New XM owner saying hello

[markc555]

Hello,

I've just bought myself this (pictured) rather lovely Series 1 XM

XM Front RHS.jpg

It's a 1993 registered 2.0 Turbo with a manual 'box in basic "i" trim. An extensive set of old MOT's and service records suggest that the 64,800 miles on the clock are probably correct! Body work is really solid and a good polish should bring the slightly flat paint back to a nice shine. The interior is near perfect! The car drives really nicely having had all 7 spheres re-newed or re-gassed and the LHM flushed and replaced at Westreon a couple of years ago. Four brand new Goodyears probably help. The engine runs perfectly and apart from feeling "bigger" than it is feels completely unturbocharged. No boost'y surges, just smooth linear power
It's a credit to the previous owners and I intend to continue to look after it in the same vein. I found a pic online of the car at show in Manchester back in 2016 so I suspect the car may be known the the XM community??

I had an S1 CX25ie a few years ago and the comparision is interesting. The XM is not nearly as mad but is still more than interesting and is feels better much better built. The interior materials in particular are far superior. The engine is sweeter and makes swift(er) progress very easy. The ride feels pretty similar but the XM hides sharp ridges better. The steering is heavier than the CX (Diravi) as well as slower which is a shame, not that it's bad it's just not Diravi good! Similarly the brakes are less sharp but are more than powerful enough and have the same anti dive sensation.

Look forward to getting along to some meets, probably next year, when this COVID situation is under control.

Cheers

Mark

[White Exec]

Hi, Mark, and welcome.
She looks quite splendid, with an extraordinary low mileage.
Would have been just a few stones' throws from you (near Guildford) a few years back, where our 2.5 (still with us) was bought.
No shortage of info here.
Do post some more photos when you can.

[Dieselman]

I think you have bagged a real bargain, there...a distress sale.

I'm pretty sure that car used to belong to a member on here (mike??), who sold it after acquiring a LHD, Series 2, 3 litre Exclusive with DIRAVI.

Bizzarely, the Xm DIRAVI is slower than the standard Pas track.
No...I cant work that one out, either.

The standard rack is just right in normal driving.

[markc555]

Thanks chaps,

Did a little digging and it was DerekB on here that had the car from mid 2018. Derek bought it from Rob McSorley (a Citroen fancier/trader?) who acquired it from its original owner a Mr W Jones of Bromborough on the Wirrel. Mr Jones bought the car new from Brooklands Citroen in Wrexham (the original sales invoice is still with the paperwork until late 2017 and covered the first 54,000 miles in it.
Derek kept the car for about 9 months as far as I can tell, had the spheres and LHM changed, fitted remote central locking and covered around 5000 miles in it before moving on to the LHD V6. He sold it to Neil Painter in Worthing who I just bought it from. Neil used it as his daily car and put on another 6000 miles in the last 18 months. Neil had a full service at 61,000 miles and had the new tyres and a new battery fitted in August this year. Neil is building a day camper from a Citroen C25 van and is putting the funds from the XM sale into the conversion.

As it's not my daily I'll put the car away for winter, in fact I already have (it's in the Carcoon)...

IMG_7875_2.jpg

Here a couple of pics I took post washing the muck off after collecting the car and driving home in the rain on Saturday...

IMG_7869.JPG

IMG_7871_2.jpg

IMG_7863.JPG

XM Interior Front Seats.jpg

XM Interior Rear.jpg

I think the first big'ish job will be to remove and re-spray the front grill as the paint is cracked and faded.

Cheers

Mark

[Citjon]

Hello Mark,

Nice to see another 'i' spec model on here - mine is a J '91 2.0i auto. Yours looks very smart and it's good to have all that history as well.

Best wishes,
Jon

[citroenxm]

I was going to say MA reg Wrexham...

Another white one. We also have cxprestegeauto who also has a 2.0i on a J plate in white. He should be happy to have company now..

I saw that on ebay and did think it was tidy. But the 2.0 tct engine doesnt appeal to myself..

Being a nice late S1 car. ( they changed on M plate) it should be fairly well built and not have any little niggles as they were virtually sorted by now (except the ABS I think) .. if fitted which I'm sure it will be..

Rare car in manual the tct as most were bought by the Peugeot boys as they are a fit into 205s and 309s.. so one lucky car that got away..

[markc555]

Coincidentally I know Rob (cxprestigeauto) from when we both had CX 25ie's afew years back! Our CX's VINs were just few digits apart and we recokned they probably came off the production line on the same day Here's a pic of them together...

DSC_0344.jpg

I had no idea Rob had the XM until I joined the Citroen Facebook group a few days ago and saw his name pop up. His profile pic has a few Citroens in the background with his XM to the fore. It looks identical to mine Its a small world

The XM purchase was opportunistic rather than planned but it wasn't a drunken moment bid I've admired them for a while and personally prefer the look of the S1 cars particularly riding on "flat" wheel trims, oh and the early dashboard The overall look, condiition and history of this car swayed me.
If I'd been actively looking I might have wanted a V6 but the manual turbo is quite interesting and almost as fast/effortless if not as sonouous. I don't do diesels (sorry) so that was never an option

[citroenxm]

V6s getting very thin on the ground now. The tct in mk.1 xm are the next most power full engines.. then the 2.0i mpi at 130 bhp (apparently) then the td 2.1 12v engine which I actually think go better then the 2.0i petrols.. possibly because of the torque..

[DerekB]

Hi Mark

Great to see your enthusiasm for this XM I used to own. I too bought it as an impulse purchase, I was meant to be buying an MPV for t’other half. I got it in January and had it for a bit over a year.

I loved the great performance of the 2.0 turbo engine and manual gearbox. Because the turbo boost comes in so low down the rev range, it is easy to access the power. The automatic gearbox of the V6 I replaced it with is too highly geared, consequently the 2.0 turbo manual felt like a higher performance car than the V6 auto does.

There is something to be said for a more budget spec car where there is less equipment fitted to cease to function.

The disc wheel trims look great, and the non-lacquered solid white paint will polish up and look better than an XM with a deteriorated lacquer finish.

Shortly after I imported the V6 from Germany and while it was still locked up in the garage awaiting DVLA registration, my every day C5 terminally broke down (head gasket for the second time) then the C5 I bought to replace it got a BSI fault within days of bringing it home. For a while I was in the ridiculous position of owning 4 cars only one of which I could use: the oldest one, this white XM.

If you’re going to freshen up the nose cone, then consider getting a replacement and spraying it up. The one on the car is imperfect, it has a repair on the near side behind the side light.

While I had it, I made sure it was in properly serviced good running order, including a cam belt change, and did quite a number of little things to improve its appearance and fix niggles. I spent a happy hot summer’s weekend playing with water while getting the front and rear screen washers working. The gunk in the screen washer tubes had to be seen to be believed.

Enjoy it!

Derek

[citroenxm]

I have a white nose cone for a mk.1 xm amounts my few I have.. I'm sure nothing broken either on it..