Owning a BX with no garage?

[Slammington]

Hi all,

First off, as someone new to this forum it's great to see an active place to discuss this fine motor

Second, I was hoping to ask your thoughts on owning a BX without a garage? The reason for the question is I'm going to be checking out a 1989 TRS next Friday and am hoping to buy it. The car has been well maintained and needs no immediate work, but I am slightly worried about long term maintenance and deterioration while outdoors. I was hoping to be able to do basic tasks outdoors, and take it to a mechanic or citroen specialist for more serious tasks. Is this realistic or am I crazy?

Do any of you keep your BX outside, if so how easy is it to maintain the car in good shape?


Thanks for reading this and hoping to hear from you all!

[Jugostran]

I used to keep mine outside when I drove it every day. It wasn't the best thing for it imo. The plastics and matte black paint faded a bit (especially the plastics). Also, I had to protect the interior as best I could. Still, I would recommend a car cover.

[mat_fenwick]

It's possible, but deterioration is likely to be faster. If it can be kept away from any road salt in winter (i.e. on a driveway) that will help. You can do most mechanical maintenance whatever the weather, just it's a lot less enjoyable!

[Dave_16v]

If it's relatively good condition already, you could protect the paintwork, panels door jams and areas with a good quality wax or seal and topped up regularly with one of the many quality spray on products available these days. Underneath and accessible areas like the inner wings could be treated with Bilthamber UB and Dynax.
Any car used daily is going to get wet but there will be opportunity for air to circulate when driven unlike a car used less often but gets wet and left, that's never good.
It sounds like you want the car and if it's the only vintage item you will own, I wouldn't miss it. Keep an eye on things as part of a maintenance routine alongside that you intend and you should be able to keep on top of things. Hope it goes well for you.

[Slammington]

Big thanks all for the replies! This is massively helpful for a relative newbie like myself (my previous daily was a Corolla of the same year as this BX which also had no garage, but that was, well...a Corolla )

I used to keep mine outside when I drove it every day. It wasn't the best thing for it imo. The plastics and matte black paint faded a bit (especially the plastics). Also, I had to protect the interior as best I could. Still, I would recommend a car cover.

Yup I definitely see that happening...for that reason I'm already looking at "non-perfect" BX's since I would feel horrible letting the shiny paint of a pristine example get all messed up outside. This one is a bit ugly with dull paint and a cracked dashboard but mechanically sound hopefully (knock on wood).
Car cover is definitely in consideration as well! How much of a difference does it make compared to sitting in a garage in your opinion? I would imagine it will offer less protection from ambient temp and humidity, though still helping with sun and rain + environment contamination like dust, pollen, bird poo's etc.

It's possible, but deterioration is likely to be faster. If it can be kept away from any road salt in winter (i.e. on a driveway) that will help. You can do most mechanical maintenance whatever the weather, just it's a lot less enjoyable!

Indeed, good point. Biggest issue with maintenance is really the neighbours complaining that there is an old car torn apart in the parking lot, but hopefully it will never have to sit that way for too long!

If it's relatively good condition already, you could protect the paintwork, panels door jams and areas with a good quality wax or seal and topped up regularly with one of the many quality spray on products available these days. Underneath and accessible areas like the inner wings could be treated with Bilthamber UB and Dynax.
Any car used daily is going to get wet but there will be opportunity for air to circulate when driven unlike a car used less often but gets wet and left, that's never good.
It sounds like you want the car and if it's the only vintage item you will own, I wouldn't miss it. Keep an eye on things as part of a maintenance routine alongside that you intend and you should be able to keep on top of things. Hope it goes well for you.

Will need to check on the current condition once there in person, but thanks for the tip! Also a good thought with moisture and air circulation, maybe will be a nice excuse to take it out for a spin after it rains ehe.
Additionally, sorry for the noob question, but by inner wings what do you mean? The actual inside of the panel where it meets the chassis? Or just the part of the outside of the panel where it meets the front door?

[Dave_16v]

.
Additionally, sorry for the noob question, but by inner wings what do you mean? The actual inside of the panel where it meets the chassis? Or just the part of the outside of the panel where it meets the front door?

Yes the inside part, the outers bolt on.

[Slammington]

.
Additionally, sorry for the noob question, but by inner wings what do you mean? The actual inside of the panel where it meets the chassis? Or just the part of the outside of the panel where it meets the front door?

Yes the inside part, the outers bolt on.

Ahhhh I get you, cheers! Can this by chance be easily checked as a potential buyer who is (in principle) not taking the car apart?

[Dave_16v]

You cannot see it all but you can check inside the engine bay, also have a look under the water bottles for screen wash, bulkhead area if possible, they can look pretty bad under there.

[Slammington]

You cannot see it all but you can check inside the engine bay, also have a look under the water bottles for screen wash, bulkhead area if possible, they can look pretty bad under there.

Sounds good, I will be checking it out tomorrow and will have a look at these points as well. Will report back!

[Slammington]

Forgot to update, sorry!

I ended up buying the car. It's looking quite a bit nicer than it did in the ad, which is great. So far it's just been sitting in a parking place outside, but I'm looking into buying a cover for it.


Thanks all for the advice!

[panky]

Nice

[Dave_16v]

Forgot to update, sorry!

I ended up buying the car. It's looking quite a bit nicer than it did in the ad, which is great. So far it's just been sitting in a parking place outside, but I'm looking into buying a cover for it.

Thanks all for the advice!

That's good. Covers are OK but there are negatives so look for a decent one. The company below tend to offer good products on the whole and I would expect the covers to be higher quality.

Photos don't appear to load for me.

https://raceglaze.co.uk/shop/car-covers ... car-cover/

[Tim Leech]

Ive owned a few cars, including my two BXs for over 10 years, and I often get comments about how good they look. The trick to keeping any old car in good condition is to use is having it kept out of the elements and away from the salty roads. Plastics degrade with sunlight and changing temperatures.

There is the "cars are meant to be driven" arguement, but it will quicken there demise if its left out in all weathers and used as a daily, fact.