors and fog lights... then SX got a Rear spoiler and Air Con instead of sunroof... and VSX got Leather as standard... then the S2 came along....

Early cars could have Sunroofs and Air con, and then in the S2 cars, you'll get on the EXCLUSIVE only, Sunroof and Air con strangely...

My preference, is Air Con instead of sunroof, as in the Xantias, I find the roof a bad fitting on most models, and get a LOT of wind noise... and the loss of headroom..

Paul

rmunns · Post by **rmunns** » 28 Jul 2009, 22:37

If fuel costs are a concern then I recommend the Hdi engines. My 90HP (September 2000, under 40000miles) is doing 56mpg urban/rural. I drive with little enthusiasm for performance, however. On a long motorway trip (like from here in SW France back to Brum) I would expect an easy 60mpg.

Krede · Post by **Krede** » 29 Jul 2009, 08:03

I think if fuel is the a concern COST must be a concern as well.. In that case the 1.9 td is the one to have.

One thing no note though..... In Germany they have recently introduced a law that prohibits cars that does not comply with the Euro 2 emission norm from entering almost every major city.
Here in Denmark the government is attempting to pass a similar ruling, but as the Danish cars are usually 5-8 years older than in other EU countries do to the highest taxation on cars in the world, they have so far only been able to pass such a law for lorries and busses... but I'm sure its just a matter of time. It wouldn't surprise me if something like it was on the way in the UK as well.

The HDI's are Euro 2 norm cars.... where's I pretty pretty certain that the rest of the diesel engines in the Xantias are very very NOT.

falling-out-with-my-car · Post by **falling-out-with-my-car** » 01 Aug 2009, 16:03

Chevron Terry,

I'm not as experienced as many of the others on this site, but I am learnning, as and when when the car needs repairing.

can I recommend that whatever you buy in the range of Xantia's that you spend half a day wax oiling the under side particularly at the rear end.

this helps to look after many of the exposed suspension pipes and kills the existing rust to after a good brush down with an old soft wire brush.

you are probably fortunate to live in a nice hot place that will melt the wax in the can for you instead of putting the can on an old camping stove with the lid off to liquify it so it can be poured.

check for history the more the better, and particular atrtention to the changing of suspension spheres. if the ride is rock hard avoid buying the car it hasnt been looked after.

under the bonnet there will be a black square tank in the right hand top corner make sure it is not full to the brimm with what looks like brake fluid, I have seen lots of these for sale.
the fluid should be bright green and you probably wont be able to get your middle finger down to its level.

a strip of blotting paper about the length of a piece of A4 paper dipped into the resoviour will confirm the colour of the fluid.

there is a site www.honestjohn.co.uk that does a pretty good summary on the xantia this guy actually likes citroens and he's not one of those people who dismisses the suspension as troublesome. ( he must have owned one at some point).

other than that good luck and enjoy you xantia I will never part with my estate 1.9 turbo SX. 1998 Mk2.

the Mk2 comes with a catalytic converter but I had mine removed an unecessary expense and fitted a middle exaust pipe from a Mk1 xantia.
my local exaust center sourced the pipe and fitted it.

the Mk2 has an exaust re-burn system but I dont think is saves any fuel to be honest. its more of an enviromental thing.

estate rear doors have a nack of letting water in so the boot floor could be wet, its an easy fix so dont be to dicouraged if you find one of theses.
the rear screen seal is designed to let water pass behind it and drain down throught the rear door to drain out at the bottom, I bought some black panel glue in a tube £13.00 and used a silicone gun tom run a tiny bead of sealant along the lower screen seal, it is almost invisible and it does a good job of stopping the leaks.

Airbag plugs can become twichy under the seats alowing the airbag warnning light to flash, many solve this by unnplugging them and plugging them back in again with the battery disconnected.

Personally from lives little experiences I dislike airbags and have just found out how to disconnect them on this forum.

If the car you test drive tends to wobble between 40 and 50 mph expect a £85 bill for a new Driveshaft.

stand back from the rear of the vechicle and make sure the top of the rear wheels are not cambering inward towards the inside of the wheelarch. this could mean that your rear radius arm bearings are on the way out and are quite expensive to have done in a garage.

the rear wheels should be upright.

lift and lower the suspension it should rise and fall quietly.

check for a spare wheel a lot of xantia's seem to have this missing because the spare wheel tray under the car rots away.

it is worth noting that this can be re-built with fibreglass as I have done.

other than that check out Honest Johns website, its pretty good.

best of luck and we all hope to see you back again soon. oh and don't try to take your Mk2 xantia over to the USA the cars carry a warnning under the bonnet unsuitable for use in the USA.

Nigel. $\:D/$