Oh how time flies. It dawned on me the other day that my trusty C5 has been in my ownership for almost a decade, and in that time I've done nearly 90k miles in it. As a fairly elderly car, its only done 140k miles total.
What can I say, the C5 has proved many of my family and friends wrong. When I first brought it home from university, everyone told me it would be a money pit and wouldn't last.
Over the past 8-9 years I've had to change/work on the following:
Front Hydractive strut X2.
Driver's side window regulator X2.
Delphi high pressure fuel regulator.
Front drivers' side driveshaft.
AC condenser.
Suspension pump motor had to be disassembled and cleaned.
.... That's it.
This remarkably short list for such an old car has astounded both me and others.
Granted, I've been pretty 'on it' regarding maintenance, with 3x gearbox oil changes every 40k miles, engine oil and filter change every year with top quality C2 oil, LDS fluid flush and regular citerobics
.Despite this general reliability, a few issues have cropped up now:
paint damage on nearside wing and front bumper.
Trim rattles have got worse.
Gearbox isn't quite as smooth as it used to be.
Passenger's window regulator is grinding and on its way out.
Rear passenger door has randomly lost its 'detents'.
Massage function of driver's seat works intermittently.
Warning message regarding an Eolys top up has just appeared.
Whats' amazing is that despite the age and mileage its running the original rear struts, spheres, exhaust, dpf, suspension pump, suspension bushes/drop links/etc. Quite remarkable considering the reputation 'big citroens' had at the time I bought it. The past 9 years of MOT have only produced an advisory for tyres and one fail for the CV boot having come off. It even still gets 45-50mpg on a run!
I paid £3,700 for this car in 2016 and have not spent a great deal on the car as you can see. I credit this forum and the early purchase of a diagbox kit off ebay for saving me thousands in garage fees.
So, where to now... I'm no longer the university student who bought a 'comfy' car as it was the only interesting car I could afford to insure.
I can't think of a single car that is as 'interesting' as the C5 available on the used market.. and until anything major goes wrong, I'd be daft to get rid.
So yes, not much point to this thread than to thank the forum and my C5 for providing years of relatively trouble free motoring!
. I wondered if there was anyone with a similar vehicle near me in the Forest of Dean who could help me.