Citroen XM Forum

How often do you read about older cars for sale, “good condition for year”, or, “the usual dents and scrapes for a car of this age”? This Emerald Green Pearlescent Mark II XM is in GREAT condition, irrespective of age, and these enigmatic vehicles are on the cusp of becoming collectable and achieving ‘classic’ status. Those in the know will tell you that prices have pretty much bottomed out and let’s face it, there aren’t too many left on the roads these days. That said, new and used parts are still in good supply and as long as you can find a specialist Citroen mechanic, then happy days. Inside and out, this example looks and drives really well – an unmolested and well preserved specimen of this French limo.



I’ve personally owned it for four years and, hand on heart, it’s not missed a beat during that time. Faultlessly reliable, it has never once let me down in 35k miles of driving - no breakdowns, no poor starting, fantastic! This hopefully dispels the myth that all big French cars are a complete liability – whilst some of the early XMs were certainly problematic, by the Mark II versions from ‘94 onwards, Citroen had got to the heart of the reliability issues (especially the flaky electrics) and were turning out fine executive motor cars – this cost around £23.5k new, yours now for under 5% of that figure, incredible value.



What’s the story behind this actual car? Well, it was one of only 15 of this particular type sold in 1997 in the UK - in fact Citroen only sold 163 XMs in total that year, so it was pretty much a collector’s item from the start. Well specified to almost Executive levels (alloy wheels and electric armrest about the only things lacking), it started off life as a director’s motorway mile-muncher, clocking up 60k in its first three years (supported by a fully stamped service book at a Citroen dealer). It was then purchased by a Citroen Car Club member, who cherished it for the next five years, doing around 1,500 miles per annum, and servicing it himself. I snapped it up in late 2005, and as with many older French cars, it’s going for a song now.



What will you get here for your money?



v Fully-stamped service book plus receipts totalling over £2,500 from my ownership, maintained by Citroen specialists regardless of cost. Service log reads as follows (9k service intervals on these models):

o Running in service – 1,266 (Lovekyn Citroen, Kingston), 08/05/97

o 2nd service – 10,321 (Lovekyn Citroen, Kingston), 29/08/97

o 3rd service – 18,615 (Lovekyn Citroen, Kingston), 19/12/97

o 4th service – 27,183 (Lovekyn Citroen, Kingston), 29/04/98

o 5th service – 37,347 (Lovekyn Citroen, Kingston), 08/09/98

o 6th service – 43,620 (Lovekyn Citroen, Kingston), 11/12/98

o 7th service – 52,291 (Lovekyn Citroen, Kingston), 02/06/99

o 8th service – 61,111 (Broads Citroen of Chalfont, Chalfont St Giles), 18/04/00

o 9th service – 71,810 (Citroen Centre, Oxford – Paul Johnson, XM specialist), 15/02/06

o 10th service – 80,861 (Citroen Centre, Oxford), 14/02/07

o 11th service – 89,840 (Ray Williams of Burnham, Citroen specialist), 28/02/08

o 12th service – 97,545 (Ray Williams of Burnham), 05/02/09

v Negligible/nil consumption of LHM fluid, engine oil and auto gearbox oil – uses about a pint of water in the radiator every two months (never overheats)

v The car benefits from a number of desirable factory-fitted features/extras:

o Sumptuous black leather interior – near mint condition, no scratches, pet hair, wear or sagging seats, extremely comfortable on a long journey (unlike some smaller Citroens I’ve owned)

o Cruise control – fully functional

o Full climate control – aircon working perfectly (as well as the electric sunroof), nice chilled breeze in hot weather or great for clearing misty screens when it gets colder

o Electric front seats – both adjust fully

o Super-sized 92 litre fuel tank (standard is 80 litres) – takes £95 to fill it, but a tankful lasts over a month (550-600 miles) for me

v Timing belt changed at 66k

v LHM fluid last changed at 80k (car raises and lowers without fuss), spheres replaced in 2005

v Front pads & discs changed at 89k, rear pads at 97k

v £800 service this year (Feb 09) – mostly labour fixing niggly bits

v 5 good tyres - 3.5mm tread on fronts, 4.5mm on rears, 6.5mm on the spare

v Smooth delivery of power, kicks down well, yet still returns 28-32 mpg in mixed driving – these engines and boxes are easily good for 150k-200k, and are probably the best option all told if you’re considering a petrol XM (see here: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=67 )

v A tight car and relaxing drive all round – no clonks, rattles or untoward noises

v 2 keys included

v Tailored car mats

v Plenty of paperwork – V5, several old MOTs, stamped service book, numerous receipts, owner’s handbooks, Haynes manual etc.



The bad bits? Well, I’m not selling this for crazy money – the reserve reflects this - and it correspondingly isn’t ‘A1 concourse’, but it’s certainly in excellent order. I’ll be as honest as I can so you can be fully aware what you’re getting, but it’s all fairly minor stuff:

v Immobiliser pad cover hinge has broken but cover is still present and clips down OK

v A few columns of pixels are missing on the left-hand information / warning panel – still fully legible however (see photo)

v The intruder alarm can be set and it works, but it tends to go off randomly without warning – however, as I never use this (is activated by a separate button on the key-fob) I’ve not replaced the siren, fixable if desired

v Minor stone damage to near-side wing-mirror (see photo)

v One solitary dent right down low on the underside of the front bumper (see photo - not visible unless you’re really hunting for it), plus the tow-eye plastic cover next to it has come off. Other than this, you’re looking at an exceptionally nice example with NO car-park dings, scratches or rust.

v Exhaust manifold has recently started making a slight noise - I will include a new gasket set with the car, may even get a chance to fit it before the auction ends.



The car is available to view near High Wycombe (between J4 and J5 of the M40) where I live, or in Slough (between J6 and J7 of the M4) where I work. Any pre-bidding test / inspection welcomed - car drives extremely well.



Please remember, if you decide to bid, it is to BUY, not to come and haggle or kick tyres. Non-paying bidders will be reported and negative feedback left. I will accept cash, cleared banker’s draft / personal cheque or a direct bank/BACS transfer – please, NO PAYPAL except in the following circumstances:

Ø To make a deposit on the vehicle - £50 is required within 5 days of auction closing regardless

Ø I will accept Paypal in full only if it’s a fee-free private P2P payment coming straight from a UK bank account (see here: https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/websc ... &nav=1.0.3). It must meet these criteria, otherwise I’ll get hit for fees.

In all cases, cleared funds are needed before the vehicle will be released. Do rely on my eBay rating – I treat it seriously and have successfully sold a number of my own vehicles on eBay in the past.



The car is advertised elsewhere, so I reserve the right to end the listing early. Please make contact with me first if you intend to bid and your feedback is 5 or under, or less than 95%. Reserve is in three figures. Any questions at all, I aim to respond within a few hours.


Question & Answer Answered On
Q: Oh and I assume the interior door trim and speaker cover on the driver's side has been replaced since the photo was taken? Thanks 01-Nov-09
A: A very good spot! Yes, it has - the driver's electric window needed repairing, all done now and door card / speaker panel now back on. David
Q: Very keen on this. I have an almost identical one that's got a few too many niggles for me to persevere with. Is it obvious where the radiator leak is? How's the ride (the hydractive systems on XM's sometimes fail - the symptom is a relatively "hard" ride)? And does the air con blow cold? I can't view before purchase and while I appreciate you have impeccable feedback is there any other problem I should know about (XM owner to XM owner!). Matt 01-Nov-09
A: Hi, Matt - thanks for your interest. OK, here goes. I'm not sure if it's even a leak, some months go by and it doesn't need a top-up at all, so it could just be evaporating. In short, not obvious where the 'leak' as such may be - not an issue in my eyes, certainly isn't getting any worse, and no smell of coolant inside the car so heater matrix still intact. Ride was improved a couple of years ago by the addition of one of these: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CITROEN-XM-SPHERE ... 2ea580359e which also helped the handling. Air con blows nice and cold, has never needed attention. Best wishes, David