Maroon 14RE (or is it!) Update

[citsncycles]

2 weeks in and I have found the following out about my car:-

1st - it's not an RE, but a TGE! I only realised this when I spotted the boot badge while loading up the shopping the weekend after I got it. However, the Registration document clearly states that it's an RE, so I can only guess that the dealer that originally sold it registered it as such as that was what they had always been up to that point.

I managed 40mpg on the first tank of fuel, at least half of which was done on motorways. I've so far managed 200 miles on about 3/4 tank of the 2nd tank of fuel, this being all local running, mainly to work and back (9 miles each way) or visiting family (16 miles each way), which around here includes quite a few hills.

I've had a go at the paintwork - I've not found a close enough match to blend in the scratches yet but I've at least covered them in paint to (hopefully) stop any rust, and have given the whole car a coat of polish. I do love the colour, and want to sort out both the scratches and the bumpers more properly. The front bumper has lost almost all colour, while I suspect the rear has been replaced as it seems to be grey, sprayed in red primer. Would the bumpers be the same colour as the body, like my friend's 16v is?

Also, the black / dark grey bits (window surrounds, sills etc) are down to the white primer in several areas - is there a name for the shade they were painted in?

Mechanically, apart from a bit of wear in the gearbox, in the form of a bit of whine and a reluctance to shift into 2nd when cold, it seems very good, despite the miles it's done. The interior is also very good considering. There is a little bit of sag in the drivers seat base, there's a hole in the panel to the right of the coin box where there may have been an led or something fitted, the clip for the LH sun visor is broken and the radio cover refuses to close fully. Apart from a bulb behind the heater controls I think that's it!

I had originally bought the BX as temporary transport while fixing the GS, but the last couple of weeks have changed my mind. While I still prefer the comfort & styling of the GS, the BX is already proving itself the better car for commuting due to better economy. The BX also wins on parts prices and availability, and should prove to be easier to work on - anyone who have changed the points or the exhaust front pipes on a GS will know what I'm talking about!

Finally, I'm hoping to take the BX to the CCC rally at Stratford, so was wondering if anyone else was planning on going?

All the best

[Way2go]

it's not an RE, but a TGE! I only realised this when I spotted the boot badge while loading up the shopping the weekend after I got it. However, the Registration document clearly states that it's an RE, so I can only guess that the dealer that originally sold it registered it as such as that was what they had always been up to that point.

It's also possible that your "boot door" had been damaged and a previous owner has replaced it with one from another car. Others have had this phenomenom to the level that they have had a normally aspirated diesel yet the "boot badging" denotes that it is a turbo.

[richardd1652]

What colour are the rear lights?Smoked i would reckon it to be a TGE or clear amber /red and white units might just be a RE.What whel trims has it got?Ones that have like a 4 blade design that covers the whole wheel(TGE) ones that show the rim of the wheel and have loads of oval shapes round near the edge(dont ask me how many coz im not that sad to have counted them yet)RE.
Have you got the V5 Logbook from DVLA back yet as that should confirm what it is.Doesnt really matter as they are very similar models
Richard.

[citsncycles]

This is very possible, but as I don't know the difference between the 2 models, I have no real way of telling. If it's any help, there are electric front windows & non-assisted steering (although it's so light compared to the GS that I thought it WAS power assisted until actually looking at the rack!), and apart from the split rear seat the interior is identical to the blue '89 RD estate I used to own, right down to the colour and pattern of the cloth!

All the best,

[docchevron]

Finally, I'm hoping to take the BX to the CCC rally at Stratford, so was wondering if anyone else was planning on going?

There's a fair few going, some of us are in your neck of the woods too.
I'm up the road a bit in Stroud.

[scarecrow]

Mine's the same - an RE to DVLA but a TGE according to Citroen.

[citsncycles]

With smoked rear light's & wheel trims that are definately not the early type (I had a set like that on the RD I used to own) I reckon that it's not an RE, despite what the log book says.

If it's not raining tomorrow, I'll have a go at the front bumper, and I'll take a couple of pics to post for those that missed it on Ebay.

All the best,

[messerschmitt owner]

I'm up the road a bit in Stroud.

and me in Gloucester but working in Minch!

[Tim Leech]

It will be a TGE at that age, DVLA were a bit slow to catch up and for about 12 months they were still being registered as an RE/RD/RS instead of TGE/TGD/TGS, i had a 16TGS which was a 16RS on the logbook.

As for the bumpers, you could try some bumper "gel" to try and revive it, or the trick with the hair dryer which may work, if the rear ones been changed and is just primer I would get them BOTH sprayed up to match the car when you can afford it.

[docchevron]

I'm up the road a bit in Stroud.

and me in Gloucester but working in Minch!

Gloucester / Stroud / Dursley seems to be the centre of the BX universe these days, and yet I NEVER see another BX out on the roads, bar the ones in the immediate group..
Odd really..

Minch huh... you dont have a black valver do you? I hear tell there is one in Minch..

[citsncycles]

Since I bought mine, to see it out and about you'd have to be on the A38 between Dursley & Stonehouse at either 6:45 am or around 7:15 pm.

Although there seems to be several in the area, we must all be travelling different routes at different times! I used to see several out and about but in the last couple of years they all seem to have vanished - I think I know of nearly as many GS's & GSA's on the road in the area as BX's, although if you count the cars off the road I know about the BX numbers do pull ahead condsiderably.

Regards,

[docchevron]

I trundle up and down the A38 very often indeed, although earlier in the week, and later at the weekend...
Although as the nights draw in I'll be trundling south earlier and earlier..
If you ever see a black or pink BX with yellow headlights then feel free to wave or something, it'll more than likely be me!