Hi from Russia

[orosurf]

Hi everyone. I'm new at posting here, but I have been using the very useful info I found on here for a few months . I have a 2000 Xantia 2.0 Hdi Exclusive that I bought in Spain just before Christmas. It had numerous problems when I got it, mostly hydraulic related (pump, followed by burst pipes. etc. ) I have gradually worked my way through most of the problems myself and everything was great , Last week I made the 6000km drive to Russia from Spain without a single problem , despite the terrible roads. Today I was driving around town and hit a particularly nasty pothole at low speed and BANG! One of my front spheres burst, it has split the seam that runs around the middle. I am having a hell of a time trying to find a replacement here in Russia, the dealers want about 100 quid for one sphere, which I could swallow if it weren't for the fact that they say 4 weeks for delivery !

I know the spheres go for about 30-40 quid normally. I checked with TNT, for shipping they want 52 quid. My funds are extremely limited as I am here visiting my wife and baby daughter, I just used most of thhe cash to get here so I am trying to source a sphere either closer or cheaper. Obviously a pair would be better but I can't afford 2 right now. If anyone has any ideas or a spare sphere (even old but ok) that is going cheap I would really appreciate any help I can get. I apologise for asking so much in my first post, I hope nobody minds too much, but I am really in a spot of bother here.

[Hell Razor5543]

Hello, and welcome to the forum,

That is bad news about the sphere. I would assume that it is one of the strut spheres, but can you confirm this? There are a total of 4 spheres in the engine bay; one per strut (two in total), accumulator sphere, and hydractive sphere.

I replaced all 6 spheres on my Xantia about 2 years ago (my Xantia only has the basic suspension), and that was for around £150.

I have just done an e-bay search for Lizarte spheres, and found these. It could be worth giving them a call;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-Xanti ... 258cca95c4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[orosurf]

Hi thanks for your reply. Yes it is the drivers side on a RHD model. I read that spheres almost never burst. So I am wondering what caused it , age and a degraded sphere I suppose, though I have just scared myself sleepless reading the speared strut thread ! I will be checking them out too tomorrow. This could mean real trouble as the car only has a 90 day import permit.
Thanks for the link , those are the cheapest I have seen yet. I will try and contact the seller to see if he will ship to Russia. Meanwhile still searching....

[Hell Razor5543]

That price is for one sphere, but if you buy 2 or more spheres they do not charge any more for postage (although I am not sure what will happen when shipping to Russia). The first time I bought spheres from them they made a mistake and charged postage for each item. When I contacted them about this they accepted they had made a mistake and refunded the difference the same day. The second time I bought spheres they got it right.

[orosurf]

Thanks James , I had a look and will try to contact the seller tomorrow. They say they will ship to Russia , but like you I don't suppose the 2 for 1 shipping will apply. As I said a 4kg parcel is 52 quid by TNT. Any idea how much a sphere weighs ?
Regards ,
Darren

[Hell Razor5543]

Sorry Darren, I don't know how much the spheres weigh. However, they do say on their website they don't charge more for extra items, so I would expect them to stick to this.

[orosurf]

Hi James, I ordered the spheres from the company you suggested on Saturday, I requested TNT Express delivery which was supposed to take 1-4 days.
Unfortunately , they took payment from my wife's credit card but as yet they have still not sent out the parcel , it is now Thursday ! They do not respond to my emails, and when contacted by phone , claimed that they use a courier called INTERPARCEL. This company turns out to be a bunch of scam artists and thieves as their Facebook page clearly demonstrates https://www.facebook.com/interparcel?fref=ts . I contacted this company via their live chat service and was fed a load of excuses by the operator , she promised that the parcel would be collected yesterday by 5.30 PM. So far it still has not been collected. It is now 5 clear days since the supplier took the money from our card. I have to say that the seller you gave me and Interparcel appear to be operating some kind of scam. I have created a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/interparcelarethieves to warn others about this company. I have also contacted TNT fraud dept. , Trading standards, and today will make a Police report, and contact Ebay. I don't expect Ebay will be very helpful as the seller wanted to conduct the transaction outside of Ebay.
His email was citrustree@btconnect.com , I was dealing with a guy called "Neil" , though his email said it came from Graham.

I wanted to post this here to warn my fellow members about these companies so they don't get ripped off like I have been.
Please like and share the FB page I created.
I am now stuck here in Russia with my broken car on a temporary import permit. If the car is not taken out of the country before this expires I become liable for import duty of around 6000 Euros ! I also cannot leave the country without it as it is in my passport.

[Hell Razor5543]

I cannot offer an opinion on your experience. I have used them twice in the past, and (barring the error in postal charges, which they corrected) I personally have not had a problem. Mind you, I live in Reading, less than 50 miles away, while you are considerably further away.

Please understand that if I have had acceptable service from a company I would recommend them, but I would also advise people if I had had poor service and to avoid a company.

[orosurf]

Thanks James, I am not blaming you. Just very frustrated by the poor service. The company that sell the spheres have told me several stories and then have taken 3 days to answer my emails. All a bit worrying , especially when you check out the Interparcel FB page. I do hope you understand.
Thanks for your help. I used to live just down the road from you in Wokingham..

[Hell Razor5543]

Darren, I owe you an apology. I have checked, and this company have only been on e-bay since February this year. I originally did an e-bay search for Lizarte spheres, having used them in the past. I wrongly assumed that the spheres I found (and linked to) were provided by the company I had used in the past, and for that error I am sorry.

[orosurf]

No problem James, I appreciate that you were trying to help me out. I just want others to know, they should avoid INTERPARCEL like the plague. They have lied to me several times and I still have nothing from them except a TNT consignment number which comes back as NOT FOUND. The guy selling the spheres is Neil at
VANTAGE CITROEN AND PEUGEOT
UNIT 2 RIVERSIDE BUSINESS PARK
LYON ROAD
MERTON
LONDON SW19 2RL
TELEPHONE 0208 544 9998
He seems genuine enough and even helpful in some things. I can't believe they have not had problems with Interparcel before though.
I just wish they would tell the truth.
Thanks for your help anyway, no need to apologize at all.
Darren

[Hell Razor5543]

That name and address ring a good bell, as that is who I bought from. Maybe they had in issue with e-bay, and had to re-register.

It is possible that the current political situation is partly to blame, but then the courier ought to make this clear.

[orosurf]

I don't think it is a political issue, just incompetence on the part of the courier. I emailed the CEO of TNT Tex Gunning (yes really his name !) and got a reply from the MD. They have passed it on to their customer resolution manager who is currently looking into the matter. Still nothing concrete regarding the whereabouts of my parcel though, or possible delivery date. For the record , I think Neil and the company you gave me are genuine enough , but nobody seems to know what is going on.

[orosurf]

Ok, I finally located the parcel. It was with TNT in a warehouse. It seems that the problem is this intermediary company INTERPARCEL, they are aware that TNT do not ship to my location in Russia. If you complain to them they have a large staff dedicated to telling lies and making excuses. If you look at their Facebook page you can see that they cannot even keep up with deleting all the complaints they receive, which are MANY. In the End I figured out the email adress of the CEO at TNT and he got things moving.
Neil Goodall the chap James reccomended then sent the parts out again by UPS this evening. Interparcel obviously know they were in the wrong because they will reimburse Neil the difference in shipping costs. I now have a UPS shipping number and hopefully the parcel will leave the UK tomorrow.
Thanks James for your help. I do appreciate it.

[Hell Razor5543]

Fingers crossed. It isn't difficult to replace the spheres. You only need to do them up hand tight (they will tighten up further over time, so it is a good idea to loosen them off every 6 months or so, and then tighten them back up to hand tight). Do you have enough LHM fluid?