Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

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Samiron
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Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by Samiron »

Hi all,

Having grown up around Citroens all my youth (My mum, dad, uncle and nan had at least one BX each, and my Grandad had A GS and DS) I find myself now very nostalgic for these wonderfully quirky cars, and after years of company cars now find myself working 3 miles from my house and in the position to own one as a daily driver.

With that being said I'd love to hear any advice or tips on buying and owning a BX, are there any things in particular to look out for, or even suggestions of any that are available! My only real requirement is for a petrol, and would prefer a manual too, but aside from that I'm pretty receptive to advice and suggestions!

Thanks in advance for your help,

Sam
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by panky »

Hi Sam and welcome :D
I'll leave the best advise to the more knowledgeable on here but the main thing to look out for is rust and bodged repairs. This along with suspension leaks seems to be the main issue on a lot of cars. Don't let leaks put you off though as must parts are available it's just messy and sometimes awkward to fix.
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by Dave_16v »

Like Panky says, a decent body is a good start, there are a few known areas for rust like the bulkhead, inner wings, boot and more. If you Google BX and rust you will find a lot of threads on various sites. I would be careful about buying a project. From what I see, they rarely get finished because of the vast amount of time it can take. Then there are costs for parts and labour if you cannot do bits yourself. Those can add up to more than buying a pretty decent one in the first place if you get that far. Good luck with the search.
Prefer it to the Lamborghini, like Signor Gandini!

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white exec
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by white exec »

Not sure of any help, but there a huge numbers of BXs for sale in France.
The Leboncoin.fr site had 80 diesels alone when I was looking for mine in September, and priced anything between €1 and €3500. Easy to do a refined search.
Almost all LHD obviously, but many will have no rust, no sunroof, and an abundance of glove-boxes - three distinct bonuses.
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by Samiron »

Thanks for all the quick replies chaps!

The notes on bodywork are duly noted- my first car was a 2cv so quickly learnt that what looks a nice thing can be a bit of a pig! I'm definitely thinking getting a tidier example and maintaining it will work out better than a restoration project, and you've handily confirmed that, which is great.

In terms of importing a car that's a great tip, but think I'd rather stick with a RHD UK car, even though I realise I'm ring fencing myself- I'm not in any rush, especially at the moment working from home, so would rather wait for the right one for me.

Are there any trims or engines that are better to avoid? As much as I'd like, say a GTi, I'd rather find a lower mileage and couple of owner car that's fairly original. I just don't want to trip over and pick up one with an engine that won't pull the skin off a rice pudding for example.

Again thanks for all the help so far!
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by rutter123 »

Diesels both n/a and turbo tend to be the most popular in UK closely followed bt 1.6 petrol and a handful of 1.4's, gti's and 16v
Diesel engines are the more frugal and capable of several 100k's providing they haven't been overheated and have been well maintained with offerings in 65/70hp n/a and 90hp turbo both capable of 50mpg
Trim levels vary but I'd be inclined to go with the higher spec as its much harder wearing than the tweed type entry level lower spec
Buy the best you can afford and take plenty of advice, I think we've all got bitten in the past
A solid shell is a must as rust is a bx killer, the hydraulic system is not a scary as it looks.
Sunroofs can leak if the drains are blocked and cause rusty issues over time
Spares availability is pretty good with many parts being remade
Good luck
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by white exec »

If sheer comfort is important, you might not go for the sportier GTi and 16v models.
They are usually well trimmed and comprehensively dash-equipped, but were also fitted with stiffer spheres/dampers.
The spheres can be replaced, of course, with those of more softly sprung/damped models.

Also be aware that the fuel-injected GTi and 16v models suffered more from poor electrical earthing and cheap connectors, used by PSA at the time. Both of these can be sorted, but the electrics may need a good going over.

Some 1.6 petrols, with carburettor, suffered from a flat-spot/weak mixture ex-factory, but this can be cured with some (Peugeot) re-jetting, I remember.

Watch out (all models) for rear wheels that appear like this /===\, or if there is creaking from the back end when pushed down on. Indicates that rear trailing arm bearings need renewing.

Check front door hinges/stays for pillar rust/distortion/excessive flexing: a BX weak spot (unreinforced A-pillar steel).

Good advice above: buy the best you can afford.
The diesels are extraordinarily good.
Last edited by white exec on Sun Nov 22, 2020 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by RobC »

Yes, get the best you can find but it’ll be very unlikely you’ll find one that won’t need at least some welding done so it’s by no means the end of the world if the boot floor or inner wings are a bit crumbly for example. Rusty Sills and rust nearer structural mounts are a bit more annoying to deal with however.
There must be fewer than 20 BXs of any spec left in the U.K. that don’t need some welding either now or fairly soon, and most of them will probably be with owners wanting to hang onto them.
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by rutter123 »

There does seem to be a lot more interest of late of those who want to take on second time round ownership, but trying to find a good one thirty odd years later is becoming more difficult.
£1000/1500 should get you something tidy with mot mid spec
Really nice top spec £2000/3000
Proper minter with full documented history £5000+
Plenty of neglected/projects/abandoned if you want to take a chance for a few hundred £'s, there's a tzd recently been posted on this forum may be worth a punt?
Brush up on your welding skills if you're considering the latter.
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white exec
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by white exec »

RobC wrote: Sun Nov 22, 2020 7:46 pm There must be fewer than 20 BXs of any spec left in the U.K. that don’t need some welding either now or fairly soon, and most of them will probably be with owners wanting to hang onto them.
Was one of the reasons I suggested looking further south in Europe, particularly France.
Many hydropneumatic Citroens have not survived ownership in Spain, despite the fact that nothing much rusts here.

If you can find a sound one, then rust-proof it without delay.
If doing it yourself, well worth investing in a Sealey SG-18 waxing gun (for use with a compressor) - makes waxing both cavities and underside really strightforward. Can be used with any of the cavity waxes. I've lately used 4CR brand brown cavity wax, ref.5300 - superb stuff. Everyone has their favourite, though.
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by RobC »

The seller of this GTi reckons it’s rot free

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-Bx-G ... 890.l49292
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by rutter123 »

Buy it, low miles, no rust, a gti, win win.
Lacquer peel is common on plastic bonnets and tailgates.
90 BX Tzd turbo 294k SORN undergoing major surgery
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by RobC »

Yes I’ve got some lacquer peel on my tailgate and roof. What’re the options- respray of affected panels or can it be more cost effectively relacquered?
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Samiron
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by Samiron »

Hi all,

Thanks for all of your help so far, but I have to confess I've been rather impetuous- I managed to pick up the 1.4 Preview F700UFX that's listing ended this morning. I'm hoping she'll be a good introduction to BX ownership! And no doubt I shall be asking many more questions at the weekend when I collect :lol:
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Re: Looking for a first BX- tips and suggestions welcomed!

Post by RobC »

Congrats! The preview is a great model. Nice mix of 1.4 frugality and gti interior.
I used to own a G reg preview back in the day. The engine is lively enough for a 1.4 and lacking the power steering means you have a slightly simpler hydraulic system with less to go wrong 👍
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