car buying help

[brin]

as said i have been offered a citreon c5 at a very good price so i think by a very good friend it is 5yrs old but only has 14k on the clock it is in almost perfect condition the reason he is selling is because he works abroad a lot hence the low milage ,his next contract is for at least 3yrs so the car will be just collecting dust .i have my doubts about citreon ie things going wrong with the elecs are there any other things i should look out for .if anyone has one what are your thoughts about the suspension any other input would be great. many thanks
brin

[Kwickkwack]

I had a Citroen Picasso as my previous car, did over 130,000 miles in it and the only issues I had were one electric window motor and and a loom problem (did not affect the car at all but was replaced before it became a problem). I would have no problem in recommending it to anyone. The C5 I think was the successor to the Xsara I believe so should be good. at that mileage it is surely a winner.

[pchristy]

A few years back my wife had a Citroen BX - one reason why I would never, ever again consider a Citroen!

1) The hydraulic suspension had a habit of jacking the rear of the the car up to its maximum limit, and keeping it there! Hundreds of pounds spent at both main and independent dealers failed to solve the problem!

2) Only the French could design a car where the air intake to the carburettor was only inches above ground level. Any time it was driven through even the slightest flood water, it immediately ingested water and hydraulic locked!


Never again!

Aaarrggghhh!

[Kwickkwack]

2) Only the French could design a car where the air intake to the carburettor was only inches above ground level. Any time it was driven through even the slightest flood water, it immediately ingested water and hydraulic locked!

I dont think particular design fault was exclusive to the French, see several other cars with similar issues. But as with all things, we usually go with our own experiences

[inferno]

As a French car specialist, starting out with bx's, I'd say go for it. Most common problem are the spheres needing replacing. Parts are very cheep from europarts, but repairs tend to b labour intensive. Good regular servicing, clean fluids, and there a great reliable moter.

Bx rear end jacking up sounds like a dodgy regulator or broken adjuster link, the later is like 1.50 !!! Could also b spheres, 20-25 a corner on the bx and 10 mins to fix.

Good luck with the c5.

[inferno]

Just to add, there is an addative u need to fill now and then that causes the cat to fail, Citroën charge about 60 iirc for a refill kit, garages sting you when your cat fails

[brin]

Just to add, there is an addative u need to fill now and then that causes the cat to fail, Citroën charge about 60 iirc for a refill kit, garages sting you when your cat fails

not with you there why and where do you need to put the additave.?

[paul35]

The only problems i know of with the c5 is the fuse box & bsi board, make sure everything works including wipers, heater motor etc, also the suspension pump is now electric with a control module, very expensive if this goes wrong

[Steve]

What is that Citroen say?

"Alive With Technology" or some such advertisers tripe. It's just a shame they forget to put the engines in on most of their models....

Sorry Brin, couldn't resist.

Sounds like a very sensible purchase to me.

[Pulsar]

Hey,

On the Diesel models the have a exhaust cleaner called a “DPF” Diesel particulate filter which can block if allowed if allowed to run dry. Unfortunately this can be expensive when it goes wrong. Audi are another manufacture that uses DPF as well. They can still block even with the liquid in them.

Also with the HDI diesel it is really important to have the cam belt changed BEFORE the due date, as they do fail early , and due to a poor fuel injector design they can and do seize in cylinder head and it can quite easily right the car off.

However they drive really good and are a nice car . And these problems are on the diesel model.

Also there are very few car out there which don’t have there fault so you must keep thing in perspective.

Hope this helps

[inferno]

The addative goes under the rear passenger wheel arch, don't ask me why lol, there's two extra capillary pipes on the cat on the models that use it.

[brin]

The only problems i know of with the c5 is the fuse box & bsi board, make sure everything works including wipers, heater motor etc, also the suspension pump is now electric with a control module, very expensive if this goes wrong

there is an issue with the security codes as he had to disconnect some wires to get it going after the battery flattened when he was away for some time so i need to find out what exactly he did.but it has been fully serviced

[beerdeor]

Ok been a main dealer consultant tech for 10 years been with citroen for 22 years in total. Some advise above is good but most of it is jibberish
If its a c5 petrol run a mile, if its a petrol hpi dont stop running,2.2 hdi start running again.If its a 2 litre HDI then truth be told its not a bad car. The fluid associated with the particulate filter is called eloyos fluid and has to be topped up on the service,milage dependant upon the RP number of the vehicle.However you will get a warning up on the dash saying particulate filter fluid low,funnily when it is.The vehicle will do what is called a regeneration every now and then when driving conditions are correct and the driver will never know, this cleans the particulate filter.I've never changed one!!! Sorry for rambling to sum UP 2 litre hdi c5 IMHO good car any other engine run like the wind
hope this help
atb Jim

[beerdeor]

The addative goes under the rear passenger wheel arch, don't ask me why lol, there's two extra capillary pipes on the cat on the models that use it.

These would be upstream and downstream of the FAP that go to the differential pressure sensor so the ecu can see if the FAP is blocking IE if downstream pressureis lower then the Fap is blocking and the car will regerate at the earliest oppertunity
atb Jim

[brin]

Ok been a main dealer consultant tech for 10 years been with citroen for 22 years in total. Some advise above is good but most of it is jibberish
If its a c5 petrol run a mile, if its a petrol hpi dont stop running,2.2 hdi start running again.If its a 2 litre HDI then truth be told its not a bad car. The fluid associated with the particulate filter is called eloyos fluid and has to be topped up on the service,milage dependant upon the RP number of the vehicle.However you will get a warning up on the dash saying particulate filter fluid low,funnily when it is.The vehicle will do what is called a regeneration every now and then when driving conditions are correct and the driver will never know, this cleans the particulate filter.I've never changed one!!! Sorry for rambling to sum UP 2 litre hdi c5 IMHO good car any other engine run like the wind
hope this help
atb Jim

cheers jim will have to find out the exact model then