1998 Xsara VTS

[daemon]

Just bought this as a bit of a runabout and i have to say i'm very impressed. 61K miles, Mot'd May 2011, service history, K&N filter. Drives beautifully.

[chriis]

Wow , one that hasnt been bashed/modified by the barry stick !
I've seen a few of these sell for next to thing , seems a bargain . Doesnt look half bad either

[V8mate]

Nice buy!

You're going to throw it round a track as well as do the shopping in it though, right?

[daemon]

chriis said:

Wow , one that hasnt been bashed/modified by the barry stick !
I've seen a few of these sell for next to thing , seems a bargain . Doesnt look half bad either

Well i probably gave the full of what its worth at £975, but that included the wee bit of tax too. It doesnt seem expensive given the condition its in, though i know i could probably have had a bubble headlight newer model one for not much more.

[daemon]

V8mate said:

Nice buy!

You're going to throw it round a track as well as do the shopping in it though, right?

Funny, i was thinking about that - it does really shift and i'd say it would be a lot of fun on a track. We've a scooby as well, but the 2.0i 16v NA engine is quite refreshing. I'd kind of forgotten how nice something like this can be.

Edited by daemon on Monday 30th August 16:02

[daemon]

musclecarmad said:

i honestly don't know why more people don't have cars like this for £975 etc.

These idiots earning £25,000 per year with a £350 per month car finance payment baffle me

The only fly in my ointment is that i do 25K miles a year, so its not going to be easy run. Having said that, £975 diesels are usually about knackered and the extra fuel will by far be offset by the relative lack of depreciation.

I plan to run it a few months, then see what else comes along.

[TheD]

My wife has the 2002 Vts and we have had it 6 years and still pulls great. Only problem we ever had was the front left spring packed in. Apart from that, if it is serviced well it will give you a lot of fun. Great handling and a nippy wee son of a xxxxx. The same engine as the Gti6 but not the gearbox.

[slomax]

musclecarmad said:

i honestly don't know why more people don't have cars like this for £975 etc.

These idiots earning £25,000 per year with a £350 per month car finance payment baffle me

It completely confuses me too. I'd never buy a car on finance. It's amazing what you can buy if you know where to look and you are prepared to travel around a bit. My brother got a very well looked after 1997 volvo s40 1.6 with 60k on it for about £2k over 2 years ago and it really does go beautifully. You can buy some fantastic motors for less than £1k with plenty of life left in them and are easy to maintain so long as you dint mind getting mucky paws. I'd much rather have an older £1k car than a less desirable new car that is worth £15k, the amount you save in the long run is biblical.

[slipstream 1985]

doing this makes it quicker






fantastic cars so cheap for what you get.

rain sensative wipers, heated mirrors, really good seats, 6 disc multichanger etc

[CinqAbarth]

daemon said:

chriis said:

Wow , one that hasnt been bashed/modified by the barry stick !
I've seen a few of these sell for next to thing , seems a bargain . Doesnt look half bad either

Well i probably gave the full of what its worth at £975, but that included the wee bit of tax too. It doesnt seem expensive given the condition its in, though i know i could probably have had a bubble headlight newer model one for not much more.

But the facelift was ugly as sin - the original shape looks a lot better.

Great cars, aside from the usual vomit-inducing French velour!

I tried to buy one a good few years ago, but all the cars for sale appeared to be in that particularly nasty metallic piss yellow.

[MGZRod]

slipstream 1985 said:

doing this makes it quicker






fantastic cars so cheap for what you get.

rain sensative wipers, heated mirrors, really good seats, 6 disc multichanger etc

But make sure you bring spare exhausts.

[shalmaneser]

Can I have your gearbox, engine and steering rack?

Seriously, a pre '99 car is a much better call than a post '99er, after '99 they were multiplexed which makes the engine much more of a pain to drop into a 205. Will be worth much more when you sell it, you'll easily get what you paid for it at 90,000 miles, provided you keep on top of the engine maintainance.

[vit4]

Must admit, I really like these. Once I have a bit of no claims, I'll be very tempted...

[V8mate]

slomax said:

musclecarmad said:

i honestly don't know why more people don't have cars like this for £975 etc.

These idiots earning £25,000 per year with a £350 per month car finance payment baffle me

It completely confuses me too. I'd never buy a car on finance. It's amazing what you can buy if you know where to look and you are prepared to travel around a bit.

It's particularly bad for marques like Citroen though. I've got a 2005 (facelift) C5 for sale - fully loaded 'Exclusive' model. One previous owner, full Citroen service history, 83k; can't get a sniff on it. Was asking less than three grand and would gladly take two to get space on the drive. Where else can you get a comfy family car of that age for two grand?

[Sneakers-Otoole]

Lovely car.

Some shine off it. Must have one hell of a body man.

[visual123]

I quite like these, and most people won't expect it to have 167bhp or whatever it is.

[daemon]

Sneakers-Otoole said:

Lovely car.

Some shine off it. Must have one hell of a body man.

Aye, and hes easy paid too.

[Gachet]

The only good thing about these is the engine and the fact they don't rust. I had the misfortune of owning one about five years ago and even though it was low mileage with full history there were constant issues such as it cutting out for no reason (a common problem with Peugeots and Citroens of the time - it was even featured on watchdog and wasn't much fun when it happened on the motorway and you lost the power steering), the fuel guage had a mind of its own, the coolant house is held on by a o-ring (rather than a jubilee clip)that started leaking and the gearbox was horrendously notchy when cold. Oh and the panels are about as thick as a Coke can as you only have to look at them before they dent. I'd come from Mk5 and MK6 escort XR3is and RS2000s and this really seemed like a step backwards even though it was a much more modern car it was far less rewarding to drive. I moved it on for an MG ZS180 which was a vast improvement in all areas and I still own it 5 years later.

[Danny S]

This is one of those cars that i feel i want to own in the near future

[daemon]

Gachet said:

The only good thing about these is the engine and the fact they don't rust. I had the misfortune of owning one about five years ago and even though it was low mileage with full history there were constant issues such as it cutting out for no reason (a common problem with Peugeots and Citroens of the time - it was even featured on watchdog and wasn't much fun when it happened on the motorway and you lost the power steering), the fuel guage had a mind of its own, the coolant house is held on by a o-ring (rather than a jubilee clip)that started leaking and the gearbox was horrendously notchy when cold. Oh and the panels are about as thick as a Coke can as you only have to look at them before they dent. I'd come from Mk5 and MK6 escort XR3is and RS2000s and this really seemed like a step backwards even though it was a much more modern car it was far less rewarding to drive. I moved it on for an MG ZS180 which was a vast improvement in all areas and I still own it 5 years later.

Mine has none of these issues - so far!

I must admit a ZS180 is on my to do list though. Great cars