CITROEN BX 1.9 TRS 70k bca car auctions preston

[Paul296]

One man's meat is another man's doner kebab dumped unceremoniously in a litter bin I suppose! I think as BX's get some kind of 'classic' recognition - which one could argue - they are now, the kind of engine they have will mean less and less as they won't be bought for practicality but rather as an enthusiasts car. In which case, history, mileage and condition will be everything. I think that car ticks all the right boxes. Tim's TRS fetched 2 grand without a 'by your leave' and that car could be comparable with very little effort.

[mds141]

DS's, CX's and to a lesser extent XM's, are that point now. Doesn't matter what level of trim or engine/drivetrain combination it has, condition is paramount. As they become increasingly rare, beggars can't become choosers.

[MULLEY]

Just because one 1.6 petrol fetched £2k, doesn't mean that suddenly the values of other BX's are on the rise. If on average the last 10 1.6 petrols sold around that price fair enough, but they haven't. Tim's 1.6 petrol was a great colour & the bodywork was immaculate, that prompted one individual to decide it was worth the money to them, doesn't mean the vast majority think it was worth it. I've got no idea how good that car was mechanically or if there was any rust hidden away. Remember G-Segg, it looked great but turned out to be worthless rust.

I've got no problem with prices generally rising, but until we start seeing average conditioned cars with engines that aren't considered to be that brilliant using power sapping auto boxes regularly being sold for decent money, i just don't understand all the excitement with club members suddenly coming out with statements saying "i'd deffo pay £1500 for that" when they haven't probably ever spent £1500 on a BX themselves & they'd never buy a petrol auto even if it was the last BX for sale regardless of price, i find it all laughable tbh. I'm not criticising any individuals who may have been quoting prices on this car, its just my general perception this year with wild pricing etc....

I'd like to see a register of BX's with their specs/condition etc..& their last sale price, some cars have been sold on a few times, so it would be interesting to see if their price is increasing or dropping & is the condition of these cars getting better or worse the more owners are involved. That would give a much better guage of what a car is realistically worth.

In the meantime, i look forward to seeing more quotes on values, i may be smiling to myself some more.

Anyway, everyone is entitled to their opinion & their values, but i prefer evidence to prove values rather than just an opinon on a car that hasn't even been viewed or test driven, shiny pictures can hide the truth.

[Sweet 16 (valve)]

Having owned a non-auto version of that same car (same year) a long time ago I did like it, but that auto box (if it is that sapping) would be the killer for me.

There's certain cars where auto boxes are sought (eg. mid-upper size Mercs) but I can't think of any real benefit in a BX?

[MULLEY]

Not having to change gear is the benefit

They are quite nice to drive, but aren't as much fun as a manual & they do sap a bit of power which although isn't the end of the world, the biggest negative is fuel economy, they are pretty poor unless you do motorway miles drifting along doing a steady 60mph.

The 1.9 Petrol auto is quite nice, best thing to do is to see if you can have a drive of one to see if you would prefer an auto over a manual.

If its a show/weekend car only & your mileage is limited, then none of these things matter & perhaps over time they will pick up in value due to condition & more people just wanting to show these cars rather than use them as a daily driver? I wouldn't personally want to own a car when i do 12k a year averaging 25mpg, thats expensive motoring. I can see a lot of the petrols being converted to LPG in the future, but it would have to be in excellent condition to warrant that expenditure & of course if you did reasonable mileage when petrol is over £2 a litre in just a few years time.

It just depends on what you want out of your car i guess.

[Mickey taker]

While I agree with Matthew that its not the most practical daily driver, I think its rarity somewhat outweighs that especially as I am sure this will end up ad a weekend/showcar,

Can you imagine the concourse judges comments if it did have an lpg conversion though

[Tim Leech]

Ive seen a BX petrol with a LPG conversion, it didnt work too well with the solex carb and was removed by the next owner as he just couldnt get it to run right, if you want ultimate economy buy a diesel manual, but having owned and driven a few BX slushmatics they are a nice car to drive and the 4 speed ZF box is durable (if you change the oil with the right sort) and one of the best of its generation.

That car is in lovely condition, low mileage, and probably the best colour and with some detailing could indeed win some prizes if you wanted!

[Des Smith]

Erm, are we forgetting that this is a petrol 1900 carb auto, not exactly desirable imho, even with the cosmetic issues sorted its not worth more than £750. I'd much rather have a low spec 1.9 n/a diesel with twice as many miles for £750, but thats just me of course

Looks like he heard you, Matthew. Now further reduced to a more acceptable £795. I think all those brickbats about profiteering may have had an effect. Either way, it looks like a good buy for someone with a penchant for an autobox.

[Tim Leech]

Thats good value now, someone should buy it and get it "mint"

[Sweet 16 (valve)]

Looks a good price. If it were a manual I could be seriously tempted, but I'm sorry, an auto in that car just doesn't float my proverbial boat.

Hope someone gets it, surprised the dealer has dropped the price so quickly - he must be wanting to get shot of it seriously now.

[Tim Leech]

Looks a good price. If it were a manual I could be seriously tempted, but I'm sorry, an auto in that car just doesn't float my proverbial boat.

Hope someone gets it, surprised the dealer has dropped the price so quickly - he must be wanting to get shot of it seriously now.

Fair enough, don't kid yourself that a perfect bx will show up anytime soon though! It won't, numbers are dwindling fast.

[Sweet 16 (valve)]

Hi Tim. You say that, but I've only been looking for a matter of weeks and ok, the 16v may never turn up but I've seen a couple of other BXs that on the face of it are in excellent condition, like this one, and the couple of 1.4s on Gumtree. They seem to turn up more than I'd have thought considering a lot of models are into double figures now. I think I'd rather hold on and get something with that wow factor - like that 16v spotted a few weeks ago with the owner that told one of our brethren to "bugger orf"!

Cheers

[Tim Leech]

Recently there has been a few nice examples around granted, but thats quite rare, most cars seem to fall into two catagories, high mileage tired and the low mileage ones like the St Tropez.

Even so I think if your after a really nice BX this is a good buy at £795.

[mat_fenwick]

numbers are dwindling fast.

I reckon (and hope!) that we're actually past that stage now, and that the majority of cars are in the hands of enthusiasts. So we're likely in the future to see the same (fewer) cars changing hands with the odd one coming out of the woodwork like this one. As an aside, back in 2005 I saw an immaculate 36k mile 19TRS in a scrapyard, in the same colour. All I can assume is that it failed the MOT as there was no accident damage. The yard wanted £100 for it (at the time they'd have probably paid £30 for the car) but I didn't have the cash or the space as we were moving house

[Tim Leech]

Quite agree Mat, not many people in their right mind would buy a 20 year old BX as a cheap runabout instead of a Almera/Focus so lets hope the cars out there now will get loked after including this one.