BXs fallen to the Scrappage Scheme

Anything about BXs
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Re: BXs fallen to the Scrappage Scheme

Post by Thread Bear »

Ah yes. The dreaded free car. In reality few exist. A low capitol cost entry car might be more accurate. Does not trip off the tongue quite so well though. Do we call this car The Jersey Royal?

BX will get rarer, I fear. There are still some that will be beyond economic repair. So unless there are folk willing to invest in an unknown future market, or because they want to, some more will go yet, not least as rust can really get into them. The light construction that makes the car a winner is then its Achilles heel, as only a good repair is going to be enough. I do not think a BX body is one that can be bodged up successfully. Quality welding is an acquired skill most do not have. Add Citroen's, well Peugeot's, almost hostile stance on the older models and sadly some will have to die to keep the others going. The number left already dips below that where it is easy to budget for re-manufacturing runs at keen prices, and that depends very much on the skills within the pool of owners and their contacts in trades.

Yet the graph on display shows a classic text book record of car usage. The difference being the time taken over the curve as some cars are better, tougher, or valued to be repaired more, than others. It is only more frightening to see the steeper curve away for residual values of the new car to nil. If ever you need to persuade yourself not to buy new on a credit agreement, then that is the one to look at. Its almost as good as setting light to some money.
The plus side is that these graphs tend to show a hard core of cars that refuse to go away. BX has yet to stabilize, I think. What will it be, 400? Comparing cars, that becomes an interesting figure, especially when compared to total sold into a market. Something like the Messerschmitt shows an amazing survival rate by %, for a number of reasons, not least is small easy to keep size. Look at some other very popular cars in their day and the survival rate is fractional to several decimal places! Not helped by Top Gear blowing them up, dropping things on them or generally being arseholes! BX actually look quite good as a % I would suggest, plus Top Gear currently do not show interest in them.
Miguel - 16 TRS Auto S, light blue, 43k miles - £450
Pluto - 14 E S, White, 105k Miles - in work
Egbert - 19 16v Gti, White, A/C & Leather, - Keeper
Walt - 17 TZD Turbo S, graphite, 70k miles, good op extras - Keeper
Scraper- 17 TZD Turbo E, blue, 208k miles - parts
Homer - 19 TXD E, Red, 189k miles - £250
Gary - 17 TZD Turbo E, 118k miles - in work

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Re: BXs fallen to the Scrappage Scheme

Post by Kitch »

ChrisB wrote:At some point soon the BX count should go up to 585. A while ago Kitch mentioned a BX Estate in Jersey - "free to a good home". It’s now on my drive and time will tell whether it is a good home. As for “free” - apart from the cost of getting it off the island, it now owes me 5 spheres and £230 for welding up 10 holes. I’ve stopped looking for more holes so next will come steering rack gaiters and CV joint boots, drive shaft seals, 2 washer pumps and some paint - and maybe some hydraulic pipes and an o-ring for the brake valve. Then all it will need is an MOT a pair of number plates and a decent radio. This is my first post here - I see I am allowed 60000 characters but this is enough.
Well, the car was free. I assumed I didn't need to point out that a nearly 30yr old Citroen which you don't hand over any money for would need something doing to it :wink:
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Re: BXs fallen to the Scrappage Scheme

Post by Philip Chidlow »

Agreed. There's no such thing as a 'free' car, as anyone knows. I paid nearly a grand for mine (a bit OTT on reflection) and I bet my 'to do' list was easily on a par with your's Chris. The mildly well-known 'Red Baron' was a 'free' BX and that needed lots spending on it, but I never begrudged paying out. And that's the difference. Pay £900 plus and then have to spend another £900 sorting it out, well, the feeling's not quite the same. If you get a car that's ostensibly free be grateful. Especially if it's a BX.
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Re: BXs fallen to the Scrappage Scheme

Post by Kitch »

I picked the red mk1 TRS up for free. It will need:

Welding
Paint
Four tyres
Clutch
Cambelt
Coolant hoses
Radiator
Fuel lines
Hydraulic lines
Handbrake cables
Brake discs/pads

and an MoT.

The car was free, but the spending doesn't begin until you get it home. Even if I sank £3k into it, it's still better than if I'd spent a grand buying it. And besides, of that list above, it only really needs the tyres, the cambelt and the MoT. I could drive it around looking like a wreck, I'm just choosing not to.
One third of a three-spoke BX columnist team for the Citroenian magazine.

CCC BX registrar: The national BX register - click to submit a car!

1983(A) 16TRS (Rouge Valleunga)
1990(H) 16Valve (Rouge Furio)
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Re: BXs fallen to the Scrappage Scheme

Post by Mothman »

Mollie was free too but dont ask me what she is going to cost!!
But, thats what i choose to do to her and she will be a great drive, a new motor really.

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Re: BXs fallen to the Scrappage Scheme

Post by Thread Bear »

Kitch wrote:I picked the red mk1 TRS up for free. It will need:

Welding
Paint
Four tyres
Clutch
Cambelt
Coolant hoses
Radiator
Fuel lines
Hydraulic lines
Handbrake cables
Brake discs/pads

and an MoT.

The car was free, but the spending doesn't begin until you get it home. Even if I sank £3k into it, it's still better than if I'd spent a grand buying it. And besides, of that list above, it only really needs the tyres, the cambelt and the MoT. I could drive it around looking like a wreck, I'm just choosing not to.
I am glad to hear it. That's my job. :lol:

That is what it takes to save cars. I am flagging just now but will get back on mission soon.
Miguel - 16 TRS Auto S, light blue, 43k miles - £450
Pluto - 14 E S, White, 105k Miles - in work
Egbert - 19 16v Gti, White, A/C & Leather, - Keeper
Walt - 17 TZD Turbo S, graphite, 70k miles, good op extras - Keeper
Scraper- 17 TZD Turbo E, blue, 208k miles - parts
Homer - 19 TXD E, Red, 189k miles - £250
Gary - 17 TZD Turbo E, 118k miles - in work

'87 Trooper, Borgwards, Saabs, MG ZB, Bellamy Trials, Fiat Jolly & Bianchina, Goggo Dart, Messerschmitt, Heinkel, Bubblecars
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Re: BXs fallen to the Scrappage Scheme

Post by citsncycles »

I knew of cars both saved from and scrapped by that scheme. My BX14 (now much improved in Harley Cross's hands), was a Scrappage rescue. The story told me by the previous owner to me was that the guy he bought it from took it to his local Citroen dealer to scrap against a new C model, and the boss of the garage gave him a discount on condition he didn't hand the car over. It was then sold to the guy I got it from through a local Citroen Indy workshop who did some work to get it up to a good useable condition. I suspect the dealer involved may have been connected to Alan Lloyd (currently H Van columnist for the CCC) as he was a manager in a chain of dealerships at the time.

I know of several 2CV's and a couple of Dyanes that were scrapped. In each case they were rotten, worn out cars that were bodged through an MOT just to be scrapped.

I also know of a ZX 1.9D Provence that was scrapped. This particular car although driveable and road legal was cosmetically tatty inside and out, had at least 280,000 miles on the clock and was going to need major money spent on a complete overhaul of the electrical system, plus most if not all of the suspension bushes replacing if it was going to get to the next MOT let alone past it!

Dunno if it was true but my favorite story was of a fairly tidy Mini (a proper one) being taken to a BMW Mini dealer for scrappage. The garage manager didn't want to take the car so asked his regional manager if they could offer a discount instead of scrapping the car, which was refused. He duly took the Mini in and parked it at the entrance to the dealership with a big sign proclaiming that all owners of old Mini's could go there to scrap their cars in favour of a new one. Word got round the Mini community and over the next 2 weeks BMW were bombarded with so many complaints that BMW decided off a discount the equivalent to scrappage for any Minis presented from then on.

I think the relatively low numbers of BX's scrapped is due to the type of owners they attract. By the time Scrappage came along most owners drove BX's because they hadn't found anything newer that they preferred. Those that did get scrapped were probably either tatty or had mechanical or rust issues. Makes me wonder how Timex go through it, as although probably straighter than it is now, neglect like that takes a long, long time.

In the end, Scrappage was not the big success at keeping British car manufacturing going. Of the top 10 cars bought through the scrappage scheme, IIRC the only European model was the Astra, with all the rest coming from Malaysia, Korea or Japan.
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Re: BXs fallen to the Scrappage Scheme

Post by Thread Bear »

citsncycles wrote:In the end, Scrappage was not the big success at keeping British car manufacturing going. Of the top 10 cars bought through the scrappage scheme, IIRC the only European model was the Astra, with all the rest coming from Malaysia, Korea or Japan.
And there is the real effect of Scrappage and why it was stupid. Politicians, not being business peeps, do not understand even simple economic concepts. Like the difference between manufacturing and assembling. Manufactured in Britain means outsourcing and possible the majority of the profit stays in Britain, the taxman gets a healthy slice of the pie. Assembly means only those directly in the factory get a share of the profit in wages, the rest goes abroad and the taxman gets a meager return. So Scrappage was a very effective way to help finance Malaysia, Korea and Japan at a time when our domestic costs are rising almost exponentially as we gain more workers to assemble things here for business based in cheaper tax economies abroad and we propped up the bankers. That will be why, despite trumpets and all clear sirens, our national debt has gone from £1 Trillion to £1.4 Trillion in only about 3 years. That is why the Government are currently 6.4% below their taxation targets, not even reaching parity with the runaway national dept crisis, even then. In any other form of finance this is called trading whilst insolvent and its not allowed. So Scrappage, a lose to the country, the shareholders if you like, of how much we do not know, would be classed as fraud.
Miguel - 16 TRS Auto S, light blue, 43k miles - £450
Pluto - 14 E S, White, 105k Miles - in work
Egbert - 19 16v Gti, White, A/C & Leather, - Keeper
Walt - 17 TZD Turbo S, graphite, 70k miles, good op extras - Keeper
Scraper- 17 TZD Turbo E, blue, 208k miles - parts
Homer - 19 TXD E, Red, 189k miles - £250
Gary - 17 TZD Turbo E, 118k miles - in work

'87 Trooper, Borgwards, Saabs, MG ZB, Bellamy Trials, Fiat Jolly & Bianchina, Goggo Dart, Messerschmitt, Heinkel, Bubblecars
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