We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

This is the Forum for all your Citroen Technical Questions, Problems or Advice.

Moderator: RichardW

charentejohn
Posts: 479
Joined: 16 May 2011, 14:58
Location: France
My Cars:

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by charentejohn »

Just a thought on the comment made that these cars (Xantia etc) are valued a lot less in the UK because they are thought of as complicated and foreign. True I think, however.....

Here in France they are considered local cars, like ford and morris etc so could be their true value.
This is unrelated to what people pay in the UK I know but here a 100k mile Xantia in generally good condition would be about £2k, similar for C5s etc.
France is slightly more expensive but not that much, just compared to the UK for these sort of cars.

Here 'tricky' suspension and sensodrive are not considered as tricky so don't affect the price.
So for a real price comparison excluding worries on suspension and such prices here are probably what the universe believes they are worth, and ties in with what their fans and enthusiasts think they are worth.

One advantage here is they aren't being scrapped due to only being worth scrap value, people pay to keep them going. There are hundreds of Xantias here, most in good condition and running well.
I am sometimes tempted to go to the UK for a good condition car for a few hundred and bring it here for spares.
You must be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi
Xantia HDI 90SX C3 2005 and C3 2006 both 1.4i sensodrives
6speedmanual
Posts: 42
Joined: 02 Jul 2012, 23:07
Location: Northamptonshire..... frequently under a car!
My Cars:

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by 6speedmanual »

Interesting response from your perspective on the French Xantia pirces John. The paying to keep cars goin mentality is commendable. I generally hate seeing perfectly serviceable cars destroyed for the sake of a relatively small repair.

Having said that, (UK enthusists may wring their hands) it is highly possible that I will sacrifice an Activa to make a SC.CAR Break model in the summer....

Peter
addo
Sara Watson's Stalker
Posts: 7098
Joined: 19 Aug 2008, 12:38
Location: NEW South Wales, Australia. I'll show you "Far, far away" ;-)
My Cars: Peugeot 605
Citroën Berlingo
Alfa 147
x 93

Post by addo »

France has it the right way about - and interestingly, no gritting to speak of, on the roads. I don't believe their road toll is much different for the lack of it.

In Australia, a Xantia is now worth nothing and will usually be unrusted. It's simply perverse fashion; even the French would have trouble understanding it.
horsedentist
Posts: 166
Joined: 12 Nov 2012, 16:16
Location:
My Cars:

Re:

Post by horsedentist »

addo wrote:France has it the right way about - and interestingly, no gritting to speak of, on the roads. I don't believe their road toll is much different for the lack of it.
Hmmm I wouldn't necessarily agree with that lol I work in France twice a year April and October and I changed my visit schedule a few years back to avoid the carnage early mornings when the weather was freezing. As you say no grit and as far as a lot of French drivers go no brains! They tear about first thing in the morning on their way to work regardless of the road conditions and I have seen some horrendous crashes at crossroads first thing in the morning. May be there are not many injuries but a lot I have seen are probably terminal for their cars.
addo
Sara Watson's Stalker
Posts: 7098
Joined: 19 Aug 2008, 12:38
Location: NEW South Wales, Australia. I'll show you "Far, far away" ;-)
My Cars: Peugeot 605
Citroën Berlingo
Alfa 147
x 93

Post by addo »

The events will be happening at lower speeds, definitely a preferred means of crashing!
411514
(Donor 2017)
Posts: 421
Joined: 14 Dec 2010, 15:26
Location: Sheffield, Uk
My Cars: Citroen C5 2.0 Hdi 2003
x 39

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by 411514 »

But not as good as not crashing on gritted roads for the sake of mildly accelerated corrosion
Sam

2003 C5 2.0HDI 110
charentejohn
Posts: 479
Joined: 16 May 2011, 14:58
Location: France
My Cars:

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by charentejohn »

We rarely get snow here but did have 2 people slide off the road here a year or so ago.
I am originally from the north east (Durham to be precise) and grit only softens the snow and makes it a bit safer. Still won't compensate for bad driving though.
Once you are used to snow and ice it is not a problem (see Scandanavian countries) it is only a problem when you aren't used to it and it comes as a surprise.
Once we had about 1cm of snow and people here were all driving slow and careful, not true that french drivers drive madly in the snow and ice. Simple rule is don't do (or be forced to do) anything sudden.

From the NE of england I know most cars had rust somewhere after 4-5 years unless well protected / cleaned. Salt kills cars and that is a fact, especially older models. Maybe beter protected (galvanised) newer cars fare better but older ones don't.

I have to say french cars tend to have little rust, mine at 11 yrs old had none at all, brake pipes etc included. Those that do tend to have never been cleaned and parked in fields, even then it tends to be surface only. Another reason why cars here are valued higher as most repairs are only mechanical.
My car is 2002 and has done 125k+ miles, I paid 2,500 euros for it (a fair price) and the previous owner who had it for just over 2 years had spent over 1,500 euros on repairs and thought nothing of it.
A different attitude perhaps, that if a value is 2k euros and repairs are 1k euros then do the repairs as you will have a good known car at then end, or scrap it for 200 euros and take a chance buying a new car for 2k ? Just the way people view cars, a similar reason to why people rebuild older cars spending more than they are worth, not the end value just a case of 'I want this one' and cost is secondary if you want to keep it.

When people say why do I bother I quote the scene from Full metal jacket where they were 'chanting' the bit about their rifle.
As they said 'this is my rifle (Xantia), there are many like it, but this one is mine.......' :-D
You must be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi
Xantia HDI 90SX C3 2005 and C3 2006 both 1.4i sensodrives
addo
Sara Watson's Stalker
Posts: 7098
Joined: 19 Aug 2008, 12:38
Location: NEW South Wales, Australia. I'll show you "Far, far away" ;-)
My Cars: Peugeot 605
Citroën Berlingo
Alfa 147
x 93

Post by addo »

Well, the alternative is running around the parade ground border, holding it over your head: "ImustnotcrashmyXantiaImustnotcrashmyXantiaImustnotcrashmyXantia..."

As to French scrappies; there seem to be good deals for parts in the Grenoble area quite often.
Timmy69
Posts: 99
Joined: 08 Sep 2012, 22:29
Location: Leeds,West Yorksire
My Cars:

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by Timmy69 »

All i can say is Xantias sell so cheap then why are the replacement parts so expensive..I think someone is on to a good thing here
Timmy
User avatar
Mandrake
Posts: 8615
Joined: 10 Apr 2005, 17:23
Location: North Lanarkshire, UK
My Cars:
x 664

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by Mandrake »

Coming from New Zealand I have to say that second hand cars are massively undervalued here in the UK compared to some other countries.

A big part of that is probably the salt damage that rusts them so badly, but I think other factors are compulsory insurance leading to inflated insurance costs (car insurance is not compulsory in NZ!) raising the effective running costs, unusually high fuel costs (petrol is nearly 30-40% more expensive in the UK than NZ despite being closer to the source of the oil!) but I think the biggest factor is simply a throwaway mentality which is far more pervasive here in the UK than it is in NZ.

Just as one example I bought a 86,000 mile 1997 2 litre petrol auto Xantia VSX in 2005 in NZ in generally excellent condition and paid about $6000 for it, in those days equivalent to about £2400. Probably sounds expensive to most of you but despite Citroen being rare in NZ that's about the same price that you would have paid for an equivalent age/spec Nissan etc.

I sold it in 2009 at 12 years old and 116,000 miles for $3000, about £1200, and I could have got more if I'd been a bit more patient, as I was selling it quickly to move to the UK.

Then in 2012 I bought my current Xantia V6 in the UK which was 14 years old, slightly less mileage at 98,000 for a mere £400... sure, its not in as good condition and I've had to do quite a bit to it, but the truth is any 14 year old Xantia here won't fetch more than about £500 no matter how pristine it is...

I'm sure an excellent condition 14 year old 2 litre Xantia would still fetch around £1000 in NZ, and a V6 might fetch as much as £1500 or more as they only imported 300 into NZ and not many are probably left in good condition...

The undervaluing of second hand cars in the UK is a two edged sword. On the one hand you can get absolute bargains, especially Citroens, if you're willing to do a bit of work to get them up to scratch, on the other hand the car is worth nothing when you need to sell it, if you're even able to sell it...
Simon

1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White

2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver
1977 G Special 1129cc LHD
1978 CX 2400
1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX
1998 Xantia S2 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive
User avatar
qprdude
Posts: 1754
Joined: 06 Apr 2012, 18:56
Location: Woking, Surrey
My Cars: Renault 5 TS, Renault 14ts, Citroen C5 Mk1, Renault Clio sport, Renault Laguna Privilege. Citroen C5 X7 Exclusive. Citroen DS5 D/sport . And around 25+ other brands from Morris Oxford to S Type jag and most things between.
x 10

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by qprdude »

Problem is with NZ, I think you can only import cars from 2007, October"> unless it's one of the limited "special catagory"
My friend in Aukland has taken a couple of V6 Caddy's (CTS) over from the UK. He was intending to import more but they are hard to come by with low mileage in the UK. The low cost of petrol means that you guys don't fear owning big V6 and V8 Monaros etc. My mate reckons things are starting to catch up though, as the NZ government try to cherry pick the best moneymaking schemes from our tax mad government. Compulsory Insurance will be with you in the next few years, and higher fuel taxes too, so enjoy it while you can. As regards spare parts, the second Caddy he imported needed new brake discs when it underwent import inspection, and he was able to get a new set from America at just over half the cost from a NZ supplier, including postage!
Rick.

2013 Citroen DS 5 D/Sport
2007 Renault Clio Campus sport. 1.2l

Sometimes the change doesn't work.
Gibbo2286
(Donor 2020)
Posts: 7170
Joined: 08 Jun 2011, 18:04
Location: GL15***
My Cars: 2006 C5 2.0 Litre HDI VTR Automatic Estate.(now sold on)
Currently Renault Zoe 2014 ZE
x 2500

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Is third party insurance not included in your registration or mileage fee in NZ as it is in some Aus states. QLD for instance?
Man is, by nature, a lazy beast, he does not need twice encouraging to do nothing.
User avatar
qprdude
Posts: 1754
Joined: 06 Apr 2012, 18:56
Location: Woking, Surrey
My Cars: Renault 5 TS, Renault 14ts, Citroen C5 Mk1, Renault Clio sport, Renault Laguna Privilege. Citroen C5 X7 Exclusive. Citroen DS5 D/sport . And around 25+ other brands from Morris Oxford to S Type jag and most things between.
x 10

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by qprdude »

Yes, I think it is.
Rick.

2013 Citroen DS 5 D/Sport
2007 Renault Clio Campus sport. 1.2l

Sometimes the change doesn't work.
User avatar
Mandrake
Posts: 8615
Joined: 10 Apr 2005, 17:23
Location: North Lanarkshire, UK
My Cars:
x 664

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by Mandrake »

Gibbo2286 wrote:Is third party insurance not included in your registration or mileage fee in NZ as it is in some Aus states. QLD for instance?
Nope.
Simon

1997 Xantia S1 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive in Silex Grey
2016 Nissan Leaf Tekna 30kWh in White

2011 Peugeot Ion Full Electric in Silver
1977 G Special 1129cc LHD
1978 CX 2400
1997 Xantia S1 2.0i Auto VSX
1998 Xantia S2 3.0 V6 Auto Exclusive
User avatar
qprdude
Posts: 1754
Joined: 06 Apr 2012, 18:56
Location: Woking, Surrey
My Cars: Renault 5 TS, Renault 14ts, Citroen C5 Mk1, Renault Clio sport, Renault Laguna Privilege. Citroen C5 X7 Exclusive. Citroen DS5 D/sport . And around 25+ other brands from Morris Oxford to S Type jag and most things between.
x 10

Re: We buy Any Car .... DOT CON....

Post by qprdude »

Yep!

http://www.nzs.com/new-zealand-articles ... rance.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Rick.

2013 Citroen DS 5 D/Sport
2007 Renault Clio Campus sport. 1.2l

Sometimes the change doesn't work.
Post Reply