Ok
As many of you will know I run an old ZX 1.9TD on my 3/4 days week Swindon to Birmingham run, on a good week the old ZX clocks about 600 miles, on a bad week when I'm forced to go into work 5 days a week, then it does over 1000 miles a week. Thats a lot for an 11 year old car, and all credit to it, it does it and so do I. In fact, I can't actually think of too many cars that would put up with 1000 mile weeks, and be completely reliable at this age of car. Sure, I could buy a new car, but after 2 years due to the mileage the depreciation would be truly terrible.
The ZX is a great car, and I have to say at this point that it still runs its original alternator and starter and glow plusgs, it never fails to start and go! Its also got a massive torque band. Its also got the great advantage of being worth, well, nothing! and being paid for. For the MOT this month I need to stick on a rear exhaust box (yep, its still the original, just staring to blow) and 2 front tyres. Can't really argue with that.
As a "responsible" parent, I now feel that driving the old ZX at very little cost; I have probably reached the end of the line. I am terrified of having a major accident in it. I am thinking of borrowing >£7K to buy a 51 plate C5 HDi on the grounds that it does all the things that the ZX should, and its 4* NCAP rated.
Should I crash.
Is this wise? I hate debt, I love reliability.[;)]
C5? ZX?
Moderator: RichardW
Jon
A few months ago there were some links to some interesting crash figures which rated cars on the basis of fatalities per 1000 or something. I seem to remember the thread related to a severely crashed red BX.
The reason I mention this is that this was data compiled from actual crashes rather than tests and so took into account how the vehicles were driven etc rather than just been the results of hitting them with hammers and driving them into concrete walls. Some of the results were very interesting - for example the BX did rather well (surprise?)
Having said that I can fully understand your wish to be surrounded by airbags, latest design and loads of metal if you are unfortunately involved in an accident which of course could well be someone elses fault.
jeremy
A few months ago there were some links to some interesting crash figures which rated cars on the basis of fatalities per 1000 or something. I seem to remember the thread related to a severely crashed red BX.
The reason I mention this is that this was data compiled from actual crashes rather than tests and so took into account how the vehicles were driven etc rather than just been the results of hitting them with hammers and driving them into concrete walls. Some of the results were very interesting - for example the BX did rather well (surprise?)
Having said that I can fully understand your wish to be surrounded by airbags, latest design and loads of metal if you are unfortunately involved in an accident which of course could well be someone elses fault.
jeremy
I have had a massive crash in BX, hit by 50ton Tram...
Maaan i was too slow (2nd gear slow) and he hit me with around 60KPh, that is about 80-85 km/h difference frontal hit...
Car was distroyed totaly but i got out of it with no cut no bruise nothing apsolutly nothing maaan i was happy (of corse secure belt was there)...
It is cool car bend everywhere but keep my part of the cabin ok, it is nice made to bend and apsorb energy in the front of the car before cabin, that's cool...
ZEGA
Maaan i was too slow (2nd gear slow) and he hit me with around 60KPh, that is about 80-85 km/h difference frontal hit...
Car was distroyed totaly but i got out of it with no cut no bruise nothing apsolutly nothing maaan i was happy (of corse secure belt was there)...
It is cool car bend everywhere but keep my part of the cabin ok, it is nice made to bend and apsorb energy in the front of the car before cabin, that's cool...
ZEGA
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ScottFromNZ
- Posts: 116
- Joined: 17 Feb 2004, 09:27
- Location: New Zealand
- My Cars:
I know where you are coming from Jon. I have a Mazda MX5 and I sometimes feel quite vulnerable in that as it has no airbags or ABS and being open top you feel less protected. But I LOVE driving it although it is only really a sunny day car. By comparison I feel very safe in my '91 BX and even safer in my 1984 Rover SD1. But I don't drive more than about 10,000 miles per year total and if I was doing 1000 mile weeks on your busy British roads and worse weather conditions than we have in N.Z. I would probably have a more safety conscious view. My wife's new Nissan Maxima is safe but it is a BORING BORING BORING car!!
It comes down to this. What price do you put on safety? I know people that buy their kids more expensive safer cars than they drive themselves because they can't bear the thought of them being less protected in a crash.
It comes down to this. What price do you put on safety? I know people that buy their kids more expensive safer cars than they drive themselves because they can't bear the thought of them being less protected in a crash.
Like you John, I have a long commute, and the 1.9 TD engine is easily up to motorway driving.
But how others perceive your ageing ZX will affect things, and if you've got company car drivers pushing up behind you all the time, you'll feel vulnerable.
Beating the system and getting 'summat for nowt' is great - I used to drive my little one around in a Seat Marbella 850 (given to me for free).
But if the ZX is proving tiring, get rid. After all, 1,000 miles a week is a lot of time to spend in a vehicle you're no longer happy with. And it seems you've been hankering for a C5 for months now!
But how others perceive your ageing ZX will affect things, and if you've got company car drivers pushing up behind you all the time, you'll feel vulnerable.
Beating the system and getting 'summat for nowt' is great - I used to drive my little one around in a Seat Marbella 850 (given to me for free).
But if the ZX is proving tiring, get rid. After all, 1,000 miles a week is a lot of time to spend in a vehicle you're no longer happy with. And it seems you've been hankering for a C5 for months now!
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uhn113x
- Posts: 1161
- Joined: 06 Jan 2004, 22:06
- Location: Near Leeds, United Kingdom
- My Cars: 1981 Dyane - on road all year round.
1982 GSA Pallas - on road April - September.
1997 ZX 1.9D Dimension. - x 1
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> Sure, I could buy a new car, but after 2 years due to the mileage the depreciation would be truly terrible.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
2 years, Jon? Even 2 days! You can't fix 'em when they go wrong, either.
All this 'safety' stuff is, IMHO, just marketing hype. There are no unsafe cars, but plenty of unsafe drivers, mainly those who are in cars surrounded by whoopee cushions, scaffold poles, and more TLAs than you can shake a stick at, and therefore feel that whatever they do, they are invulnerable, and do not need to give much thought to driving the car, while they concentrate on swappig CDs, receiving phone calls, munching sarnies et al.
Saying ' I am terrified of having a major accident in it.' is a bit like deciding to give up crossing the road without a crash helmet because people get run over.
Mike - waiting for the slings and arrows [}:)][}:)][:D]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
2 years, Jon? Even 2 days! You can't fix 'em when they go wrong, either.
All this 'safety' stuff is, IMHO, just marketing hype. There are no unsafe cars, but plenty of unsafe drivers, mainly those who are in cars surrounded by whoopee cushions, scaffold poles, and more TLAs than you can shake a stick at, and therefore feel that whatever they do, they are invulnerable, and do not need to give much thought to driving the car, while they concentrate on swappig CDs, receiving phone calls, munching sarnies et al.
Saying ' I am terrified of having a major accident in it.' is a bit like deciding to give up crossing the road without a crash helmet because people get run over.
Mike - waiting for the slings and arrows [}:)][}:)][:D]
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Brian Oblivion
- Posts: 98
- Joined: 19 Jan 2004, 14:48
- Location: United Kingdom
- My Cars:
I ride a motorcycle as well as a car, and I feel the safety of any car is much greater than a m/cycle. So I feel relatively safe in my ZX.
Super safe cars are all well and good but I think the overiding factor to personal road safety is the other drivers on the road; on their mobiles, late for work, showing off, trying to eat their lunch, read maps, little sleep, watch DVD's, screaming kids, tipsy after a few pints in a country pub etc etc
It won't be much of a help in a C5 if your hit by a Tractor-trailer unit head "driven" by a sleeping lorry driver at speed!!
My alertness when riding a bike is much higher than driving a car, and I try to drive the same in my ZX....
On the other hand if your racking up the miles there is a higher likliehood of having an accident.
Buy a Sinclair C5 instead, they have safety features and at least they appreciate in value!!
Super safe cars are all well and good but I think the overiding factor to personal road safety is the other drivers on the road; on their mobiles, late for work, showing off, trying to eat their lunch, read maps, little sleep, watch DVD's, screaming kids, tipsy after a few pints in a country pub etc etc
It won't be much of a help in a C5 if your hit by a Tractor-trailer unit head "driven" by a sleeping lorry driver at speed!!
My alertness when riding a bike is much higher than driving a car, and I try to drive the same in my ZX....
On the other hand if your racking up the miles there is a higher likliehood of having an accident.
Buy a Sinclair C5 instead, they have safety features and at least they appreciate in value!!
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Jon
All valid points!!!
I really don't have any problem with my ZX, and its been, and continues to be fantastic considering the punishing daily mileage it has to go through, plus, its been really reliable (touch wood!) and costs very little to run. I really don't care that its old and bit battered here and there, however other motorists seem to have a big problem with it on the Motorway, despite the fact that its more than capable of keeping up. People seem to accelerate as hard as possible when I'm overtaking, or try and drive though it when I'm ever in the outside lane, regardless of speed! Thats what stresses me a bit.
I wrote my original post yesterday as the result of some crazy fool in a people carrier deciding they would make a sudden exit left into the Services. Trouble was I was in the inside lane alongside them at the time.
I really don't have any problem with my ZX, and its been, and continues to be fantastic considering the punishing daily mileage it has to go through, plus, its been really reliable (touch wood!) and costs very little to run. I really don't care that its old and bit battered here and there, however other motorists seem to have a big problem with it on the Motorway, despite the fact that its more than capable of keeping up. People seem to accelerate as hard as possible when I'm overtaking, or try and drive though it when I'm ever in the outside lane, regardless of speed! Thats what stresses me a bit.
I wrote my original post yesterday as the result of some crazy fool in a people carrier deciding they would make a sudden exit left into the Services. Trouble was I was in the inside lane alongside them at the time.
I'd agree that older citroens feel particularly flimsy! I am a bit concerned about my ZX on that matter, especially having watched Fifth Gear on channel 5 the other night when they crashed a new Espace into an old one at 35mph (anyone see that? [V] ) Older espace driver would be dead and new one would walk away fine with the airbags not even triggered.
My dad doesn't like Citroens (including me having one!) purely because of a crash some family friends of ours had years ago while following us on an A road in their BX and being hit head on by a Triumph Spitfire... the car was totally destroyed and they were lucky to be alive to be honest, but they were severely injured. No bodywork left and the engine was shoved far back into the passenger compartment. I guess all cars are better now than they were then. I wouldn't want to crash an AX especially though!
My dad doesn't like Citroens (including me having one!) purely because of a crash some family friends of ours had years ago while following us on an A road in their BX and being hit head on by a Triumph Spitfire... the car was totally destroyed and they were lucky to be alive to be honest, but they were severely injured. No bodywork left and the engine was shoved far back into the passenger compartment. I guess all cars are better now than they were then. I wouldn't want to crash an AX especially though!
I have to agree that older cits don't give you confidence, I have experience of the way BX's explode due to the fibreglass bits, even minor shunts can look scary but occupents seem ok, was always very wary of french cars after seeing BX with front impact, steering wheel was wrapped around crankshaft pulley[xx(] Driver saw impact coming and dived out of way (minor injuries).
Obviously this was exceptional circumstances but it still puts you off, the damage would have been just as bad in any car.
Drove home real slow that evening [:)]
Obviously this was exceptional circumstances but it still puts you off, the damage would have been just as bad in any car.
Drove home real slow that evening [:)]
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Kowalski
- Posts: 2557
- Joined: 15 Oct 2003, 17:41
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- My Cars: Ex 05 C5 2.0 HDI Exclusive 145k
Ex 97 Xantia 1.9TD SX 144k
Ex 94 Xantia Dimension 1.9TD 199k
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by paranoid</i>
I have experience of the way BX's explode due to the fibreglass bits, even minor shunts can look scary but occupents seem ok, <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Fibreglass is a very good material for absorbing energy in an impact, and it absorts the energy by breaking into lots of little pieces which looks rather untidy and gives the impression that an impact is worse than it actually was.
I have experience of the way BX's explode due to the fibreglass bits, even minor shunts can look scary but occupents seem ok, <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Fibreglass is a very good material for absorbing energy in an impact, and it absorts the energy by breaking into lots of little pieces which looks rather untidy and gives the impression that an impact is worse than it actually was.
Hi Jon,
seems to me that you are more concerned about the way others are driving and are making the understandable inference that it is down to how your car looks. Are you really sure that the sort of D***head that cut you up on the motorway would react any differently were you in a C5?
Get a good signwriter to decorate the outside of your ZX with "SWINDON KICKBOXING CLUB" or similar in really BIG letters and colour pictures of psycopathic types in karate robes. I'm sure you'll be treated with the respect you deserve
Ron
seems to me that you are more concerned about the way others are driving and are making the understandable inference that it is down to how your car looks. Are you really sure that the sort of D***head that cut you up on the motorway would react any differently were you in a C5?
Get a good signwriter to decorate the outside of your ZX with "SWINDON KICKBOXING CLUB" or similar in really BIG letters and colour pictures of psycopathic types in karate robes. I'm sure you'll be treated with the respect you deserve
Ron
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philhoward
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Kowalski</i>
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by paranoid</i>
I have experience of the way BX's explode due to the fibreglass bits, even minor shunts can look scary but occupents seem ok, <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Fibreglass is a very good material for absorbing energy in an impact, and it absorts the energy by breaking into lots of little pieces which looks rather untidy and gives the impression that an impact is worse than it actually was.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Granted...fibreglass cars (Reliant Scimitars are my other weakness) are actually classed as "other car unfriendly" and get loaded premiums as a result! I've seen the results of a 1970's Scimitar vs both a Volvo 740 and an Escort...the fibreglass body walked away with not much more than a shopping trolley dent! The tin-tops were, lets say, unable to drive away from the scene but towed to the local scrappers.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by paranoid</i>
I have experience of the way BX's explode due to the fibreglass bits, even minor shunts can look scary but occupents seem ok, <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Fibreglass is a very good material for absorbing energy in an impact, and it absorts the energy by breaking into lots of little pieces which looks rather untidy and gives the impression that an impact is worse than it actually was.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Granted...fibreglass cars (Reliant Scimitars are my other weakness) are actually classed as "other car unfriendly" and get loaded premiums as a result! I've seen the results of a 1970's Scimitar vs both a Volvo 740 and an Escort...the fibreglass body walked away with not much more than a shopping trolley dent! The tin-tops were, lets say, unable to drive away from the scene but towed to the local scrappers.