l have been offered a Citroen XM with 30,000 on the clock(genuine). The problem is the hydropneumatic suspension pipes have corroded and all need replacing.
Can anybody give me an idea of cost of replacing these without going to a Citroen main dealer please.
l do know there are specilists that can do this work for a reasonable price. l live in North Nottinghamshire.

250 pounds plus labor

The pipes themselves should not be too expensive, another option is to google people that can make up brake pipes as these r often cheaper but higher quality than standard items.

Replacing the pipes is the easy part. Flushing through the system & re bleeding is the tricky bit. The suspension fluid is also the brake fluid so it is crucial that it is bled in the correct order.

Its true that there r specialists out there but some can be quite devious. My old XM is rear axle pumped right up & locked solid..the guy came out & said l needed this & that then promptly left the car sat on its lowest setting deliberately so l had to call him back. l called my mate instead & all that had happened was a small adjuster bar had seized..he re greased it & it was back to normal again. l did not even need the parts the ''specialist'' had fitted (costing over £300) so please beware!

At the very least l would buy the pipes from a main dealer then u can have them fitted by any competent mechanic. These cars have been around long enough now for many garages who r not Citroen specialists to have enough knowledge of how to work on the hydro-pneumatic system. l would still take it to a specialist though for peace of mind. l would not bother trying to repair the pipes, l would just fit new ones. Much better result, especially if u r going to keep the car for any length of time.

you will find everything you need to know in here mate its the best french car site on the net and the guys and gals are very helpfull and they will probz know peps around your part of the country who does there work best a luck to you
http://frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/search.php