C5 Advice opinions

[peter306]

Hello, need a bit of advice or opinions on buying a c5
My car, 2000 Xantia 1.8 petrol, 185,000 miles (i know, low mileage)
Needs a new starter motor, spheres all round, possibly more welding around the sills, dent in the rear door repairing. The last 2 MOT's have cost around £1600
looking at a low mileage 45000 2005 c5 1.8sx for £1995 ono.
Seen quite a bit about X7 steering rack and other problems and how the bean counters took over reducing quality but not much on the earlier models.
Any info on the earlier MK1 facelift models.

[GiveMeABreak]

Your biggest issue on the MK I and MK II Facelift C5s is going to be parts availability - especially with regard to suspension / power steering pipes, which are also a problem for the MK II (X7) where most are no longer available. As there haven't been anymore hydraulic Citroens built since 2016, availability of some non-common parts is becoming a problem, so do factor this in.

[Rp0thejester]

There's a Xantia 1.9TD for sale in free,wanted,sale section at 1500, looks a complete steal/bargain with 175k reported. Might be worth a look

[peter306]

Marc, along with other things like trailing arm bearings i've replaced some pipes on my Xantia, are c5 pipes different or difficult to make up. Are there other spares problems with them.
Ryan, Since the recent government about face on diesels they are of my radar.
I keep looking at the Xantia on the Stone Cold Classics site but it still is heavily overpriced.
I'm even looking at going non citroen and looking at another older model in particular a Rover 75
Peter

[GiveMeABreak]

The C5 pipes are totally different from Xantia pipes and the hydraulic system is also totally different. This is one reason why getting specific pipes for the C5s can be a nightmare.

[citroenc5london]

I am currently considering buying Citroen C5 2005 Exclusive 3.0i. I know its bit crazy, but I have a (very) soft spot for C5. Mostly because its a very comfortable drive and cost fractions of what I would need to pay for similar comfort. How serious is the part issue and how often the hydraulics fails?

[GiveMeABreak]

As you know the C5 hasn't been in production since 2016, so some parts, especially hydraulic pipes were in short supply shortly after and some like the power steering pipes are no longer available.

You need to factor this in along with the steering rack issues on the MK III (X7), as this is one of the issues that has caused the power steering pipes to become in short supply / extinct!

[citroenc5london]

Thanks. And how about the alternative source of the pipes from Czechia etc?

[GiveMeABreak]

I can't comment on non-official suppliers, just from an official point of parts availability from Citroen. There were a couple of members here who was getting some of the pipes made up, but that seems to of gone quiet.

[peter306]

So the decision is i will stick with my xantia, at least till the next MOT.
Just ordered a starter motor and spheres.


Peter