Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: RonaldMcBurger on 24 August 2007, 08:08:07
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This is SWMBO's new car.
Bought totally blind off ebay for £400 buy-it-now. A 1998 S-reg Xantia 2.0 SX Estate Auto. MoT December, taxed end September. Silver, 110k.
That is all I knew about it, so i took a chance. Laidback and I went up at 10:30pm last night to collect it from Yorkshire. Looked ok in the dark, no torch, it started and had 1/4 tank fuel. That'll do me. Paid and drove it back. It drove 100% perfectly, Hydro suspension was spot on and car handled superbly at all speeds up to 69.9mph :)
Only faults found? Wiper blades need changing, fuse blown for heater (probably due to the number of dead leaves in the air intake) and one tyre is a bit crazed. Oh, and a hub cap is missing.
Good news? Found the books in the car this morning. Car has a FULL history and in daylight looks fine.
For £400 I am delighted. SWMBO will try it later today and if she likes (which I think she will) her Omega Estate hits Ebay tonight!
Sometimes, you just get lucky! :y
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Not my experience with Xantias, Fin, usually has a leaking height valve that dumps the hydraulics and then you either glide down the road scrubbing the front tyres to shreds or no go at all as the wheels are trapped in the wheel arches. :'( :'(
Well done though with your bargain and hope Mrs gets lots of happy miles out of it. :y
DaveL
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A xantia estate to replace an omega estate? It may have been a very good buy Fin, but I'd hardly say Mrs Fin was getting a good deal.
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Well, we had a BX a long time ago and it NEVER gave the slightest bother. The Omegas however, by the very existence of this forum, speaks for itself.
Now, I am not going to slag the Omega off as this would hardly be the right place for that, but it isn't THAT good. Nor is the Xantia, but I will put money on it that I spend a LOT less time maintaining the Xantia than I did the Omega.
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Time will tell :-/
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Right. It is nearly 4 o'clock. The Xantia is still working so that beats the Omegas then! :y
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Hi Fin,
My mate has just sold his Wifes Xantia 1.9 TD which had covered 274,000mls without any major problems and only got rid because his Wife travels between Banbury and Heathrow daily and the car needed some work which made it less than cost efficient.
All he did was make sure he did regular oil changes and to be honest it didn't look like it had covered a quarter of the miles it had and still drove like the day he bought it :o.
For such a quirky motor i don't think you can fault it's reliability :).
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Hi Fin,
My mate has just sold his Wifes Xantia 1.9 TD which had covered 274,000mls without any major problems and only got rid because his Wife travels between Banbury and Heathrow daily and the car needed some work which made it less than cost efficient.
All he did was make sure he did regular oil changes and to be honest it didn't look like it had covered a quarter of the miles it had and still drove like the day he bought it :o.
For such a quirky motor i don't think you can fault it's reliability :).
The french do seem to do reliable diesels, shame the rest of the car falls apart.
I think most diesels will go on forever if you change the oil regularly (and not at the specified 10 - 15k!)...
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Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I can think of one that didn't go on forever. ::) ;D
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Hi Fin,
My mate has just sold his Wifes Xantia 1.9 TD which had covered 274,000mls without any major problems and only got rid because his Wife travels between Banbury and Heathrow daily and the car needed some work which made it less than cost efficient.
All he did was make sure he did regular oil changes and to be honest it didn't look like it had covered a quarter of the miles it had and still drove like the day he bought it :o.
For such a quirky motor i don't think you can fault it's reliability :).
The french do seem to do reliable diesels, shame the rest of the car falls apart.
I think most diesels will go on forever if you change the oil regularly (and not at the specified 10 - 15k!)...
Hi Jamie,
Very true about Diesels and he did change the oil every 3k but must say i've never been an admirer of Sickvans
although like i said can't fault his one and nothing fell of it :o so they must have used some tools to put it together ;D.
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Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I can think of one that didn't go on forever. ::) ;D
Are you talking about the engine or the saga here?
;)
Kevin
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Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I can think of one that didn't go on forever. ::) ;D
I reckon the overheating problem, solved back in June, also caused further damage (cracked head through overheating?). i.e. it wasn't properly looked after. The service history looks crap - book stamped every 10k, this engine is 4.5k max...
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Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I can think of one that didn't go on forever. ::) ;D
Are you talking about the engine or the saga here?
;)
Kevin
As Scottie would say " TheBoy canny take much more of this Cap'n" ;D ;D ;D
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I reckon the overheating problem, solved back in June, also caused further damage
Most likely. That's probably why it appeared a simple problem (it was) but it was actually masking a further issue which only reared its' head once all should have been well >:(
I do hope you can get the new engine running right.
Kevin
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Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I can think of one that didn't go on forever. ::) ;D
Are you talking about the engine or the saga here?
;)
Kevin
As Scottie would say " TheBoy canny take much more of this Cap'n" ;D ;D ;D
Don't jest - that is nearer the truth than you would know....
Nothing going right at the moment, including a problem with our new OOF server >:(
It IS a conspiracy, the buggers ARE out to get me....
;D
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Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I can think of one that didn't go on forever. ::) ;D
Are you talking about the engine or the saga here?
;)
Kevin
As Scottie would say " TheBoy canny take much more of this Cap'n" ;D ;D ;D
Don't jest - that is nearer the truth than you would know....
Nothing going right at the moment, including a problem with our new OOF server >:(
It IS a conspiracy, the buggers ARE out to get me....
;D
There's no conspiracy here, well that's what they told me to tell ya, OOPS! forget i said that. :-X ;D ;D.
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Going back on topic... ;)
I have to say the Xantia looked fine, sounded very smooth (the 2.0 petrol lump is excellent), and the hydro pneumatics were working perfectly.
I am a fan of the hydro pneumatic setup. It offers superb ride and handling (especially on the Bx16v!) and gives you awesome brakes!
However... when it goes wrong it can be a little "challenging"! ;)
I suspect, for £400 Fin has got a bl**dy good car!
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£400 sounds like a right good deal :y
I love them, we have had loads of Citroens over the years, GSA, BX, CX, XM and Xantia, all of them have that fantastic suspension.
I see loads of Xantias now going cheap, and nearly all of them ride really choppy, the spheres on there are pretty easy to change and the difference it will offer in ride is untrue.
The wiring can be a but hit and miss at times, aside from that they have a nice quirkyness about them
Been looking at the new Citroen C5, now that is full of toys and gadgets :y
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Have to agree with ride quality. Citroen system so good Rolls Royce started using it on the Shadows back in the late 60 early 70's and have done ever since. They just keep it very quiet :-X
French deisel engine are amongst the best especially the latest electronic control version. Car should go on forever and the anti-corrosion system started on the Xantia means the body work should last as well, just deal with stone chips quickley! :y
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Dad always had Citroens before he turned all BMW...
I remember a notable occasion when the suspension sprang a big leak in one of his GSAs, and lost brakes (shared the same fluid) :o
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I dont like French cars ..... never will buy one!