C5ALIVE Forum
C5Alive General Category => C5 Socialising => Topic started by: danny7147 on 05, January, 2013 - 23:20:01
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How do you fleece people? Simple, build complicated components that can't be replicated or repaired and then charge through the nose for them. Sinclair C5 pod?
No... Citroen Xantia suspension.
My beloved Xantia failed it's mot on a leaking hydrolastic suspension pump. No sane engineer will touch them. Citroen said merrily "Of course we stock them! £600!".
But then I called a local guy who suggested "Well, have you tried replacing the seal?" ... No, because Citroen don't sell them. "Actually, they do, they just don't tell you. Ask for this part number..."
75p later, £5 and a tea to fit, and it flew through the test ;)
Gotta love those dealers...
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..you are having as much fun as we did with our local SMART /Mercedes Benz dealers ;D
That's why my good lady now drives a Toyota Yaris ;)
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Microsoft did much the same thing with the original rubber ball for their mouse, but this time it was listed but they claimed it wasn't being offered as a replacement. Later I read in an American computer mag that a reporter had sussed out that they existed but microsoft was hiding them.
C'T (a German computer mag) investigated a claim that Dell were charging €350 to repair a laptop hinge, Dell quoted that they charge or were charging a flat rate of €350 per repair. :o :o :o
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My step-father once took his car to the Nissan dealer a few years ago, who told him that a pipe deep in the engine needed replacing, which had to be ordered & specially made from Japan, and that it would take 2 men a week to strip down the engine, replace the pipe and rebuild - quoting him £2500.
He bought a Haines manual, a generic rubber hose from a local parts dealer for £3, and fitted it himself in a day. Total cost - £13.
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Hello Danny, I am the service manager at a Citroen main dealer and have worked with them for almost twenty years, I would be more than happy to help and answer any questions regarding your Xantia if you ever need.
Retro Andy.
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Now that's worth knowing! :) Mechanically it's doing well at the moment, but somebody kindly took both of my wing mirrors off last week so I'm on the hunt for replacements. I'll definitely bear it in mind though! Thanks :)
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but somebody kindly took both of my wing mirrors off last week
Maybe they're decorating a C5 somewhere, originals are too expensive. ;D ;D
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I will ask if anyone has any knocking around for you.
Retro Andy.
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That would be great, mine' s an M reg, manual mirror version. Real workhorse of a car, I couldn't do without it lol!
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I didn't find out if anyone has any mirrors yet, But will look into it for you.
Retro Andy.
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That's really kind of you, I went through two tubes of epoxy today and they're now firmly stuck, but I can't see a bloody thing out of them lol ::)
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XANTIA UPDATE!!!
Finally found the elusive mirrors, and as it's now 18 years old and almost a classic(!) I thought I'd treat it to a bit of work this week. Four new tyres and a full service.
Unfortunately the new tyres have thrown the tracking completely out and the service has highlighted badly worn front discs, rusted out rear discs, and a perished cam belt so the fun continues ::) All this on a car that has 7 months MOT remaining lol!
One thing I wanted to pick your mechanical minds over... it's a 1.9 Turbo Diesel and it's averaging an incredible 15mpg! No leaks, no binding brakes, no intercooler, intercooler clue! The only culprit left is the injectors but surely it can't cause that sort of uneconomy?!
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I did have a xantia 3.0 v6 petrol auto for a while, but it had overheating problems :( so I did'nt keep it for long.
Retro Andy.