BX of much cheapness (and tattyness)

Tell us about life with your BX, or indeed life in general!
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DavidRutherford
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BX of much cheapness (and tattyness)

Post by DavidRutherford »

I find it interesting to read other people's experiences with their BX, so it seems only fitting to add my own here. Background to the car first. More later.

I always find that when I need to buy a car in a hurry, the only ones available are expensive or rubbish. (or both. Expenish?) Conversely of course, when I don't need a car or have no space for another, all the ones available are very cheap (or indeed free)

So, at a point in time when I didn't actually need another car, there is of course a very cheap one advertised. A BX, turboD with tax and ticket for £25, + the tax on it. A car with rent and ticket on it for under £100? That's very cheap indeed. Contacted the seller, and there was a good reason it was cheap: A leaking coolant pump (and a fairly serious leak at that), which of course means that it needs a timing belt as well. Also the car was a bit rough around the edges (literally: the paint was flaking off the bumpers) and the sunroof had been taped up. Still a cheap car, so the deal was done for £60 and it was towed home on my A-frame.

First things first. Timing belt & coolant pump. £45 to buy, 2-3 hrs to fit. That done, the first thing I managed to do was smash the passenger-side door-mirror off on the garage door. Bollocks! Still, I had a spare, so 20 mins later it was back together again. £105 spent, and I had a car with about 6 months ticket and 2.5 months rent. Not bad. I even managed to find the time to remove all the gaffer-tape from the roof and unblock the sunroof drain tubes.

Except, I didn't actually need a car at this point. I already had a perfectly good 405 TD estate, which it has to be said is a more modern and advanced car than the BX. Larger loadspace, nicer driving position (for me anyway) more creature comforts, quieter etc.etc. Only drawbacks are the lack of decent suspension (steel springs just feel rubbish compared to Hydraulics, and no self-leveling seems archaic) and the 405 is a fair bit heavier than the BX, so the fuel consumption suffers. So what am I going to do with this super-cheap BX?

Within a couple of days, my landlord had sold his somewhat-knackered 306 and was looking for a replacement. I offered him the loan of the BX while he looked for a replacement car, which he was most appreciative of. He ended up keeping it for most of the 2.5 months that was left on the tax, and as thanks bought me another 6 months when he gave it back. Bonus.

As fortune would have it, within 2 weeks of this I got a phone call from a friend: "have you got a car I can borrow while mine is at the garage?" Yes, actually. Very handy.

Another week later I get another call from someone who needs a car for a couple of months. Cue the BX. I offered it for rent at £1 per day, not including insurance. They jump at that, and the BX is away again for 3 months, netting me the best part of £100. Comments were made such as: "The most comfortable car I've driven" and "It goes really well for how little fuel it uses" I think those two comments sum up a BX TD quite well!

At this point the MOT was due, so it was shoved in to my local MOT blokey. I didn't really have time to look over it, so I just presented it as it was. Straight through, no work needed at all. Unbelievable. At that point I had a car that owed me nothing at all, with 12 months ticket and 3 months tax on it. The most obvious thing to do would have been to sell the car then, but I didn't.

more to follow when I can be arsed.
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Post by Kitch »

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DavidRutherford
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Re: BX of much cheapness (and tattyness)

Post by DavidRutherford »

I find it quite incredible that I was discussing this car nearly five years ago... feels like yesterday!

To finish the history on this particular car, I ended up driving it for about a year. It was completely and utterly reliable, save for a broken fuel gauge and a couple of other minor irritations, and I ended up swapping it for a CX20, which I still have. Adamski, who I did the swap with, promptly had a truck sideswipe him and wrote the car off. Shame, as despite it's tatty appearance, it ran beautifully, gave 45-50 to the gallon and was in surprisingly corrosion-free condition.

Bit of a waste really.
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Re: BX of much cheapness (and tattyness)

Post by mat_fenwick »

DavidRutherford wrote:five years ago... feels like yesterday!
Tell me about it! I think it's called getting old, but I try not to think about that...

Nice to see you back again - hope all is well?
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Tim Leech
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Re: BX of much cheapness (and tattyness)

Post by Tim Leech »

Ive had the GT 6 years in November.....seconded only by the Xantia at 8 years in December and the Sd1 which is 16 years in August, (Xantia still runs shite)
Lots of Motors, mostly semi broken....
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