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[davetherave]

Hmm
Im surprised at the lack of air con, i thought that like the xantia it would be almost standard!
Im afraid that limits my choice even more then as the air con is an absolute must as im intending to take it to france and spain!
I wouldnt be completely put off a non bosch XM though, as i have heard of pump conversions being possible.
Im still stuck between auto and manual, i think its just because im scared of the auto box, i think it would be great for the drive to spain though!
I shouldnt really be scared of it seeing as Jim from FCF has rebuilt his on the xantia v6!

[citroenmad]

It is a bit odd isnt it. Very very few S1 cars have air con, so your even less likely to find one of those with it.

I dont mind our SXs not having A/C as they are not our every day cars, so it doesnt really matter very much. Its nice to drive them with the sunroofs open on a nice day. But if i was to use them all year for my daily then it could start to get annoying.

You do find them with air con, as quite a few have it as an optional extra, i suppose most people wanted such luxury on a large luxury car.

I think Xantias started getting AC as standard on the higher models around 97/98, im not sure if it came standard on the VSX Xm at that point, i cant remember. Ill consult my Xm bruschures

We had a late model VSX which had nearly all the toys and goodies added as options, it had the electronic climate control, cruise contol, second rear screen etc. Very nice and it was a 2.0 16V Automatic too. Very low mileage, one owner car but as it turned out it wasnt the best car, if it had been we would still have it now, and we bought that for WHMs money! Its still around though, i see it sometimes in the next town to us.

I dont know how we have managed to own 3 Xms and all having the same engine, you would think it is because we only look at 2.0 16Vs but its really that they have found us more than anything. We liked the first one so thought it was a good engine to kepp getting. You dont see that may 2.0 16vs for sale actually, most are turbos or diesels. I can only think of another one 16v on here?

Dont be put off by an automatic, as long as the oil is changed in the gearbox fairly often and you keep an eye on its levels then it should last fine. Its down to preference as well, i first thought i wouldnt like an automatic, maybe a lack of control of the gears and having nothing to do with my left leg, but actually i really like the auto xms, makes a nice change from all the gearchanging. Excellent in heavy traffic and around town too. A lot of auto Xms have covered mega miles without any problems.

[Dean]

Its not just being scared of auto's its which auto, the HP18 is very reliable, i think ive heard of more manual box problems then i have HP18 problems, its the HP 20 that has problems, i still wouldnt ovoid one though but as has been said oil changes are as important as engine oil changes, the hp 20 was sealed for life, wrongly and so oil changes were not carried out, couple this with the fact the HP20 was electronicaly controled for smoother changes and better flexibility and you end up with a higher chance of something going wrong , the more buttons you have the greater chance you have that oe will stop working!
So dont ovoid an auto but be careful when buying one.

D

[Peter.N.]

You've heard of a manual gearbox problem?

[Dean]

several, the 2.5 with the ding in the rear quarter has syncro problems which is quite common, gear linkages, even Paul had to do a little light sergery on one of his manual boxes and tthen you have the clutch to think about, if im honest ive had more manual boxes have to be pulled out of various cars over my driving life than auto's!, a hydromechanical autobox is just as reliable as a manual in my opinion they just need to be serviced regularly, thats the price you pay for being lazy and having the auto option, that and the auto with only 4 long ratio gears will be slower to accellerate than a lower geared 5speed manual and thus give slightly less mpg around town.

D

[Peter.N.]

The only problem, if you can call it that, I have had with 2.1 boxes is a couple with slightly weak synchro on 2nd, only when cold and noisey bearings, and this is at around 200k or more, never had one needing surgery and only two needing clutches, again one of those was at 250k+ but still driveable when I sold it at 292k, maybe its because the 2.1s are less stressed.

Peter

[Dean]

I think its just pot luck really, i had a collapsed bearing on an astra i had, that had 66k on the clock, my rover 420si blew the diff clean out of the casing doing 30mph coasting down a hill although it had 90k on it, it could happen to any box at any time especialy as the cars are getting older and older now.
one thing that did strike me is how many late model low miles V6 24v's have had new boxes, i think there was two or three on ebay recently all of which had had new boxes, one at silly low miles.

D

[citroenmad]

Dean, which cars have the HP20 gearbox?

We have had our Xm auto for well over 7 years now, its only done 22K miles in that time but the gearbox has never given any problems.

[andmcit]

Chris: V6's have the 20 box, yours is the 18!

Personally, I've never had a problem with a manual gearbox that a decent Valeo clutch can't rectify
- not something that's as easy to do with an autobox. Your tune will change when the blasted thing
stops forward motion for good and only works in reverse but until that day, expect to be auto-ing
on borrowed time.

Jaded? Me?

The next worst thing to get fitted to a Citroen after a diesel engine and McDuff struts.

Andrew

[Dean]

, you are right, nothing will last forever but all im saying is ive never heard of an 18 giving up...............

D