Good News [:D]
Haynes informs me that the Xantia manual is being updated and should be out in the summer. I enquired because their website shows that the French edition is to be updated and includes the facelifted body and the HDI.
I know some of you, how can I put this delicately [:I], are amused by Mr Hayneses offerings but they have been good to me over the years. I have just changed from a TD to the HDI and it is very different under the bonnet so I for one will welcome it.
Derek
Haynes manual and the Xantia HDI
Moderator: RichardW
Hi Derek -
The Haynes manuals have kind of a bad repute - but only amongst experienced DIY owners - as they get frustrated over the lack of detailed & special info.
This has never been the intension of Haynes manuals.
The Haynes manuals are above all the best you can get - if you want the necessary primers on your newly aquired car - to perform simple service tasks - and common repairs to wear parts.
Any car DIY'er knows the crucial importance of having at least a sort of "road map" over his car - to correctly locate common service problems.
This is exactly what Haynes provides - and besides that - simple step by step instructions on common tasks - to ensure the faint-hearted DIY'er not get totally lost in the tasks.
Besides that - these manuals are written at a time with certain models & variants sold. It's not possible to cover any thinkable future modification to later models & variants.
And the people wirting the manuals are humans - humans makes mistakes from time to time [^] - if not - they don't do a thing - or they are robots [:p]
Even with my many y's of DIY car experience - the first thing I do when a new/newer car is aquired - is to get myself a Haynes manual [8D]
Don't mistake all the sayings about Haynes manuals - it's known that a beloved/respected friend is pursued a bit [:p]
The Haynes manuals have kind of a bad repute - but only amongst experienced DIY owners - as they get frustrated over the lack of detailed & special info.
This has never been the intension of Haynes manuals.
The Haynes manuals are above all the best you can get - if you want the necessary primers on your newly aquired car - to perform simple service tasks - and common repairs to wear parts.
Any car DIY'er knows the crucial importance of having at least a sort of "road map" over his car - to correctly locate common service problems.
This is exactly what Haynes provides - and besides that - simple step by step instructions on common tasks - to ensure the faint-hearted DIY'er not get totally lost in the tasks.
Besides that - these manuals are written at a time with certain models & variants sold. It's not possible to cover any thinkable future modification to later models & variants.
And the people wirting the manuals are humans - humans makes mistakes from time to time [^] - if not - they don't do a thing - or they are robots [:p]
Even with my many y's of DIY car experience - the first thing I do when a new/newer car is aquired - is to get myself a Haynes manual [8D]
Don't mistake all the sayings about Haynes manuals - it's known that a beloved/respected friend is pursued a bit [:p]
The biggest problem with Haynes manuals is that the more recent ones have evidently been produced with decidedly more profit than content in mind. If you look at an older haynes manual, i.e. for the CX, then you will immediatley see the differene - the old manual has detailed drawing, complete technical specifications and has been proof read properly.
The newer manuals use almost exclusively small photographs with bad contrast (cheap and easy to produce), are full of "not suitable for home mechanic" (i.e. no description of process) and contain stupid errors (like recommending putting mats under the rear driving (!) wheels of a front wheel drive Citroen if they get stuck in snow!!!)
It's these stupid mistakes and the lack of content plus the recent price hike that irritate me!
- however, there's often nothing better available.
//NiSk
The newer manuals use almost exclusively small photographs with bad contrast (cheap and easy to produce), are full of "not suitable for home mechanic" (i.e. no description of process) and contain stupid errors (like recommending putting mats under the rear driving (!) wheels of a front wheel drive Citroen if they get stuck in snow!!!)
It's these stupid mistakes and the lack of content plus the recent price hike that irritate me!
- however, there's often nothing better available.
//NiSk