For Sale N451XDC

[citroenmad]

That does look superb and I would pay that for one. Its true what has been said, where could you find another like that.

It should be a very fresh feeling car and have minimal rust for that price, such things do exist and so if its a good one, I can see it selling no problems. Prices of the good XMs are on the up and the best do cost some money.

[hydroman]

Ragger, don't do it! My wife has had one of these for the last few years (2.5 exclusive). I did the clutch this year and now the rot has reared it's ugly head on the hydraulic pipes on the rear subframe which is sitting forlornly below the car waiting for my attention. The car which is otherwise a dream, almost ended up at the scrappers.

Since my last posting, the red estate had a snapped steering ram retaining pin on the third floor of the multi-story near work. What a mess to clear up, what a problem for the RAC to get it out of the car park. I fixed it a few days later but it was a vile job. It worried me slightly because it is quite hard to inspect the bushings on the ram which were the most likely cause of the failure, unless the pin had not been properly tightened in a former life.

[xmexclusive]

Rust is a problem for all types of XM not just 2.5's.
Top of back axle hydraulic pipe corrosion and body shell rust are difficult to spot when examining to buy.
Pipe corrosion is a nuisance while internal body shell rust an unexpected car killer.
The higher the price of the car the more you want to be certain these problems are a long way off.
If you have paid top price for appearance then good quality well finished cill repairs will be costly, upsetting and a devaluing item if you want to sell.
Checking clutch condition is not so difficult and 2.5 clutches last longer than on most manual XM's.

I am not suggesting that this particular car has any of these problems.
Its visual appearance and history suggest otherwise.
Just that a buyer would be wise to obtain their own confirmation of actual condition.

Within the next 10 years those retaining XM's will accept the need and cost to weld and refurbish just as CX owners do today.
The difference is that everyone know where to look on a CX and so understands the likely costs.
We are still in that trouble spot learning curve with XM's with many of the real dogs going straight to scrap without record of the killer rust spots.

John

[ragger]

Many thanks for all the useful comments people have made in this thread; I have found the range of views very interesting.

Having given my initial excitement a chance to die down, I have decided not to pursue my interest in this car as things stand. It is the ideal model and spec for my wishes, but it is more than I can really afford at the moment. Speaking to the current owners/sellers didn't make me think "I really must fill up the Saab and do a 400+ miles round trip just to see if any knid of a deal could be done." I may well regret this for a while, but needs must.

However, I might just take a drive over to Burnley to see the black car that Savoy has for sale; it has the toys I want and while there is a significant loss of performance I do prefer my XMs to be slushboxes.

The sensible thing to do would be to put a fresh ticket on the Saab and advertise it and then wait, but there are two drawbacks to that plan: if I have money to spend it will burn a hole in my pocket and two what I get for it may well get sucked into other avenues. And it is still a very nice car...

Rob

[XMX]

Oh, this is a real beauty! I'd pay that price without even thinking. Unfortunately they were never imported here

Is it OK to upload a photo here?

This one seems to have gone off sale now (was it actually Sold) ?

IIRC it had an initial asking price of approx. £3495, Is anyone off the forum the new owner by any chance ?



XMX

P.S. I see that the same dealer has now ANOTHER XM for sale !

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