2001 Citroen Xantia SX Estate from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing but new pads, and exhaust, tyres and a tailight bulb.

I buy these cars at 100k plus miles when they have done their depreciating. I then hammer another 50 - 100k miles into them with no problem.

This is my fifth Xantia and I have never had a serious problem with any of my cars in 350k miles of driving over the last ten years.

The trick is to buy with service history, service them properly and on time, and to read the handbook.

I never use dealers and do my own servicing. If you are buying one used take along someone who knows these cars.

I've just bought (August 2005) a 97k mile C5 HDi SX for a shade over £3k so I will see how that stacks up against its older sister.

Either you are very lucky, or you are a much better mechanic than the guys at Citroen dealers, who often seem incapable of fixing (in my case) suspension or engine management problems - even when they did (once, still under guarantee) £3000 worth of work!