Why the BX?

Anything about BXs
tim leech

Post by tim leech »

Fourwheel steer, i remember seeing your car on the autotrader, is it white and did it have a damaged door if I remember rightly?
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Mike E (uk)
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Post by Mike E (uk) »

BXs have been in the banger category in the UK for the last 5 years.

In fact, I think they are coming out again- as only the decent examples are left now, and run by enthusiasts.

As for reliable, mine is certainly not that. It is made uo of many different vehicles. There is always something that requires attention.

It is not frugal on fuel either, except on a long run.

But it is great fun, and I see more Ferraris on the road, so does that make it exclusive?
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Post by jeremy »

Sometimes I think I see more Morris Minors which really is a bit sad!
tim leech

Post by tim leech »

There was as urvey on dying cars in practical classics, one of the rarest main stream cars is now the Morris Marina (I had 2), the Mk4 cortina and Mk1 Cavaliers, when was the last time you saw one, and heres a really rarity hows about a Talbot Sunbeam or even rarer a Talbot Tagora? no? me neither, all rotted away years ago and gone forever, maybe a good thing. I remember seeing them in scrappers 15 years ago when I first started driving.
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Bxaholic
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Post by Bxaholic »

Mike E (uk) wrote:
As for reliable, mine is certainly not that. It is made uo of many different vehicles. There is always something that requires attention.

It is not frugal on fuel either, except on a long run.
My current TZD has been superb in the reliability stakes, had it 9 years, on 170k+ now, still on original clutch, engine never touched, i've changed all the spheres on it plus fuel pump and that's it, I doubt if i'll get anything as good as that again.
RED 1993 TZD Turbo EST. 182,661miles
My everyday car for last 9 years, about to be seperated {July 2008}, and then i'll be Bx'less first time in 18 years....
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Post by mnde »

jeremy wrote:Sometimes I think I see more Morris Minors which really is a bit sad!
Yes! On one weekday alone I saw four Moggies, including a "woody" - and the following day I saw two more.

I saw a strange sight yesterday: a 2-tone E reg Talbot Solara towing a Pug 405 estate using a small trailer affair so the Pug's front wheels were off the ground. Hmmm... that clutch must have been taking a pounding...

That doesn't beat the sight I saw at the same roundabout earlier in the year: a Pug 206 coupe towing a Landie Discovery :shock:

Back on topic, I like the BX for its combo of sharp looks, the hydropneumatic ride, comfortable seats, its relative exclusivity, easier to work on than newer cars etc etc.

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Post by fourwheelsteer »

tim leech wrote:Fourwheel steer, i remember seeing your car on the autotrader, is it white and did it have a damaged door if I remember rightly?
That's the one. There is some damage done to both passenger-side doors with the rear door being the worst. I've pushed out the dent so it isn't as bad as it was and fixed the rear door handle (you couldn't open the door from the outside). I can't say the damage bothers me, it seems more authentically French for the car to be a bit crumpled.
I was offered a Xantia today .......1.9td,"M" plate,long test,£200 ..........I told him to stuff it
I'm just about to start a job that means a longer commute, I'd probably have taken it (even if it is a diesel). Be boring if we were all the same. :wink:
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1998 Honda Prelude 2.2VTi

Now BX-less...

On my way to becoming a motoring writer.
My Blog: http://fourwheelsteer.blogspot.com/
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Post by Bxaholic »

tim leech wrote:one of the rarest main stream cars is now the Morris Marina (I had 2), the Mk4 cortina and Mk1 Cavaliers, when was the last time you saw one.
I've got one here {Marina} a 'L reg 1.8 saloon. Bought it in 1976 converted it to a 1.5 diesel, converted it back in 86, put it off the road in 93 and put a 1.8 diesel in it but didn't get around to finish it and is still in a barn.
There is also a 1.3 Marina not to far from here, the guy runs it every day, jeez its slow by today's standards, so would be a 1.8 petrol, even the TC version would feel slow nowerdays against say the TZD i've got now. Although I had the Marina on the road from 76 to 93 and served me well, it wasn't a world beater and will never be a classic imho, but it hasn't kept me keeping a 'as new' Morris Ital van in dry storage! {Y reg}.
RED 1993 TZD Turbo EST. 182,661miles
My everyday car for last 9 years, about to be seperated {July 2008}, and then i'll be Bx'less first time in 18 years....
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Post by cavmad »

tim leech wrote:There was as urvey on dying cars in practical classics, one of the rarest main stream cars is now the Morris Marina (I had 2), the Mk4 cortina and Mk1 Cavaliers, when was the last time you saw one, and heres a really rarity hows about a Talbot Sunbeam or even rarer a Talbot Tagora? no? me neither, all rotted away years ago and gone forever, maybe a good thing. I remember seeing them in scrappers 15 years ago when I first started driving.

That survey also made the newspapers Tim and was mostly complete cr*p! They listed stuff like Mk3 Cavaliers and say they were `very rare and hardly seen now` (or something like that). I don`t think I`ve made a journey anywhere in the last few months without seeing a Mk3 Cav somewhere, as well as others on that list!
Vauxhall apologist.
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Post by Bxaholic »

Seen a few Cav's myself, but not a Cortina for yonks.
RED 1993 TZD Turbo EST. 182,661miles
My everyday car for last 9 years, about to be seperated {July 2008}, and then i'll be Bx'less first time in 18 years....
tim leech

Post by tim leech »

Me neither, I still see beat up old cavaliers about , but Mk2s and certainly Mk1s are rare.
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Post by cavmad »

Mk1 and Mk2 are fairly rare (well, Mk1 is) but there`s plenty of Mk3`s about. In fact I`m probably going to get one soon if I can prise myself away from the Calibra.
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Post by RichardW »

I have now covered equal miles in BX TDs and Xantia TDs - 85k in each. I'd still go back to a BX if I could find a decent one that I could just jump into and do 25k a year without needing to fix it every other weekend, or spend 2 weeks and £££ getting it up to scratch in the first place!

The BX beats the Xantia hands down on driveability & feedback, economy, speed, looks (OK that's subjective!) and seat comfort (for the TZD anyway - I find the lumbar 'support' in the Xantia way too intrusive). The Xantia wins on build quality, noise (it's very quiet on the m-way, and even at 100k there are no rattles at all!), reliability (purely an age related thing!). There are some built in nasties on the Xantia (heater matrix and clutch clip spring to mind), but even the oldest are younger than most BXs.

So given a free reign, I'd take the BX. However, situation usually demands I take the Xantia instead. And with 5 year old HDi 110s only fetching around £2-£3k now it's much more likely.

HAving said that, I'm having trouble finding a decent Xantia at the moment :roll: Let's just hope that 1 owner, garaged, cosseted 50k TZD Estate with A/C turns up in the next few weeks :P Trouble with that would be I would be relegated to the ZX by my wife :twisted:
I NEED a BX TD.
tim leech

Post by tim leech »

And if you find a low mileage mint BX do you want to flog it to death as their a rare item nowadays.
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Post by Mike E (uk) »

There are still stacks of MK3 Cavaliers round here, but they seem to be used for non-commuting type journeys now.
They don't appear in the rush hour.

The Cortinas have all gone, as have the MK2 Cavaliers & Montegos. Very few Sierras left.

Still some Escorts around, XR3s and MK2 Fiestas. Even the odd Capri.
Some original Minis still roll around too.

It amazes me how small these older cars look next to their modern equivalent.

My MK3 Cav looked tiny parked next to a 2004 Mini last week.

Mike
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