22nd Oct 2009, 10:21
2001 Xsara 2.0 HDI Estate with a measly 203,000 miles just passed its MOT with not even an advisory.
Full main dealer service history no rust and still pulls like a train with no smoke and 50+mpg
Everything still works and nothing is broken... touch wood :)
15th Dec 2009, 12:23
I have a 1998 Xsara 1.9 diesel turbo. 142,000 miles, had it 2 years and done 35,000 miles in those 2 years. Only faults being fan heater not working, central locking not working and needed steering rod for MOT. Starts and runs perfectly all the time, very economical and reliable. Great value for money.
These cars are cheap, so to all you complainers out there, you get what you pay for, so if you want Audi reliability, then buy one.
5th Jan 2010, 16:54
I've had a 2001 Xsara LX from new (was £7999 on the road).
Now at 150,000 miles, the heater matrix is leaking.
Has been very low cost motoring, still drives well, but this may be goodbye!
22nd Mar 2010, 15:26
Had mine for three years now. Black Y reg Hdi estate. In those three years, I have done over 60k miles, and I bought it with 104k miles. Been very pleased with it so far, and it's good to drive and economical. I use it for work, and it takes all my tools with no problems.
In the three years it has needed new tyres, disks/pads and filters as is usual with most cars. I change the oil and filter regularly.
The problems I have had with it are:
The heater smell, which I think is more to do with standing water leaking in. I replaced the clips holding on the plastic trims under the wipers and it hasn't been as bad. The coolant level stays the same, so if the matrix is leaking, then it must be only a tiny amount.
Antipollution fault due to a clogged up fuel filter; easy fix, just took a while to figure out what was causing it to go into limp home mode.
The indicator kept sticking on. Again an easy fix; just took the switch apart and cleaned out metal swarf from contacts, and it has worked fine for years.
Wipers failed, again easy fix, just replaced one of the links from another Citroen at the scrapyard.
At present it is starting to creak from the rear, and not sure if this is brake or suspension related. I will be looking into it soon. The car has a hard life, and I do carry a fair bit of weight in the back, so it is to be expected.
I have been happy with the car. It has some nice features, remote central locking, three proper rear seatbelts, aircon, lots of airbags and a not bad stereo. The interior is plasticky, but what do you expect for the price. As for other cars being more reliable, then maybe some are, but I have owned other cars that have needed lots more work. I think review sites like these mainly attract only negative reviews from people who are looking to vent some anger, so I thought I would try to redress the balance a bit.
I would buy another, but hopefully this one will keep going to over 200k miles (touch wood), so I won't need to for a while.
9th Aug 2010, 01:50
I live in Australia, and have owned my Xsara 2000 model for the past 9 months. It has had NOTHING but problems since the day I drove out of the car yard!
All the normal faults that have been mentioned, limp mode while driving and no acceleration, engine management light CONSTANTLY ON and now, a lovely noisy gearbox that sounds like there are loose screws in there!
I am a female, and know nothing about cars, have spent thousands of dollars on this trying to get things fixed, but I seem to be getting ripped off. Any suggestions as to what it is with the engine management light; apparently it says on the computer that it has to do with cylinder 1.
Thanks everyone.
Jay.
10th Aug 2010, 12:51
I have owned my Xsara Forte 1.4 V reg for 3 years, have replaced the gear box at the cost of around £1000. Other than that it has been pretty reliable, until recently.
I changed the thermostat because it jammed, now when the engine gets to running temperature, all the dash red warning lights come on with an audible warning as well. The water level is fine, no muck mixed with the oil, and it drives fine. I have had it in 3 different garages who say they can't find anything wrong.
The best advice from one garage was to drive it around until whatever the fault was showed itself. Great advice if you have a death wish. I am not one for driving around in a faulty car. Anyone has any ideas on the fault let me know.
I won't be buying another Citroen.
19th Sep 2009, 08:07
I have a 2002 2.0 HDI 110hp from new, now done 66,000 miles. The only problems I've had have been minor - blown bulbs, exhaust mid section etc and one major - broken front spring which took out the tyre too - that was really scary! My local independent garage tells me that they now have at least one broken spring per day on all makes of cars, caused by the terrible state of the local roads and multiple speed bumps, so not common only to Citroens!
The car has been regularly serviced and goes like a dream. You wouldn't think it's a diesel except for the meagre fuel consumption - it does around 45 mpg locally and 55 on long trips to see my daughter in Glasgow (750 miles round trip). I don't hang about either doing around 80 on the motorway and liking to use the good performance locally.
It has now just developed what, from the posts, seems like a common problem of knocking noises from the suspension area so am hoping it's the anti roll bar bushes or something.
Anyway, I'm not sorry I bought it. It's good to drive, fairly quiet, holds the road well and is economical. It's no worse and much better than some of the cars I've had over the years. Yes the bodywork dents easily, but it's a CHEAP car so you can't expect it to be the same quality as something costing much more.
Some owners have had bad experiences, but I've thought for years that diesels are the only way to get reliability. I think some owners also expect too much and try to do things themselves when they are not capable. The Xsara is not a DIY car in my opinion - you just need to find a good local garage, this will cost less in the long term. Mine goes in for MOT & full service only once per year as service interval is 10K.
I think the bad smell from the heater may be the fault of the air conditioner. This needs regular attention too but is usually forgotten. I leave mine on all year round as this prevents mould & other common air conditioner problems. As for the poster who says he will never buy another foreign car - I've got news for you - there aren't any British cars left! So I guess you'll have to get a bike.