During the mid '90s I clocked up almost 100,000 miles in a '86 19RD, and eventually replaced it with a 16TRS auto. The latter was a short-lived affair since, being a bit of a skin-flint, it drank way too much for my liking.
Almost ten years later I've got another one - diesel, that is. It's a genuine one-owner, full dealer-stamped service history with 107k on the clock, and I found it on ebay. First registered on 31/3/88 the car has spent its life in Horsham, Sussex, and is in pretty good shape for its age.
The original owner, a lady with a very French surname, appears to have been one of those people who get their car serviced regularly even if they've done virtually no miles since the last one (eg, full service @ 105,382 miles Sep '06 followed by half service at 105,903 miles in April '07). Consequently just about everything works on the car and it drives really well, though there are a few niggles...
As you can see in the pic, the rear end drops right down within about an hour of parking, though the front remains high for a good long time (front spheres replaced two years ago). It 'clicks' about every 7-8 seconds too.
Also, the clutch feels stiffer than I remember, and there's a slight 'stutter' in 1st and 2nd gears when pulling at low revs (a drop of Redex and 300 miles seems to have semi-cured it). The clock mechanism is knackered, there's a ding in the front nearside wing, and a few scratches along the same side. The mouldings that hold the rear shelf in place have broken off too.
But it's great to be driving a BX once again.
