The wonky £1K citron Citroën

[Doggy]

...And I was looking forward to seeing the Citroën and find it out how you're getting on with it.

At best a love-hate relationship, tending towards hate-hate.
Some of it's just plain unlucky - cost me nearly £700 to MOT it largely because the weather prevented DIY fixing. Within days the weather was transformed and a 6-month MOT extension granted.
The truly awful egr system, (which you can't simply blank off), means I stall it once or twice a week at completely unpredictable moments. Recently, this has been accompanied by the starter not turning about one time in 10. It never cranks that quickly and I discovered the battery discharges overnight to 12.1 to 12.3V. Having changed the battery when I bought it, I disconnected it one afternoon, next morning - 12.9V
(Of course it's not the battery - you can replace that).
Charging system's fine, starter problem highly unlikely, fault presents as bad connection / battery failure.
Engine cuts out occasionally for no reason and won't restart until the ignition's been off for a few seconds.
It refuses to communicate with Lexia, (I can get a very limited response with PP2k if I pretend it's a 407).

In short, soon as the pandemic's over it's history.

Indeed I keep discovering footpaths that are not on Google maps, so i got a real paper map -- which is a work of art, I love looking at it -- but it could do with zooming in a bit.

Try: https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/roads-par ... f-way-map/
Doesn't look as friendly as ours, but it may help

[rwb]

The Bastard 307 From Hell did something similar -- if not used regularly then the battery would flatten. A solar panel charger thingy made no difference.
Auto electrician couldn't find anything.
However, independent former Citroen tech and specialist in folding hard tops had one (also RFK 2.0 180 petrol) that did the same.

How come the EGR isn't blankable? Is it the Euro5 140 (RFH)?

Have you tried DiagBox? I'm getting used to it now that I have a laptop that's up to the job. I'm on 7.<something> and its much better than the early 7.x versions -- for example it doesn't force you to wait for a global scan every time.

[Doggy]

The Bastard 307 From Hell

I see we have shared the revelation that all things PSA don't necessarily measure up to a good 406

It's an RHF, which I think is Euro 5.

C5 (X7) 5 DOOR ESTATE 2.0 HDi 138 particle emission filter Manual gearbox 6
Caracteristics (sic) are not accessible without Subscription

Neil reckoned you could blank it, but there had to be a hole in the blanking plate to prevent it having a hissy fit.
To be fair, I haven't tried Diagbox, suspecting my ancient 32-bit XP Home-equipped £29 eBay laptop might struggle. (Twas perfect for PP2k / Galletto 1260).

Even if I could resolve the issues, it will never endear itself to me. In any case it's going to need a £1k or so clutch/dmf at some point and I estimate it's worth about £700 on a good day. I should really have scrapped it rather than put it through an MOT but that concept seemed barmy at the time. Logical thing to do is run it until the world makes sense / bin it before anything else expensive happens.

Despite being well past my mid-life crisis, I'm leaning toward an older 6 cyl petrol BMW or similar

[Welly]

That's a real shame about the C5 doggy it looks like it should be worth so much more then 700.

[PeterN]

There is a lot of information about the X7 estate on 'The French car forum' I have two and use it a lot. A chap named Marc seems the to have lots or information.

Peter

[rwb]

The ECU knows that something is up because it sees more fresh air coming in through the MAF than it was expecting when it's opened the EGR. This logs a fault in my 2007 407 but doesn't summon Aunty Pollution.

It is a shame about the C5; it sounded like a really good idea.

[paolalopez118]

uff damn, what a piece of history, I know it is important to clarify this kind of thing, it is like a resolution of the problems worthy of cinema movies hehe

[steve_earwig]

Err, what?

[rwb]

It's scrap.

It's been at Mechanic's since March when it dropped its coolant and now he's gone out of business.

Tonight the remote central locking doesn't work (but the alarm does) and the key won't turn in the lock.

It'll be £140 to get it transported, probably going on for £2k to fix, then another £1k to tax and insure.

So I think I have to cut my losses because with all the other sh*t I just can't cope.

[steve_earwig]

Oh hi there!

It's been at the mechanic's since March? Count it as free parking Sometimes it feels good to lift some of the millstones, I had a house like that... That's probably far more than it's worth anyway, it had its chance, time to open the door to infinity and kick it through.

[Doggy]

Sorry to hear how things have turned out, but I agree with Steve it's time to call it a day.

If it weren't for all the covid travel restrictions etc. I'd be tempted to a organise a 'scrap your Citroen meet' - (there might only be two of us, but I'm sure we'd feel better afterwards).


How's the relocation / new house working out?

[rwb]

Otherwise not good.

Micropanther died in July.

IMG_20200223_134945~01.jpg

Purple Bricks have just taken £899 for 11 viewings in 13 months. Not one offer. I guess my option is how big a loss to make.

Office is still closed so Oldham house is empty. Tried to rent it but the greedy council want £500 for a licence and I'll have to throw all the furniture away because I can't prove that it meets fire regulations. Been ripped off £600 to repair a leaking gutter. Gas man said boiler ( which I thought was new) is knackered.

I thought that buying houses was supposed to make you fantastically wealthy?

Telford house really needs the ensuite re-tiling so someone will rip me off for that.

All f*ck-ups of my own creation I know but I really don't understand why I'm such a disaster -- if I did then I wouldn't do it. Or is the original post of this thread -- trying to justify an obviously bad decision -- case in point?
It was supposed to be a fresh start this year but I've ended up stuck deeper in the rut.

The cash flow for the next few months looks a lot better without the C6.

</whinge>, I know

[GingerMagic]

Sorry to hear of your troubles Richard
To be fair, if something is a bit of a ball and chain then it's a head decision, not a heart one.

I too sold my flat last year and I'm glad I got shot of it - too much on my plate to deal with the issues.

It's been a crap year all round, probably worse for you - fingers crossed next year will be better, if some of your financial constraints are in the past.

Try to keep positive young man, just deal with one thing at a time.

Best wishes.

[Doggy]

I feel for you my friend.
No consolation I know but it's been a lousy year for many.
Pets are always an emotional roller coaster as you inevitably lose them at some point. Does the joy of having them outweigh the heartache at the end? I don't know, but I seem more affected as I get older. We haven't replaced our 3 cavaliers after losing one roughly every 2 years.

I wouldn't say buying houses is a route to quick riches, but mostly it works to some degree. Chances are it will come good in time if it's not too big a drain on you finances. Suspect the successful private landlord has a large helping of selfish ruthlessness and parsimonious corner-cutting. That's probably not you, (or me). They'd sell the furniture/buy any old replacements at an auction so long as they've got labels, (or just acquire some labels), and ask as many more gas engineers as necessary till you get one that'll say the boiler needs changing soon, but it's OK for now. It's a business, morals are a luxury.

Would it be easier/cheaper to rent the Telford house and live in the Oldham one? At least you wouldn't have crystallised the financial loss of selling it in the current market, (or burnt any bridges). FWIW I think it's a bit like taking a hit on investments - if you can ride out the storm, you'll probably make it all back in time.

Dumping the C6 is a sound first step. Keep the faith.
You knew the Citroen was a potential money pit from the outset, but one you could risk.
The Oldham house isn't the same, probably just unfortunate timing.

[steve_earwig]

Wot he said really I'm just nowhere near as elephant You have to hang in there, I've had some low spots in my life but I've made it though and you will too.

Does the joy of having them outweigh the heartache at the end?

I hope so, otherwise we're idiots. I always think next time I want a pet I'll get a rock, but they always come, I don't seem to be able to say no...

There used to be money in bricks & mortar but I don't think it's so easy now (don't buy diamonds either...). Mate of mine rented his flat in London, he had to do all sorts of bizarre things to do it (I remember helping him chain his cooker to the wall ), he went through an agent but the first tenants he got in still trashed the place and ran off without paying. I wouldn't fancy it myself.

Meanwhile, where's Welly? Not signed in since November, oh crap.