Centreville Garage-closed
Moderator: RichardW
- NewcastleFalcon
- Posts: 24744
- Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
- x 6888
Centreville Garage-closed
On my way to pick up the pipe flaring tool from MIke (Superloopy) I called in at Centreville Garage, hoping to get a couple of "joiners" which I needed over the counter. Normally there are all sorts of Citroens, typically mostly DS's, littering the side street as you approach. Last time I visited to get a suspension pipe made up, I did notice that they had German French Swedish emblazoned on the side of the garage, and maybe of necessity had to diversify away from the pure citroen restorations and repairs.
Well this time virtually all the signs had gone the building was shuttered up, and the only citroen on "view" was a single vehicle cloaked in a tarpaulin along the side of the garage.
I didn't know whether they had relocated somewhere but this announcement confirms that Centreville is officially gone.
Dont know when it closed, or whether it has already achieved the clear-out of parts but an email contact is given should anyone want to make enquiries.
regards
Neil
Well this time virtually all the signs had gone the building was shuttered up, and the only citroen on "view" was a single vehicle cloaked in a tarpaulin along the side of the garage.
I didn't know whether they had relocated somewhere but this announcement confirms that Centreville is officially gone.
Dont know when it closed, or whether it has already achieved the clear-out of parts but an email contact is given should anyone want to make enquiries.
regards
Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
687 Trinity, Jersey
- CitroJim
- A very naughty boy
- Posts: 49658
- Joined: 30 Apr 2005, 23:33
- Location: Paggers
- My Cars: Bluebell the AX, Polly the C3 Picasso, Pix the Nissan Pixo, Propel the duathlon bike, TCR Pro the road bike and Fuji the TT bike...
- x 6204
- Contact:
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
That's very sad to see..
Their picture is interesting as it's the delivery hall from the old Quai d'Javal factory where all Citroens were once made. The original factory built by Andre. The bit you see in the Centreville picture is where completed cars were stored before being sent out to customers...
Their picture is interesting as it's the delivery hall from the old Quai d'Javal factory where all Citroens were once made. The original factory built by Andre. The bit you see in the Centreville picture is where completed cars were stored before being sent out to customers...
Jim
Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
Runner, cyclist, time triallist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
- NewcastleFalcon
- Posts: 24744
- Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
- x 6888
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
Looks like the picture has been "photoshopped" with the colour of the DS, and "Centreville Garage" written backwards at the end of the assembly hall.
Not sure of the source of the original, but one description says the Citroen Factory Quai de Javel, Paris 1956.
I found it on this facebook album which has a collection of interesting citpics
I think this one is a nice image
regards
Neil
Not sure of the source of the original, but one description says the Citroen Factory Quai de Javel, Paris 1956.
I found it on this facebook album which has a collection of interesting citpics
I think this one is a nice image
regards
Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
687 Trinity, Jersey
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
this was talked about last year on the CCC forum,
and was said they were going to continue trading but on more up to date models
and was said they were going to continue trading but on more up to date models
Regards, malcolm.
current ride a BX 1.7 TZD estate
1986 MK1 BX 1.9na D Auto(in Mothman Andy's stable )
layed up roppy 1.9TD XANT estate, now gone to meet her maker
purple and lilac metalic 2CV(VIOLET)registered to her in doors
1972 DS special been layed up aprox 31 years
current ride a BX 1.7 TZD estate
1986 MK1 BX 1.9na D Auto(in Mothman Andy's stable )
layed up roppy 1.9TD XANT estate, now gone to meet her maker
purple and lilac metalic 2CV(VIOLET)registered to her in doors
1972 DS special been layed up aprox 31 years
- NewcastleFalcon
- Posts: 24744
- Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
- x 6888
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
This thread is honoured today by being selected by the random hand of the FCF Archives February Ferret 2023
One of my memories of Centreville...
Not impossible to make a new contribution...have a go
Neil
One of my memories of Centreville...
How can new contributions be made today. A few suggestionsI remember fitting one of the curly brake pipes made up by Centreville, at the back of the Xantia on the pavement outside Centreville in February after the MOT tester had generated a leak with his poking and prodding.
I have a time capsule of the Main Citroen Dealers across the country here to consult from a 1971 Earls Court Motor Show Programme. Have a look...I presume many of them will have gone, What do you remember of them?Who are/were the Citroen/ other French specialists local to you Or were your go to on-line sources
Which ones continue, which ones have gone the way of Centreville.
Here is a small one from me. Where do you get shiny new joiners from Where could you get proper rear strut rubber boot clips from Malcolm (Citronut) helpfully directed me to the excellent Pleiades, and the excellent Malcolm Lockwood respectively back in 2012 ish.
Not impossible to make a new contribution...have a go
Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
687 Trinity, Jersey
- mickthemaverick
- Donor 2024
- Posts: 13667
- Joined: 11 May 2019, 17:56
- Location: Hertford
- My Cars: 70+ former cars (list available) including 11 Citroens, 3 Renaults
Current cars: 2004 Subaru Legacy 2.5 SEn, 1994 Mazda MX3 - x 6066
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
I first came to want a Citroen when I was living in Watford and loved the look of the newly released BX. I went over to Broad's of Watford who ran two Citroen dealerships, one in Croxley Green and one in Chalfont St Giles. I had a test drive of a BX 1.6 TRS I think it was and thoroughly enjoyed it. I vowed to get one one day and went home smiling. Since then I have owned and run 11 Citroens comprising 2 BX's, 1 C15, 1 AX GT, 1 ZX Volcane, 2 XMs, 1 Xantia Activa and 3 C5s all of which have a story to tell, but not here!! I thought I'd have a look at the two dealerships owned by Broads which have both expired and now the sites look like this:
Sad to see neither have retained the Citroen franchise but that's life!!
Sad to see neither have retained the Citroen franchise but that's life!!
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
- mickthemaverick
- Donor 2024
- Posts: 13667
- Joined: 11 May 2019, 17:56
- Location: Hertford
- My Cars: 70+ former cars (list available) including 11 Citroens, 3 Renaults
Current cars: 2004 Subaru Legacy 2.5 SEn, 1994 Mazda MX3 - x 6066
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
Too spooky to be believed - but I promise this is absolutely what just happened!!!
Within a couple of seconds of me 'submitting' the last post SWMBO brought today's post in to me. I was slightly bemused by one letter in this envelope:
so I opened it to read this:
Is this a sign?
Within a couple of seconds of me 'submitting' the last post SWMBO brought today's post in to me. I was slightly bemused by one letter in this envelope:
so I opened it to read this:
Is this a sign?
I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
I used to ride on two wheels, but now I need all four!
- NewcastleFalcon
- Posts: 24744
- Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
- x 6888
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
Well done Mick that's the type of thing I think there is enough scope for a few additions to the thread today
Wingrove up in Newcastle are still going and if they keep going to 2025 they will reach their centenary. They remain Citroen...with the addon of Peugeot Dealers now.
https://www.wingrovemotorgroup.co.uk/about/
Neil
Wingrove up in Newcastle are still going and if they keep going to 2025 they will reach their centenary. They remain Citroen...with the addon of Peugeot Dealers now.
https://www.wingrovemotorgroup.co.uk/about/
Neil
Last edited by NewcastleFalcon on 25 Feb 2023, 12:13, edited 1 time in total.
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
687 Trinity, Jersey
- NewcastleFalcon
- Posts: 24744
- Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
- x 6888
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
If I had the ability to change the thread title I could change it to "Centreville and Perkins Garage (Subaru Franchise) closed! " Just hope Wingrove make it to 2025 although Stellantis themselves may be out of business by then, but no doubt BYD, SAIC, MG, Geely, Great Wall etc will be looking for suitable partners.mickthemaverick wrote: ↑25 Feb 2023, 11:41 Too spooky to be believed - but I promise this is absolutely what just happened!!!
Within a couple of seconds of me 'submitting' the last post SWMBO brought today's post in to me. I was slightly bemused by one letter in this envelope:
so I opened it to read this:
Is this a sign?
Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
687 Trinity, Jersey
- NewcastleFalcon
- Posts: 24744
- Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
- x 6888
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
The picture of Wingrove in 1925 was a bit truncated....the full picture is in the History Brochure.
https://www.wingrovemotorgroup.co.uk/wp ... -Final.pdf
From its inception Wingrove had a French Connection. As proudly stated on its Garage doors in 1925, it dealt in Buchet Cars.
https://www.wingrovemotorgroup.co.uk/wp ... -Final.pdf
From its inception Wingrove had a French Connection. As proudly stated on its Garage doors in 1925, it dealt in Buchet Cars.
NeilWiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuchetBuchet was a French motorcycle and automobile manufacturer between 1899 and 1930.
Factory:Ivry, France (1888 - 1919)
73 Rue de Sèvres, Billancourt, France (1919-1930)
Paris showroom
68 Avenue de la Grande Armée, Paris
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
687 Trinity, Jersey
- NewcastleFalcon
- Posts: 24744
- Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
- x 6888
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
What did a 1920's Buchet Car look like? A bit more pristine than in 2023! It is an unusual make to end up in the West End of Newcastle in the pretty embryonic days of motoring and a tale not really told in the history brochure.
Neil
At the end of the 1950s, Malartre tracked down this Buchet C2 for Mahy. The Buchet dated from the Roaring Twenties and had to compete with the Bébé designed by Bugatti for Peugeot. The revolutionary and racy C2 ran on Michelin tyres and was one of the first cars with two doors. Until then, the passenger climbed in alongside the driver only after he had cranked the engine into action, which meant that only one door was necessary. The front of the Buchet was made completely from metal. The cockpit was chestnut, largely because there were many chestnut trees in and around Paris, where the Buchet factory was located. A thin metal plate was then carefully hammered over the wood. During the 1920s, it also became the custom for cars to be brightly coloured through the addition of a thick layer of oil paint – hence the turquoise craquelé, which resembles a dancer’s dress as it might have been painted by Degas! Before the First World War, Elie-Victor Buchet had earned a reputation as a daring and innovative engineer. After the war, this fire was gone. Now, he was prepared to live on his past successes, as a result of which he came to be seen as too conservative. Not surprisingly, production and sales began to fall, eventually leading to the closure of the company in 1929.
With its copper-carbon headlights and S.A.M. radiator grille from the Avenue Montbarbon, the Buchet was much sought after in the 1950s by French scrap metal dealers. Copper was urgently needed to make weapons for the war in Indo-China and therefore fetched a good price. As a result, only a very few Buchets were saved from the car press. Ghislain Mahy paid Malartre 3,000 Belgian francs for this 1923 model: marginally more than its scrap value.
Make Buchet
Model/type C2
Coachwork Buchet
Construction year 1923
Colour coachwork Blue
Engine 4-cylinder
displacement 1551 cc
Gearbox Manual
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
687 Trinity, Jersey
- myglaren
- Forum Admin Team
- Posts: 25480
- Joined: 02 Mar 2008, 13:30
- Location: Washington
- My Cars: Mazda 6
Ooops.
Previously:
2009 Honda Civic :(
C5, C5, Xantia, BX, GS, Visa.
R4, R11TXE, R14, R30TX - x 4922
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
The ultimate low-profile tyres!
I was wondering why I had been to Centreville garage and it just came to me that it was to collect a huge load of workshop manuals for Malcolm (Citronut) several years ago.
I was wondering why I had been to Centreville garage and it just came to me that it was to collect a huge load of workshop manuals for Malcolm (Citronut) several years ago.
- NewcastleFalcon
- Posts: 24744
- Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
- x 6888
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
Put Centreville into a forum search, most posts on this thread unsurprisingly, but I'll dig this one up from DickieG in 2010.
Neil
Inviting for a dig through to see how many of the specialists remain, we know Centreville has gone!DickieG wrote: ↑06 Jul 2010, 16:39 Try Citart, or Chyparse or Dirk Sassen or Citron Pieces or Der Franzose for new parts direct (IIRC all of the above speak English) or for UK based sellers who mostly get their supplies from the ones above and also sell second hand parts try DS Workshop or Centreville or Brodie Engineering or Peacock Engineering or Citroën Classic's. BTW Darrin @ Citroën Classic's is a fellow Kiwi
That should give you enough to go on for a while
Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
687 Trinity, Jersey
- NewcastleFalcon
- Posts: 24744
- Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
- x 6888
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
Looks like you did a bit of photography on one of your visits Steve
Neil
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
687 Trinity, Jersey
- NewcastleFalcon
- Posts: 24744
- Joined: 25 Feb 2009, 10:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
- x 6888
Re: Centreville Garage-closed
Only One AA Box left
687 Trinity, Jersey
687 Trinity, Jersey