Xantia's, bad reputation revisited

Post by **Jon** » 14 Jan 2004, 05:02

Last week I blew a gasket about that heap of crap known as our Berlingo. Amazingly, thats now fixed under warranty by a Citroen dealer. I can't say I love it, or indeed trust it, but well.
Theres a number of Xantia taxi's running round here, many like the Starship Enterprise, both TD and HDi and when I occasionally clamber in, the drivers still speak highly of the old Xantia in terms of reliability. We also have a bloke running an X reg berlingo Multispace at 215,000 when I last met him with no problems apart from normal servicing.
I have no "blind loyalty to Citroens" I just happen to like them,plus they're cheap secondhand and can cover big mileages (reliably). As I have proved over the last 18 years.
PS Pistols drawn for that last low mileage Xantia HDi 110. "Shoot out" at Santa Pod in our existing XUD9TE's to see who does the fastest 1/4 mile in their 1.9TD to win the HDi!!!! I would compete but have retired on the grounds that my original clutch has done 132k miles, my clutch cable is original, and so is my gear likeage.
Bloody hell these Citroens just need SO much maintenance.
[:D][8D]

Post by **Jon** » 14 Jan 2004, 05:23

PS reply to Blueboy2001, yes, I might. They are getting cheap enough now, they are out of Warranty, plus I know of a couple of Ind Specialists with Proxia who can read the fault codes, and download the latest software.
They may not be such a bad bet. I will wait a bit longer until their ship's anchor depreciation drop and high servicing costs (ha ha ha!) mean that they are worth very litle then buy a W reg HDi and sort it. Honest!!!!

Homer · Post by **Homer** » 14 Jan 2004, 08:40

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by taipan

You might have some blind misplaced loyalty to Citroens, <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
??????????????[?]
OK, As well as the two cars above, I have had 4 BXs, every single one had over 100k miles on the clock when I passed them on. I had a few problems, rarely anything I couldn't fix myself apart from the time the cambelt went (and that was my fault for believing the guy I bought it from).
I had a Ford Fiesta, it was a complete nightmare, I had Wednesday and Sunday off work and would spend both days fixing it. I'va also run a couple of Fiats, which were great in the engine department but cost me a fortune in filler.
When I met my wife she had an XR2, it was a complete piece of trash. She was wary of Citroens so I allowed her to replace it witha Ford Escort. Everything that could have gone on that car did. It was a 1.4 and drank petrol faster than my 1.6 BX, it was slow, wobbly and not at all nice to drive, the BX was two years older but we would always leave the Escort at home. Eventually she saw the light and we replaced it with a BX.
My father has had a couple of GS's, a BX an AX a ZX and a Xsara. Never had much trouble with any of them. Certainly not the nightmares you cite.
My brother has had a BX, an XM and now runs a ZX as a second car. the XM had a few problems but it was 10 yrs old and at least the camshaft didn't come through the cylinder head like his Vectra.
Misplaced, I doubt it. And it's not that I only have experience with Citroens.
At work we have run a bunch of Fords and Vauxhalls, strangely none of them seem to be able to go a month without a visit to the garage.
I could have spent twice as much money on a Toyota or some other supposedly reliable car, instead I got a 2yr old car which cost 20 grand new, for six grand and spent the rest on Beer.[8D]
If you ask people for problem Citroens then that's what you will get. Try asking people about the good ones instead.
Why not track down a Ford mechanic and ask them about problems with their cars. Or maybe you could ask an Audi/VW mechanic about coils?

lhm_leak · Post by **lhm_leak** » 15 Jan 2004, 01:33

Actually, you'll probably find that we can feel free to slag off our Xantias in here - it's a sort of club! I, for one, wouldn't dish the dirt elsewhere - mainly because Xantias are no worse than anything else, and better than certain recent Vauxhalls...
Stu.

rg · Post by rg » 15 Jan 2004, 15:18

Ditto "Jon Moderator's" point about taxis.
Taxi drivers are not renowned for there desire to be "weekend mechanics". they need vehicles that will run 24x7, sometimes literally.
I see more and more Xantia taxis around these days.
rg

rg · Post by rg » 15 Jan 2004, 15:19

And another thing....
Read the techncial forum www.honestjohn.co.uk for evidence that it's not just Citroens that break down...
rg

MW · Post by MW » 15 Jan 2004, 22:42

I've had no major probs with my 1.8 16v Xantia in the 96K miles I've done since I had it new in 1995. Apart from a leaky water pump which was replaced under warranty. The Xant is fast enough, smooth and roomy, and it has enough cred in the fast lane, unlike some other cars I've owned.
I think Citroen could put an end to a lot of this bad-mouthing if only it was a little more upfront about the life expectancy of the spheres. Look at any of the extended warranty companies' records, the ones which show the Xantia as being such an unreliable buy, and nine times out of ten it's because they're having to shell out under their warranties for new spheres.
Now wouldn't it be more honest if Citroen could just redesignate the spheres as a routine replacement item like a cam belt? "OK sir, every 50,000 miles or four years we reckon to replace all five spheres on your new car. It's an hour's job, and it costs you £250 (or whatever). But we think you'll agree that it's worth it for the high quality of the ride you get from this car."
It wouldn't put me off buying a new Cit, I can tell you. And having your sphere replacements logged and stamped in the service record would probably add to the value of your car.

lhm_leak · Post by **lhm_leak** » 16 Jan 2004, 01:22

I don't know where I got the idea, but I'd assumed that spheres were service replacement items anyway - 72000 miles/ 5years sticks in my mind from somewhere. I'm probably wrong though!
I'd agree with Jon and rg though - up until quite recently about half of the taxis around here were Xantia D/TDs. There are still a fair few, some of them older than mine and seen regularly...
Stu.

ActivaV6uk · Post by **ActivaV6uk** » 15 Jan 2005, 21:47

I've got to day that most Citroens I've found that you need to service routinely, and you can really tell the difference between well looked after ones and ones that have just been used.
In my family we now have 6 Xantia’s, dads has done over 250,000miles and is a 1.9 TD on its original H/G and gearbox the car did over 120,000 mules in its first 2 and a half years as a fleet car and it was obviously well looked after as its not caused him or any of the other owners any trouble other than a water pump that wasn’t change in over 115,000 miles!
My v6 has 137,000 miles and runs beautifully everything works on it including the heated seats and once again its 2 other owners never had a problem with it, in fact it only fell into my possession because the last owner was retiring and needed something more economical.
Citroens aren’t perfect I've had stupid things like the sports switch fail to take out the Hydractive and the Activa systems on one car changing the switch and the fuse permanently fixed it (that car had 105,000 miles on the clock).
All cars have problems but the Xantia is no more unreliable than any car of that era.
Andy

mattpc · Post by **mattpc** » 15 Jan 2005, 23:12

I believe Xantias have a reputation for chewing head gaskets but isn't this caused by careless owners with leaky heater matrixs' not keeping enough coolant in the system rather than being an inherant design problem?
My Xantia cost me half what an equivlent 406 would and I've certainly not spent that money yet on replacing parts for my supposedly "unreliable" car. Mechanics are scared of Xantias, FACT!!!

tomsheppard · Post by **tomsheppard** » 15 Jan 2005, 23:35

They go wrong often but they rarely fail to get you around. Trouble is the owners. Half of 'em don't care and the rest expect perfection!

crooser · Post by **crooser** » 15 Jan 2005, 23:43

citroens can be very problematic especially with the complex suspension but once you understand it it's no more difficult than any other car.consider removing a standard front suspension coil spring compared to a cit sphere.as to head gaskets,by far the biggest cause of failure is lack of water[maintenance]and this would apply to any car engine.the beauty of a citroen is that with a forum like this[and i'm sure no other manufacturer has one like it]you can get help with practically any job that needs doing without incurring massive garage fees.

tomsheppard · Post by **tomsheppard** » 16 Jan 2005, 00:58

Yes, that's the trump card. Your average Citroen owner needs to know a bit more and isn't afraid to ask questions and share knowledge.

dan.2cv · Post by **dan.2cv** » 16 Jan 2005, 03:47

Crosser just about sums it up. Have a look at the number of users this forum has and then ask yourself what kind of people they might be: They are Citroën owners who are fairly passionate about their cars and like to do their own maintenance. Citroën's hydraulic cars are different from most other cars on the road and as such require more than basic skill and knowledge to maintain and fix, hence this is a very popular forum for people to swap ideas and gain the benefit of other peoples experience.
To come to this site and state that Xantias are problematic because of its content is not looking at the whole picture. You are at a site where car enthusiasts come to exchange knowledge, not chat about how lovely their curtains are. If similar sites existed and were frequented for other manufacterers offering a similarly unique product, I think the content would be rather similar in terms of people explainig what the problem is and asking who knows how to fix it.
I've had very little go wrong with the 2 Xantias I've owned and think they are a great car to drive and find them very reliable. I would sum them up as a great value used car for somebody that wants something slighly different from the ordinary who's prepared to make sure the servicing and maintenace are kept up to date. I'm sure everyone on this site would agree that hydraulic Citroëns do not suffer neglect.
I intend to change my car for another Xantia shorlty as I believe nothing offers the same benefits a Xantia provides for the same money.

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 16 Jan 2005, 04:53

Its a chicken and egg situation:is the forum so popular because the cars are more troublesome than the average car, thereby making the Citroen owner/maintainer more likely to need to go looking for help or advice, or is it because the potential repair bills are so high that people who have never looked at a spanner before decide to have a go themselves?
Having said that, my BX is one of the most reliable cars I have ever had, and I do not treat it with kid gloves-its not a hobby car, it has to work for its living, and If it were difficult to maintain, it would have gone long ago!!! The XUD is a very easy motor to look after- a bit like a BL A series in the amount of abuse it can take as well, and its the XUD that the minicabbers like, not the fact that its a Citroen.
It has, however, exhibited all the faults over the years-e.g. the rusty pipes and the cracking clutch arm, both of which could have been easily designed out at the start, and who knows what the thinking behind not fitting a temp. gauge was! Its reliable alright, but you do have to work at it.
I have never had to deal with a Xantia clutch clip, but I do remember the horrible red plastic self-adjuster that Ford used to fit-what a HORROR!!!