1998 Citroen Saxo X 1.1i

Summary:

Outstanding!!

Faults:

Clutch failed at 67,000 miles (it was 8 years old...)

General Comments:

Look for one that hasn't had the boy-racer touch, ie one with it's own wheels on it and you'll be fine.

A very hardy little car.

Got from Glasgow to Pamplona (yes, in Spain) and back without a hiccup. It was about 8-9 years old when I did this!!

A bit noisy, but don't hold that against this cracker of a car!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th July, 2008

1998 Citroen Saxo

Summary:

Fast, sexy looking and cheap to run

Faults:

Non apart from needed new indicator bulb.

General Comments:

I have had 132mph down the motorway before it started to slightly struggle.

The car's handling is superb and it has brilliant grip; you can go round the corners really fast, and you feel it will hold on every time.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 12th May, 2008

1998 Citroen Saxo 1.1

Summary:

Good first car, high insurance, fast for the engine size

Faults:

So far I am pleased to say that I have had no problems with the car myself.

However my step dad coming home from picking it up... the engine blew up, so had a new one of them fitted cheaply because he is in the motor trade. With this new engine (same as before only not blown up) it has been fine.

Some noise coming from the driver's window.

General Comments:

Very happy with this as a first car, cheap for a 1.1, kept up with my friends 2.0 HDi 306; he might just be a bad driver though. Looking on buying a 1.9 dturbo, so I hope that's not the case.

By the way, does anyone know what's faster, a 1.9 dTurbo 306 or a 2.0 hdi 306?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd March, 2008

7th Mar 2008, 14:47

No. Get a BMW.

8th Mar 2008, 04:23

They should be very similar as they are both around the 90bhp. I think the older one may be fractionally nippier, but a lot less refined.

8th Mar 2008, 04:52

Those HDI's are pretty quick, I drive a subaru and was quite surprised at how far I had to push the loud pedal to stay with him.

1998 Citroen Saxo VTR 1.6

Summary:

Total bag of #### and a headache

Faults:

Suspension loose 2 days after purchase, kangarooing after 5 days of purchase. Took it to a Citroen dealer for check, no apparent problem found.

Rust showing on boot seal after two weeks.

New radiator needed after 2 months found whilst having a service.

Body panels coming apart.

Steering loose, clunking suspension, noisy driveshaft, exhaust needed renewing.

All these problems occurred in just the first six months!!! And the list goes on... I feel sick just writing all this now.. the money that has been spent on the car is unbelieveable!!!

Extremely leaky sunroof; how could I have forgotten that one!!!

Oh, and had to have a new clutch fitted 4 days before Christmas, and that's still making a funny noise, which apparently is the thrust bearing. Have taken back to the garage where clutch was fitted as got 2 year guarantee, but they don't want to know... Help.

General Comments:

Would never ever ever buy another french car as long as I live.. when I first saw the car I was in love with the shape and style, and the overall drive of it, but once the problems started they never stopped coming...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 20th November, 2007

1998 Citroen Saxo VTR 1.6 petrol

Summary:

Great fun to drive, but crash protection is pretty poor

Faults:

Basically, erratic idling for 6-8 weeks. The car would stall when you need power and often idled at 3000rpm! Idling speed should be about 1000rpm.

When you tap the pedal when it is behaving itself, the needle on the rev counter drops to below 1000rpm and often cuts out. If it doesn't cut out, it eventually returns to 1000rpm. This was found to the be the stepper motor which controls the idling speed. There was quite a lot of carbon deposits (black dirt) on the shaft and in the housing. So, I cleaned it up and the problem seems to have disappeared!

The best advice I can give to anyone with an idling problem is clean all your sensors, starting with the idle control stepper motor and eventually the problem will be cured.

Cars need lots of TLC and the best investment would be a workshop manual, Haynes is the ones I use and it shows you in great detail pictures and tells you what to do.

Probably the best tool is understanding the car and what each bit does. Speak to garages which are known to be good and search on the Internet.

Diagnostic computers can find some faults, but intermittent problems often don't get picked up. If in doubt, clean it all out!

General Comments:

Great car in terms of handling and very fun to drive.

Good on fuel economy, if you drive it fairly sensibly.

Looks great and insurance was fairly cheap, considering the performance.

Not much in the way of crash protection.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st May, 2007