Citroen BX - talk to me
Discussion
My quest to rid myself of the mk1 Mondeo estate which has been gradually been deteriorating steadily for some time has led me to many, many choices. I'm living in The Netherlands now so weight is a serious consideration; road tax is expensive and calculated on kerb weight.
The BX ticks a lot of boxes for me so I'm leaning somewhat towards seriously considering finding a nice one. My question to the French Bred boys is not an exact one but I'd ask anyone with experience of these cars to give all their tips and advice into this thread.
Ideally I would look for a BX of the later type and not one which is one of the slower engines. The GTi is obviously appealing. Unfortunately diesel is not an option - road tax is about double that of petrol in NL.
So, over to you mes amis! What are your thoughts...?
The BX ticks a lot of boxes for me so I'm leaning somewhat towards seriously considering finding a nice one. My question to the French Bred boys is not an exact one but I'd ask anyone with experience of these cars to give all their tips and advice into this thread.
Ideally I would look for a BX of the later type and not one which is one of the slower engines. The GTi is obviously appealing. Unfortunately diesel is not an option - road tax is about double that of petrol in NL.
So, over to you mes amis! What are your thoughts...?
Well obviously I'm biased, but yeah I think they're good cars. What's the purpose of it? Does it need to be an estate?
If diesels are out and you want a decent daily driver, I would recommend a 1.9 petrol model. Either a TZS carb-fed type, GTi 8v or even a 16v if your budget stretches.
They resist rust well (though really knackered ones do exist....I've got one!) and I think for a car of that era they still handle the daily chores well. Heater is effective, ride is good, visibility is excellent and they're good on fuel, mainly because they're light for their size.
It really depends what you want it for - for daily smokers the diesels are near unbeatable, but the petrols are better than people would have you believe. The only models I'd avoid are the early 1400 (XY suitcase engine) and the 1600 models, mainly because the later 1400 TU engined cars are not far behind the 1600 in terms of pace, yet the 1400 is (in the UK anyway) much cheaper to tax and easier to work on. If I wanted a performance hike from the 1400 I'd go straight to the 1900 models.
www.bxclub.co.uk is a good source of info.
If diesels are out and you want a decent daily driver, I would recommend a 1.9 petrol model. Either a TZS carb-fed type, GTi 8v or even a 16v if your budget stretches.
They resist rust well (though really knackered ones do exist....I've got one!) and I think for a car of that era they still handle the daily chores well. Heater is effective, ride is good, visibility is excellent and they're good on fuel, mainly because they're light for their size.
It really depends what you want it for - for daily smokers the diesels are near unbeatable, but the petrols are better than people would have you believe. The only models I'd avoid are the early 1400 (XY suitcase engine) and the 1600 models, mainly because the later 1400 TU engined cars are not far behind the 1600 in terms of pace, yet the 1400 is (in the UK anyway) much cheaper to tax and easier to work on. If I wanted a performance hike from the 1400 I'd go straight to the 1900 models.
www.bxclub.co.uk is a good source of info.
Both are 17 turbo diesels, one fairly well stripped G plate TZD i think but still has gti interior and doors tailgate etc.The other is nearly complete F plate DTR,boot floor well rusty which is why i stopped using it,won't run as the fuel filter is knacked.
Oh i'm near Retford in Nottinghamshire.
Oh i'm near Retford in Nottinghamshire.
Cheers for the tips guys. Seems there really isn't much bad stuff to say about these at all.
The one I found is a 1991 8v GTi with 277,000km on the the clock (!)
Came to an agreement at €625 which I reckon is pretty good. Plan to collect it next Thursday if I can work out the Dutch insurance website!
This is the one:
http://www.citroen-forum.nl/forums/viewthread/2201...
The one I found is a 1991 8v GTi with 277,000km on the the clock (!)
Came to an agreement at €625 which I reckon is pretty good. Plan to collect it next Thursday if I can work out the Dutch insurance website!
This is the one:
http://www.citroen-forum.nl/forums/viewthread/2201...
This one (same as up the top of the page 
)
www.bxclub.co.uk
Looks nice in platinum. Gearknob looks a bit suspect though
That's pretty cheap for once too. In the UK a car like that would likely go for£800-£900, even with those miles. Normally the UK cars are the cheapest; 16v models can fetch £3k in Europe.
First thing is to check it for rust. They're pretty good at resisting it, but if they do go, they really go!
)www.bxclub.co.uk
Looks nice in platinum. Gearknob looks a bit suspect though
That's pretty cheap for once too. In the UK a car like that would likely go for£800-£900, even with those miles. Normally the UK cars are the cheapest; 16v models can fetch £3k in Europe.
First thing is to check it for rust. They're pretty good at resisting it, but if they do go, they really go!
Ach, I did see the link in your first post but my brain chose to ignore it, sorry. I'll get on that site 
Indeed the price is very good and I am surprised he let it go for so little. There's a bit of rust starting to bubble in a couple of places on the body but nothing threatening. The sills were replaced some time last year; seller said they were pretty bad and would have failed the APK (Dutch MOT) so he had them done.
Gearknob is indeed very nasty but it's not fitted anymore. When I saw the car in the metal it had a plain black one without any numbers or 'where the gears are' diagram, is that the standard one?
Indeed the price is very good and I am surprised he let it go for so little. There's a bit of rust starting to bubble in a couple of places on the body but nothing threatening. The sills were replaced some time last year; seller said they were pretty bad and would have failed the APK (Dutch MOT) so he had them done.
Gearknob is indeed very nasty but it's not fitted anymore. When I saw the car in the metal it had a plain black one without any numbers or 'where the gears are' diagram, is that the standard one?
Yeah the standard one on the GTi (I think) is a hard plastic (faux leather effect) black type with no markings on (the markings are on a polished metal plate, located out of sight from the driver's seat on RHD cars ) Think AX GT, that is if you've seen the gear lever in an AX GT) with a black band, not red. Don't buy an AX GT one though....they've got different threads!
Standard cars still have a black plastic knob but it's more of a teardrop shape.
) Think AX GT, that is if you've seen the gear lever in an AX GT) with a black band, not red. Don't buy an AX GT one though....they've got different threads!Standard cars still have a black plastic knob but it's more of a teardrop shape.
LeoZwalf said:
My quest to rid myself of the mk1 Mondeo estate which has been gradually been deteriorating steadily for some time has led me to many, many choices. I'm living in The Netherlands now so weight is a serious consideration; road tax is expensive and calculated on kerb weight.
what's the story with 'classic car' tax in NL now, is it being scrapped?The oldtimer tax rate of €0 still appears to be in force. Up until January 2012 the car had to be 25 years old to comply. From January 2012, the car has to be 30 years old. Those which were 25 by Jan 2012 keep the free tax.
Source: http://plazilla.com/vanaf-welke-leeftijd-is-uw-old...
Source: http://plazilla.com/vanaf-welke-leeftijd-is-uw-old...
Just arrived home from collecting it :-D
First impressions are good. A much less painful experience than registering a car in Germany. 5 minute trip to the local post office, pay €9.50 and get the new document in your name. Previous owner gets one too, job done. No signing anything etc. Paid him his money and off I went! When I arrived the home the insurance policy was waiting on the doormat. Unsure how the road tax gets paid yet, will have to figure that one out.
Gearing feels very low, I guess because it's a GTi and so has funky ratios. 1st is long and all 5 seem to be bunched closely together, leaving a low 5th. The engine seems pretty eager although it was snowing lots on the way home so I couldn't give it much beans. The low 5th is cool for easy acceleration at motorway speeds but s
t for noise and MPG.
The suspension is nice to drive on and is comfy. Quite a mismatch with the engine/gearbox combo. When I arrived at home, I sat in it for a couple of minutes playing with the ride height lever and made it go up and down a few times :-D Stays totally level under braking too which is a bit of an odd sensation.
There are a couple of weird quirks and problems. Where the hell is the switch for the rear wiper?! There's a switch for the washer at the back which activates the wiper but only for a single wipe. What if I want to leave it on? The heater blower switch works but is all out of bonk, it might need replacing. The front windows go up and down VERY slowly, guess some silicone spray on the runners might help. Didn't try the rears (also electric, mmm modern) but I guess they are the same.
Overall a positive first impression
First impressions are good. A much less painful experience than registering a car in Germany. 5 minute trip to the local post office, pay €9.50 and get the new document in your name. Previous owner gets one too, job done. No signing anything etc. Paid him his money and off I went! When I arrived the home the insurance policy was waiting on the doormat. Unsure how the road tax gets paid yet, will have to figure that one out.
Gearing feels very low, I guess because it's a GTi and so has funky ratios. 1st is long and all 5 seem to be bunched closely together, leaving a low 5th. The engine seems pretty eager although it was snowing lots on the way home so I couldn't give it much beans. The low 5th is cool for easy acceleration at motorway speeds but s
t for noise and MPG.The suspension is nice to drive on and is comfy. Quite a mismatch with the engine/gearbox combo. When I arrived at home, I sat in it for a couple of minutes playing with the ride height lever and made it go up and down a few times :-D Stays totally level under braking too which is a bit of an odd sensation.
There are a couple of weird quirks and problems. Where the hell is the switch for the rear wiper?! There's a switch for the washer at the back which activates the wiper but only for a single wipe. What if I want to leave it on? The heater blower switch works but is all out of bonk, it might need replacing. The front windows go up and down VERY slowly, guess some silicone spray on the runners might help. Didn't try the rears (also electric, mmm modern) but I guess they are the same.
Overall a positive first impression
Me too Hugo. 4 years living in Germany really got me car-depressed. There was hardly anything interesting on the roads (save for lots of shiny new metal which doesn't really interest me) and cheap cars were all ste.
Although cars here in NL seem to hold their value even better than in Germany, there are many more 'interesting' ones out there. I found this one on a Citroen forum so not totally in the public domain.
Regarding the rear wiper switch, looks like someone answered my question already. (found by Googling "Citroen BX rear wiper switch"....
)
te.Although cars here in NL seem to hold their value even better than in Germany, there are many more 'interesting' ones out there. I found this one on a Citroen forum so not totally in the public domain.
Regarding the rear wiper switch, looks like someone answered my question already. (found by Googling "Citroen BX rear wiper switch"....
)Kitchski on another thread said:
Citroen BX - rear wiper switch does not latch, only operates it when held (which also operates the washer). Yet estate models have a latching switch aswell as the washer function (as well as wiring and relays to control it, so it's not a straight forward swap over!)
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