Just bought an XM, lots of new buttons to press.

[DSdriver]

Defo worth an enquiry then.

Road trip tomorrow - i'll try and remember the camera.

[DSdriver]

Picked it up today from an amazing chap who is trying to corner the market in Citroen H vans, he does them up as catering wagons and either sells them or rents them out. There were about fifteen at his house and apparently there are others elsewhere. Anyway, back to the plot, usual scrapes and scratches and wafty plastic trim. One headlamp has an araldite repair to a stone hole and the other is full of condensation so they need attention. The offside back light has a hole in the lens about an inch in diameter so if anyone has one for sale please let me know - its an estate by the way. Apart from that and a very minimal exhaust manifold mutter it seems good to go out in. Nice and clean inside and everything seems to work. Most importantly the heater is excellent after suffering with the DS shambles. The seller reckoned it is very comfortable, well I expect it is if you usually drive an H van but, to me, the seats are hard and the suspension is stiffer than the DS. Close your eyes and you could be in a Volvo 740/940. The steering wheel has been abused by a previous owner and the spongy outer layer is loose from the rigid inner part around the ten o'clock area. I don't know if "they all do that Sir" and there is an easy repair like drilling a hole and pumping a load of black sealant in.

I was so excited when we picked it up that I forgot to take any pictures so you'll have to wait till tomorrow as its getting dark now.

Also, anyone got a spare Haynes B.O.L. they can flog me, or swap for one of these:

Triumph 2000

MkIII Cortina

Rover 3litre P5

Vauxhall Astra

Citroen AX

[purplebargeken]

Christ, I'll buy you a new HBOL for the Triumph please, what year is it, auto or manual and what is the colour. Will it come with MOT?

 

 

I wish.

 

Good luck with the XM.

[richardmorris]

Allan Lloyd in Dorking by any chance?

[Bobthebeard]

I have owned three XMs over the years. I learned never to press any buttons whatsoever, as whatever I pressed usually resulted in the thing pictured on the button breaking, failing to operate, falling off, leaking, going up instead of down, staying down when it should be up or costing £££s for a new button.

Fantastic cars in many ways and loved each and every one of them. Just don't press any of the buttons!

[DSdriver]

Allan Lloyd in Dorking by any chance?

 

Yep, that's the chap.

[richardmorris]

Saw the estate for sale - looked good. I couldn't take a liking to the XMs though - I tried a couple of times after my CX went, but they didn't really do it for me. I was also put off by auto box horror stories, but basically it was the size I think - just more than I needed. Also I loved the interior of the series1 in particular, especially with black leather and pale wood veneer, but hated the trapezoidal side window. Good luck with the purchase - I know of Allan from the 2CV and Citroen Car Clubs although he has been very quiet on those fronts recently since there were differences of opinion over the 2cvgb stand at the nec last year.

[DSdriver]

XM ownership is off to a great start. I haven't used it yet since I drove it home due to the atrocious weather but thought I would pop up to my lock up and get the generator out in case the power goes off later. Started fine but low hydraulic warning flashing. Arse. There doesn't seem to be a sheen of oil on top of the big puddle of rainwater it is sitting in but that is all I can tell really as it is pitch black, blowing a hooly and persisting down out there. Fault investigation is going to have to wait.

[Sudsprint]

Lets stay positive.

 

Maybe it was just a poor earth in the dash in this wet weather.

[Lacquer Peel]

What variety of XM is it? I really fancy a 2.5TD.

[raggerminder]

2.5 is the way to go for the best compromise of power and economy, but they all seem to have their strengths (and weaknesses).

 

I am currently ruinning a 2.1 auto that has had some sort of mysterious power tweak (unfortunately I can't find out exactly what as the company that did the work no longer exist) that has lifted it to quite acceptable standards of pulling power. The auto boxes have a poor reputation with some but with regular ATF changes thay can give good service, mine is approaching 170k and is as smooth as you woul;d like. On the last fill, over 594 miles, it returned 40.6mpg - that will do me!

[beko1987]

Fuck. You. (28mpg average over 5 months...)

 

Can't beat it though!

[DSdriver]

I like the idea of the damp in the dash, the car was quite damp inside when I picked it up. I put it down to over-zealous valeting but as it hasn't stopped raining since I got it, who can tell. Having the 2 DS we always carry a good reserve of LHM so I should be able to get it the 1/4 mile away from the house that the breakdown insurance requires if there is a major leak.

Its the 2.1turbo petrol XU engine.

A couple of things I noticed when driving it, first of all the throttle has a lot of loose travel before it actually does anything and then is quite stiff,

and the breaks need a lot of standing on. Are they all like that?

[beko1987]

Do you have a sunroof?