Time to give up the daily drive ?

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Gary
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Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by Gary »

I have been toying with the idea of giving up using the Meteor as my daily car.
It is becoming more difficult to keep it up to a standard I like,as it is left outside and parked in a dusty compound during the day so a day after its been cleaned it looks like it has never been washed for months.
Also with the availability of some parts becoming scarce and the poor driving standards of others in this area I have recently become more worried about it being damaged.(on the road and in car parks)
I enjoy the meteor and get great pleasure from driving it .
So what should I do? Lay it up and only use it for days out / shows etc , then what do I then use as a daily hack ?
I do have a TXD Turbo that I am in the process of putting back on the road but the same will apply to this car .
So do I just keep driving them and hope for the best or buy some boring more modern car to use every day? (I cant think of any thing that i would like)
After 27 years of having a BX as a daily drive it is hard to make the decision .
Any thoughts / ideas on what I should do?
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by patersom10 »

Tough one I know,

I got rid of my diesel in favour of a euro box (corsa diesel), hated every min ! Got a xsara now though which is much better.

It's just a case of finding something that you will be happy with, nothing will be as soft a your BX so would need to think long and hard about it.

Still miss my TGD, and currently looking for another diesel BX. so.....
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by Tim Leech »

Hi Gary

Its a tough one, as the BX ages and parts get harder to source its a decision that comes to us all. Even using them for pleasure has its pitfalls as I found out this week in my Sd1!.

Personally I am quite happy to have a modernish reliable daily driver and use the BX's for high days, shows etc that way I can keep them in the condition I want and avoid them rusting away.
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by Dollywobbler »

I'm having this dilemma again. If I keep using my RD estate as a daily, it'll just rust away. If I don't use it as a daily, what's the point of owning it? I don't have enough storage to keep cars to cherish. I may well be selling before too long, which is a real shame, as I love the floaty Citroen ride, self-levelling, styling and economy!
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greendale65
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by greendale65 »

Hang on in mate if you get rid you wont be happy
( I've got the same problem )
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by Paul296 »

It is a dilemma. I toyed with the idea of buying something cheap and boring to run around, but lack of finance's put paid to that idea - and it's certainly true that what's the point of having them if you don't drive them? I love driving my BXs! As it turned out I don't use a car that much anyway, so the BXs get some use but not enough for them to really deteriorate - I think for a 20 odd year old car regular light use is probably the optimum; it keeps everything ticking over and greased without putting undue demands on the car. I probably put about 1-1.5K on my cars per annum

If I really did need a hack I'd buy a decent Xantia TD - they're lovely to drive, very reliable if you find a nice one and they're almost as softly suspended as a BX. They're giving them away now as well - which is always a bonus.
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by mds141 »

The valver has been ensconced in its garage sine last June. I find the XM makes a highly respectable daily drive. In fact, daily use keeps it ticking over quite nicely. Regular topping up of the waxoyl should keep the corrosion at bay.

I had considered putting the XM into storage during the winter months and getting a 'hack' to drive around in, but the hack would have been another Citroën and of course, I would have started to cherish said hack and then become worried about using it as a daily hack and the cycle would continue again.
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by mat_fenwick »

Paul296 wrote:I think for a 20 odd year old car regular light use is probably the optimum; it keeps everything ticking over and greased without putting undue demands on the car.
Nail on head there I think. Regular use is good, but if it's constantly in use, then (in the UK weather) then wheelarches and crevices never get a chance to dry out.

It's something which has started to be on my mind recently, as I do about 400 miles a week although the last few years I've kept the BX from the worst of the winter salt. Fortunately most of my travelling is on quiet roads so less of a risk of prangs. However, my work will be moving in May, which will mean a 120 mile round trip to get there. The plan for me is to work from home where possible, but I think it'll mean quite a bit more travelling.

It all hinges on whether the pleasure I get from driving it is outweighed by the worry about things deteriorating faster than I can sort them...
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by Thread Bear »

Coming in from the left field, possibly radical. The situation is one of fearing loss of access to something that you like to own and use. So to get rid of it because it might get damaged or suffer failure is a nonsensical conclusion. I like chocky bunnies shape as well as chocky, so much I will not eat them but let next doors kids have them to stop the bunnies melting, as they will look after them better than me. Really?

So if to keep. Here I confess it will cost money and space for my solution. You buy a nail BX (or whatever). There are plenty around. One that has no reason to be cherished as it is passed being a good car. I dunno, its rust has been replaced with strength rather than beauty, crap paint, you get the idea. This car need not look nice as its job is to be driven and maintained on second hand parts where appropriate. If it were me I would shove wax in all the naughty bits to chase out rot. Whang grease over the pipes etc. It will look horrible. But these cars are most effective on the Supermarket run. People will not want to park next to you as the grease and wax will get on them. Therefore the car is less parked near, less doored and nerfed and overall gets left alone.

Meanwhile your nice car is worth a spot of rubbing. It comes out for the weekend and trips to Mum or whatever.

This is what I failed to do last autumn in not getting Homer on the road. Now Gary needs a major rubbing in the garage after going through a rather damaging winter. Now I have developed a selection of cars Homer is probably surplus to requirements.

Many folk have a prob with this as they seem to treat a car as an extension of their personality. I have never knowingly bought a car with that in mind. I buy cos I fancy it, or to use it as a tool. So my defense to the 'I do not want to have car that looks crap' is - Are you driving it, or looking at it? Its a tool. Your pretty bits are in the garage waiting high days, trips to private parking etc.

Lastly, I am of an age where the reaper is reducing my friends at a fair old rate. Balls to conforming. Enjoy what you can, when you can. Your a long time dead.
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by really? »

Hi Gary,

Really's mum here again, will get around to my own site as soon as I get back from latest contract in Europe.

Have been following this thread and am of similar mind to everybody else.

My priority is however the need for a moving chunk of metal to move me from A to B or preferably Z at the turn of a key.

However much we love our cars (and we have 11 we cannot bear to part with) the feeling is a one way relationship, they will never reciprocate however many hours we spend with them, polishing and repairing.

We have 3 BX's, none of which are in everyday use, 1 has no MOT, 1 has no engine at the moment and mine is just about (Ihope) to be driven when I get back.

Yes it is infuriating when you return laden with bags from Tesco to find yet another scratch, ding etc, but on the other hand the cars we drive are not going to depreciate because of this. I prefer to think of it as character building, that is until they end up like talulah who didn't have a straight panel anywhere. As a consequence of this we always know what we are doing with our spare time, cherishing more love and affection, blood and tears on something that doesn't give a damn.

Even when the BX's are back on the road, we shall alternate them.

In the meantime have acquired (accidently, but won't go into that at the moment) a very low mileage Xantia diesel hdi full spec, it gives a beautifully smooth ride feeling very similar to the BX but alas lacking character, rumbles, groans and driving with fingers crossed in the hope that it has a few more journeys left before engine out time again.

I swear that really can now do this in his sleep as everytime I go outside the engine is back in the garage.

We have reached a partial solution in so far as we buy old pre ECU cars that we can repair at a minimum cost and hopefully keep a year or two. Running costs for these are between £50 - £300 per annum. At the end of their lives they are cubed, no emotions involved.

Obviouosly because we have 11 cars, this is not a foolproof solution.

Good luck with your choices.
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by Kitch »

I reached the point at the end of last year where I wouldn't use BAH as a daily again. Like Tim says, if you're a worrier like I am, you worry about finding parts when you wear old ones out etc.

It also makes the BX more special when you get in having driven something newer. I'll run the BX for April daily, but not for the year full stop.
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by Defender110 »

I wouldn't own a BX if it wasn't to be used as a daily driver, no point in having one otherwise.
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by Kitch »

Defender110 wrote:I wouldn't own a BX if it wasn't to be used as a daily driver, no point in having one otherwise.

Oh? Really?? Shit I'd better sell it!
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by TizzyD »

@Kitch: How much for BAH??? :wink: :wink: :lol: :lol:

I have to use mine daily as it's my only car and the bikes not for work use, but I have to park mine on the street and it's not concours/mint and is covered in stickers means I don't worry too much about scratches and stuff, the worry for me is rust and salt in winter
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Re: Time to give up the daily drive ?

Post by Paul296 »

I'd agree with Kevan if the only value of a car was its utility value, but if the only value of a car is its utility value why would you own a BX in the first place? They're all 20 odd years old now, hell bent on rotting away and if you don't assiduously keep on top of the maintenance they will break down - with monotonous regularity! The answer to purely practical daily motoring is not a BX - there are far more sensible solutions and it's probably becoming unfair to make those sorts of demands on BXs now if you want to keep them in top condition - hence this thread. But if you're not too bothered about owning a trailer tart and enjoy tinkering they can still make sense.

Personally, I own BXs for the same reason that someone might own a horse, even though it'll never pull a wagon or carry them to market; I really like them - that's it. And after 20 of years sterling service I think they deserve a bottle of polish and a sugar cube!
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