RichardK Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 So, I have too many broken cars, and no money. It's the end of December. I've sworn off buying any more cars - 2016 will only involve fixing and using the ones I have. This is not a hardship, as the current fleet stands at:SLK - bought four years ago February... now has new brake pads/discs/fluid/flexis and is a wheelarch liner away from hitting the road again. Insured, tested, taxed.MGF - bought September 2014 but not really mine - I keep trying to disown it. Crumbling as we speak. Nowt.XJS - bought August 2015. Still haven't made a start on it, though am getting ready to. Insured laid-up.Twingo - dropped off here around August 2015. Sort of in limbo whilst I get the head gasket parts together. Laid-up.406 Coupé - bought October 2015. Mystery handling glitch to be investigated, suspect rear droplinks. Insured, tested, taxed.Hearse - bought October 2015. Needs a new battery and ATF leak attending to. Insured, tested, taxed.Beetle - bought December 2015. Pissing PAS fluid, pump bought. Insured, tested, taxed. And... CX 25 GTi Auto. Bought 31st December 2015. Technically. *cough*. MOTd, amazingly. Like, just one more fix, man. It's all Andrew's fault. This is my natural environment. So I went to see a CX. Finally got it sorted out after leaving a deposit on New Year's Eve pretty much. And now it's home. It's taken up residence next to the XJS. This probably gives an indication of how experiencing it in more depth (the "buyer's remorse" stage) has affected my plan of "get it on the road and use it". So far, aside from needing all the spheres doing, the heater module repairing and a bit of a clean, this is the worst bit. The doors, d-pillars and rear arches are good, as is the underside where I've been able to check though I await hidden horrors with a sense of inevitability. First jobs - replaces spheres and sort a fairly impressive LHM leak, suspect return pipes. If it doesn't hit the road soon I am not worried. It's an essentially sound, solid car with 72,000 miles on the clock and the engine & gearbox are good, the obvious structural elements pleasingly solid. Patience is key, I think. No rushing. Might get into investigating the non-functional cooling fans though as it nearly overheated in the garage. HMC, Alexg, pompei and 23 others 26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghosty Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtriple Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Rather like that, but the storage! I want..... BIG TIME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 It somehow suits you more than all the other chod combined. andrew e 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardK Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 There are two cars that I've been "associated" with (rather than just owning) in groups of people. Oddly, though the SLK is something I know well and am very passionate about, I'm just another SLK owner. But in the Borders, I was known for CXs - to the extent that any abandoned CX, the Police would phone to ask if it was mine, people used to stop me in the shops if they knew a friend who had one (or more often, if I'd seen a CX somewhere that was usually one of mine anyway!). The other one was the Toyota Sera - and yes, I've regretted my choice of taking on the Beetle as a daily instead of seeking out a cheap auto Sera. Oh well. This CX is reminding me a bit of why I got out of CXs, a little bit. But I'm older, wiser and have better storage. And CXs are worth more now. I reckon it's on par with Andrew's gold one, except Andrew's car has more obvious "ARGH" bits on top, whereas I think mine is hiding the misery. Put it this way - if I have to cut down on cars, it'll be Beetle first, then 406, then Jaguar. The CX comes ahead of the XJS as "long term project" determination. But I reckon the XJS is worth putting the effort in, because I suspect once I've driven it I'll enjoy it for a month or three, then tick that box, sell it, and put the money into the CX or other things.Of course what I'd prefer would be to not have to part with any of them DVee8 and outlaw118 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplebargeken Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 I want your storage unit, and the yellow Beetle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbaldy Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 I also like the cx and if you've always had them then was it Ednam you lived ? Im sure i remember one sitting in the car park. RichardK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardK Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 I also like the cx and if you've always had them then was it Ednam you lived ? Im sure i remember one sitting in the car park. Yes! And in the car park, variously my GTI Turbo 2, 2400 Pallas (that also spent a while sitting outside the old hotel in Greenlaw), and 25 TRi Safari that used to be a fixture in Pathhead. outlaw118 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbaldy Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Ah now that makes sense as even back then they weren't exactly a common sight. Now I'm thinking I may of bought an old car of yours a red Honda aerodeck. RichardK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outlaw118 Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 I've always wanted a CX, since Mutha&fatha_Outlaw bought a GS in 1977, i sat in one at the tender age of 7 3/4 and decided that it was a spaceship, and I had to have one. Since lack of dosh, available storage, and suitably large testicles, it's still a dream. myglaren 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
320touring Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Every man should have a cx nestling nearby. A bastion of good taste and comfort in these torrid times! enjoy:) RichardK, Six-cylinder and DSdriver 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardK Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Ah now that makes sense as even back then they weren't exactly a common sight.Now I'm thinking I may of bought an old car of yours a red Honda aerodeck. That's extremely likely - I had a faded rusty one for a while, around the same time as a Scirocco and the white Volvo 480. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSdriver Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 The twin cooling fans cutting in on the CX are ace for scaring the shit out of pedestrians that you let across the road in front of you. RichardK and myglaren 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Spares & Tyres Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Wish I'd kept my CX RichardK and DSdriver 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardK Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 The twin cooling fans cutting in on the CX are ace for scaring the shit out of pedestrians that you let across the road in front of you. That's why CX S2s with aircon are the best (This one doesn't have it, my Turbo 2 did). DSdriver 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six-cylinder Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 So, I have too many broken cars, and no money. It's the end of December. I've sworn off buying any more cars - 2016 will only involve fixing and using the ones I have. This is not a hardship, as the current fleet stands at: SLK - bought four years ago February... now has new brake pads/discs/fluid/flexis and is a wheelarch liner away from hitting the road again. Insured, tested, taxed. MGF - bought September 2014 but not really mine - I keep trying to disown it. Crumbling as we speak. Nowt. XJS - bought August 2015. Still haven't made a start on it, though am getting ready to. Insured laid-up. Twingo - dropped off here around August 2015. Sort of in limbo whilst I get the head gasket parts together. Laid-up. 406 Coupé - bought October 2015. Mystery handling glitch to be investigated, suspect rear droplinks. Insured, tested, taxed. Hearse - bought October 2015. Needs a new battery and ATF leak attending to. Insured, tested, taxed. Beetle - bought December 2015. Pissing PAS fluid, pump bought. Insured, tested, taxed. And... CX 25 GTi Auto. Bought 31st December 2015. Technically. *cough*. MOTd, amazingly. I do like these fleet updates, makes me feel I am not alone in trying to keep several cars running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruffgeezer Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I like that a lot, I do enjoy seeing you guys buying festering hulks on a whim! We've a load of Cx Gti brochures from 1985 here, one for it specifically and one for the 1985 Citroen performance range. The boss wants a fiver a pop, I'll upload pictures later... RichardK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaseracer Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 We've a load of Cx Gti brochures from 1985 here, one for it specifically and one for the 1985 Citroen performance range. The boss wants a fiver a pop, I'll upload pictures later... Put me down for one please, Tim - Paypal OK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 The twin cooling fans cutting in on the CX are ace for scaring the shit out of pedestrians that you let across the road in front of you.My GTI Turbo had those - with a button on the roof which made one of them spin even faster. Sounded like a jet engine spooling up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardK Posted February 15, 2016 Author Share Posted February 15, 2016 For someone who often claims to hate French cars (from experience, not ideology), I seem to be picking the right ones... So the CX doesn't even want to rise in the morning. I appreciate it's getting on a bit, but it's 30, should be in the prime of its life! A little incontinence has been noted. By which I mean a pool of the green stuff. Cursory glance suggests at least one place needing attention may be the DIRAVI regulator doohickey, or pipes thereabouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bstardchild Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Funny really - I look back on my life and am rather disappointed that at the point of purchase of a CX I lost my nerve and bought a six banger Vauxhall instead...... Obviously I've been very happy with my Vauxhall/Opel experience but that CX is sort of like a missed opportunity.......... I'll never know how it would have turned out...... Obs Bloody disastrous as it was a once fastidiously maintained pride and joy for the elder brother but lapsed into a drive it till it broke and then fix it as cheap as poss for the brother that borrowed it while the other was away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddeliveryboy Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 I'm always left wondering when reading 'pools of LHM' stories where I went wrong. I must have covered well over 100,000 miles in shonky old CXs back in the 90s (usually with over 200k on the clock) and never had a single hydraulic failure. At first I believed everything I'd ever read about old big Cits by sceptical motoring journalists, then after the first year or so began to wonder what the fuss was about. Wouldn't fancy my chances with a hydractive XM or Xantia in its senior years, though - electrovalves, ECUs, sensors and so much hidden pipework. Still, probably more reliable than an old W124. Lacquer Peel and chaseracer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six-cylinder Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 I'm always left wondering when reading 'pools of LHM' stories where I went wrong. I must have covered well over 100,000 miles in shonky old CXs back in the 90s (usually with over 200k on the clock) and never had a single hydraulic failure. At first I believed everything I'd ever read about old big Cits by sceptical motoring journalists, then after the first year or so began to wonder what the fuss was about. Wouldn't fancy my chances with a hydractive XM or Xantia in its senior years, though - electrovalves, ECUs, sensors and so much hidden pipework. Still, probably more reliable than an old W124. Out Xantia started peeing LHM on Saturday all over the drive, I haven't had time to look at it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardK Posted February 15, 2016 Author Share Posted February 15, 2016 I'm always left wondering when reading 'pools of LHM' stories where I went wrong. I must have covered well over 100,000 miles in shonky old CXs back in the 90s (usually with over 200k on the clock) and never had a single hydraulic failure. At first I believed everything I'd ever read about old big Cits by sceptical motoring journalists, then after the first year or so began to wonder what the fuss was about. Wouldn't fancy my chances with a hydractive XM or Xantia in its senior years, though - electrovalves, ECUs, sensors and so much hidden pipework. Still, probably more reliable than an old W124. I've had very, very few "pool of LHM" situations, my first CXs were impeccable, my first XM only did it when the 'specialist' forgot to fit the seal on the rear centre sphere, causing someone I loaned the car to (they were thinking of buying it) to have a brown-trouser moment at 90mph - strangely they went off XMs after that. Subsequent have been cars acquired with said issues, like an XM that had a knackered brake valve and so forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Spares & Tyres Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Aged around 20 I had my first Citroen. Put it on high setting and filled the reservoir right up. This was 17 years ago so I forget if the level indicated was broken or if I was just ignorant of the procedure but anyway, with the bonnet still up and the suspension set to low it made a large green fountain☺ That took some cleaning up.... forddeliveryboy and RichardK 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardK Posted May 13, 2016 Author Share Posted May 13, 2016 Life is now very, very different to when I got this, and I don't have time to deal with it. So, up for sale - it starts and is MoTd, but it needs spheres and a suspension leak fixing - the leak appears to be coming from the DIRAVI speed regulator, but because I've been so busy I don't have time to investigate. I'm losing money on it, but just need what I can and need the mental space of not having so many cars. (Life is good. Just very different). Getting it moved is not a panic, but I need it to be sold, paid for - you can fix it here or collect it when you've time. skattrd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Didn't I see Mr Adams going on about how he needed a CX in his life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspector Morose Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Yes, a certain golden, lightly careworn one if he had his way. RichardK and chaseracer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardK Posted May 13, 2016 Author Share Posted May 13, 2016 Didn't I see Mr Adams going on about how he needed a CX in his life? Yep, and it's been offered - I think he'd prefer something that is ready to go right away, though Unfortunately I've been let down by another publishing firm (not Bauer, I must emphasise) and need to sell this ASAFP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Nice to see Mr K posting. Sad to see the fleet is diminishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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