xantia 24v v6 auto buying? am i mental?

[sloth]

gents, ive been offered a 98 xantia 24v v6 auto. apparently it has all the fruit, and is white. it also has a huge history file, and has apparently had $10,000 spent in the last 3 years. if i want it its $1000 (520 quid) my daily is fucked,and i need a replacement. will this thing make me insane and what should i look for?

[sierraman]

Didn't know they sold the Xantia in America? And yes it's an awful idea, for that reason I'd recommend you buy it.

[sierraman]

Didn't know they sold the Xantia in America? And yes it's an awful idea, for that reason I'd recommend you buy it.

[sloth]

im in australia.... hehe

[Asimo]

Please buy and keep us cowardly Citroen fanciers amused posting your experience. Leaky green French stories much valued.

[cort16]

They're pretty awsome. The usual Xantia deranged electrical system and suspension woes apply but if thats okay then YES.

Access to the engine it terrible it's wll packed in there. I put a deposit on a v6 one once and overnight the alternator failed so I managed to bail out the deal. It probably did me a favour.

[philibusmo]

Where about in Aus are you? A Xantia V6 is certainly a good idea. If they're half as comfy as an XM then it'll be perfect for the dirt roads and long distance cruising, should imagine the engine will hardly be trying at 110kmh. I think they're also very well proportioned things as well and despite being an older car have aged very well.

 

The suspension isn't so difficult to work on really, the fear is mostly unfoubded, although the pipe from the hydraulic pump on my XM twice and once nearly put me through a fence, but that was more bad luck with the pipe deciding to let go at that particular moment after 170,000 miles.

 

The engine is, the old PRV lump I think, if so then parts are plentiful all over the world as I ended up in such a diverse range of vehicles. I think all versions of the PRV are belt driven but not too much of a bastard to change depending on how crammed that side of the engine bay is.

[sloth]

engine isnt the prv, its the later thing. meant to be all alloy and pretty good. auto is meant to be ok aswell.  im in churchill gippsland mate. where are you? im keen as my ef falcon has decided 4 bottles of chemiweld is enough and now uses coolant more than fuel. and it was doing 12mpg......

[philibusmo]

I couldn't be much further away as I'm currently in Boyanup, WA. I should be in Victoria for an extended time period in 4-6 months and would be good to have a few beers with some international shiters while on my travels.

 

12mpg really is poor, I guess that's the V8 rather than a straight 6 in your EF? My 6 cylinder BA Fairlane isnt an awful lot better as its doing 25.4mpg with me driving like a vicar, but its easy to get that much closer to 20.

[Bear]

There's one of these outside my house right now.

 

Comments:

 

1: It's the 24v - not the old one, the newer one. I forget what the designation is, but it's the same as a 406 Coupé etc.

2: The timing belt, singular, does a LOT, including two camshafts per bank. It is long, it is French, and it is an absolute pain to change by all accounts. It needs doing every 72,000 miles and whilst not quite an engine-out job, it may as well be.

3: The combination of that engine, the autobox and Xantia Hydractive 2/weight/build is really good. One of Citroën's outright best, most competent packages short of the Activa.

4: The accumulator sphere looks easier to get to do than a 2.0 Turbo with AC.

3: The engine is SO MUCH BETTER than that horrible 2.0 Turbo NVH machine.

 

If the gearbox has had regular fluid changes, it should be okay. If it's had spheres it should ride brilliantly. If it's had a timing belt in the last 30,000 miles or 3 years, grab it, enjoy it. If it has the very adjustable electric leather seats this one outside has, they're BETTER THAN AN XM.

 

I'll repeat that. BETTER SEATS, THAN AN XM.

 

Let that sink in for a while. Add 'lovely smooth high-revving 24V V6 engine'.

 

$1000 comedy-dollars? Why are you still reading. Get it bought.

[cort16]

You mustn't have welded anything for months! It must be weird for you.

[philibusmo]

I saw an ED falcon with rusty sills the other day and I was itching to give it a bit of a MIG tickle.

[Bear]

Mental LIKE A FOX.

 

This seat...

 

 

Has all these adjustments.

 

 

And look at the engine bay. All that room to work!

 

 

And that engine! Would you believe the manifold has to come off to change the rear bank of sparkplugs? Looks like it...

 

[cort16]

I think the rear plugs would be a 200,000 mile service item if it was mine.

[Bear]

I keep wondering what it would look like under there with the manifold polished. Could it approach Busso V6 levels of appeal?

[cort16]

Needs MOAR pipes

 

[sloth]

ill have a look at the car tomorrow. my falcon has the 6 cyl nugget in. im always available for a beer, just drop a message matey.

 

the xantia/xm/cx/ds have been on my "i must own one at some point" list for a while. it isnt helped by my neighbour having a mint 405 mi16....

 

as for the cambelt i have no qualms in doing that, i do vw ones for a living. and thyere the most fucking retarded setup EVAR.

 

btw if anyone needs vw/audi advice pm me. i know vauxhalls aswell ( billy is moist now i guess...)

[Bear]

 

as for the cambelt i have no qualms in doing that, i do vw ones for a living. and thyere the most fucking retarded setup EVAR.

 

 

Aside from maybe that weird-ass Audi V8 with the timing gear on the wrong end (am I remembering that right?), this will make you love VW. Most DIYers report that the 9-hour time some people quote to do it is really quite fair, and makes a few assumptions about getting the cam timing right

 

Having said that, I'm hoping Keith leaves this one here long enough that I can have a go. I've only ever done a RWD Ford CVH belt before. I like a challenge.

[purplebargeken]

He's always moist when V**xhalls are mentioned, although that be tears of pain actually.

 

Buy the bloody thing.

[dollywobbler]

They sound absolutely awesome and go like stink. It's the ES9 engine. Suspension isn't overly complicated, by Citroen standards.

[jonny69]

It's a Citroen of 'that' age with an auto box. It never ends well. Just bear that in mind, yeah?

[Lacquer Peel]

Its a ZF gearbox from Germany, it's probably as reliable* as German vehicles.

[richardmorris]

Auto box is the main weakness of these. I was very nearly going to buy one before the merc- it was low mileage and converted to lpg too, but the auto box had no history of oil changes. 60k is about it before they start failing if it hasn't been done. If the oil is changed every single service then they do go on for a long time.

[dollywobbler]

Perhaps this will help. Different Citroen, same engine. A nice noise. With a muttering Brummie in the background.

[Andrew353w]

I should start by saying I'm a big Citroën fan & can't speak too highly of them! By a bizarre co-incidence I spent yesterday having my car's suspension checked over before a long run to France next month. Nothing amiss, just a L.H.M. fluid change and a clean of the filters, check all the pipes are in good order and there are no leaks or stains, re-fill the fluid and there you are-job done!

 

There's a lot of pinch stuff written about the suspension set up, but if you look after it you'll have no worries!

 

Fortunately I'm just about as far away from you as I could be, so you'll not be able to extract your revenge IF it goes wrong..... Just buy it-you'll love it! 

[Bren]

Go in with eyes open.

 

Think of it as being with a prostitute - highly enjoyable until the money runs out.

[cort1977]

For that money you can't go wrong, one thing to think about is having some kind of back up in case you have to wait a few days for parts.   I didn't even know they sold the Xantia in Oz, I lived there for a few years and never saw one I can remember.  

 

Verdict: get it bought.

[Bear]

Auto box is the main weakness of these. I was very nearly going to buy one before the merc- it was low mileage and converted to lpg too, but the auto box had no history of oil changes. 60k is about it before they start failing if it hasn't been done. If the oil is changed every single service then they do go on for a long time.

 

That applies to every modern autobox. Leave a 722.6 too long and it'll crap itself, and all of these things have those hateful shared radiator/ATF cooler arrangements. IIRC Xantia boxes are rather more reliable than the XM, but that could just be age/knowledge of owners there.

 

I want an XM with the old 24V, LHD and DIRAVI. Doing it right. Expensively, miserably, but right.

[DSdriver]

There are a lot of good people on the Ausiefrogs forum if you need a bit of local knowledge. I would imagine it would be a perfect* car for Oz as long as the aircon works or you might find yourself welded to a dead cow.

[Bear]

How are C6 values holding up in Australia/New Zealand?