Citroen Zsara - Anything to look for when buying?

Hedge

Hedge

Hedge

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Pretty much set on one of these as my first car, there is one that im gonna phone up about tomorrow, It has 43000 miles, fsh, 12month mot and 6month tax. Seems a good price at £1350

Insurance is pretty cheap. But the problem is i dunno much about cars.

Just wondering if there is any specific things that crop up with these cars?

What should i keep an eye out for?
 
Which engine? Some of the petrols develop a very minor coolant leak around the thermostat housing that is very tricky to fix. This is more of an irritation than anything else though and the amount leaked is tiny.

These are fairly robust mechanically, you need to check the electrics are all ok, particularly the blower fan as these do go and cost about £100 if the whole thing needs replacing. Check the central locking, electric windows and the indicator stalks as they have a habit of failing too.
 
Its the 1.4 forte, its W Reg. In black.

ill note down some of what u said blueboy. thanks
 
Hedge said:
What should i keep an eye out for?
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Give it a very thorough check, that is all. Look around for documented common faults via Google.

A colleague had one as his company car, and most of the electrics would play all kinds of tricks. It had a mind of its own! I can't remember the details, but he crashed it and wrote it off, which was the best part of his owning it. :p

If you find one and everything seems ok, it should be fine. Just remember; it's French, and french electrics are known to be dodgy (not in all cases though, obviously).
 
Fairly common fault is the airbag warning light going off, usually caused by the connectors under the seats (for the side airbags) coming loose - I think a Forte has them, should be similar to my old SX in specification. Keys are £100+ for a new one, so if you don't get two that's a bargaining point. Check the aircon is cold, though being a 7 year old car it might just need a re-gas. The electric mirror adjustment on my T reg one stopped working just before I sold it (adjuster ran but the glass didn't move).

Aside from that, just the usual used car checks and you should be fine :).
 
Its scary stuff spending all this dosh, terrified i might get a duffer lol.

description says

"Manual, W REG GLOSS BLACK 43,000 MILES + FSH 12 MONTHS MOT 6 MONTHS TAX ELECTRIC WINDOWS / MIRROWS AIR-CON TOW-BAR POWERSTEERING CHEAP TAX & INSURANCE EXCELLENT CONDITION. £1,350"

so it sounds nice on paper. lets hope its worthy :D
 
All I'll say is:

Its your first car, DON'T just go and buy the first car you look at, go drive a few, possibly even a few different engined models (try a diesel for example as well as the 1.4i), this way you get more of a feel for the car in question, and furthermore you don't just go heart over head and buy a car because its there!
 
Good advice cheers.

What are the best cars for a first motor?

Insurance on a zsara is pretty cheap for me, even the VTR is only about 1300 quid which is canny.

Cars ive considered are fiestas, zsaras, almeras, mondeos and escorts.

I want something thats good allround and not too slow
 
One more niggle I encountered - the height adjustment on my driver's seat never worked as it wouldn't lock in place, but I don't think the Forte has that anyway. Good idea to try some different engined models, the 1.6 or HDi may be worth any extra insurance cost. You could test drive a 306 to see what the other engines are like if you can't find the equivalent Xsara, should give you a reasonable impression.

They are pretty decent for a first car, good value for money, fairly well equipped and cheap and easy to fix.

My dad's just fitted a towbar to his 1.2 Clio (old one, 8v and 60hp) - that'll be even more fun :p.. Better than him using my car to tow his boat though.
 
thanks andrew,

I think ill not let the excitement of a first car get to me, ill try to be sensible.

And yeah the insurance for the 2.0l diesel isnt much greater than the 1.4, so it might be worth considering. I think its the low mileage on the example ive given that has me tempted. 43k with a years mot sounds good.

Im gonna go for a beer soon, and have a good think :)
 
Badgerpoo said:
There is also a VTR HDi with the 110BHp intercooled diesel
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And a 1.6 16v but both of these are facelift models and not found for a grand. I am talking about the original 97-00 model, of which there were two VTR's only - a 1.6 8v and a 1.8 16v.
 
Bill101 said:
I'd ask the guy what the hell he towed with a 1.4 engine.
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Go to your local tip just after the weather starts getting nicer. Half the people their have those silly little trailers all full of lawn trimmings and bits of hedge.

Why they can't just make two trips is beyond me.
 
K.C. Leblanc said:
Go to your local tip just after the weather starts getting nicer. Half the people their have those silly little trailers all full of lawn trimmings and bits of hedge.

Why they can't just make two trips is beyond me.
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Because people have better things to do on a Sunday than queue up twice? If its anything like our local tip it takes roughly about 30 minutes of waiting to get in the place on a Sunday. Why make that an hour? Why mess up the boot interior with a spikey branch or something?
Hardly silly at all, seems like genuine common sense to my thinking.
 
register on here (it's free) and then tell it your looking for a xsara and it will give you a breakdown of everything to check, a list of known faults and estimated repair prices for negotiation purposes, and pretty much anything else you want to know about the car. i was looking at xsara's not too long ago before i decided really didn't want to get back into finance etc and it was really useful.
 
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