It's doing well for the rad to have lasted 11 years! Most Xantias, particularly TDs, need a new rad at about 6 or 7 years old. My 97R could do with one, and I changed the one on my 95 car at 8 years old. Needs an eye keeping on it, becuase if it fails catastrophically the head gasket will soon follow... Interestingly they seem to rot from the outside in, must be something about there being a water tap between the rad and the cross member. New only about £120, plus fitting.
£325 for a years motoring is not bad. Most newer cars cost that a month in depreciation, and you're still beholden to the main dealer for £150 oil changes.
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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It's doing well for the rad to have lasted 11 years! Most Xantias, particularly TDs, need a new rad at about 6 or 7 years old. My 97R could do with one, and I changed the one on my 95 car at 8 years old. Needs an eye keeping on it, becuase if it fails catastrophically the head gasket will soon follow... Interestingly they seem to rot from the outside in, must be something about there being a water tap between the rad and the cross member. New only about £120, plus fitting.
I don't think it is worth the risk of it failing, as major engine damage would render the car not worth keeping. He has quoted £130 plus fitting.
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How many miles has it done. I'm asking 'cos surely a radiator should last longer than 11 years? What does he mean by it "looking tatty"? -------------- Mike Farrow
It has done about 104,000. He did say that he has normally had to replace them much sooner than that. Apparently, there is an area on it that has suffered badly from corrosion.
Should a radiator be expected to last longer than 11 years?
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"My wife thinks it is a lot of money to pay on a car that is worth next to nothing but the car is in good shape, and is still lovely to drive. Maintenance has to be done, no matter how old the car is."
Point out to her that I have just paid £250 for a 2year/20k service on my Berlingo. All they did was change a few fluids and "clean and rebalance the rear brakes" whatever that means. Had to go to main dealer 'cos it's his warranty - as soon as the three years is up I shall go to my local independent. If what you paid is your total maintenance cost for the year it's good value. Keep the Xantia - good cars!
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A lot of money for what they did, I agree, but if that is all you have paid for two years (hopefully), it is cheap motoring.
My concern with the Xantia is that more big bills may be around the corner. When does it become sensible to spend more on a replacement? It has been very reliable so far but more components are likely to fail in the not too distant future.
Having paid for new tyres and the latest service, I suppose it makes sense to carry on for another 12 months. It doesn't do much mileage now we have the C5 but I like to take it out on a prolonged run every now and then, particularly on country roads, where it is more enjoyable than the C5.
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I think you should hang on to it for a while yet. 104K is not alot at all for the engine and it sounds like you have maintained it well throughout its life.
Plenty of miles left in it and like said above the odd largeish bill now and again (rad,maybe alternator etc at this mileage) is nothing really.
If the car is reliable and you know its history stay with it.Good cars BTW.
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I look at it like this.
Annual depreciation on a £10,000 new car will average around £1,300- assuming 50% in 3 years.
If all you spend on maintenance and repairs in a year is £300, you are £1,000 better off.
Susbstiute whatever numbers you like.
All the rest is status : unless it is 100% clapped out or unsafe.
madf
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It is obviously not as safe as an up to date car would be but it is sound, and it is not as quiet at speed as it used to be. Up to around 70 mph, it is still quite quiet but it is not as relaxed as the C5 on motorways.
On country roads though, it is very enjoyable and the ride is still very good, as I have always ensured that the sphere pressure is OK, by having valves fitted to the spheres. This enables the pressure to be checked and gas added, if required.
In addition to all of this, I know the complete history of the car.
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2 jobs might break the back of this car:
1. The clutch. Big job on a Xantia, and particularly the TDs. Full days work, so labout mounts up
2. The heater matrix. Dash out to fix, taking well over a day. You should avoid this if the coolant has been changed regularly, and if it does start weeping, good effect has been had from Forte Rad Sealer.
In addition, the clutch cable pedal clip will probably go (if it hasn't already!). The clip costs about £5, but takes 3 hours + to fit it - gets expensive at garage rates!
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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>>>The clutch. Big job on a Xantia, and particularly the TDs. Full days work, so labout mounts up<<<
This is something I've wondered about. Why do manufacturers make something as essential as replacing a clutch so difficult? The old Cavalier clutch was easy to change, on the Vectra it became much more of a job. Surely this is a backward step?
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If anything cropped up that was very expensive, I would have to consider scrapping it. It doesn't owe us anything.
It is still on the original clutch. In fact the only major thing that has been replaced is the hydraulic pump. The only thing that is not working is the rev counter and I don't really think it is worth spending money to fix it. If it was inexpensive to do, I might consider it, but I imagine it might cost a fair bit just to find out why it isn't working.
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I think the rev counter is driven from a fairly simple hall effect sensor from the fly wheel. Fiddly i think to replace, but not particularly expensive.
Perhaps worth DIYing if you are that way inclined.
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Thanks for the info but, no, I am not that way inclined.
The rev counter gave up the ghost finally, after a long period when it would sometimes work and sometimes it wouldn't. I often wondered whether or not it was just a faulty electrical contact somewhere.
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