C5 - (too) cheap?

[RichardW]

As ever when the MOT looms (ok, it's 3 months yet!) and the car is broken (exhaust again, and drop links, possible ABS sensor, accumulator to change, needs new tyres!) my mind turns to replacement. Saw this C5 on Autotrader. Suspiciously cheap? Should there be a 1 in front of the mileage? Probably needs Cambelt, handbrake cables, exhaust, rear brakes, rear arm bearings - so maybe not the bargain it seems at first sight. But for £1k to change (given £200 for the Xantia) to car with half the miles and half the age......

[dnsey]

I'd say it's about the going rate.
I sold a similar one of the same age, but lower mileage, a year or so ago for £1300.

[Xantidote]

From my casual watching of C5s over the last year (not estates though), on the face of it, without seeing vehicle, the price doesn't seem too bad for 2004 car with that mileage IMHO. Maybe a bit cheaper than most - good luck whatever you do. There's a bit more to go wrong on the c5 compared to your Xantia of course

[Bob L'eponge]

A lot of car for very little money, which is largely a reflection of the crazy state of the UK used car market. If this were on sale in France it would probably be up for something between 4 and 5,000 Euros. A dealer is currently asking 7,990 Euros for a 2005 138 CV 'Exclusive' on 'leboncoin' and there are plenty more around the 6000 Euro mark!

[isisalar]

Sounds like an opportunity for a bit of profitable right to left hand drive conversion and export work.

[Peter.N.]

I paid a lot less than that for both of mine, you should be able to pick up a reasonably decent one off ebay for about £600-700. If you watch them you will see that's about what they go for.

Peter

[Stickyfinger]

From a dealer sale, that's a good price considering the added protection you get. If you get it, USE a Credit Card to pay for it if you can.

[Bob L'eponge]

Sounds like an opportunity for a bit of profitable right to left hand drive conversion and export work.

Unfortunately, many (perhaps even the majority) of 'ex-pat' Brits in France (that is British immigrants) don't bother with any conversion work when taking a car over, not even changing the headlights and getting a certificate of conformity so that the car can be issued with a French 'Controle Technique' ('MOT') and registered. Instead they drive the car on UK plates well after the 3 month limit for an imported vehicle has passed, with no valid UK VED disk (or one months to years out of date), no valid Mot or French CT sticker, and in all probability no insurance either. Apparently, the favourite trick is to register the car with a SORN notice at home, which is in itself illegal.

Here in the Alps I have even seen people driving clients in minibuses at ski resorts who have adopted this strategy, which is really taking the mickey and could have even more serious consequences than if they were caught running an unlicenced taxi / shuttle service for their clients, which is another common practice. And to think, back in 'Daily Mail land' people get all indignant about Eastern Europeans not getting their car properly registered, insured and what-not!

Biggest irony of all is that the very people who do this tend to be 'dyed in the wool' 'Mail readers' themselves who have a tendency to rant on about how immigration in Britain should be stopped whilst being unable to see that they too are immigrants! Instead they seem to think that an 'ex-pat Brit' is an entirely different animal who is doing the host country a favour by being willing to settle there, even if they simply retire here and then leech off the excellent French health care system without ever having paid a cent in French taxes!

[addo]

They're getting cheap here too, low miles and rust free. $200 recently bought a 60K (miles) S1 with a month of tax remaining. That's £110 for a car you could legally drive away.

[xantia_v6]

They are not that cheap yet in NZ, nothing under NZ$3000, and none at all within 500km of here. The state of the market is summarised by this search.

[Mandrake]

They are not that cheap yet in NZ, nothing under NZ$3000, and none at all within 500km of here. The state of the market is summarised by this search.

What part of NZ are you in ?

Nice to see a couple of GS's listed for sale there

[Mandrake]

As ever when the MOT looms (ok, it's 3 months yet!) and the car is broken (exhaust again, and drop links, possible ABS sensor, accumulator to change, needs new tyres!) my mind turns to replacement. Saw this C5 on Autotrader. Suspiciously cheap? Should there be a 1 in front of the mileage? Probably needs Cambelt, handbrake cables, exhaust, rear brakes, rear arm bearings - so maybe not the bargain it seems at first sight. But for £1k to change (given £200 for the Xantia) to car with half the miles and half the age......

Doesn't seem too cheap to me.

If you go for the C5 remember to factor in the cost of a Lexia. The ECU count is double that of a Xantia, and on a new to you car there are likely to be plenty of niggles to diagnose...

[xantia_v6]

What part of NZ are you in ?

We are in Christchurch for about 5 months. The roads here are are in a pretty bad state after the earthquakes, and some hydroactive suspension is definitely called for. Do you know of anything that might be available?

I would condider some of the older models, but Louise wants an automatic.

[den169]

Thats a cheap c5 if it was nearer to me i would have a look at it.

[Mandrake]

What part of NZ are you in ?

We are in Christchurch for about 5 months. The roads here are are in a pretty bad state after the earthquakes, and some hydroactive suspension is definitely called for. Do you know of anything that might be available?

I would condider some of the older models, but Louise wants an automatic.

I don't know of anything down that way sorry. I'm from Whangarei and most of my family and friends are in or around Whangarei and Auckland, in fact I've only ever visited the South Island once...

Automatic is not a problem - nearly all the 2 litre petrol Xantia's in NZ are Autos, especially the VSX/Exclusive spec.

I tried and tried to find a 2 litre petrol VSX manual and in months of searching (even back in 2005) there were none to be found. Manuals were all either 1.6/1.8 petrol SX, 1.9TD, or very rarely, base spec 2 litre SX. (LX never sold in NZ) As I wanted the VSX with Hydractive 2 I finally settled on an auto when one came up, coincidentally right in Whangarei...

Mine was a dark blue 1997 2.0i VSX Auto and even after 4 years when I sold it it was probably in the best condition you'd find for its age and mileage. (12 and 170,000 km at the time) I sold it for $3000 to a retired British guy who spends half the year on the island of Aulderney, and the other half in Northland in NZ. When he's not there a friend of his looks after it, and I suspect it doesn't see a lot of miles, although that's only a guess.

Last I heard it was still driving around in Whangarei/Northland - my mum occasionally sees it on the road, and last spotted it less than a year ago.

Unfortunately Auckland is probably your best bet for a Citroen, my Dad's Xantia we found in Auckland and drove back to Whangarei, mums Xantia she found in Christchurch ironically and it was driven back to Whangarei too. I think she is looking for another Citroen diesel at the moment to replace her 1.9TD that speared the bonnet...

To get what you want in Citroens in NZ be prepared for a long distance drive to get it home...

Good luck with the hunt.