New Member, New Car, New Issues......

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ankou
Posts: 15
Joined: 12 Feb 2013, 16:36
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New Member, New Car, New Issues......

Post by ankou »

Hey all,

I am new so please go easy on me! I have always been a bit of a Citroen nut, first car being a battered and bruised Saxo 1.0 First, Leading onto a Xantia Exclusive V6, then onto a Saxo VTS which now belongs to my partner.

Recently saw a 2007 C5 VTR for sale from a main dealer, Less than 30k on clock with full and complete service history and clearly well looked after. Only issue I could see was a light scuff on the rear passenger wheel arch, and the same on the rubbing strip on the passenger rear door and also a little bobbling on the weave of the drivers seat, most prob would never have noticed them.....Me being a OCD kinda guy zeroed in on it instantly! Price was low, recently reduced.....even the dealer admitted that most were scared of them and did not want to touch it. Test drive went well, when started the ESP Failure light came up on the display, but drove very well. Got back to dealer and haggled, walked away with nearly £990 of the price, twelve month warranty and a guarantee in writing that the ESP failure would be sorted before delivery, with a report of the work done.

I'm pleased with the deal, but apologies for the rambling but backstory is always good so people know the score I say lol. My question is, what would you recommend in order to keep it tip top? I intend to give it a major service in the next few weeks, as its only due a interim so that all the dealer will do. Is there any suggestions you can give on maintenance or preventative care with the C5? Apart from the service my only plan is to get chipsaway out to do the scuff, they did a brilliant job on the Xantia so why not eh?

Cheers all
Citroen C5 2.0 VTR 2007 ........ My daily smoker
Citroen Saxo 1.6 VTS 2002....... under the stewardship of my missus :/
Citroenmad
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Re: New Member, New Car, New Issues......

Post by Citroenmad »

Hi, welcome to the FCF!

Being a 2007 it must be the C5II? (also known as the facelift)

What engine is in yours? If its diesel ...

If its the 1.6HDi they really need servicing more often than the manufacturer states in order to keep clean oil in them. Fail to do so and there could be a risk of turbo failure.

If its the 2.0HDi 138 16v then there is less of a risk but servicing is more frequent on them anyway ...

For both engines make sure you are using the correct oil, its a low sulphur oil and I always stick to the Total make. The correct spec being Total ECS - I get mine from ebay more often than not as it was the cheapest place. Usually about £30 for 5ls. However if you have the 2.0HDi 138, it annoyingly needs 5.4L. I bought two 5ls and used the second as the top up for each service.

Really C5s need very little mainenance above the ordinary car. Its not out of the ordinary for a dealer to be scard of them but its usually unfounded as they are pretty good cars.

If it is a diesel (which they nearly always are) then they do not like constant short runs and town use as the DPF doesnt get chance to operate. The low sulphur oil is also needed for the DPF.

You might like to check the rear brakes, make sure the pads are not wearing in a wedge shape due to the caliper edging out because of corrosion. Also check that the handbrake levers on the front calipers are moving freely and not sticking in the on position. You would be lucky to find a C5II with two operating front sidelight bulbs (the bulbs go regularily) so check they are working. Depending on mileage the spheres could be getting firm now, the suspension should be soft and not bouncy. Otherwise C5s tend to need quite minimal work to the suspension. Drop links are a common failing, if you have a knocking/rattling over bumps then thats no doubt what it is.
Chris
07 Citroen C6 V6 HDi Exclusive - Red
07 Citroen C5 HDi VTR - Red
09 Citroen C3 1.4i VTR - Silver
01 Citroen Saxo 1.1i Forte - Mango Orange
.
93 Ford Mondeo 2.0i GLX
19 Hyundai i10
ankou
Posts: 15
Joined: 12 Feb 2013, 16:36
Location:
My Cars:

Re: New Member, New Car, New Issues......

Post by ankou »

Thanks for the welcome!

It is the 142ps 2.0 petrol, nice engine so far as I could tell. the side bulbs were working perfectly, I checked all the lights before the test drive so that's a good thing, the brakes were good, once I had cleared the rust of the disks but will take a closer look when I can. As for the ride and handling, it didn't seem quite as good as the Xantia, but was expecting that to be fair! Is there a interval for the LDS Change?
Citroen C5 2.0 VTR 2007 ........ My daily smoker
Citroen Saxo 1.6 VTS 2002....... under the stewardship of my missus :/
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