Worth or not worth. That's the question

Worth or not worth. That's the question

When it came up there was astonishment already: "Almost 1.000 euro repair costs on an 1400 cc BX from 1991?" "That is a waste of money! That car is never worth that! ”

What is worth is not actually determined by the market. Determine yourself. Within your possibilities, then again. Until about ten years, such an investment in a BX as a 'throw-away car' would indeed have been somewhat fierce. Back then, a BX was not yet a classic in the making and you bought one with MOT for amounts between the 300-500 euro.

Those times are really over for the BX - and a number of other recent classics.

BXs are no longer sadly waiting for their end. They already end up with enthusiasts. And the time that you saw them driving in bushes in France where the oil filters, windscreen wipers and brake pads for BXsen were just in the supermarkets is also ten years past.

The hose nest of the hydraulics in such a BX, the octopus, that was not an item you could buy in the supermarkets. At a certain point - say after about twenty + years - the plasticizers from the plastics of such a part have evaporated to such an extent that hydraulic fluid can leak. In part, that problem is simply easy to solve. But it is always a sign that there is more to come: the replacement of the leising bundles. Specialists can still get the parts.

And it requires a lot of BX knowledge and experience to dismantle the old pipes and to interweave the new ones between all components. Count on something of six working hours ... But then that is the characteristic aspect of it Citroendrive completely fresh again.

To say that such a BX is worth tons ... But it is a nice automobile that keeps the intensive classic driving (sustainable!) Very fun and affordable. A quietly driven BX with 1400 block just runs 1 on 15.

Driving costs money

Peter Berben from the garage of the same name in Ulft has two basic wisdoms for cars, for cars that are still just a road user: "Every ordinary car costs you 1.000 euros a year in technical costs" and "Like a car after a repair of 1.000 euros good again repair is always cheaper than a new car. "

That the early DS that is currently in the workshop in connection with a brakes and head overhaul is clearly proof that the cherishing of an almost fifty year old car is a completely different story.

The question is whether the newer generations of cars will ever make it a classic of use.

The production of parts is nowadays a tight calculation model in which mass quantities of parts are not just produced, but where this is done as rarely as possible. Add to that the fact that car manufacturers have a legal obligation to guarantee the parts care up to ten years after the production of a model is finished. And that they don't do that for a day longer. And that is already starting to cause problems with cars that are by no means classics.

So let's continue to invest bravely in our passion.