Citroen Saxo 1.1

...to get it second hand. Citroen stopped making them and did the whole new beginning thing for the mellenium with the C3. Very similar to the Saxo but more expensive to buy and maintain with more expensive and harder to locate parts.

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Costs
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I will start with this because I think it is the thing we all want to know about when considering buying a car.
I paid nothing for the car as it was ...
...However it did cost me some money to fix a few faults which are common to Saxo's. For a 1996 SX you can expect to pay £600. That's if it's running right. Before you purchase I would ask the seller when the last time the brake system, drive shafts, clutch and exhaust was changed. These parts need replacing on an average every 3 years. Depending on the driver, the drive shafts will last longer but only with a steady driver, not a racer.

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Introducing....My motor!!! The Saxo I'm going to tell you about is the 1.1litre SX model born in 1996. Now if you want to buy a Saxo then you will have to get it second hand. Citroen stopped making them and did the whole new beginning thing for the mellenium with the C3. Very similar to the Saxo but more expensive to buy and maintain with more expensive and harder to locate parts.

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Costs
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I will start with this because I think it is the thing we all want to know about when considering buying a car.
I paid nothing for the car as it was a gift from my Dad when I passed my test. However it did cost me some money to fix a few faults which are common to Saxo's. For a 1996 SX you can expect to pay £600. That's if it's running right. Before you purchase I would ask the seller when the last time the brake system, drive shafts, clutch and exhaust was changed. These parts need replacing on an average every 3 years. Depending on the driver, the drive shafts will last longer but only with a steady driver, not a racer.

Now then if you do need to replace these parts it's not as scary as it may seem. According to Jonny It's all easy to get to, and simple enough if you know what you're doing. This sounds about right as it only took him a day to do the drive shafts and four new brakes (discs and callipers) and then another day for the clutch and general tidying up. 3months later the whole of the exhaust took another day. This wouldn't have taken as long if some numb nuts hadn't bodged up trying to put a heeeuuuge back-box on and made a mess of the welding!!!
The parts that you will need are easy to find from ebay or your local car parts shop. Yes the saxo went out of production 7 years ago but it is a rather popular car so the parts are still made. This is where our old pals Bits-For-Cars come in...again!!! The drive shafts (shaftS there are two of them on a Saxo) cost £40 when we took the old ones back. Exhaust was £80 for the full system and all new brakes system on all four corners cost £60 all together. A new clutch cost just £40
A full service icluding new plugs and oil change only cost me just over £50 if I remember rightly.
Not bad eh £270 to get her up to MOT standard. Even better if you or a friend is mechanically minded and then you don't have huge labour charges from a mechanic.

I put £20 a month in that tank and this month I put my £20 and decided to re-set the mileage thingamajigum and at the moment it's just started flashing when I go up a hill and the mileage thingamy says 108miles Bloody hell eh 108 miles not bad eh! That's on local minor roads mostly and a 2mile sprint on the M606 once a week to see Daddy. So I think that if you're using it for mostly motorway driving then the cost will go up but it's great if you're like me and just use it for to and from work or to and from Morrisson's.

Insurance wise you're going to love it. Take me for an example. This is my first ever car on my first ever brand new shiny licence. £654 for the year with £100excess. This quote was baised on having 0 no claims,a full licence which was just 3days old at the time of insuring and that was on third party fire and theft. For the benifit of this review and because Im so nice I've just got a quote from direct line which was £479 Fully comprehensive with £150 excess not bad at all I think.

Tax is also pretty cheap with it bieng a 1.1 litre engine it's £118 per year.

Now then alot of people avoid buying second hand cars because they are affraid of the costs. So they go and pay £10000 for a nice little motor, brand new with 12months free insurance and a three year waranty. Drive it out of the show room and they've lost £4000. Yes you dont have to MOT it for 3years and Yes you wont have to incur any major maintenance costs because of the waranty. But you do the maths, £4000 for driving it out of the show room as opposed to spending £200 every three years for parts and £50 a year for an MOT. If you aren't or nobody in you're family or friends is mechanically minded then the costs will go up, however I still think it's better than buying a new car.

Costs wise this car is brilliant for new drivers who have high insurance premiums to consider. Even with 0 no claims and a new licence the insurance is still cheap. In fact everyone out there who is looking for a cheap run around ought to put a Saxo on thier short lists.
Yes there are parts that go kaput every so often but that is through French design. I get the feeling that these parts are designed to break. They take all that strain away from expensive bits like the engine and gearbox.

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What do I get for that money?
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Well the features in my SX include 3 doors, a sun roof, electric front windows, central locking, key-code imobiliser, steering lock, factory fitted alarm and what would have been a cruddy cassette player.
There is no power steering which is great for getting rid of those bingo wings and as the car only weights just over £800KG it's not that much of a downfall.

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Looks
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Not bad for a 10 year old car. It's very much like it's big sister the C3 except without the smooth, rolling curves. It reminds me of a Peugeot 205 but not as boxy. The exterior is pretty good. There are a few rust spots around the boot and doors but it's very little and caused by it never having seen the inside of a garage for at least half of it's life!!! The bumpers are colour coded too, adding to the sleeky Frenchness.

Inside it has fabric upholstury has worn quite well on the seats. You can see that it has faded and lost some of it's lustre but come on she's an old girl now!!! Around the door handles the fabric has split and frayed which is just too much hassle to sort out. It's easier to blow it and buy new door casings. The carpets are grey, as are the mats. They also cleaned up very well and are not worn through in patches at all. The dashboard is the usual black plastic with no chips or scratches. The clocks are just the petrol guage, speedometer and rev counter. There a few warning lights at the bottom for the air bag, hand brake, oil pressure, temperature and stuff like that.

In the middle you've got the gear stick which is positioned comfortably. Above that is the controls for the heating which is very baisic and simple...no air conditioning!!! Above the controls is the radio and then the vents.

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How is it to drive???
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Stereo...well I cant comment It all got replaced when I bought it. 2 new door speakers, 6x9's in the back and a new head unit. Jonny says thast the orrigional speakers are cruddy though and a cassette player...deffinately a 90's car!!!

The engine is pretty quiet to say this car is over 10 years old so the engines wear well. However that depends on weather a chav or a grandma was the previous owner. I have no idea but i suspect a grandma to say its only done 70,000 miles in 10 years!!! Perhaps if a chav had owned it then the engine would be noisier and more difficult.

The glove box is pretty deep and roomy I get alsorts of rubbish in there. The side pockets aren't up to much though. Enough for a windscreen cloth and de-icer for the windscreen and that's it.

The boot is the same but the rear seats fold down. You can pull out the actual seat bit and fold down the backs so that they're totally flat.to fit in loads of stuff when say for example helping a mate to move house.

Well what can I say she's an awful lot of fun whether you're on the motorway or minor roads and country lanes. From a stand still she sets off like a bat out of hell. You can get up to 25mph in first gear!!! I just love bieng able to pull away from folk who like to get up my behind!!! Unfortunately this isn't so on steep hills. She doesnt like hills at all, especially with a week's shopping or passengers. Duh it's a 1.1 wadya expect???

The clutch also isn't great. It's biting point is far lower down than what I'm used to and it doesn't like you to use clutch control. It's difficult to keep it from creeping forwards and also this will wear the clutch quickly. Changing gears is smooth though, the clutch doesn't cause a bit of bother there. Whilst on about gears it can be stubborn about reverse. It sometimes takes a bit of pumping on the clutch to get it in reverse. Also if you don't get it in reverse properly then it will just pop out of reverse unless you hold the gear stick where it's supposed to be.

On motorways it is alot of fun. Yeah it's top speed isn't that of a Mercedees Mclarren but she doesn't half like to go. Cruising at 60ish in fourth and you get some corsa boy trying to race you, drop it down into third, foot down and in no time you're at 80!!! not that I speed its usafe and irresponsible...it's just funny to see thier faces when a girl gives them a run for thier money!!! The problem is the top speed. Put her in fifth gear and she doesn't want to accelerate anymore. She will stay at a steady speed but if you need to accelerate away from some plank who's causing you problems you have to down shift to get the speed up.

It's comfortable on long journey's with plenty of leg room in the front. The seats wont give you a numb-bum after a few hours. But it wobbles about something cronic in side winds and you have to fight with it a little. At least you can't get bored and fall asleap at the wheel though!!! I like these quirks, it's character and fun!

Now I cant really get away from the fact that the Saxo has a racer-boy's reputation. Lots of young lad's like it because it's nippy and easy to modify. Or if they cant afford to modify it then they will just rag the heck out of it. SO for all you racer-boy-chavs out there here's Jonny's section.......
What can I say lads it's like Nereesa says it's alot of fun. But she's a girl and can't drive like I drive!!! You all know what I mean when I talk about country lanes. Them winding corners, chicanes and dips give all us "real drivers" loads of enjoyment. If you're looking for a car that will give you pleasure on random drives around the Dales then look no further. There is some body roll and the disc brakes are not ABS so if you don't really know what you're doing then some farmer will be pulling you out of a ditch so don't push yourselves too far. That set aside the steering is responsive. You can feel the engine and suspension really well without doing a Jerremy Clarkson and knocking yourself out on the roof. It's just enough to let you know how the car is responding. Some of you won't like the amount of body roll but I just see it as fun. It doesn't feel dangerous and the car will let you know when you're pushing it towards it's limit before you go too far.

Tadaaa I couldn't have written that bit because the only time I push the old girl is in a straight line on the motorway!!!

Right then to sum it up this car is pretty great. I'm not happy about the common problems with those parts. It's shoddy French design that makes them go but on the other hand they are designed to be replacable and to cause less strain on the more expensive parts like the engine and gearbox. It's alot of fun to drive and a fantastic first car. Very cheap running costs make it perfect for anyone who is wanting a little run around which won't guzzle petrol or cost alot in insurance.

That's your lot guys you will be glad to know I've said all I've got to say!!! Thanks for the reads, xxx 

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