Guest simon frost Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 hi all Citroen virgin here so be gentle. im looking to buy a C5 Estate 2.0lre HDI with 86k miles (diesel manual) Its going to be used for commuting to and from the office (36 miles per day some times more) and for trip to the french alps. Can any one tell me what to look out for when im going for the test drive and some common faults to look out for. cheers frosty Quote
Guest simon frost Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 hi all Citroen virgin here so be gentle. im looking to buy a C5 Estate 2.0lre HDI with 86k miles (diesel manual) Its going to be used for commuting to and from the office (36 miles per day some times more) and for trip to the french alps. Can any one tell me what to look out for when im going for the test drive and some common faults to look out for. cheers frosty any body ???? Quote
Guest womble Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Can't help you with the C5 mate I am the owner of a Berlingo, however I am sure that in the absence of anyone replying, why don't you have a good trawl through past posts on the C5 and this will give you more of an insight into what you need? Quote
Johndouglas Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Can any one tell me what to look out for when im going for the test drive and some common faults to look out for. As with any car, take a walk around it and be satisfied on its appearance. Check tyre condition and if seriously worn estimate about a 100 quid per corner. The tailgate window should open by squeezing below the wiper arm. It's often the first function to fail. As soon as the doors are unlocked/opened the suspension should rise to running height. With the engine running, check the height switch behind the handbrake. One press on the rear should lower the car. One, two then three on the front switch should move it to maximum height. Window opening and closing can be checked on the switches. As can the heating and cooling. Also the outside temperature reading on the dash panel. Cambelt are recommended to be changed at 150K miles but for safety a more realistic mileage is 85K so check if a change has been carried out. If not it would be worth negotiating on the point. For belt, water pump and pulleys + labour estimate £4 - £500. When driving check for knocking noises from the suspension both on the front and back. Front could be drop links and bushes and bearings on the rear. You didn't say the year of the car but if it's after 2004 then it's likely that it will have a FAP filter. As part of the servicing, eventually the filter will need cleaning and the Eolys fluid tank refilling. Warning that the time is approaching is given in the central display. If they are looked after, the C5's will run to huge mileages. Check the service history. Recommended is every 20000 miles, but sooner is better. Good luck Quote
Guest simon frost Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 John, Just want i was after. I no what to check for when buying a used car i was just after any specific C% estate quirks. Cheers simon Quote
Bassrock Posted January 22, 2011 Posted January 22, 2011 Hi there, I'm on my second 2ltr C5 Estate, so here is a few thing to look for:- Rear disks, check surfaces for unusal wear patterns, check caliper not touching or almost touching disk, this is a sign of galvanic corrosion between swinging arm mount and caliper, corrosion forces caliper away from mounting surface, bending caliper towards disk.Sod to fix, as the bolts become extremely hard to undo, once you do eventually remove the caliper you have to file the caliper surface flat (remove corrosion), then "grind" corrosion from mounting surface, then (oh joy) put everything back together again (and the bolts will be a pain to line up and tighten), how do I know, I've just spent 8 soddin hours cleaning both the rears on mine !!!!%^£%^£%%$^£$%^£$%^£$%^£%. Rear window (Estate), check if the glass window lifts up using switch on rear wiper assembly, if it does great, if it doesn't don't worry it's a pain anyway, many have a will of there own and would open when driving down the road, i've disconnected the actuator that operates mine. Lights, brake lights especially, the bulb holders are crap, they also corrode, so check all rear lights. Front lights ,ask how often the halogens blow, fix (fit 360 led side light bulbs) cured my halogens popping. (oh halogens can be changed by yourself, it's just a tight squeeze. Check driver and passenger footwells for signs of dampness, I have a solution for that too. Check plastic engine cover under bonnet one or more of the 4 studs holding the cover will be broken, citroen charge £5 a pop for areplacemt, I've found good quality super glue works. More:- Check tyres especially fronts for uneven tyre wear, tracking could be out. Find a C5 that does not have "solid wheel hubs" (eg. no hole in centre of wheel), absolute sod to find places that have the proper adaptor to balance these wheels, even if they do I doubt they do it properly. When test driving make sure no steering wobble, could be wheel balance prob or if braking a disk warped/caliper corrosion problem. When turning left or right make sure no vibration as this could be worn track rods (inner). Check the handbrake releases properly, the lever should have no slackness, if it does one of the front caliper handbrake mechanisms is gubbed. I'm tired sfter 8 hours of caliper bashing, if i think of anything later, will let you know. Quote
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