Xantias disappearing?

[Jaf]

It used to be every time I went into town I would see at least 1 other xantia. Mostly silver like Fred and then the odd green one. Even 2 months ago my mum tried to get in the wrong car, it was only the driver that stopped her!

Since then I've hardly seen one. Today saw an estate with unusual twin headlamps.

Have they all died?!?

P.s. Still got LHM in driver's footwell carpet. Leak fixed. How can I soak it up? Tried cat litter. Must have been gallons!

[Stickyfinger]

P.s. Still got LHM in driver's footwell carpet. Leak fixed. How can I soak it up? Tried cat litter. Must have been gallons!

You cannot, it will be in the foam under the carpet, it will be rotting it soon. sozz

[chinkostu]

I see maybe one a month! Thats excluding the ones I know of already.


Certainly see more than i did a few years back

[superloopy]

None where i'm at ...

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[van ordinaire]

Zantias are going through that phase, old, unloved (& nowadays, to complex to become bangers) while awaiting classic status to be bestowed upon them that all cars (except the very few that are classics while still in production) - especially French ones - go through.

Good time to buy.

Twin headlights - more recent trendy conversions aside - used to mean a "federal" version but not sure America got them, & even if it did, their regulations were pretty much in line with the rest of the world by then.

[KP]

twin headlights was a morette conversion that also occured to the XM's as after market kits offering better lighting that the standard units and a fancier(to some) look.

I see two xantias everyday but then they are mine and a 3rd turd one i have kicking about still somewhere

They are getting rarer but in france you wouldn't be hard pushed to see one as they are all over and dont tend to rot as bad as UK ones have done thanks to our use of salt

[myglaren]

None where i'm at ...

Very few around here. I see one in three months on average. Haven't seen an XM in over two years.

[ecohouse1]

Up here in Aberdeenshire there are 3 known Xantias, all diesel estates. Chris Morewood and I have both silver estates, although his is a HDi and mines a TD. Apparently their is a 3rd owned by the ex helicopter pilot to the Sultan of Oman!!. Not sure if thats true, but what I was told by a fellow citroen buff who was chatting to me in a supermarket carpark when he saw me getting in my 2CV.

A few years ago there were a few more - mostly down at heel saloons being run into the ground. I don't even see them in scrapyards! I suppose there is no demand for the parts so they just end up being crushed straight away.

Only seen 2 BXs in the last couple of years and that was obviously two enthusiasts on a run as they were together.

Everyone I work with runs new cars on PCPs or HP, mostly Audi's and BMWs - there are lot of these in Aberdeen with the oil industry, although a lot are being handed back with the current oil price crisis and lots of people being made redundant.

Colleagues think I am mad stripping down suspension and changing timing belts. I get it suggested that I just scrap the pile of "sh*t" and go sign a credit agreement! err no thanks mate.

I was in Paris for a few days last November. Only saw a Xantia on my last day there. Hardly saw any Cits at all - mostly Renaults. Mainly Clios and small vans. Saw one XM. No 2CVs Looks like they are rare there too.

I suppose economics come into it. If you have a car worth £500 why bother spending £700 at a garage to replace both rear arm bearings and a set of new tyres and maybe some brake pads. Thats how most people think sadly.

[daviemck2006]

I'm a bit farther north than you ecohouse, in Macduff. There was an estate for sale in Banff a few months ths ago, the timing was wrong for me or you never know. However I have never seen it either before or after. As to other older cars, 2 x pug 205, both here, I see a n plate clio and occasionally a g reg fiesta, and a w reg escort (sound car it used to be ours). Like aberdeen, a lot of cars are recent audis and bmws, probably on finance, with a few soft roaders thrown in. Very few Citroens of any description around here.

[Stickyfinger]

even the Citroen garage does not know what a " z_antia" is round here :L

Cannot think of a local one to me, 205 are popular with the farm lads, there is a Ren5 Turbo, but its been heavily Chaved.
Oh yes, some H Vans (read rich Hippy child with brassic boyfriend or coffie/wine shop) and a couple of 2cv

[superloopy]

None where i'm at ...

Very few around here. I see one in three months on average. Haven't seen an XM in over two years.

Yup ... all gone in the North East Steve although we do have one green XM estate on the road albeit i've not seen it for a while.

Guess we get a LOT more salt down than those softy suv'ners

[Diabolical]

Mine goes back on the road Monday 04/2015 after 2Year layup.

[quintet]

There is a 'dante red' mk2 xantia nearby to me although in truth its not often i see it & im sure ive seen two different people attending to it but it is in tidy condition from what i can tell. The only other old 'frenchie' of interest ive seen recently was a white renault 5 but due to the 'smart' motorway i was on i couldnt catch it.

[Stewart(oily)]

Getting thin on the ground now, there were a couple of nice old ones locally that have disappeared.

[rory_perrett]

Even the newest ones are pushing 15 years old now. In some regards cars are longer lived than they used to be but it comes down to the cost of cars getting cheaper and the cost of fixing them (labour) getting more expensive. 30+ years ago in the VW magazine there used to be something called the 100,000 mile club, because managing to get a car to 100,000 miles was seen to be something special. Last 4 cars I've bought have all been over the 100k when I got them.

In the past the bodies used to disintegrate before the mechanicals wore out, these days its often the other way round.

So how long before the Xantia acquires the same iconic status as the DS. I guess a tidy Activa would be worth taking care of as a future classic investment.