2003 C5 exclusiveness!

[maxxo]

going by data from how many left and averaging it out on 2004

i'd estimate there is around 1,800 of this generation C5 left on the road

shame

i bet in a few years there will be less of these on the road than xantia's

[maxxo]

went and got some bits off this one today

sadly this is being scrapped, nothing really wrong with it (speedo stuck, false overheating warning and dodgy stalks)

annoyed a bit really, firstly another C5 dying, and secondly a perfectly serviceable car being scrapped for a few minor issues just because the owner had bought a new car

i'll get some pics tomorrow of what i got

[DeanH]

14 hours ago, maxxo said:

perfectly serviceable car being scrapped for a few minor issues just because the owner had bought a new car

All in the name of progress old bean. Clean air and all that...

[maxxo]

This was one of the bits I got, the trim on the wing behind the door mirror

my previous ones were broken, really looks much better

[maxxo]

had snow today so did some testing of the Michelin CrossClimate 2, the new ones that came out this year

they're excellent, really good all round tyres, grip really nicely in the snow and i barely had any wheel spin even on the iciest slushiest bits

got to really be pushing on the brakes to get the ABS to kick in too

in dry wether they're sticky, quiet and really nice to drive on

[sierraman]

16 hours ago, maxxo said:

went and got some bits off this one today

sadly this is being scrapped, nothing really wrong with it (speedo stuck, false overheating warning and dodgy stalks)

annoyed a bit really, firstly another C5 dying, and secondly a perfectly serviceable car being scrapped for a few minor issues just because the owner had bought a new car

i'll get some pics tomorrow of what i got

Life goes on...

[richardmorris]

5 hours ago, maxxo said:

had snow today so did some testing of the Michelin CrossClimate 2, the new ones that came out this year

they're excellent, really good all round tyres, grip really nicely in the snow and i barely had any wheel spin even on the iciest slushiest bits

got to really be pushing on the brakes to get the ABS to kick in too

in dry wether they're sticky, quiet and really nice to drive on

It’s weird what previous owners manage to break when there really isn’t a need to. When I got my c5 at not quite four years old and 33,000 miles I bought a gearknob ( cracked selector decal), leather gaiter ( torn), drivers door pull ( very chipped) and new pedal rubbers.

[richardmorris]

7 hours ago, DeanH said:

All in the name of progress old bean. Clean air and all that...

Not necessarily. It’s worth nothing and could have issues that may be trivial but cost £1000. My 2002 c5 I sold in 2012 in px for the old 1994 merc after 50,000 miles in 6 years. I was happy to see it go. The merc was far the more reliable and cheaper car to run.

[DeanH]

5 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Not necessarily. It’s worth nothing and could have issues that may be trivial but cost £1000. My 2002 c5 I sold in 2012 in px for the old 1994 merc after 50,000 miles in 6 years. I was happy to see it go. The merc was far the more reliable and cheaper car to run.

Not doubting that for a minute. I had interpreted Maxxo's use of the word new as brand new. Maybe I have jumped to a conclusion

[maxxo]

I must admit I’d have not bothered pouring thousands into my last C5 if I’d have known what was literally about to happen

im happy to put money into this one, as it’s low enough miles to be worth it

but yeah, it’s been trouble free still, I suspect it may need a replacement battery at some point as I noted it cranked over a tad slow the other day

otherwise apart from sticky door locks it’s been fantastic

[maxxo]

i drove it for an hour or so and fixed the slow cranking

i had to fill up with unleaded and that's it

this is the most boring thread ever, but seriously that's how owning this car has been

[maxxo]

54.2 MPG averaged the other day on a 40 mile round trip! happy with that!

otherwise literally no issues, nothing, it's been fantastic for the 5 months i've had it now, can't complain at all

oh, i replaced the rear door lock too! what a bastard

so door card off, then you have to adopt weird uncomfortable positions in order to wedge your hand up behind the door handle

on the rear of the door handle there is a metal shroud, this is easily removed by removing the single bolt on the back and thumping it to one side, it's still but it works and it comes off

then round to the outside and remove the external door handle

fun begins......

so as mine was jammed locked there wasn't much i could do to try and open in

i ended up using a hammer and a screwdriver to smash the lock apart until i got to the latch and then spend 10 minutes faffing about trying to release it

managed it in the end, then joys of refitting everything, which was much easier said than done!

but it works perfectly! pleased i managed to get it done

i'd say it took around 6 hours in total to get it all sorted, which was annoying, but hey, it's done

[maxxo]

fitted a replacement headlamp washer cover today

wrong colour but looks better than a hole! washers still work perfectly and whilst i was there i decided to give it a good wash and waxing

looking very nice indeed! does look better with the cover fitted even though it's the wrong colour

otherwise it's been a perfect car!

put a fair few miles on it so far too!

what a fantastic purchase this has been

[maxxo]

sat in traffic about half an hour ago

BANG and jolted forward, immediate panic thinking the gearbox had done an AL4

almost to my relief i'd been rear ended

18 plate fiat 500 with P plates on it and a girl got out in absolute tears apologising bless her

her number plate fell off and i have a tiny little mark on my bumper, floor all straight

told her not to worry about it, i'm not bothered took me ages to even see any damage

i told someone on facebook about it and he told me i should have been angry and told her off

i'm sorry but no, a very minor accident with a new driver, i wasn't even angry i was just concerned

anyway, car is fine and i'll just buff out the mark

[gadgetgricey]

Liked for your attitude/actions, not for the bump.
Hope it polishes out OK.

[maxxo]

1 hour ago, gadgetgricey said:

Liked for your attitude/actions, not for the bump.
Hope it polishes out OK.

It’s been hit again today! Just got home from that and maybe 20 minutes later a neighbour knocked on the door really apologetic that she’s hit my car 

Now this one has damage, but I’ve got paint so told her not to worry about it and refused to take any money for it

at the end of the day, both people have been very honest and it’s a scratch on a 20 year old car it’s not a massive deal

ill sort it in the coming days

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, maxxo said:

almost to my relief i'd been rear ended

That's not something you hear every day! Did you get her phone number?

[maxxo]

28 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

That's not something you hear every day! Did you get her phone number?

I did not, I can’t see any damage so didn’t think to ask

[High Jetter]

7 minutes ago, maxxo said:

I did not, I can’t see any damage so didn’t think to ask

Amateur! 🤣🤣

[Missy Charm]

On 13/10/2022 at 15:19, Noel Tidybeard said:

driving miss daisy is prolly worse for an car than giving it a regular spanking

I like to run mine up to the redline now and again, just to remind the engine of what it is capable of doing.  I'm sure the car feels better for it...

Revving up is a nice reminder of the good old days, too, when you'd give it enough welly to encourage the secondary choke to open in the carburettor and then listen to it backfire on the overrun.  

[cort1977]

On 2/3/2023 at 5:26 PM, maxxo said:

 

at the end of the day, both people have been very honest and it’s a scratch on a 20 year old car it’s not a massive deal

ill sort it in the coming days

Liked for your attitude, not the bump obviously...

[maxxo]

On 2/3/2023 at 10:46 PM, Missy Charm said:

I like to run mine up to the redline now and again, just to remind the engine of what it is capable of doing.  I'm sure the car feels better for it...

Revving up is a nice reminder of the good old days, too, when you'd give it enough welly to encourage the secondary choke to open in the carburettor and then listen to it backfire on the overrun.  

it goes very very well especially with the autobox in sport mode at full throttle

[maxxo]

been a busy week for this car

here's the economy figure

[RoverFolkUs]

Unbelievable economy for a 2L pez automatic! I've said it before but it really does surprise me how something like that can be on equal ground in terms of economy for a 1L K12 Micra or something 

[maxxo]

1 minute ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Unbelievable economy for a 2L pez automatic! I've said it before but it really does surprise me how something like that can be on equal ground in terms of economy for a 1L K12 Micra or something 

I’ve got a little hack with the C5, accelerate briskly up to 70, hold it there for a bit so the suspension lowers then drop to 60 and it’s almost diesel like economy

im staggered by the economy of it too! Like really surprised, it’s better than my diesel was somehow 

[maxxo]

aye

had this car for 6 months now today

it's been very very easy

what a good purchase this was

[richardmorris]

That is better economy than my 2litre hpi manual managed. That was about 38mpg on average although it could do 56 on the motorway.

[maxxo]

40 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

That is better economy than my 2litre hpi manual managed. That was about 38mpg on average although it could do 56 on the motorway.

I actually do believe the automatic gearbox is helping, driven gently it’s on an economy logic, you can see the economy increase dramatically once the torque converter locks up

perhaps consistent shifting and computer control is helping

i just can’t believe how good on fuel it is

[maxxo]

pennies spent today!

£15 on a pair of bosch wiper blades from halfords as the old ones were knackered

 

[maxxo]

over a month since my last post

absolutely nothing to report, still  running as beautifully as ever

10k miles covered since purchase now at a respectable 46,900 miles

i washed it today too

MOT and a service in the coming weeks but thats about it