Do you want an Activa?

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 10 Oct 2008, 22:30

Cheap at twice the price Paul!

Andrew

Unread post by **citroenxm** » 10 Oct 2008, 22:40

If cash was no problem my shopping list would be: CX 22, Xantia HDi he has, Xantia V6 he has, and the activa he has! And consider the CX DTR 2 with S1 block ..... he has......

Rgds
Paul

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 10 Oct 2008, 22:56

That blue diesel Cx with a bad case of colour coordination was hanging
around ebay for ages and IIRC struggled to make 250quid a short while
back. It's a bit of a dog, with a badly done respray that's bubbling through
suggesting god know's what underneath and is still running on rubbish
metric rims and it sounds like all Savoy have done is take it from London
and quadruple the pricetag as it's still spares or repair!

I may be totally wrong, but that's just what it looks like on face value.
Everything there looks very expensive and waiting to be haggled down.

Andrew

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 10 Oct 2008, 23:51

You blokes need to shift somewhere it doesn't stay damp for so much of the year.

And once you pass the local coppers (albeit heading in the other direction) speed is yours to choose.

Imagine an acre of rural land with ramshackle house - all for for £6K, located five hours from Sydney... Just one of the bargains at present. You'll spend more building a decent shed!

Regards, Adam.

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 11 Oct 2008, 00:00

Sure sounds great! Yes please.

The only problem is, all my fleet are here, and I imagine the cost of
taking them ALL somewhere nice and dry would cripple me, even if the
property didn't!

Andrew

Sl4yer · Unread post by **Sl4yer** » 11 Oct 2008, 00:04

I want an Activa SO much, but several factors stand in the way:

1. My girlfriend has dodgy hips, and wants a 4x4 (probably an old RAV4 Auto) to use for work. She's a social worker, and has to lug kids into the back of the ZX, which isn't the easiest task with a 3-door car.

2. I LOVE my ZX to bits, for all it's faults, and don't want to part with it until it dies.

3. I'm not a home mechanic. I examine my cars, and usually know what is actually wrong when I take it to the garage, but don't do much work myself. Saying that, I expect my ZX, or any car of a similar age, to cost an average of £500 a year to keep going. I always think it's a bargain, rather than paying £250 / month for a new Eurobox.

4. We have neither space or cash for another car anyway. Although I might try to convince her to take a trip to Burnley tomorrow!

I just hope there's still some good ones left when we can afford to own one. Unfortunately, the continued excellent health of the ZX means it may be a while!

James

PS After a week driving Father's 2000 Laguna, I can't wait to drive the ZX again!

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 11 Oct 2008, 01:41

Hey, I'm not forcing anyone to buy an Activa you know!

I'm just sitting here online every day watching them being broken up
needlessly (well, from my point of view) by a never ending stream of
grim hatchet men.

If the figure of 1224 for all Activas registered in the Uk in TOTAL is
correct, what are the current odds/availability 7 years down the line
since production stopped?

I personally know of at least a dozen that I've directly seen being
scrapped (I haven't scrapped them BTW) or spoken to people who
have done so ON TOP OF the daily reminders on ebay where I've lost
count. Pugparts205 or whatever he trades as these days, must've
despatched dozens...

His whole business enterprise is geared around getting Activas and Xm's
in and getting rid as fast as possible anything not needed, to feed the
demand from people prepared to pay for someone to do the conversion
and guarantee the work.

Although I work a few hundred yards from DVLA, I don't know anyone
who could look up and check how many still exist now.

Andrew

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 11 Oct 2008, 01:56

990 series1 cars
234 series2 cars

1224 car of all types

Figures thanks to a posting from a 2 post contributor here 194bhp.

If we have a show of hands from those of you in the audience who are
happily Activa'd, am I guessing we'd be into a handful or dozens? I know
some of us are guilty of a bit of hoarding, but this would take a perceived
pool of cars to around a 1200!

Some will have been crashed along the way as their age and odds stack
up against them, so what I'm surmising to be alive and working Activae
must be 2/3 this; would this be fair?

OK, factor in the Puggerised hit squads mentioned earlier; and they've
been thorough in their relentless quest to go faster and we arrive at a
quickly diminishing number of what?

600...

500...

400?

Oh, and you fancy one with a sunroof? In my experience 1 in 3 as Citroen
in this era went mad for AC as a default option over a sunroof!

You want a red one? Don't we all!!!

Andrew

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 11 Oct 2008, 02:13

So, maybe that s2 in Burney that I reckoned was overpriced, is a really
rarer version of the already rare if they only registered 234 of them!!

Top money though for something they probably bought at auction or on
ebay for half that price and it still has moiley wheels and bumpers that
look like they'd need some of that XantiaMan583 magic!?

Andrew

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 11 Oct 2008, 08:24

I think we need an Activa register, and a proper portfolio and history to raise the profile of these rare variants of a Xantia. They are special and very unique but there is so little info out there, there are enough people on here to get a website going, and i would definatly help up.

I'll be doing my bit to raise their profile. Hoping to run up Santa Pod this year and maybe a track day 8)

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 11 Oct 2008, 11:11

Mind, don't forget there is Activanet which I'm loath to mention really as
the footfall there is one or maybe two visitors a day from my regular visits.
To raise awareness an area on this site would certainly get the passers by
though I'm only too uncomfortably aware that some of my half jesting
comments due to the anger and frustration I feel about Activa engine
harvesting will give contributors here or in an adjacent section the 'hump'.

The fact isn't lost on me either that some of the Saxo fraternity have Activa
blood on their hands too. I cannot right or even fight the economics of this
situation but can try to raise awareness of the sad thinning in numbers.
Those who aren't bothered about Activae and don't see why I should feel so
angry to see this happening will just wonder what all the fuss about just
'another Xantia' is about!

It certainly seems on a daily basis here that the Citroen part of the forum
is mostly about just Xantiae where a good 75% seems to be written about
them and consequently a collective interest and enthusiasm for Activae
would be expected but it mustn't be forgotten that the forum is for ALL
Citroens!

So, without ramming them down people's throats, the immediate thought
I'd suggest is a stikky with road tests and owners views somewhere with
possibly an Activa owners area such as the Bx 16v forum where you have
show you own one to get access to specific areas though tbh, I'm not sure
what purpose this skulduggery would serve unless it was plans to rescue,
transport and store a car; I guess that's what the personal messenger here
is for anyhow?

Finally, a very good resource in the French Activa club has a lot of info and
tests etc, but the French language is a bit of a barrier to many!!

Andrew

Quackers · Unread post by **Quackers** » 11 Oct 2008, 18:18

* puts hand up, Series 2 Activa owner.

I did have a Red Series 1 too with Sunroof and AC!, before this one, next owner had an accident in it this year, so thats another one bye bye.

Defo need an Activa Register.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 11 Oct 2008, 19:12

superloopy1 wrote:Could we set up a register indexed by RP number?

Let's see who's first on the list

Yes, I'm about to set up an Activa section in the Members Only area of the forum.

I'll start an Activa Register thread there. I'm also about to commence work on a buyers guide.

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 11 Oct 2008, 19:21

I was just about to post the fledgling start for a Register too!
Why do you think I've been quiet for 5 minutes!!

I hold my horses then!!

Andrew

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 11 Oct 2008, 20:13

Would it be worth having an Activa tab as a sticky on the main Citroen
section with road tests like the one's I referenced here earlier and Jim's
buying guide which I'm sure will be well detailed referenced etc!!?

Jim, do you need any pictures, tests etc as I've blagged anything and
everything Activa on my travels around the net and ebay and have
brochures, tests and Citroen literature?

How are pdf's attached as downloads?

A further thought; how about combining into one the how to post pictures
using Photobucket and the shorter URL links to reduce the number of entries
at the top top of the main page?

Andrew