124 Buying an XM General Information
Citroen XM Internet Reference Version 1.0 189
3/3/99
124 Buying an XM
Front doors seem to rust on the inside on early XMs, along the seal.
Remember the spare wheel and toolkit under the back! It’s amazing how many people just assume they
are there :)
3.0 issues...
24v has weak followers, usually need attention after 60,000 miles... and on 24 valves, that’s a lot of
labour.
Check operation of Hydractive system.
Automatic gearbox. Check oil level and colour. Auto boxes have a reputation for going, one car I know of
did 70,000 miles with one driver, no problems, he loaned the car to a friend and the box broke... so could
be driver specific.
The sunroof
Early models have a surround on the sunroof, as if it was added later (it was). These one’s also have
poor earthing points, and suffer the most electrical maladies.
Other things to watch for? Rust in tailgate, wheel alignment, engine mount condition (they’re expensive)
- interior is remarkably hardwearing. Check the instruments are all lighting up - there’s a knack to
dealing with the dashboard on series one cars - and if they aren’t, try and knock another fifty quid off the
asking price - it takes around two hours to change all the bulbs, and there are around 40 bulbs to
replace! If you just get the blown ones, sods law dictates that when everything is reassembled, one you
didn’t change will blow.
make sure the sunroof works properly. I broke mine by trying to tilt it when the car was moving and the
roof bars were fitted, so it must be quite weak. It’s a pig to repair.
3.0 should have alloys, computer. Probably leather as well.
Personally, I would love to replace my 2.0 with one - so I hope you find a good one and can reassure me
that it is worth having ;) the 2.0 does 90 on the motorway all day, returns around 45mpg in those
conditions, and doesn’t break down too often - given I hadn’t used it for a year.
3.0l 24v
The 3,0 litre is thirsty, the 24 valve even more so.
Again, the pundits reckon that the best XM is the 2,0 litre turbo (the 150 bhp version) which is nearly as
quick as the 3,0 litre but more economical.
The sensible choice is the 2,5TD - if only they did it with an autobox...
Headlights on dipped beam are so bad as to be dangerous - this is a function of their design and cannot
be rectified by fitting more powerful bulbs.
Hydractive 2 is a great improvement over Hydractive - there is no change in subjective ride quality when
in Sport mode - in the earlier cars, selecting Sport merely ruined the ride.
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