Time to buy a practical car?

sdabel

sdabel

Member
Fellow Frogger
Joined
Jun 25, 2003
Messages
215
Location
Adelaide
Just back from weekend away- choice was to take either Astra or XM (with failing A/C) - with two adults one child and 2 hours drive each way.

Took the XM and was very happy, brilliant economy, lots of room but best of all relaxing. This is where big Citroens have no peer- you don't feel like you have been on a long trip. Even in high 30's it was a comfortable ride.

Clearly the car thought I was a bit full of it so on the way home (thankfully after I had dropped the passengers off and less than 10 min away) it broke an accelerator cable. :mad:

So far it looks like one size fits all so perhaps for once I will get a part from a local supplier.

I was begining to think maybe I should just use common wisdom and buy a new car like all my friends tell me. Replace it every 2 years and never think about preventative maintainance again.

So yesterday I was driving the Astra again, I remember being impressed by this car when new. But now after a long drive in the XM it was a bad experiance, steering is dead, brakes work but didn't give me any confidence, blindspots everywhere, seats like wooden planks. Ride is harsh (yea it handles but so does an XM). The Astra feels fast away from the lights but feels like it has short legs, the XM feels better the faster you go. No way could I own a car like this.

So in sort I was cured!:D


regards
sean
 
When the accelerator cable broke on my 605 I had to get one shipped over ex-France. It got slightly complicated as I had it privately couriered, but it was a UK-spec part not readily available througout France. 10 minute job to replace though.

Good luck,

Patrick
605SVE
 
sdabel said:
it broke an accelerator cable. :mad:

So far it looks like one size fits all so perhaps for once I will get a part from a local supplier.

So in sort I was cured!:D


regards
sean
Click to expand...
Glad you've been cured of your affliction :roflmao: I once had a vauxhall ashtray (remember I'm in England, but it's the same as holden in every way)
and I wasn't that impressed.
The cable, if it's like the one I bought for my ZX, comes as a build up yourself kit. You get an inner, an outer, and all the fittings. You have to cut it to required length. You almost could but it from an ordinary shop, but the end which goes into the throttle pedalhas a rather weird plastic fitting on it which is part of the cable. the engine end has a screw on nipple. You may be able to just use the inner cable, by pulling the broken cable from inside the car, and threading the new one from the throttle pedal back into the engine bay. john s
 
Hey Sean, you've already got a practical car. Your XM. What more do you want in a car than what it already offers you?

Aircon that works? Well get it fixed. I've just had mine fixed. New compressor, drier, TX, etc. Working fine now.

Reliability? You might not get that from a new car, they aren't immune from trouble either. I have a friend who got around in ageing and ofter unreliable European cars (mainly SAABs) for years, until a year or 2 back when she bought a brand new Commondore. The piece of junk has spent as much time in the dealer's workshop as it has on the road.

Comfort? You've already answered this yourself. While my XM's aircon was being fixed I have been driving my sister's 1996 Mazda 232 Astina. What an uncomfortable tin can that thing is! Even though an Astra is probably better than a 323, it is still nowhere near an XM.

Roger
 
Thanks for the kind words, thought I had the A/C sorted last year but it stopped working the day after christmas. Was due to go back to be looked at today. :mad:

Good to hear that the cable replacement sounds straight forward.

regards
sean
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top