Looking at a 16RS

[Thingwall]

I'm going to look at a BX that is for sale locally.

How are the remaining cars bearing up, i.e. does the suspension give a lot of problems and can cam belts be changed easily or at reasonable cost at a garage?

I've had a ZX and a more recent Picasso but these were more 'conventional'.

The car I'm going to see has just under 100k on it.

Thanks

[Tim Leech]

Hello and welcome

As its 30 years old now, most if not all of the pipework etc should have been replaced.

Watch for rust in inner wings, boot floors and rear sub-frame mounts, which is what kills BX's these days

If they have lasted this long they have probably been well maintained but can look tidy body wise and be rusty underneath

PLENTY of info around and what to look for

[rutter123]

Buy it, only a handful of 16rs's if it's a mk1 remain, had one years ago an estate, great car
As Tim says rust is the enemy, get a solid shell and half the battle is won, hydraulic pipes can be replaced fairly easily, parts availability is pretty good for the mechanical side of things, if you get a chance look at the rear axle mounting area for rust from under the back seat as this is the area you want it least, a tell tale sign is rust at base of c-pillars and rusty inner and outer sills, probably accounts for many a bx's demise.

[vulgalour]

As above, the suspension isn't much of a worry these days, it's rust that's the killer. If you can DIY the rust repair most of the bad areas can be sorted fairly easily, a lot of the shapes are very simple. The one I've got had rot in the usual places.

Boot floor.




Front inner wings.






Front tow hook


Outer sill door step seam, front door.


It's already had the rear end of the sills repaired by a previous owner, and some of the windscreen surround which are also common rot spots. The tricky areas to see is the bulkhead seam that's hidden with the sound deadening panel in the engine bay, and the front inner wing strengthener section that runs down from the A-pillar but if the car is good elsewhere these areas should be in good shape too.