It has been happening for a long time, of course. It is a fact that new cars become used cars. Then they become used cars, old cars and then? Then they are forgotten until they are discovered. Or stay forgotten.
Funnily enough, we have an example of that in our own ranks
De Citroën BX. Because those little hydrauliques have suddenly been discovered last year. But within the ranks of AMK BX has been used since 1999. You can even see them on FB and stuff now. And there are now prices from € 1.500. But it is clear: Citroën BXes? These will be investment pieces! Ai. That may be a bridge too far ... But still ...
A BX? He doesn't like the garage
Some of us still remember the time that Citroën new BXes sold. (1982-1994.) There is still a folder somewhere with Johan Cruijff and a BX we believe. But most of us remember the white 1400cc BXes. Or as the cheapest lease cars, or in all other colors as pastries that you could buy for a few hundred guilders / euros.
BXes were good, comfortable cars
But they were, as they got older, clearly more maintenance-sensitive than Opel or Toyotas. If your BX broke? Then you bought another because any repair that was more than replacing the windshield wiper blades cost more than the car was worth. If you are such Citroën but for little money, in a hard, healthy condition, but with a breakdown and you wanted to invest a few hundred euros in it? Then you could have a nice car with regular maintenance and clear repairs / replacement of parts.
Within our own team, the first BX came into the picture in 1999
The score is now number 6. One of those cars was driven in half by someone who was very incapable of integrating. The cars were almost all bought 'too expensive'. Except the best of the bunch. But they remained largely trouble-free. About the cheapest: A befriended car dealer called: "Is your wife still driving BX?" On the 'yes' he said: “I still have a set of hubcaps for such a thing. Do you benefit from that? ”
Well, a set of extra hubcaps is never gone “But there is a problem…” ”?” "There is another BX in between." That was the perfectly maintained BX of an Old Lady. Her Citroën dealer had at one turn fantasized a huge list of activities together. The repair would cost more than € 2.000. That is why she had given the car to her neighbor, the free car dealer. The car turned out to be almost perfect.
Driving costs money
Dreaming is beautiful. But if a car costs you between 800-1.000 euros per year? Then you don't drive expensive. A new navigation panel for the prestigious young timer, the Citroën C6 costs about 3.500 euros. Look, you're talking about costs! We heard that a train costs something like 2.500 euros.
In the meantime, the last major repair to the previous BX, including MOT and overhaul, cost almost 800 euros. That's money. But certainly not a top prize. All the more because the BXes have always been and remain daily drivers - up to Serbia. For the current BX, 500 euros was tapped at the last MOT / major service. But that included the installation of a beautiful ZGAN black interior.
Hassle-free on the road
With all the kilometers driven, there was once a broken cooling hose, once a dead battery and once a brake piston that got stuck. Further repairs could have happened on any other older car. An exhaust (the suspension at the rear is a thing), a dynamo, brake discs of two tens each ... Work on the hydraulics requires patience and flexible fingers when the famous 'octopus' grows old or dies.
In the meantime, all 1999 cc BXes driven since 1400 were also economical. The current one with hand choke runs 1 to 16. But that is also due to the addition of Yellow Miracle oil since the last oil change.
From bourgeois to ADHD'er
And then, in addition to the economical 1400's, there are of course the 1600's and 1900's. There are diesel and petrol versions. The station wagons are very spacious. An acquaintance had to say goodbye to his station wagon with 650.000 on the clock: a trailer who had broken loose had impaled him with his drawbar. The GTI version is a Golf GTI beater. And while running and trotting to and from Austria, such a thing can be good for four tons. The owner took pictures of that moment.
It's still possible to miss it
After all that cheering noise: There is still a chance to buy a 'wrong' BX. And a very nice BX that has been slumbering and dreaming for years can also give quite a bit of work. So read up in advance, build contacts and (buy and) place your pride with a specialist for maintenance. And nationwide there are a few of those enthusiasts.
Another example of active suspension
Nothing beats a BX. However?
It was one of the nicest cars I have driven. Actually the only real disadvantage was the 1-speed gearbox, the thing turned at 4km per hour almost 100 rpm. And that got boring. And you shouldn't have a collision with it, just ask Van Traa.
Hello Dolf
Johan Kluif was one Citroen sm.
Cruyff, indeed, he was on that poster from early 1983 among other Ajax players next to an early red 16 TRS. I lived very close to 010 so that poster never got to hang on the wall, but I caught some guilders for it about 15 years later. In the 80s drove a long lap in the silver-gray Sport of an old classmate's dad. That car made an impression and when driving quickly, the hydro suspension moaned nicely. Those pockmarked California roads I've been driving since 2003 would be a great partner for any BX. Or any Double Chevron with feather balls.
Avoid the last two years '91 / '92, because they are qualitatively worse than older versions ... they already had successor Xantia on the band, so no longer invested in 'offshoots'.
The 1.9 is a runner, but with the 1.4 TU the 950kg heavy BiX manages to cope well.
If you want a healed classic, go for a Sport or GTI