Farewell Citroens.....(for now)

Mandrake · Unread post by **Mandrake** » 08 Jun 2009, 10:06

Hi All,

After four years of Xantia ownership (and a few years of GS ownership many years ago, and general involvement with Citroens) I have to hang up the reigns for now and I will very shortly be selling the Xantia and will once again be Citroen-less.

I wanted to thank everyone on the forum who has helped me over the years, this forum has been a fountain of knowledge and a lot of fun to participate in and I'm really glad I discovered it back in 2005 before I bought my Xantia so I could get myself up to speed on the quirks and gotchas of a Xantia before buying one.

This was back in the days when it was still the Andyspares forum, and I was alerted to the strut failure issue before purchasing thanks to this forum, and was able to use the information to get the seller to replace dodgy strut tops before buying...

I was one of the many who gasped with horror when the Andyspares forum closed down unexpectedly, and breathed a sigh of relief when it was resurrected as frenchcarforum. Thanks to those involved with the rescue and ongoing running of the current forum.

Special thanks to a few of you who went out of your way to help me by doing things like sending the occasional small parts by post to a Citroen-parts-starved New Zealand - you know who you are.

People that have been here a while will have noticed my postings have dropped to a trickle in the last year and that has been due to changes in my situation which have led up to me packing my bags and leaving New Zealand for the UK in about a month.

I will be moving to a commuter town in the greater Glasgow area. The irony is that I'm selling my Citroen at the very time that I will be moving closer to the UK based members of this forum....

After I move I may not have a car at all for a while and my next car might not be a Citroen, but I may check into the forum from time to time just to see what's going on, and who knows, maybe I'll bump into some of the forum members for real...and you can be sure if I DO get a Citroen again I'll be back on the forum with a vengence

Thanks Everyone.

Regards,
Simon

PS I doubt anyone in Northland is reading this, but if you are and you want to buy a Xantia, PM me

Unread post by **RichardW** » 08 Jun 2009, 10:23

"I will be moving to a commuter town in the greater Glasgow area"

Which one? Not Cumbernauld, please no..... I live in Lanark which could be described as such. Drop me a PM when you get here!

No need to abandon Citroens - plenty of Xantias around here for pennies. They do go rusty though

Best of luck with the move over - and I thought moving up from Reading a few years ago was a long one!

Unread post by **Peter.N.** » 08 Jun 2009, 11:47

Perhaps you could upgrade to an XM when you get here

DoubleChevron · Unread post by **DoubleChevron** » 08 Jun 2009, 12:51

You think an XM is an upgrade ?? I personally think a Xantia is a better car than the XM in a lot of ways

if he wants a true upgrade, find a nice old CX or DS ..... (GS's are damn fine cars too, but I doubt you'll find one in the UK

).

If you find a nice CX2500 GTi Turbo, you can take it back to New Zealand with you when you return 8) 8) 8)

seeya,
Shane L.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 08 Jun 2009, 13:05

I'm sure you'll not be Citroen-less for long Simon. In no time at all you will be drawn to one like a moth to a candle... It's a disease that afflicts us all...

All the best, may your move go very smoothly and looking forward to hearing from you when youo're settled in on these shores and once again the owner of a Citroen

Clogzz · Unread post by **Clogzz** » 08 Jun 2009, 15:46

Don’t abandon us, Simon !

It’s us that have learned more from you than we could dream of.

Best wishes for such a big change of landscape, and hope that you’re well prepared for life in Glasgow’s winter.

FrenchLeave · Unread post by **FrenchLeave** » 08 Jun 2009, 18:01

Thank you Simon, for your wise words on Citroen hydraulics. Where are you moving to, Paisley?

There are lots of Citroens around looking for a knowledgeable owner. Ignore the input from Shane. he enjoys stirring the pudding!

Derek

MikeT · Unread post by **MikeT** » 08 Jun 2009, 18:43

Bye Mandrake - see you soon

Stempy · Unread post by **Stempy** » 08 Jun 2009, 19:14

A fond farewell, see you back here soon.

XantiaExclusiveHDI · Unread post by **XantiaExclusiveHDI** » 08 Jun 2009, 23:33

It's amazing how the green blood never diffuses completely....

I had a period of standard sprung affair after what I hoped would be my dream car turned out to be a bit of a lemon (A BX which it later transpired had a bad life b4 I got it). It kind of put me off my love affair with Cit's.

A Mazda MX-5 (which I was nearly killed in after rolling in a crash) & Honda HR-V and several years later found me looking in the classifieds for something with 'life'!

I will never ever forget the day I went for my first ever test drive in a Xantia SX HDI. It was a heavenly experience - I just couldn't believe the ride - the sensation - how amazing and 'alive' it felt! I remember thinking ' My God - if this car and its suspension would be in every way reliable in the way my BX wasn't I would be in heaven!'

Turned out it was - I was in heaven and the green blood had well and truly infused

I never really realised just how much I missed the experience of these cars until that day - even though I knew deep down I would gravitate back again at some point...

Me thinks you may well have a similar experience Simon

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 08 Jun 2009, 23:47

I reckon he'll be south of the equator again, soon enough!

DoubleChevron · Unread post by **DoubleChevron** » 09 Jun 2009, 00:56

FrenchLeave wrote:Thank you Simon, for your wise words on Citroen hydraulics. Where are you moving to, Paisley?

There are lots of Citroens around looking for a knowledgeable owner. Ignore the input from Shane. he enjoys stirring the pudding!

Derek

Don't worry,

Simon knows I'm a die hard, pig headed lover of the early cars (something to do with driving CX's and DS's since I was 16years old. I even drove them on my 'L' plates..... Does that mean I'm a very sad case if 19years later I still have the original CX2400..... and still drive a the CX turbo ?? The two cars being my daily transport for the last 19years).

I owned a Xantia VSX slugomatic and know own an XM 2.1TD slugomatic (my wifes cars). IMO, the Xantia rides better, handles better, steers better, is quieter ..... It's a generation ahead of the XM..... But I prefer the XM .... Work that one out, I can't

I think Simon will end up in a 2cv or early LHD Citroen from France of some sort 8) 8) 8) Hey Simon, Renault Alpines a damn cheap over there

Seriously though forget anything earlier than a Xantia from the UK, they are rusted out POS compared to what you can buy out here

I've even seen they are welding sills in galvanised XM's over there

(out here they never rust).

seeya,
Shane L.

Unread post by **citroenxm** » 09 Jun 2009, 12:51

XantiaExclusiveHDI wrote:

I will never ever forget the day I went for my first ever test drive in a Xantia SX HDI. It was a heavenly experience - I just couldn't believe the ride - the sensation - how amazing and 'alive' it felt! I remember thinking ' My God - if this car and its suspension would be in every way reliable in the way my BX wasn't I would be in heaven!'

Turned out it was - I was in heaven and the green blood had well and truly infused

Ive a First and Last Xantia rolling at the moment, a 1994 anti sink Xantia TD SX, and a 1998 Xantia HDI 110bhp SX.. BOTH cars are very refined and quiet rides - I think the 1994 Xantia is outstanding for buyers that came from the BX and that tradition continued onto the S2 car which was EVEN more grown up!!

The Xantia HAD to be built to a massive standard because the press was running away with VW build quality and Audi etc, so to sell cars the NEXT car after the BX had to be something very much better - and it was and STILL is.. The Xantia should have lived a bit longer then it did, asa few of my customers keep asking Why did Citroen stop building a car that was so good!

I can only compare the Xantia to Series One XMs - 1989 to 1994 and I totally agree that the XM does suffer a lot of engine noise intrusion - which with a V6 is a GOOD thing- theres nothing like the sound of a 6 cyl or 8 cyl engine!!

The one small problem I DO have with the Xantia though is the driving position.. Great as it is the seat is just TOO DAMM low for me, even in the UP position, and this on a journey plays havoc with my lower back!!

The XM, does not do this to me with the seat fully upwards, Yes my heads in the roof but my back is more comfy! So I have a fondness to both cars.. Xantia - Refinment XM - Comfort and to a point individualness..

Paul

Spud · Unread post by **Spud** » 09 Jun 2009, 16:41

RichardW wrote:and I thought moving up from Reading a few years ago was a long one!

I moved up here from Compton in Berkshire a few years ago too

Unread post by **myglaren** » 09 Jun 2009, 17:34

citronut wrote: The one small problem I DO have with the Xantia though is the driving position.. Great as it is the seat is just TOO DAMM low for me, even in the UP position, and this on a journey plays havoc with my lower back!!

I went from a Xantia that I was perfectly happy with to a Honda Accord that for the first two months of ownership used to leave me barely able to walk after emerging from it.
Very low driving position, like a Triumph Spitfire.

Took ages to get used to it.
The C5 was (is) like a Transit in comparison.