1995 Citroen Xantia SX review from UK and Ireland

Where do I start?

Leaking windscreen, causing water damage to the wiring under passenger front carpet.

Faulty alarm, now immobilised. Over £300 to repair, not fixed, not worth the money.

Heater resister blown 3 times in 3 months.

Remote central locking stopped working. Still not functioning.

Suspension spheres re-gassed twice in 3 years.

Alternator replaced after 1st month of owning.

Timing belt replaced twice in 3 years, the second time because of a bolt shearing on the engine mounting bracket.

Boot solenoid erratic.

Rapid clicking coming from fuse box under steering wheel, since I first bought the car.

And finally, indicator arm stuck in right turn, happened tonight, (Good Friday!) looks like another expensive job, it won't click either up or down.

There have been other faults, but can't think of them right now.

My previous xantia, 1.9 TD SX, same age and same spec as this one, was an absolute dream, not a fault to be found. It was written off when I was hit in the offside rear (by a car doing 30 MPH!) causing the boot to fold into the fuel filler tube, split the fuel tank and rippling the roof.

And so I had no hesitation to buy another xantia, but I have had nothing but expensive problems since day one.

The average spend each visit to the mechanic is about £250, and its second hand value is about £2000, that's if I could get someone gullable enough to buy it, what with all the outstanding faults!!

This is a truly bad example of a car, but I will think twice before choosing Citroen again.