C5 X7 - looking to buy

[upsetcustard]

Hi all, this is my first post

I'm on the search for an interesting estate car, and want to own outright instead of financing whilst I save for a house.

I've come across a C5 X7 which is quite nice. Owner says it's going through a litre or so of LDS fluid every few weeks and there's leakage from the steering rack, according to their main dealer.

I am still tempted to buy and fix, due to the price of the car. Suspension sits low, but apparently moves to normal position when on and driving.

What's everyone's experiences with the suspension/steering issues? Is it the same or a separate issue? And are they reasonably cheap enough to replace/fix yourself or at a local garage? And are there any other particular things to keep an eye out for?

Many thanks

Custard

[myglaren]

Doe a search on the forum for 'C5 X7 steering rack failure', lots of them and an expensive fix.

Take a look at this poll too: viewtopic.php?t=59630&start=105

[davoxx]

a litre a few weeks sounds like it is bad and will dump the fluid soon.
my estate goes through a litre every 9 months, was 1 litre a year.
it's is never on low suspension.

[PaulC5]

You know it will not be cheap/easy to repair the steering rack when the existing owner has not done it. Check the car MOT status on the gov website, it might fail or has already failed if the rack is not fixed.
If you want a low cost Citroen estate the previous C5 model up to year 2008 is worth a look and does not suffer the steering rack leaks.

[vallium]

My advice would be get a sorted car. I got mine cheaply too but spent more for servicing than if I would do that in the first place. Common rail injection and turbocharging are two things that you really can't do much about on your own. Steering rack can be painful too.

At the very least buy a code scanner and check the car before buying. If not full diagbox at least chinese knock-off of Delphi DS150, if I remember correctly it can talk with suspension ECU.

You'll need it anyway

[GiveMeABreak]

Be aware that official parts are now becoming an issue for the X7 - you can't even get a cooling fan now for it, yet alone suspension pipes. The same is true for the older models now, lack of bespoke parts.

[davoxx]

Be aware that official parts are now becoming an issue for the X7 - you can't even get a cooling fan now for it, yet alone suspension pipes. The same is true for the older models now, lack of bespoke parts.

but the pain makes us feel alive!

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes, a lot of pain to buy a car and then find you can't get parts for it