Citroen Berlingo Multispace (1998 - 2010) - Quite fancy one - any tips ?

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Wed 10 Jun 2009 17:45
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - strowger
I've had a Berlingo Multispace as a hire car a few times, and quite fancy one as my next car.

Want an old, cheap one, with a pre-ruined interior and some scratches and dents, as that would suit my style of vehicle ownership.

I've read the car-by-car breakdown entry for it - and I know the head gaskets always go on the XUD diesels and with French cars you always want a base model with as little electrical stuff as possible - but I'd be grateful for any other tips or advice peope had.

Is it worth seeking out, or avoiding, one from after they changed to the canbus multiplex electrical bus? Or doesn't it make any difference?

I see there was a 1.4 petrol and I can only imagine it was dire - anyone had one? Was the LPG conversion any good. I'm not going to do a mega-mileage so could stand it being petrol but generally prefer diesels. I don't care how slow it is really. Have driven the HDI (which is lovely) and XUD (which is slow and thirsty but perfectly adequate) versions.

Any advice gratefully accepted.

Edited by Pugugly on 10/06/2009 at 17:49

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Wed 10 Jun 2009 18:28
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - b308
The only commment I'd make is watch which version you get, the new one is massive compared with the old one, far too big for my liking...
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Wed 10 Jun 2009 19:55
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - mlj
I've got an 07 Desire model with the 1.6HDI. Not had a problem in 33K miles. Love the flexibility and practicality. I have nothing but praise for it. 52 mpg so far. Servicing not quite as expensive as I imagined. Citroen will unofficially confirm it is their most reliable model. A friend has an older (03) 2.0 HDI that performs well and delivers 44 mpg. Whatever your budget, the modutop is highly desirable. Go for it!
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Wed 10 Jun 2009 21:57
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - Bromptonaut
Lots of satisfied Berlingonauts on here (though I've not seen Phil W for a while).

Mine (actually Swmbo's) is a March 2005 1.9D Desire, so with Modutop etc, owned from new. Easily swallows the same loads as my own Xantia Estate but on a much smaller footprint. Kids love the extra space in the back, loads of storage places and facility to charge MP3/phone /PSP etc etc in the roof cubbies. Over the Spring holiday we took it from the Midlands to the Isle of Lewis and back including a 10hr limited stop return straight off the Ullapool ferry without serious complaint from passengers or drivers.

Now done 60k miles, pretty well trouble free. Recent work has included repairs to a corroded exhaust through pipe (both boxes still original) and replacement of the last two original tyres - fronts moved from rear at 45k. Only other work earlier than expected has been replacement front discs/pads at around 40k.

The gasket popping reputation of the XUD is mostly attributable to the turbos which never found their way into the 'lingo. Our 150k-mile BX 1.9 went to the scrappie on its original head gasket. The Hdi is fantastically smooth and economical and delivers all the performance the car can handle but is fiendishly complicated so a nightmare if it goes wrong (though Cit indies now have a pretty good handle on its foibles). The 1.9D combines the bottom end of an HDi with an IDI head and a hybrid electro-mechanical pump injection system. A little crude for some tastes but perfectly fine if you are happy to cruise a smidge under 70 and accept that you need a little extra space and planning for A road overtakes. Breezeblock aerodynamics keep mileage around 40 on a run, but at a £1k discount on the HDi version I reckon I'm still well in pocket.

In short, highly recommended

Edited by Bromptonaut on 10/06/2009 at 22:02

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Thu 11 Jun 2009 01:36
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - bathtub tom
I can't comment on your question, but love your 'handle'. My initials may give something away.

Is that pre 2K, 2k or 4K type? Personally, I'm E2, E4RD & 4A and various others that were tried locally (E1 & E6).

Sorry everyone else, private conversation.

Edited by bathtub tom on 11/06/2009 at 01:37

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Thu 11 Jun 2009 08:17
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - pmh2
bt tom - stop being so futuristic!

I had fancifully assumed that he was an aspiring undertaker. (motoring link?) ;)




p

Edited by pmh2 on 11/06/2009 at 08:18

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Thu 11 Jun 2009 08:56
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - RichardW
We looked at buying one of these this time last year to replace our ZX. My wife liked the upright driving position, but they were very dear for what they are (£4k for a tired 6 year old HDi!), and there are not that many around for sale. We also found that the clutch was pretty heavy on most of them, due I suspect to the cable taking a walk all the way around the engine bay! The 1.6HDi's have hydraulic clutches, which are much better, but they are a lot dearer! If you can find one that suits at the right price, and can live with the clutch, go for it - I would also want A/C with that much greenhouse potential - but again this was only an option and not that many are fitted with it.

We bought a Picasso HDi in the end - much more choice, AC std on SX and above, and found a pretty decent 5 year old one for £4k.
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Thu 11 Jun 2009 14:59
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - strowger
Thank you all for the replies.

I hadn't realised the 1.9D isn't the XUD. Crude sounds good when we're dealing with French hi-tech. Does the 1.9D last reasonably well? How's the HDi at 100k+ miles?

New one is too new to be cheap enough for me. I appreciate comment on build quality. My experience with the non-hydraulic Citroens is that the basic mechanical parts are tough enough but the electrics are scary and the interiors collapse. I don't care about the latter.

There are some big prices being asked for these cars aren't there. Xsara Picassos are a lot cheaper...but really aren't quite what I'm after.

(Far too young to have dealt with strowger kit in person but I used to have a 2600 sort of interest)

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Thu 11 Jun 2009 15:05
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - pmh2
>>>he 1.9D combines the bottom end of an HDi with an IDI head and a hybrid electro-mechanical pump injection system<<<

Sorry this was written before strowger posted!


RW can probably give chapter and verse on this but there were 2 different '1.9 Diesels' both badged as 1.9D fitted in the Berlingo.

The old 1905cc Diesel and the later 1868cc. The older one was used in all sorts from BX forwards, the latter in the Xantia and similar from about 1999.


I think it is the old one that is bullet proof, know very little about the newer one.


p

Edited by pmh2 on 11/06/2009 at 15:07

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Thu 11 Jun 2009 16:27
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - strowger
Not so easy to research but I think I found:

1905 cc = XUD
1868cc = DW8

DW8 is v similar to the XUD but has some electronic control of pump functions that were mechanical on the XUD - and these are a known problem tho not a serious one.

I've found a year 2000 one on ebay and that's a DW8 so XUD must have stopped an awfully long time ago. A shame.
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Thu 11 Jun 2009 17:16
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - RichardW
I'm not sure the XUD was ever fitted to the Berlingo. The DW8 does have somewhat of a lesser reputation than the XUD - but there must be millions of commercial vehicles fitted with this engine, so they can't all be bad!

The HDi is OK at high miles - there are lots about with several 00k miles on them. However, it can suffer spurious electrical maladies that can cost ££££ to diagnose and fix, and takes a strong dislike to anything but decent DERV. Secret seems to be to drive them hard and regularly on good diesel.
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Thu 11 Jun 2009 17:33
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - pmh2
>>>I'm not sure the XUD was ever fitted to the Berlingo<<<<<

If it was not the XUD what was the 1905cc unit in early diesel models?
There are also some 1998 vans claiming to be 1.8D (1,769 cc) on Ebay - mistake by seller ? or was this a non turbo version of the old 1.7D turbo?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_Berlingo#Engines
this is wrong, does not differentiate between 1868 cc / 1905 cc engine codes and calls both XUD IDI!





p
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Thu 11 Jun 2009 19:30
Slight change of plan - Partner Combi Escapade - strowger
Slight change of plan as I've just discovered the Peugeot Partner Combi Escapade.

The styling is yuck but the extra ground clearance sounds v useful.

Maybe going to look for one of those....same thing as Berlingo in most respects I think.
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Fri 12 Jun 2009 00:02
Slight change of plan - Partner Combi Escapade - Bromptonaut
On engine types Haynes lists both the XUD7 and XUD9 (1769 and 1905 respectively) though the former may only have been in vans. Early DW8 engines retained mechanical injection, the electronically controlled DW8B coming later.

Partner Combi and Berlingo are for practical purposes mechanically identical but with some trim differences. a relative has an 05 Partner which has a rather better seat velour than our 'lingo and lacks the (oxymoron!) body coloured bumpers and rubbing strips.


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Fri 12 Jun 2009 20:53
Slight change of plan - Partner Combi Escapade - adverse camber
We have one of those.

Better spec and cheaper than the citroen version. Seem to be very few berlingos with A/c whereas lots of pugs do. Horrible silly grills over the lights can easily be removed if you so wish.

Ours is a 53 2.0hdi coming up 90K. The wife is very happy with it (although many would think it a come down from the audi a4 quattro it replaced). Practical, good fuel economy, easy to get kids in/out because of the sliding doors.

Not quite as much load space as I would like, but still reasonable with the seats up.

Big service at 100K with the timing belt and pulley. some people recommend changing the fuel filter housing at the same time as the filter on the hdi. (two hdi systems with different housings - one much easier to open than ours).

Factors in our choice were no dual mass flywheel, and no particulate filter on the 2.0hdi.
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Tue 7 Jul 2009 23:10
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - PhilW
"Lots of satisfied Berlingonauts on here (though I've not seen Phil W for a while). "

He's been very busy in his retirement! SWMBO found me a job delivering cars - only about 12-14 hours a day! Oddly, though I have driven everything from Bentley Continental to a Smart, I still get in my Berlingo and think "this is a damned good car for the money and immensely versatile - and it handles better than a Range Rover Sport! and it's more comfortable than a Boxster and 911 and it's easier to get into and out of than an M3". Not had any problems whatsoever with 2 Blings in 70k. What's more that old chest freezer I took to the tip on Sunday would not have gone in the back of a Bentley and I can't even get my rucksack in the "boot" of a 911 - but I did love the Maserati Quattroporte!
Phil


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Fri 2 Dec 2011 10:59
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - mss1tw

The gasket popping reputation of the XUD is mostly attributable to the turbos which never found their way into the 'lingo. Our 150k-mile BX 1.9 went to the scrappie on its original head gasket.

Just what I needed to know, thank you. After a 1.9 non-HDi 'lingo. I have a motorbike for fun - reliability and economy will do just fine for a workhorse...

Why was it scrapped?

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Fri 2 Dec 2011 14:33
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - daveyjp

Old thread resurrected, but a friend has just replaced his work hack non turbo Berlingo van. It had done 150,000 miles in 5 years and it never missed a beat.

Needless to say he has swapped it for another which now being wider has a feature which should be on the car version - a front bench seat. Very handy when you have three passengers, but need to fill the boot up - like we do when we go camping!

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Fri 2 Dec 2011 22:50
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - Bromptonaut

The Berlingo mentioned above is still with us at just over 100k and is, by some margin, the most reliable car I've ever had. Last bit of original exhaust gave up in Feb and it's just had the second set of replacement front discs. Cambelt might have been a problem at 70k but gave audible clues that it was fraying due to a failed idler wheel.

BX was a 91/H scrapped in 2005. It needed a new steering rack (£500+) for the MoT and advisories about trailing arm bearings and body/subframe corrosion. Quite happy to spend more than it was worth on one repair but not a sucession of them.

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Sat 3 Dec 2011 07:38
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - mss1tw

Thanks Bromptonaut.

I am just off to look at a Berlingo Multispace 1.9 now, and feel better having read this thread!

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Fri 12 Jun 2009 01:48
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - Avant
Showing my age - the Berlingo always reminds me of a 1940s Jowett Bradford. I suppose it's the modern equivalent - lots of room for low cost.
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Fri 12 Jun 2009 12:14
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - terryb
SWMBO has a very low mileage 2001 Multispace 1.9 XUD with aircon. Totally reliable so far and much more versatile than many bigger vehicles. Winds up to 70 mph eventually and will cruise at that level all day if necessary.

The only minor hiccup has been a temporary "misfire" which we put down to a fill with a French brand of diesel recommended by Citroen! All other brands and supermarket fuels no problem.

Recommended.
Terryb
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Fri 12 Jun 2009 21:09
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - pmh2
< >


Was this a UK sourced vehicle? I can not find anyother XUD9 from 2000-2001.

I think they continued to sell them in France for longer than in the UK.





p
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Tue 7 Jul 2009 22:35
Quite fancy one - any tips ? - strowger
Thanks again to all who posted.

Decided in the end that it wasn't worth paying any more than the minimum, so after spending a week looking at ebay and the autotrader (what a shockingly bad website), I've bought an ex-Post-Office 2001 Partner Combi 1.9D.

Total base model - even has windy windows. Already found and fixed the first electrical problem (connector under driver's seat causing flashing airbag light).

Happy so far but its first proper run is tomorrow.
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