I thought I would update this, so here goes.
After doing a swap with Jim for my old XM Prestige and his V6 Xantia, the V6 Xantia was only with me a couple of months before I found a Xantia HDi Exclusive Estate with low miles which was just far too nice to miss. As I still had my C5 at the time one car needed to move out to make space, that one being the V6 Xantia. Its a car I miss quite a bit and I do regret selling it now, however it gave me chance to experience the silky 24v ES9 engine.
Shortly after getting my Xantia Exclusive HDi the headgasket on our 2.1TD XM estate went pop, just as we were trying to sell it on as it rarely got used. So that was sold on pretty cheaply to Savoy, who fixed it up and moved it on. Which was a result as at the time we didn't want the hassle of doing it but that would have made better sense financially.
A month or two later I was after a bit of a project and something non-Citroen for a change. I found that in a Rover 75 K-series, which was advertised from a salvage place with a failed head gasket. The car itself was in great condition with a very full service history and unmarked interior. While it did need some things doing the head gasket was in fact fine, someone had diagnosed the running problem as HGF. However, after I tested for HGF and had a gas analyser check in the coolant, it checked out fine. The problem was the timing was out, causing poor running and compressions. So I did the timing, which I think was a result of the HG recently being replaced. I also did various other small bits for the MOT and had it on the road within two weeks of getting it. I liked the car a lot but the 1.8 engine is not the one to go for in such a large car. I did about 2500 miles in it and in that time it never used a drop of water, I needed to test it before selling it on.
Anyway, back to Citroens then .... at that point I had four cars and while I knew the Rover wouldn't be staying with me long I had become a little bored of the 56 C5. A great car and it did do everything I needed in a car, the 138 2.0HDi engine is very good indeed. However, it got to the stage where the thought of driving it was not appealing, probably because I'd rather be driving one of the Xantias. So I sold that on at the end February time and since then I have been using my HDI Xantia as my daily car, mixed with the 75 while I had that. The HDi Exclusive I find a joy to own, it does everything I need and want and I look forward to every drive in it. My average mileage of 400 miles a week is soon shooting up its miles, so I've been considering getting something else to either take over daily duties or just share the miles. The HDi Exclusive is a car I want to keep long term and keep it as good as it can be, so this is where I am now, deciding what to buy next.
I did buy a C2 HDi a few months back which I had for a couple of weeks but it had issues and so I returned it back to the suppling dealer with a full refund.
My Xantia Activa has been in reasonably regular use since the salt has gone from the roads and it has shared some of my commuting. Both Xantias I hope to keep for a long time, however I can be pretty quick at making decisions and changing my mind, so who knows how that one will go!
So I am XM-less and for the first time since I started driving there is not one in the family either, which is why I've not been on here too often. I keep looking at XMs for sale and I really do fancy another one. If I were to buy one I'm not sure what model, if it should be a S1 or S2, petrol or diesel, auto or manual. I've experienced just about all of them now and I still have no idea. Which in one sense makes it easy to find one, as I should just find the best I can and then live with the model it it. However, it also makes seeing one which jumps out at me difficult.
We have always bought XMs on their condition and thought about what it was afterwards. Unlike Xantias where I have chosen what spec and engine I wanted but there is more choice of those.
A picture history ... I still like a good picture or two
My current pair:
So what next? I might well end up with something cheap to own just to pile my miles on or something else very appealing to me: an XM, I'm still waiting to see if anything takes my liking.
