1988 BX 14 Preview ..:MOT August 2011:.. Taxed end Feb 2011

gio3330 · Post by **gio3330** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 7:14 pm

HI all!
I have here for sale my dad's white BX. It is in lovely clean condition, with a long MOT to next August and tax to Feb - ready to drive away!
It's only covered 90k miles, and has four new tyres. It has a full service history (inc. cambelt) as well as new pump, spheres and exhaust! Hydraulically tip top

Interior wise it is perfect (this model has the GTi interior), with the only niggles being a burnt dashboard lightbulb (affecting only the clock) and a squeaky heating fan, which I will try and sort out before sold.
Exterior-wise, there are some rust bubbles on the rear side panel, but otherwise it is in very good condition. Sills are very solid, as is the rest of the car.
As my dad has emigrated today (and my growing Citroen collection leaves me with no more room at the inn!), it has sadly got to go.
I will try and post pictures, but if you message me your email address, I will send you a whole bunch of them.
The asking price is a mere £700, but I will consider sensible (and serious) offers. Viewing is highly recommended, and I will take you out for a spin

PS: The car is in Colchester, Essex. Also, for the asking price, I will thrown in a whole set of tyres which are used but very very good, as well as a colour coded original spoiler.

richardd1652 · Post by **richardd1652** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 7:42 pm

How long had your Dad owned the car?
Richard.

richardd1652 · Post by **richardd1652** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 7:48 pm

http://www.bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13116
Could this be the same car?
Richard.

gio3330 · Post by **gio3330** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 8:11 pm

Hi,
It is indeed the same car - my dad bought it as a stop-gap before his move to South America.
The so-called "gasket problem" turned out to be faulty spark plug! He had the car serviced after purchase, and the new set of plugs sorted everything out (a test of the old plugs found one with a cracked core).
The car runs great - we drove it from Colchester to Heathrow to drop him off and it did not miss a beat! A very comfortable little cruiser.
IM me your email address and I'll email you large photos.

richardd1652 · Post by **richardd1652** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 8:58 pm

http://www.bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12867
Call me a cynic but how does changing the plugs cure the issues already listed about this car?
Ive never heard of a smoker which was coarsing the previous owner such concern being so easyily fixed and to say he had been in the car industry dealing with clunkers for many years?

gio3330 · Post by **gio3330** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:32 pm

The chap was actually a genuinely nice guy. He may have had some other work done, but there was/is no smoke whilst on my Dad's tenure.

The lumpiness/roughness was there as described, and we assumed timing or a sticky valve. We took a chance and bought it - got home absolutely fine and, following a little investigating, found we could unplug one sparkplug and the idle did not change/improve.

A full service later, the car has been a lovely daily runner! No smoke or leaks; I would highly recommend coming to view it if you're interested - absolutely nothing to hide.

I wish I had the space to keep it myself, but my wife would divorce me and I'd be forced to live in the BX!

Post by **Defender110** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:49 pm

I don't doubt your word, if it's fixed it's fixed but unfortunately the car hasn't suddenly jumped up in value because it's had a service and 2 more owners since it sold for £265.00. I'm sorry my friend your going to own it a long long time if you want a whopping £700 for this one, it's not a low mileage TZD.

Post by **Tim Leech** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:51 pm

£700? er no, i dont blame you for trying to make a few quid but no 14 will fetch that kind of money

If you get back what you've laid out and a drink on top then you will do well.

From memory Previews never came with spoilers either chap.

richardd1652 · Post by **richardd1652** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:56 pm

Dont take my comments as directed at you or your father Gio as that isnt my intention as im sure you bought and also sell in good faith.The previous vendor was not "honest John" and should of made it clear on Ebay (which i imagine is where your father bought it)? that he had been advised by far more qualified Bx experts than me on this forum and had also done a compression check himself and found it to be down on 3 &4 (if i remember correctly) but instead chose just to say "running a bit lumpy".
I did and still do think its a very nice thing and has great potential and had agreed to buy it with the full knowledge of its problems from the previous vendor at a very similar price to what it sold for on Ebay to your Father I presume, however he managed to squeeze a few quid more out of her by (in my opinion) being dishonest and not telling the full truth about possible problems he knew about.
I wish you well with the sale and hope it finds a good home as it is now a rare model,
Richard.

gio3330 · Post by **gio3330** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 10:17 pm

No worries, I don't take offence - it's not my first BX, nor am I a Citroen newbie

Compression tests came back all clear at the time of service (our mechanic had suggested headgasket/compression issues but ruled them out after inspecting/testing). In all honesty, the car runs tip-top.

As for the asking price, I guess since no-one else wanted to take a chance at buying something with an undefined problem from eBay, I feel is pretty fair (and I am open to offers!). No it's not a diesel, but it is a cheap to run, tax and insure 1.4 petrol (which incidently, also makes it cheaper to maintain and repair). My grandad used to say about diesels: they eat like a little ant, but crap like a huge elephant. ie. when they go wrong, they go hideously wrong

Anyway, thanks for the comments guys. I still feel it's a nice car, and will be advertising her locally in the next few days. Thought I'd try this forum first to try give her a good home with a fellow enthusiast.

PS: The spoiler is not attached to the car, it's one I've had in the garage for some time (and it's white!).

Post by **Tim Leech** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 10:32 pm

Get a few nice pics of her after a good clean and a polish, try e'bay and car and classic and you may get lucky.

richardd1652 · Post by **richardd1652** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 11:15 pm

You either love or hate Ebay.Personally i think its a good way of finding out what something is genuinely worth to the masses.Good pictures are the key though and as many as you can(i think 12 piccies are aloud for car sales) so you can show all the way round,under bonnet .interior etc.
Seriousely hope that a little 14 can pull this kind of money but just because its a rare model these days doesnt automatically mean more valuable.£700 will buy a "nice" DTurbo or GTI or even a useable 16v.
Its a nice thing but i,d say more like £300-£400 tops but you never know.
Good luck,Richard.