How mental am I?

[pandamonium]

With the impending sale of the Triumph, I am seriously considering purchasing a Citroen CX. Is that a silly thing to do? I've always wanted one. What do I look out for?

[MarvinsMom]

i imagine rust, just about everywhere, and then there is the suspension-hlm set up.

 

as for been mental, well yes quiet possibly so. but don't cx's look fab,,, just like they have driven off of the set of UFO or something.

[chaseracer]

Check between the number plates for rust.  Otherwise, enjoy

[Jim Bell]

[purplebargeken]

Rust, rust, possibly rust. The existence of rust and a lot of rust. So, in a nutshell. Rust. 

[DS20]

Rust rust and more of it.  Do Citrobatics with it on the test-drive / look over, and see if it goes up and down as it ought, and doesn't leak any magic fluid.  The chief challenge of living with a DS (yes, it's a different car entirely, but some of the systems and mechanics are the same) has been rust, and keeping rainwater out.  The engines are strong, gearboxes ain't bad, and mine has been Swiss-watch-reliable (not what I'd expected).  

 

I'd imagine some replacement trim / panel / bodywork parts could be tricky or expensive to get hold of.  Try to find one that's lived in southern France, perhaps, away from icy winters and road salt?  I'd live with left-hand-drive if it meant no effin' rust  

[panhard65]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this but I would check it very carefully for rust !. They rot everywhere and making up new inner and outer sills isn't an easy job. Ask me how I know that. The white one on the tat thread doesn't look too bad and has an mot so at least you would get a few weeks driving it before it fell to bits.

[hairnet]

its french but its not a diesel and not auto

 

WCPGW?

 

apart from tin worm and that the hyd isnt leaking badly do it

[dollywobbler]

Rust and electrical gremlins.

[trigger]

What's happening to the Acclaim then?. Did you see the £550 CX on car&classic?.

[wuvvum]

I'm sure Junkman will be along shortly to extol the virtues of the CX. 

 

I've had seven and I love 'em.  They do like to rust though.

 

 

Edit:  Oh FFS Trigger.  You know I'm trying to cut down.  I'm actually sitting here hoping that will have sold by the weekend, else I might not be able to resist.

[stripped fred]

I love those Citroens with their leftfield approach to engineering. I would definitely consider one from Southern France as it would have less... rust, be cooler being left-hand drive and you could have a mini adventure picking it up which you could write about on here so we can all enjoy the experience!

[RayMK]

In 1993/4 I owned a 1987 CX GTi Turbo 2.  It was a hugely lovely, rapid, comfortable cruiser which could so easily have had my licence removed. 120mph was effortless and felt like 60.  It successfully drained my wallet with its 25mpg and ate a pair of driveshafts in the 10 months that I dared to keep it - fortunately, I had taken out a warranty which covered their replacement.  Rust was not a problem on a 6 yearold CX.  A slipping clutch at full throttle and a crazy quote for its replacement (17.5hours plus parts!!!!) caused me to sell it.  Definitely a mental purchase, but one to be proud of.  It's up there with base jumping for bragging rights

[wuvvum]

I had a C-plate Turbo 1.  Slightly less powerful than the Turbo 2, but still plenty quick enough on the motorway to show most things a clean pair of heels.  Loved it.

[eddyramrod]

I know of one CX in Cyprus.  It hasn't moved in years.  Cyprus is a hot country, but still the CX is more rust than metal.

 

 

So be sure to check for rust!

[forddeliveryboy]

Most of the pub-talk surrounding the complexity of these cars is a myth, spread by those who have little or no experience of these old beasts. They're mechanically and structurally very strong, relatively simple and generally more straightforwards to work on than something like a Vectra or other large modern crap. I've driven these cars extensively in the past and at high mileage they've proved as/more reliable and more deeply satisfying than my 1990 3 litre Mercedes.

 

Lots of English and Welsh roads are a little clogged or small for a CX's dynamic abilities to really shine through, but watching a £60k Mercedes/BMW/Range Rover and its precious contents bounce up and down over motorway undulations at 90mph is always amusing, particularly so if you're in the outside lane a few miles south of Bristol and barely moving, vertically. You hardly feel to be moving in any direction even at 90+ in a good CX, they ride a little like a large aircraft and quite unlike an XM at high speed with its jiggles and anti-roll bar roll-rock. A cousin once made Scotch Corner in 4½ hours at the wheel of a CX, and said he'd have continued on to Inverness without any worry. He'd set off from Penzance (at 4pm) a complete Citroën-sceptic and protested he'd felt he was going quite steadily, although "the bloke in the M5 couldn't keep up through the curves on the A30 and kept blasting past on every straight".

 

Clutches on the Douvrin-engined models take a morning to do, it's the Citroën-engined models which usually need engine and box removal. I've known clutches last a quarter of a million miles, though. The bigger engines last twice that with regular servicing and have no cambelt (except for the turbo-dizzler, which is a simple and easy job), n/a diesels have gear driven camshafts.

 

Hydraulics are simple and very long lasting (as long or longer than the engines) if not serviced by mechanics who haven't a clue. 300,000 miles is usually reached with no more than replacement of a few corroded pipes. They're all straightforwards to replace, easier than many brake pipes on modern stuff.

 

Structurally the cars combine the best of monocoque and separate chassis construction - massive subframes are linked by lightweight 'longerons', to which the body is bolted. (They'd introduced monocoque cars in the early 30s and learnt that to make one properly strong the weight would be huge - hence this expensive coach-style structure). It may make sound engineering sense but the uninitiated do get frightened off by this complexity. In practice, it's usually rear sills and front floors which have been replaced, with the odd patch on a rear subframe in an uncritical place. Most of the badly built or cheaply made cars have long-since vanished. Longeron condition is rarely bad, but ones with several patches might be best avoided.

 

 

The Series 2 cars were designed to cost a lot less and are made from poorer-quality materials throughout which isn't good for corrosion, especially on the bigger and more powerful (much heavier) engined cars. Electrics were replaced with mid-80s Peugeot stuff - it's cheap, nasty and gives bother. The gorgeous dash of the S1 is replaced with something which isn't half as nice, the bumpers are cack-handed plaggy affairs which spoil the sharp lines. Turbo-diesel blocks were cast in India and many were porous, problems which were sorted long ago.

 

A total lack of electronics on most models is a good thing, but a bunch of relays was sited behind the LHS headlamp on all models and salt spray can knacker the connectors if they're dry. Where electronics are used, they're Bosch and I've never known of problems other than infrequent failure of timing sensors in the bellhousing, easily and quickly replaced.

 

The steering is still used by PSA rally cars - fly-by-hydraulics with no mechanical connection unless there's no hydraulic pressure. Unlike any other steering system, steering forces acting on the roadwheels have no affect at all at the steering wheel. A CX should track totally straight with your hands off for mile after mile on a camber-free road. It takes some acclimatisation, but once experienced, nothing else ever comes close.

 

Check rear tyres for tread wear - some late cars came out of the factory with rear arms well out of geometry, like late 2cvs. This ruins handling and promotes bearing wear but worst of all rot. The rear arm bearings are long lived, much more so than PSA stuff and without the eventual /-\, wear is usually recognised by the back end not moving up and down as fluidly. When the time comes, they're easier to do than on a Peugeot.

 

The problem is a lack of supply of good cars in Britain (I'd go to France) - but get a good'un and if you enjoy driving (especially if you travel rapidly over an assortment of roads), chances are you'll be utterly amazed, then hooked. The faster you drive, the worse the conditions, the more they impress. Nothing else goes like them, apart from an SM.

[cros]

Can't add much except agreement to that. I had great service from a 77 diesel estate that had already done mega mileage. Replacing spheres and hydraulics in general a lot simpler than I thought, changing a clutch is a long job on this one though. Was replaced by a GS van, another corker.

[fred]

Just three things to look for - inside - outside - underneath

[Junkman]

CX? Any time. In 1/18 scale.

A real one? I'd turn down the offer to ride in one as a passenger. I rather walk.

How can anyone want a real CX as long as there are P6es left?

[pandamonium]

It is the £550 one, I wouldn't be able to afford a decent one.

 

So, rust, yeah?

[500tops]

 

mot till 20/4/15

is starting to get a bit rusty on bottom

 

So yeah, basically fucked.

[mrcitroen]

As FDB said, get a decent one and you will be hooked. They are just lovely! A proper Citroen.

[skattrd]

A cx with MOT for £550 ... I'd be surprised if it didn't sell straightaway or was majorly fuct.

[pandamonium]

Hmm. Would I be better off looking for a BX at that kind of money?

[messerschmitt owner]

bite the bullet and live the dream - sunroof equipped cars rust even more.

 

If buying an estate check the rear windows are sealed in cos they will flap about otherwise.

 

Electrics can be grim.

 

Engines invarably bulletproof.

 

C-matic difficult to deal with/repair.

[skattrd]

Hmm. Would I be better off looking for a BX at that kind of money?

Yes. But if the cx hasn't sold its still worth a look, but I'd expect others to have looked by now and walked away, so be careful.

[EssDeeWon]

Hmm. Would I be better off looking for a BX at that kind of money?

 

There is a tidy looking D reg CX estate that lives on a driveway along the A13 in Benfleet, worth a note through the door Pandamonium?

[Taff]

It is the £550 one, I wouldn't be able to afford a decent one.

 

So, rust, yeah?

Word to the wise, check for corrosion as well mate.

 

 

tapped on the radiator using morse code

[vulgalour]

A certain sort of person is required to own an LHM Citroen and given your track record I don't think you're that sort of person.  You'll end up hating it, you'll have to put more money in than you'll ever get out and if you think some of the cars you've had in the past have been annoying you've seen NOTHING until you've lived with a greenblood for more than a few months.  If you must have one, get a Xantia and be BORED by its competence and lack of rust.

 

You'll probably go and buy one now.

[dollywobbler]

A CX is an entirely different proposition to a BX. A BX drives pretty normally. A CX drives like nothing else. For the first 50 miles, a CX feels twitchy and ridiculous because the steering is so direct and the suspension so soft. 

 

BXs are old enough to rot pretty horribly now too though. Sills, inner front and rear wings and rear crossmember are easily checked, but rear subframe mounts aren't so easy (unless you remove the plastic trim either side of the rear seat - only uses crosshead screws to hold in place) and it's not fun when the subframe breaks away. Not a very easy thing to check under the car, so often missed at MOT time.

 

Mind you, most Autoshite rots!