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C5 Mk1 estate - bargain!

Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 6:57 pm
by White Exec
This appeared on FCF today...
https://frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/view ... 42#p644642
£499 !

And it has something we don't...
C5-1 cupholder!.jpg

Re: C5 Mk1 estate - bargain!

Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 7:06 pm
by citroenxm
I'm a big fan of the Mk.1 and mk.1 facelift c5s . Not only rear cup holders but two in the front next to the handbrake unless sat nav is fitted to early cars where the controls take the cup holder space...
They are very very good cars indeed and are worth considering.. I've had a few now and other then an xm as a hobby toy I wouldn't go back to anything else as a daily. Next car once these have all gone will be Peugeot.. or a Kia or Hyundai...

Re: C5 Mk1 estate - bargain!

Posted: Thu May 21, 2020 7:59 am
by jamescarruthers
Cheers for the link Paul, I just went and bought this for my sister so she won't be getting the bus with a dog and baby. It looks great; hopefully this will be proven on its 300 mile trip up north to drop it off to her!

Re: C5 Mk1 estate - bargain!

Posted: Thu May 21, 2020 11:04 am
by citroenxm
Handbrake issues are easy to tell if you have an issue or not.. lifting the lever should have zero free travel and almost instant resistance.. if there's a bit of free play then one of the calipers is holding.. it can be anything from cable and guide (always change together) or sticky parking brake lever.. fairly easy to free up.. needs marine grease to make a proper seal..

Re: C5 Mk1 estate - bargain!

Posted: Thu May 21, 2020 11:16 am
by White Exec
Glad it's found a home here. Looked a good one from the posting.
We know who to contact now if we want a piano (or a room full of white goods) shifting.
Jim once joked that you could probably get a C1 inside... 8-)

Re: C5 Mk1 estate - bargain!

Posted: Mon May 25, 2020 1:04 am
by Jaki1122
Certainly looks like a very good unit, however, I much much prefer the next generation C5, the first gen never cut it for me...

Re: C5 Mk1 estate - bargain!

Posted: Mon May 25, 2020 5:52 am
by citroenxm
You might change your mind once you learn about all the expensive fails it suffers from..

Wiper motors (yes two) aren't cheap
Steering racks.. aren't cheap
Heater control panels
Window regulators cables
Air con condensers..
Front Bottom Bush's are a nice dinner for it too

Re: C5 Mk1 estate - bargain!

Posted: Mon May 25, 2020 11:39 am
by jamescarruthers
I picked it up yesterday and it wafted home very well from Norfolk to Cambridge.

The only faults I can find are:
1. the boot doesn't stay up (hopefully Pleaded can re-gas that along with spheres this week, if not its getting two new rams);
2. driver's window doesn't automatically go all the way up;
3. driver's mirror doesn't outwards.
4. Tailgate is just starting to rust in places
5. In-dash CD has a CD stuck
6. Sticky to touch temperature control knobs

I am amazed at how good it is for £499. This car isn't for me though it's for my sister to use as she currently has a baby, a dog and no car. I don't have time to mess about as it need to be delivered to Newcastle next week before going to work abroad for 6 weeks. As such is is going for MOT at a trusted friend's place Tuesday, hopefully Pleades on Wednesday for re-gas and maybe LDS filters & flush and B&L Autos Thursday for service and thorough check over.

I'm hoping that after this it basically just continues to work for a year without causing her any stress.

Fingers crossed!

It was nice to waft properly again!

Re: C5 Mk1 estate - bargain!

Posted: Mon May 25, 2020 12:02 pm
by citroenxm
James they are great cars and the crash safety rating is top notch for occupants which now I have a little one is most important..

Estate gas struts are expensive but the rear glass has the ability to open separately to the main hatch.. the switch is behind the plastic bit that hangs down by the rear wiper spindle. You never know it was there if you didn't know where to look.. if the switch doesn't work it needs a wire putting in from the switch to the plug under the roof trim where the high level brake light is.. done this recently on my c5..

Widow WILL be the switch pack in the door.. they use surface mount contact switching and the copper contacts gets corroded from water ingress with doors open on rainy days..

Those early cd players can be troublesone.. a unit changes involves needing lexis to code it to the car..

Rust . Rare still on these though my first one had a bad drivers wing..

2.0 8v hdi engines are supurb and oil changes at 12k go forever..

Re: C5 Mk1 estate - bargain!

Posted: Mon May 25, 2020 12:26 pm
by jamescarruthers
Thanks for the info Paul :-)

The strut for the is expensive, yes, at about £65 each, but I consider it essential so she can get buggy and dog in the back on her own without it slowly creeping down and smacking her on the head. In theory Pleiades can re-gas them they say and this should be much cheaper. The previous owner was very proud that he'd fixed the opening glass himself by adding in the lost earth wire.

She might just have to live with the window which doesn't auto close. It still goes up fine, it just needs the switch held down.

Again, the CD will have to stay broken for a little while longer until I get a replacement. Ideally it would be replaced with a more modern one but I think I need to track down a fascia adapter and maybe adapter harness to do so. For now, that's not a priority. It's such a shame that it will happily play audio through its Aux. In. when not driving but is programmed to not do this when driving for safety! I don't have the head space to even think about fixing this for now.

This one is the slightly more modern and refined but potentially more troublesome 2.2 HDI engine. It's had the dual mass flywheel delete so just the particulate filter to consider now. I will make sure B&L confirm that the Eolys fluid is full and the system working so that it doesn't clog up for her.

It basically drives spot on and the rust on the tailgate is just a few stonechips and around the window rubber just starting to go under the paint.

I'm very happy with it and actually looking forward to driving it up north.