In search of new shite - EDIT: BX Bought

[garethj]

The 205 Diesel is promised to its new owner, or actually his wife, the lucky creature. I'd better pull my finger out and get something else, but what?

 

I do 75 miles a day to work and need to carry 3 kids for short journeys with me. If Mrs_garethj comes along we'll take her car to get all 5 of us in. I don't want something too dull, no matter how worthy a Primera is, I just can't.

 

Currently on my watch list are:

 

Dollywobbler's silver BX. It's probably got the best fuel economy except another 205 diesel but has usefully more power. However I am scared of the hydraulic system.

 

A taxi. There's only one on ebay with a manual gearbox which gives allegedly 20% better fuel economy. But it's green and I'd like a black one, and it's top money at £1200, I'd really prefer spending £900 or less. I've been keeping a watch on ebay and gumtree for one but manual cabs are much more unusual.

 

Porsche 924, the 2 litre and preferably in white. None around at the moment but here's what I'm after

 

Fiat Coupe, don't know if 2 kids in the back is realistic? They don't need booster seats. It might be a bit too new, so bills could be big if an engine management or ABS light comes on.

 

Discovery. I like the 2 door versions and this one's a manual with 200Tdi and proper Sherpa switchgear inside.

 

What else am I missing? Any of the above a brilliant or suicidal choice? I'll need something in the next couple of weeks

[Guest]

Fiat Coupe 20V turbo is a stunning drive, but a tad thirsty, and heavy on tyres. The back seats are fine for kids, and the boot is quite commodious, as coupes go.

[warren t claim]

What you really need is a BMW E60 V8, in estate flavour.

[Guest]

PS My wife isn't that lucky. She's married to me.

[KruJoe]

You gotta try a hydropneumatic [sp?] Shitroen at some time in your life. The DW BX makes by far the most sense of the above for your needs, and unless you have massively long legs and short arms, you'll find it mega-comfy for those miles you're doing. You'll not regret it. FFS I ran a 1.4 pez BX as a daily and works van for two years and loved it, never missed a beat.

And I can personally vouch for the fact that Mr.D.Wobler esq. is a top geezer, and wouldn't fob you off with a lemon. If it's too scruffy, spend some of the change on spraying the plastic bits, and you're onto a winner.

[trigger]

I'm looking at punting on my 1994 M reg VW Golf 1.8 Cabriolet shortly, 78000 miles, full electrics, mot till Jan 14 & tax June 13. I'm after £850.

 

BX will be more economical though.

[skattrd]

I'd go for DW's bx if I was you.

I had the ex-RobT, now catsinthewelder bx estate for a bit last year, and it was my first car with magic suspension and thought it was ace. It was just lacking in a bit of oomf, which the turbo dizzler should have.

My thoughts are, if you don't like it, you should have little trouble punting it on.

[Lacquer Peel]

Citroën hydraulics aren't scary, there's more safety built into them than a conventional hydraulic braking system.

 

Also, Pleaides is your friend. Next day delivery if you need to replace a leaky pipe pronto...

[tonedepear]

You don't fancy a dark red G26 do you GJ?

[garethj]

You don't fancy a dark red G26 do you GJ?

ROFL, I loved mine deeply but nobody would call it reliable enough for 400 miles a week.

 

I'm looking at punting on my 1994 M reg VW Golf 1.8 Cabriolet shortly, 78000 miles, full electrics, mot till Jan 14 & tax June 13. I'm after £850.

That doesn't really float my boat, but the money sounds good.

 

What you really need is a BMW E60 V8, in estate flavour.

ROFL, although even more than the Ginetta

 

I'd go for DW's bx if I was you.

I think that's the sensible answer

[blackbart]

i know of a friend who has a taxi, he has never got round to running around in it, so it may be cheap. i could ask him if you wanted mate?

[garethj]

Does the taxi have a manual gearbox? If it does, I could be interested - ta

[blackbart]

i will phone him up and ask him mate? and post back asap? ok

[garethj]

cool, thanks!

[blackbart]

iv'e tried him ,but no answer, as soon as i know i will let you know. ok mate.

[dollywobbler]

Seems a bit wrong for me to give my opinion, but I'm amused at how similar your 'wish' list is to mine! I really must own both a Fiat Coupe and a pre-facelift Disco 1 at some point (in that colour preferably).

 

Oh sod it. Salesman mode. If you can cope with conventional braking systems, the BX is nothing to fear. The club support (I use BX Club but there is also BX Project) is first rate. No-one goes into BX ownership fully understanding how they work - it's by owning them and getting used to them that you realise that it's all incredibly simple. Changing a suspension sphere is no harder than changing an oil filter - much, much easier than changing a coil spring or even just a shock absorber.

[Guest]

I owned a 1997 Fiat Couoe Turbo, in sprint blue with black levva. I bought it new.

 

Mistakes I made

 

1. I should have ordered tan leather, much more Italian and bella figura.

 

2. I had the already low car lowered and stiffened a bit by the dealer. This made the ride too harsh.

 

3. I had an aftermarket sunroom installed. Pointless.

 

4. MAIN MISTAKE: I sold the car in 2002. I should have kept that car, 4 EVA.

 

Reliability - 10000 %. Nothing, I repeat nothing, went wrong with the car in five years of hard driving, including trips to Italy and the Alps, in summer and in winter. The front tyres last approximately ten minutes each, but WGAF?

 

The car has since been chavved by some twat. Oh well. Fare thee well, P58 GWL.

[hairnet]

taxi - just no - buy a camry estate

 

bx - had a 93 xantia for 11 years and only thing wrong apart from sphere changes and servicing was an engine bay pipe which was 11 quid from citroen and fitting

 

its still going

[Rocket88]

Senor Wobbler's BX is the sensible Autoshite choice. They're not the minefield of escaping green fluids that the uniniated claim. They were years ahead of their time, and with a few styling tweaks would still look modern now. Engines / gearboxes are all reliable, you just have to remember they were designed and built by French people, and make allowances. [other racial stereotypes available]

[garethj]

I think the sensible* consensus has been reached, off to Dollywobbler's PM box I go.

 

Thanks, chaps. This won't be the last thread on BX issues

[Mr_Bo11ox]

WHY DONT YOU GET A WHITE 405 WITH 20P IN THE HANDBRAKE LOLOLOL etc

[Justin Case]

1. I should have ordered tan leather, much more Italian and bella figura.

 

Seeing the term 'bella figura' on Autoshite gives the same sense of shock as seeing net curtains on a dustcart

[blackbart]

hi gareth, i have spoke to him and its a black cab and p reg and it is motd till september. its a 2.7 diesel. its an auto, but according to my mate on this model the auto is better. he has had loads of taxis over the years and knows them inside out. he is looking for around £700 for it..let me know what you think. if you need his number i can pm it you.

[Guest]

 

Seeing the term 'bella figura' on Autoshite gives the same sense of shock as seeing net curtains on a dustcart

 

HTH!

[garethj]

Deposit paid.

 

Mr B_Van, we may need to bring the 205 collection date forward by a week or two

[Guest]

Works for me. Have your people call my people.

[Guest]

PS: Vive le tat de merde de la belle France, innit.

[garethj]

I was going to collect this over a week ago, but in the best British tradition, the weather was against me. My jet-set lifestyle meant that I couldn't get to Dollywobbler's place until yesterday. Here's the plan - drive 10 miles to Milton Keynes station, train to Birmingham, train to Aberystwyth, picked up by Ian at the station, one or both of us 'olds out yer 'and then a simple drive back 200 miles to home.

 

This is a bit short of photos, so have this one of her car

 

Plans are wank, I think we all know that, but of all the places a plan like this could go wrong my biggest problem was thanks to public transport.

 

I had a very pleasant drive to MK station in Mrs_garethj's Jaguar S Type, we'd just come back from France the previous evening but it's a lovely car to drive. The factory fitted satnav took me to the station but unfortunately there's almost no parking at MK railway station, I confirmed this after a couple of laps so in desperation parked in the bus station carpark instead. I carried enough cash to buy a Citroen BX but nowhere near enough for a day's parking so had to do the phone up thing, with time ticking on.

 

And on..., payment was made over the phone so I sprinted through the carpark, vaulted the fence which helpfully stops people from the bus station getting to the train station, then sprinted to the ticket booth. Bought my ticket, had a quick look at the announcement board, sprinted to the platform and did one of those dives like Indiana Jones escaping the 20ft rock onto the train, the doors closing just behind me.

 

By the time we reached Coventry my breathing had settled down to normal but the train was a bit late pulling in so I couldn't hang about. Up to the main concourse to visit the cashpoint and get a sandwhich, but because the bloke in front of me wanted a toasted pannini, a double decaff skinny flavoured wassname, I had to ditch the sandwhich and sprint back to the train.

 

This was one of those trains where the front half goes to one destination, the rear half to another. However here's a handy note for train operators - if you don't see the train coming in and there's no markings on the carriages, how the fuckety hell are you supposed to know which end is the front? There aren't enough rolleyes smilies in the world for train companies

 

The journey was quiet and for a long time looked like this, Wales in the sunshine. There's lovely, isn't it?

 

We made good time and arrived at Aberystwyth a few minutes early, as I stepped out of the station I saw the silver BX zoom into view - proof that it goes which is good enough for me.

 

A very scenic drive back to Ian's house where his wife greeted me pleasantly and his cat with casual indifference. We both struggled to remember the purchase price, I counted out some money, the cat looked at me like something the cat had dragged in and I drove off. Stabbing panic had now subsided to the constant nagging fear that goes with old car collection.

 

Any new car feels different and things like the brake pedal being close to the accelerator, the steering feel and the seat not being adjusted right all play on your mind as you first drive it. I knew that these hydro thingy brakes were sensitive so I was very pleased that I was braking in a smooth and calm manner. "You'll stand the car on its nose" said the pub experts, but it was going beautifully as I caressed the brake pedal as sensitively as *insert crude simile here*. Then a Land Rover came around the bend on the wrong side of the road, I stamped on the brakes and stood the car on its nose.

 

Time to stop for a minute, get the seat right and take a picture. It's not a bad old thing, despite the paintwork, errr textures.

 

"It's got enough fuel for about a hundred miles" said Ian as I left, and a good thing too as the first garage was a loooong way. But on the twisting A44 I settled into the car a bit and found it very pleasant to drive. The steering isn't as sharp as the 205 but the power delivery is great, it's got a nice wave of power from 2000 revs and it feels very relaxed to drive.

 

The drive back was completely uneventful, the satnav got me home in just under 4 hours which isn't bad for 200 miles part of which was rush hour traffic. Once I got home we went back to Milton Keynes to pick up the Jaguar, I played with the suspension and seemed to get it stuck high or low until I switched the engine off and let it settle and the radio has about 200 buttons, all of which can switch it on but only one can switch it off.

 

The journey to work this morning was fine, it coughed a bit starting from cold but was ok after a few seconds at idle and I can now overtake by accelerating from 60mph whereas the 205 would need to carry its 75mph everywhere and pass cars with momentum. I'll run it around for a while and see if anything drops off, then try and see what (if anything) needs fixing. Thanks, Ian!

[HillmanImp]

Am I the only person on here who does not own a BX now? It was Volvo's last year, DAFs 2 years ago both of which I got sucked up in.

 

Not sure if I want a BX but am starting to feel its inevitable.

 

I cant see the photo properly but am sure it nice. Good luck with it.

[vulgalour]

If DW buys another BX I reckon there'll be one going spare soon that you can scoop up. You can buy with confidence from DW Autos.