The Citroen AX diesel (Citroën AX)

Member Name: black sheep

Product:	Citroën AX
Date:	08/08/01 (3078 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: reliable, economical

Disadvantages: loud

I've now been driving my diesel Citroen AX for two and a half years. Its 11 years old and has over 125,000 on the clock and I wasn't expecting it to last nearly as long as it has. A friend (not a dooyou-er) also had a diesel Citroen AX which she reckoned lasted out wonderfully until about 130,000 miles. To my understanding, its longevity has been the fact that it is a diesel, and so anything I mention about its engine should be related specifically to the diesel variant of this car and not necessarily to the petrol AX.

My car suffers from surprisingly few problems for its age and mileage. Every now and again something has gone wrong in the engine, (the most expensive problem being when the radiator decided to spring a leak in a way that was not curable by radweld,) but to my surprise it has now pulled through and passed it's last MOT with flying colours.

I've done all sorts of driving with my Citroen AX and it's taken it all gracefully. It's been driven 30 miles a day on a regular basis, not driven for months apart from a weekly trip to Asda and taken on long journeys. It went from London to West (and wet) Wales through floods at Christmas time and from London to Yorkshire and back in a weekend, all without a complaint, and starting at first asking every time.

Of course a car that age has its foibles. Its starter motor is not what it used to be, but there's a trick to it (to do with not letting it heat itself up when it's already hot), and once you've worked that out, it obeys your commands. Also, being a diesel it's rather on the loud side - but I suspect passers-by suffer from that more than the driver.

As for rust, I've only noticed it creeping into the driver's door, which suffered as a result of an accident. It should be mentioned that the car's been living outdoors since I bought it and has coped through all weathers. Admittedly, however, I am not the sort of person who loo
ks in places you can't see without contorting your body.

Possibly the worst thing about owning a Citroen AX is Citroen dealers. I've generally found them unhelpful and they charge a lot for parts. I would recommend against using official Citroen garages for a Citroen unless you're in a situation where it can't be avoided. Regular garages have done me fine - although it probably ought to be pointed out that servicing for diesels does cost more than for petrol engines.

I think the best summary of the state of my car at ten years old (and from what I understand, it's pretty representative of Citroen's its age) is that I would not have any compunction about selling it to a friend or family member, but I wouldn't charge more than about £600 for it.
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I've been trying to sell my car recently and not getting very far. Hence, I revise my opinion on its value to about £450.

Summary: