1998 CITROËN XANTIA 1.9 TD SX
Used car addict Keith recalls his best – and worst – classic buys. This week, a Xantia diesel rescued from the jaws of the crusher
WHY DID YOU WANT ONE? This one came to me via my good mate Mike Humble. Chatting to one of his neighbours, he noted the Ukregistered LHD Xantia in their garage and soon veered the subject to their hydropneumatically-suspended lovely. It seemed that their father had just returned from Spain after a life on the Costa and was struggling to sell his car after finding a replacement. Mike gently enquired about a price and immediately thought of me when he heard the phrase ‘whatever the scrapman would offer’ and made the call. Can’t think why. Before you could say ‘fluid leak’ I’d made my way down to Sussex to buy – I mean, look at – the car. I had to have it when it became clear that I was all that was standing between it and certain death at Pease Pottage scrapyard…
WAS IT A JOY – OR A NIGHTMARE – TO LIVE WITH?
Initially it was an absolute joy to behold. Smooth and quiet (for a diesel), this was an excellent car for motorway cruising, easily topping 50mpg without too many hassles. At the time I raved about having a left-hand drive car, espousing the joys of being able to step out of the car and straight on to the pavement. Lovely. It replaced a Rover 75 and was way more comfortable despite the British car’s much-vaunted ride quality – so much so that I racked up some serious miles in it in favour of some much nicer cars in my garage at the time. However, the honeymoon lasted about two months and 1000 miles before the electrics started failing and then the clutch went pop.
WHAT’S YOUR ABIDING MEMORY OF IT?
I’ll never forget my Xantia’s trip to the garage to get those jobs done. Basically the clutch cable had snapped and the battery earth cable was failing miserably. But time was my enemy back then and as much as I would have loved to spend a day with my head in the driver’s footwell re-routing a new cable, I had to be in the office putting another magazine to bed. As luck would have it I lived on top of a hill with a small garage at the bottom of it at the time. So, I made an 8.30am call to confirm that I could drop the car off, then it was a case of getting my two sons to push the car off the drive and into the road. A clumsy two-and-a-bit-point turn later, and I was rolling down the road, sons running behind me, in a completely dead car with zero steering and braking assistance. As luck would have it, there was nothing coming up the hill and my only anxiety was whether I’d be able to make the turn on to the garage forecourt without incident. Pulling the handbrake to slow things down as I neared the bottom of the hill, I heaved the wheel to the left with all my strength and landed just about perfectly on the forecourt – phew! I didn’t keep the car long after that figuring that I’d chanced my luck once too often in it.
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR BUYING ONE?
Citroën Xantias are well-made and reliable cars that tend to fail on silly electrical and electronic faults. The hydraulics are a lot less leak-prone than older models and don’t panic if the suspension is rock hard – it probably just needs new spheres, which are less than £50 a corner. You’re unlikely to find one that’s succumbed to rust unless it’s been damaged and repaired in some way and the XUD turbo engine is a tough operator, though it can be prone to blown cylinder head gaskets so check for any tell-tale signs, such as fluctuating temperatures and ‘mayo’ in the filler cap. Finally many parts are no longer available so you’ll struggle to replace missing or broken trim.