General Comments:

This is my second Xantia. I bought the first brand new after I returned from working abroad. Had to sell it at 28000 miles when I went on another foreign posting. I bought this one while on leave after missing a train. Rear spheres needed to be changed. Done there and then, picked the car up and drove away.

What has gone wrong? General wear and tear items changed as and when required and three clutch faults in 4,000 miles, caused by a non-Citroen trained mechanic over-adjusting the clutch because "it was too light and would burn out". I told him the Citroen clutch action is designed to be light. He couldn't get the setting back and the link clip went within 2,000 miles. I managed to get it back to the garage and the owner put another mechanic onto the job. The clutch went again, within another 2,000 miles. I had the car recovered to a garage recommended by the Citroen Car Club. Here they found that the clutch cable had been replaced with one of the wrong type. Cable changed at 105000, miles since then no problems. Recovered the cost of all clutch 'jobs' with little hassle.

The car is serviced every 6,000 miles. Local runs give an average of 47mpg. Long runs (motorways etc) every 4-5 weeks, give an average mpg of 52 - 54. Now looking for a late model Xantia with a/c.

A really comfortable mile eater that takes corners as if on rails.

Faults:

As bought, for £7K in 1997 it seemed to have a small water leak. This got worse within 10000 and the head gasket blew. (Buyer Beware!) A new head repair cost £1.2K. The car ran very well,

Full marks for comfort, but the heater matrix blocked up and would not develop full heat. Regular servicing by a Citroen engineer, one man band, kept the car running nicely.

Globes changed at £50 each, timing belt cost £145 fitted. 6000 mile servicing was average £140, 2 hours plus parts. At 163000 miles I decided to buy another, an estate with air con, tow bar and roof bars. It cost £750 and I got £300 private sale for the old one.

General Comments:

A comfortable car, which nobody will steal, all electric and drives like a Roller. (I know, I have driven one!)

Faults:

Front ABS sensor failed a couple of times.

General Comments:

Hi, just wanted to say that I recently replaced my 1994 1.9TD SX Xantia after 10 years of happy ownership.

It was 2 years old when I bought it at 33,000 miles. I serviced it myself always changing the fluids regularly etc. In that time I only had problems with an ABS sensor technically all other work was fair wear & tear.

I sold it with 160,000 miles & it still was on the original clutch. It was a great car and if the C5 had had a bit more style I would have bought one without hesitation. A modern classic really!

P.S. I bought a Fiat to replace it!

Faults:

Faulty idle speed control valve (Car would stall when cold and when slowing for junctions)

Hydraulics packed in- Rear suspension stopped working completely!!

Head Gasket failure at 136000 miles.

Squeaks and rattles!

General Comments:

I bought this car in June 2005 as a cheap runabout to replace my previous xantia 1.9TD with 256000 miles on it! what an engine that was!

The TD had thrown its clutch cable clip (again!) and failed its mot spectacularly!

I didn't intend to get another Xantia, but it was the cheapest car in the paper! I took it for a test drive and all seemed well apart from an idling problem. l offered the guy 95pounds for it and I had a new car!

First stop was the local scrap yard to find an idle control valve to try and solve the stalling problem- found one on a 1.8 8v Xantia and got it for 3pounds! Engine was then perfect until the head gasket blew.

The car's bodywork was in very good condition and all of the electrics worked!

Xantia's have a very unique driving experience- Handling is quite good and grip is Very good, but the steering is completely lifeless!

Accelerator pedal very light with short traveI.

Brake pedaI has almost no travel, but works exceptionally well!

Performance was quite good, had over 120mph out of it on a winding B- road (silly, but fun!) It would have gone faster, but l got scared! Acceleration wasn't very good past 80mph, TD was better!

Engine was noisy to say the least!

Very comfortable until the suspension stopped working which made it handle like a bouncy castle!

Fuel economy was very good- averaged 35mpg most of the time! lnsurance quite low for 2.0L at group 10.

Car started using a lot of water so l guessed the head gasket was on its way out- This was confirmed when l checked the coolant and oil cap- Emulsified sludge!

At this point l realised l'd had my 95pounds worth- I had covered 16000 miles in 6 months having only bought petrol and a 3 pound part! What a bargain car!

Another thing l liked about the car was the sense of achievement on completion of long journeys!- there was always a sense of an impending mechanical disaster!

My current car is a Rover 600 which looks great wafting around the British countryside, but l do miss the xantia's idiosyncrasy!