Citroen myth or fact??

[unclefakkah]

Hi guys,

Recently i've been toying with the idea of owning a conti car.. what better choice than a ZX that can be bought at below 20k which is not a relic..!

I still remember my schooldays when my friend just got his licence and had a choice of a ZX 2drs 16v or a protong putra as a gift from his millionair-es mom..
I persistently pestered him to get the ZX but unfortunately he bought the putra instead (he didnt like ZX's front coz not rounded like putra) and totalled it after 6 months..(ZX better handling mah.. could have avoided the crash if follow my advise.. than again maybe not..) luckily he escaped with only a maimed ego.

A decade has passed and and after afew inches of growth i decided to buy a ZX of my own (maybe not the 2drs 16v but if the price is right who knows). Whats hindering me from going to the bank and withdrawing my life savings (exaggerating abit) to purchase this car is the fact that i've heard many negative views on the car from friends and family although they are not owners but they say lar their friends got the car and got soo many problems and spare parts soo expensive until have to mortgage house (exaggerate again).

One particular story however got to me the most which was told by my lawyer friend (a qualified critic) is about his cousin who bought a NEW citroen and faced a plateau of problems like wiring and electronics malfunctioning, brakes sluggish, and always overheat due to the car not properly tropicalized...

I want to and need to know from the horses mouth (chicken and duck also can) wether these allegations against one of my all time favorite cars is true or not...

Please all citroen kaki here give me some feedback about your rides and let me know if any problems plague your car...

sorry for such a long winded story..

Cheers,
unclefakkah

 

[aircooled]

a better place to check would be the citroen forum at
www.autoworld.com.my

www.mycitroen.net


The ZX is a good car and honestly, very good value for money now. check those sites out.

 

[H2Zero]

Well just to offer my 2 sen .... any make of car has it own problem what more when buying second hand...? Its a hit or miss situation.. Although I do not own a ZX but heard quite a lot about the car.

Spare part expensive well do you think protong or Perudua is cheap..?

Go with your feelings buy from an enthuciast and ask him when he takes his car... I did that I once follow a driver until he stopped at a cash machine and god only knows if he thought I was going to mug him...

 

[kenxantia]

Hi guys,

Recently i've been toying with the idea of owning a conti car.. what better choice than a ZX that can be bought at below 20k which is not a relic..!

I still remember my schooldays when my friend just got his licence and had a choice of a ZX 2drs 16v or a protong putra as a gift from his millionair-es mom..
I persistently pestered him to get the ZX but unfortunately he bought the putra instead (he didnt like ZX's front coz not rounded like putra) and totalled it after 6 months..(ZX better handling mah.. could have avoided the crash if follow my advise.. than again maybe not..) luckily he escaped with only a maimed ego.

A decade has passed and and after afew inches of growth i decided to buy a ZX of my own (maybe not the 2drs 16v but if the price is right who knows). Whats hindering me from going to the bank and withdrawing my life savings (exaggerating abit) to purchase this car is the fact that i've heard many negative views on the car from friends and family although they are not owners but they say lar their friends got the car and got soo many problems and spare parts soo expensive until have to mortgage house (exaggerate again).

One particular story however got to me the most which was told by my lawyer friend (a qualified critic) is about his cousin who bought a NEW citroen and faced a plateau of problems like wiring and electronics malfunctioning, brakes sluggish, and always overheat due to the car not properly tropicalized...

I want to and need to know from the horses mouth (chicken and duck also can) wether these allegations against one of my all time favorite cars is true or not...

Please all citroen kaki here give me some feedback about your rides and let me know if any problems plague your car...

sorry for such a long winded story..

Cheers,
unclefakkah

Dont listen to anybody who never own or drive any citroen... mind to join us at mycitroen.net and be a member of our new citroen club - Malaysia Citroen Network at mcn.mycitroen.net.

 

[zan]

i almost bought one, but many cars i tested not at satisfactory level. warm aircond, noisy suspension, noisy cooling fan, rough sounding engines, faulty oil pressure gauge,

and in case, u bought one u need to be very patience with spares in time and cash as well as as another car to use.

otherwise, i could not agree more than the idea of buying one. but think about this - why ZX lost its value pretty quick? it must have a reason is it?

but my choice will go like this

1. 2.0 16V 3 dr
2. 2.0 5dr (CKD) since late 94
3. 1.9 5 dr volcane (preferably CBU ones 92-94)

here's link to my posting end of last year.

http://www.zerotohundred.com/newforums/showthread.php?t=36026&highlight=buying+citroen

 

[james pan]

citroen zx

well the citroen zx,i dare say has very good road holding,good fuel consumption,and damn,very comfortable ride,yes there some problems with the electronics,exp...electric fans...idle control valve...fan and a.cond relays too. but according to my citroen mechanic the 16v zx is very expensive to maintain and also problematic,in comparison to the zx 1.8 and 2.0...

Hi guys,
h20,do u remember our trip to jb in my 1.8 zx wagon...un forgetabble right....
Recently i've been toying with the idea of owning a conti car.. what better choice than a ZX that can be bought at below 20k which is not a relic..!

I still remember my schooldays when my friend just got his licence and had a choice of a ZX 2drs 16v or a protong putra as a gift from his millionair-es mom..
I persistently pestered him to get the ZX but unfortunately he bought the putra instead (he didnt like ZX's front coz not rounded like putra) and totalled it after 6 months..(ZX better handling mah.. could have avoided the crash if follow my advise.. than again maybe not..) luckily he escaped with only a maimed ego.

A decade has passed and and after afew inches of growth i decided to buy a ZX of my own (maybe not the 2drs 16v but if the price is right who knows). Whats hindering me from going to the bank and withdrawing my life savings (exaggerating abit) to purchase this car is the fact that i've heard many negative views on the car from friends and family although they are not owners but they say lar their friends got the car and got soo many problems and spare parts soo expensive until have to mortgage house (exaggerate again).

One particular story however got to me the most which was told by my lawyer friend (a qualified critic) is about his cousin who bought a NEW citroen and faced a plateau of problems like wiring and electronics malfunctioning, brakes sluggish, and always overheat due to the car not properly tropicalized...

I want to and need to know from the horses mouth (chicken and duck also can) wether these allegations against one of my all time favorite cars is true or not...

Please all citroen kaki here give me some feedback about your rides and let me know if any problems plague your car...

sorry for such a long winded story..

Cheers,
unclefakkah

 

[aircooled]

becareful when looking for a ZX out there. i can say that 6 out of 10 cars you see are in terrible condition. why?

1. car price drops fast, so a lot of buyers for this car is from the kapcai or kancil category type of people. which results in

2. they cannot afford to maintain the car. most have a mentality of taking full loan or most of the times more than full loan and cannot even come up with a few thousand ringgit to replace the wear and tear. the number of Citroens i see driven till the timing belt breaks really surprises me.

3. the car handles very well, so the suspension particularly the rear has been well abused.

4. the knowledge to maintain such a car especially the rear suspension.

5. cheapskate owners who wana drive a car but cannot afford to do so.

6. there is indeed some minor prob with the electrics, but they are minor and does not render the car undrivable. Hence it is a must to send to a mechanic that does Citroen for a living. Brake sluggish? that is a folklore. Hydraulic Citroens have some of the best brakes on the road i dare say. I have tested out ZX brakes too and i have to say it is good. sluggish brake can be due to many reasons.

7. always overheat? if maintained properly, it will NEVER OVERHEAT. the prob again comes from cheapskate owners who always source for second hand parts and not willing to pay for new parts. most of these people have a mentaility and will always say it is not worth to spend money because the car is not worth much.

8. yes, the ZX 8V engine is rough. good oil is required. 16V is OK.

 

[aircooled]

for a ZX, if i were you i will go for a 8V 2 litre MANUAL. dont bother with other models.

 

[myzx00]

hi,

just want to share my experience with ZX. i just bought the zx 1.9 cbu 92'. not intent to buy the car - actually looking for proton type. getting fed-up after 3 months looking for the rite car .. !

bought the car at 6k - the seller really knows how to persuade me to buy the car. when open the hood - saw water leaking - he said ok - saw some other problem but like i said, i don't really good in looking at used especially have zero experience looking at continental - i bought it on December 2, 2008.

the car condition when i first receive it - water leaking from radiator, no horn, rear wheel /---\, plus other thing lo.

well its a 6k car - what else to complaint - tried to 'live with it'. on 3rd December 2008 - the car overheated - the leak has reached the maximum - mmm .. it cost me rm1.3k to do top overhaul as well as to replace the radiator - old want has been undergone the copper operation - replaced with 2nd double layer radiator.

after the top - can still see oil in the radiator tank but according to the mechanic it is ok. but the water temp is normal - the only thing is the oil temp is 1/4 at the gauge.

now have to find budget for the /---\ (rear tyre position) problem - maybe later. because of this matter, the type already touch the body and making noise - short term solution - change tyre to 175 instead of 185 .. just imaging 3 x 185/60 + 1 x 175/65 but yet .. still good when driving

in term of fuel consumption - can tell much - the fuel gauge went coo-coo. from kl to bentong about 57 km - eaten rm30.00 but from bentong to melaka rm40 (180km) - not sure ..still evaluating the consumption

well - one thing about this car - it is really a powerful car - well my speedo meter already out - cost about 1xx to fix it - just rely on my gps to measure speed - the acceleration power is superb - tested on the highway, good pickup even in 5th gear after breaking ..

handling - in the current condition is still good. better than my gen2 and atos and my mom waja ... not sure when it's in good condition ...

now trying to do bit by bit la .. for the car ...

just wanna share experience ..

 

[ultra_ZX]

same here...i got same faulty as "myzx00" had...i bought it 10k on March 08.
what is so special about my zx?! 17"wheels, custom bodykits and twin tip exhaust...superb. my interior not nice, crack dasboard and bad condition on front seat..both.
power...i reach 200kph on highway. anyway...i love my zx...

Bump:

for a ZX, if i were you i will go for a 8V 2 litre MANUAL. dont bother with other models.

why is that aircooled?

 

[devious17]

I am in the same predicament as unclefakkah, toying with the idea of getting a ZX but given that my history with vehicles I have always been a die hard Nissan rear wheel drive enthusiast. With age catching up (and probably the change in driving pleasure) and kids growing out of their shoes I cant spend like I used to on cars.

I too have been 'advised' by non Citroen owners about the car (ironic huh?) but the horses mouth is always prefered over the ass hole anytime.

I am told there is a citroen and pug mechanic in Penang and BM, can anyone confirm? He seems to be good at it (got this from a reliable source)

 

[zERc]

i'm driving a 12 yr old zx 16v. Mileage clocked almost 240k. Problems faced; minors except for the brittle wiring issues but overcome that years ago. Power; Yes. Piece of advice; "Experiencing is believing". Anyway, 2.0 litre manual (5 dr) should be the one. Gluck.

 

[BBS]

I owned myself a 16v.. it's a good car :)

Well, if you're really looking for one you should do a good check up before you pay for it, don't buy if you see leaking here & there. The value goes down pretty fast is not because of the car but because of the acceptance level of malaysian towards the car, since nobody likes it so much of course it can't be sold at a price of a japanese made cars.

Even if you bought a BMW it will cost your pocket when it broke down, but if you regularly maintain it will definitely avoid major damage & believe me those hardware aren't easy to fail.

8v engine are very rugged & tough, so does 16v but why ppl always said the 16v engine got prob? It's totally because of the user always whack the car coz it's fast :P ! Handling wise I can guarantee it's better than any BMW (my humble opinion, UDM owners please don't whack me k :P ).. speed wise also very impressive while it has a heavy built.

Spareparts wise for engine is easy to source from chop shop, except for 2 doors owner need to work extra hard to find 2 doors related parts i.e. window, power window motor etc coz the 2 doors model are pretty limited (less than 50 units on Malaysian road). The rest parts are the same as 4 door model which can be easily found at any conti chop shop.

Never say no to Citroen, just make sure you got good buddies to accompany you when doing the inspection of the car.

My 3 cent :)

 

[SoYouThinkYouCanDrive]

i drove a citroen xantia before and it was one of the coolest car with hydraulic suspension that u can tune the ride height.

as in toughness, one fine day somewhere in 2003's, a CRV lose control and crash into my xantia rear boot area about 70kmh. What happens is i get a smalll scratch on the paint job, more i can say to the CRV which suffered wrecked kangaroo-bar, broken headlamps, bent engine bay chassis and some collosal internal damage.

when it comes to durablity + power, continental cars beats JDM cars hands down 100% with no doubt.

but more i can say to newer models of citroens are a sissy to drive coz they are too civilized and design for gentlemen use, so expect less excitements but more civilized comfort in cars like citroen C6 that is widely sold in msia roads

Bump: i drove a citroen xantia before and it was one of the coolest car with hydraulic suspension that u can tune the ride height.

as in toughness, one fine day somewhere in 2003's, a CRV lose control and crash into my xantia rear boot area about 70kmh. What happens is i get a smalll scratch on the paint job, more i can say to the CRV which suffered wrecked kangaroo-bar, broken headlamps, bent engine bay chassis and some collosal internal damage.

when it comes to durablity + power, continental cars beats JDM cars hands down 100% with no doubt.

but more i can say to newer models of citroens are a sissy to drive coz they are too civilized and design for gentlemen use, so expect less excitements but more civilized comfort in cars like citroen C6 that is widely sold in msia roads

 

[aerobrain]

Hi ..
I've been driving Citroen Xantia 2.0 Petrol for 2 years. I bought this car at ~RM10k. What I can say is the Citroen Theme "Nothing moves you like Citroen" is correct. The handling is very good. The suspension is superb. Lots of my passengers (friends, colleagues) really like the ride. They said almost didn't feel anything even passing a bump. They just complaint my aircond not that cool. :rolleyes:

Maintenance wise, so far I had spent ~RM14k for the car. I recorded every detail of maintenance I did. Among the major was the engine oil leaking from the fly-wheel oil seal. It cost me ~RM3k to change the oil seal and other stuff when you lift up the gear box.

I really like Citroen but to bare with this cost, I don't think I can. I'm 26-year-old guy with a normal income (not very rich guy, but ok la for my own food). Thus, I'm thinking to let go this car. I'm not sure how much it worth, but I gonna really miss this car so much. :wavey: