1990 Citroën BX.

filip · Unread post by **filip** » 15 Sep 2011, 07:43

Hello, I have just joined and am looking for some advice, I have the offer of a 110,000 mile Citroen BX, 1990 model non turbo diesel.
I know nothing about them. I'm told it is rust free although I've not seen it yet myself. Apparantly it needs nothing doing other than a new engine mount.
Is this a car suitable for daily use now, 21 years later? What goes wrong with them, are they reliable? and what would this car be normally worth?

thatfatbloke · Unread post by **thatfatbloke** » 15 Sep 2011, 08:13

There will no doubt be a BXpert along soon to answer your question with more authority than me. I have owned a few BX's in my time,but never a non turbo diesel. Price really would depend on condition,service history and length of MOT to me. Don't forget to factor in the cost of a cambelt change if it hasn't been done within the time frame. And crucially.make sure she goes up and down nice and smoothly.
I must admit I never had any trouble with any of my BX's considering they were at the 'bottom end' of the price range (i.e cheap!!). As far as I remember I have never paid any more than £350 for one,but mine have always been for use in the short term so wasn't too fussed about service history etc. I always found them to be very comfortable,reliable and reasonably cheap to run,especially the diesels. Tesco's car park isn't full of them either,so you get a bit of 'individuality' thrown in too. Good luck.

thatfatbloke · Unread post by **thatfatbloke** » 15 Sep 2011, 08:15

Oh,and welcome to the forum by the way. There are plenty of guys here to give you some more definitive answers.

citronut · Unread post by **citronut** » 15 Sep 2011, 08:29

hi and welcome

check the rear arms by raiseing the car to its full hight, then stand back away from the rear end and look to see if the rear wheels are like this / \,

also with the car on normal driveing hight bounce on the front and rear ends to check if there is movement in the suspension, the more floaty up and down the better the ride will be,

BX's are getting on in years now so it is far to expect some rust, obviously there is rust and there is rust, some would be relatively easy to fix and others might be a bit more time and money,

check also the clutch if the pedel is very heavy it will require a new clutch soon,

on the hole they are far easyer to work on than XANTIA's which most members on hear run,

there is also the sister site to this one the BXClub.co.uk which is full of BXers,

were abouts are you located,

regards malcolm

Unread post by **citroenxm** » 15 Sep 2011, 08:41

Rust depends on your location..

If your in a wet climate then rust could be an issue..

If dry, then no she should be ok..

Paul

thatfatbloke · Unread post by **thatfatbloke** » 15 Sep 2011, 09:09

Can never work out how to post a link on here,but there is a BX TXD on ebay at the moment with gallactic mileage and not much more than a scrapper really that is at £165 at the moment. It finishes tonight,might give you a rough idea of how the prices are at the moment.

citroenesque · Unread post by **citroenesque** » 15 Sep 2011, 10:18

You should visit www.bxclub.co.uk/forum - there's every bit of advice there you could hope for. My advice would be, get a BX now as they are becoming rarer by the day...

I've got two 1.9 diesels and although not particularly quick they are very economical - and will run all day long. I have had 13 or 14 BX's over the years.... they are good cars considering the design is basically 30 years old next year. BXs suffer from no more problems than any other car from that time, but there's something about them which makes driving one a pretty unique experience.

Ross_K · Unread post by **Ross_K** » 15 Sep 2011, 11:37

thatfatbloke wrote:Can never work out how to post a link on here,but there is a BX TXD on ebay at the moment with gallactic mileage

This one? BTW, parking a BX in weeds/long grass isn't a good idea unless you want to disintegrate your sills. Ask me how I know... D

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320755304045

Unread post by **Peter.N.** » 15 Sep 2011, 12:21

As previously mentioned the BX is a good car and much easier to work on than modern ones, the non turbo even more so. On the down side the performance is not that good. The TD on the other hand was a very fast car in its day, we have owned both and I know which I prefer, it was an original hot hatch and the performance doesn't dissapoint today.

Peter

filip · Unread post by **filip** » 15 Sep 2011, 13:10

Hi all, the car is in somerset, the only reason for filip as a user name is Phil has gone!
It's apparantly rust free. Are parts all obtainable?
Thanks for the replies.

citronut · Unread post by **citronut** » 15 Sep 2011, 13:36

most parts can be found if you look hard enough,

but the rubber pipes are becoming a bit harder to find,

there are some on the BX forum who are trying to fabricate an alternative to keep the BX going for many years to come,

as said above it is the BX's 30th birthday next year and the CCC (citroen car club ) are trying to get as many BX's to turn up at the ICCCR
( world meeting ) in yorkshire in August 2012

regards malcolm

filip · Unread post by **filip** » 28 Sep 2011, 20:33

Hi all, it looks like I am getting this BX. I have just found out it is automatic. I am guessing a diesel automatic is quite rare? Is this combination problematic? It has done 110,000 miles.
Are there any things I should do straight away to keep it reliable?
I want to change the cambelt as the seller doesn't know if it has been done. Is this straight forward? I am a fully qualified mechanic although now coming off the spanners Friday is my last day in the workshop!) after 12 years so I know one end of the spanner from the other.

Although I won't have access to power tools or a ramp and have never worked on a Citroen BX.

Unread post by **Peter.N.** » 28 Sep 2011, 22:07

Quite rare and also quite slow, I trust its a turbo?

Peter

robert_e_smart · Unread post by **robert_e_smart** » 28 Sep 2011, 22:12

Peter,

I have never heard you say a car is slow before! Did you drive your BXs differently from your Xms

lexi · Unread post by **lexi** » 28 Sep 2011, 22:35

Should be on a par with my old zx 1.9d auto. ie .........slow but a nice leisurely drive with economy to boot.

Lack of power steering is a cause for concern........I assume it don't have any.
My zx had heavier steering than my 61 landrover