1985 Citroen BX 1.6

Summary:

Quite possibly the worst car ever

Faults:

The plastic petrol tank leaked 56,000.

Rear brake calipers seized 56,000.

Handbrake cable snapped 56,024.

Suspension would not rise (faulty pump) £230.

Suspension pipe leaked.

Rusty suspension pipes all needed replacing costing over £200.

Head gasket blew 56,500 miles.

Gearbox whine at 56,700 miles.

Clutch cable snapped 56,845 miles.

Heater matrix leak (needed whole dash removing to replace) costing £££!

Engine stalling, poor starting, running rough.

Power steering pump failed.

General Comments:

If you want to really annoy your local mechanics then buy a citroen BX. The guys who had to work on them must have had the patience of saints. I have done a bit of mechanics myself, but never in my life have I found a car so annoyingly difficult to work on! Torx screws hidden everywhere etc..

This car cost me a fortune to keep it on the road and to be honest I should have just scrapped it in the first place. Horrible horrible horrible!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 5th August, 2005

6th Aug 2005, 05:13

Wonder if it's the same person who wrote the Citroen XM review.

18th May 2006, 13:27

I would say the best car ever, not the worst.

21st Nov 2006, 20:16

I have also bought a $300 BX in New Zealand, a 1985 BX19GT, and it's been very reliable since I bought it last year, even with nearly 200,000 miles on the clock. No rust except a spot in the bottom corner of the driver's door (normal!), it runs a bit rough until it's warmed up, the seats were a bit tatty, but cheap to replace second hand, and all it's needed is cleaning up wiring to the coil, a new brake rubber hose, and a replacement set of tyres as the old ones were a little worn.

My partner and I drove it from Auckland to Christchurch and back over last New Year - four days' driving - and apart from some ignition stuttering for a few kilometres before the coil wiring was fixed, it drove beautifully!

I would definitely buy another as a second car! I think the shape has aged very well when you look at British cars from the same time, and I'll be keeping this one for a long time yet! $300 - you can't go wrong!

11th May 2009, 02:22

Dear All,

Basically I'm not to give a comment for this car, but want to know from everyone who own this car, what should be checked and considered before I buy a second hand model this car.

For any info, thanks a lot.

Regards

Lukman.

1985 Citroen BX 1.7 diesel

Summary:

Suspension on a shoestring

Faults:

Valves had to be changed... cost about £100.. apparently not bad, but quite expensive as a student... But I got a hire car so OK...

General Comments:

This car cost me £200 from a French mate, so I can't complain... he got a company car...

I went to live in Portugal for a year and the fact it was left hand drive was a bonus. But it lasted me all that year and all I had to do was change the brakes once which cost me about 50 pence. Plus the diesel was 30p a litre. Damn, you can't complain. I wish I could go back to live there with my Xantia, only the wages are so crap... By all means get a BX if you want to - experience sublime suspension; if it goes wrong just get another, they are quite cheap now... Women love it...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th May, 2002

1985 Citroen BX RE 1.4 petrol

Faults:

Suspension spheres broke, Carburettor got blocked with dirt twice, Starter broke after 100k km, Oil leaks (a lot!).

General Comments:

Great car. Mind the age of mine and it's still running like a new one (now after 135k km). Little rust on unimportant parts, Fuel consumption on average 7.2 ltr.

Some parts of the car are quite expensive to replace, some aren't. Once you have to put it to the dealer for repair, it's getting critically expensive.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st April, 1998

1985 Citroen BX 19 RD 1.9 diesel

Faults:

Alternator fan snapped at 110K.

Fuel pump failed.

Radiator failed twice - cooling system seems to be typically unreliable in older French cars. This caused the head gasket to finally blow due to overheating.

Front brake calipers seized - required replacement.

Gearbox problem - not too serious, but jumps out of 3rd gear at low revs.

General Comments:

Despite the problems above, the car was an amazing workhorse for 100K+. Fuel economy was excellent - could go 500 miles on one tank if driven gently.

If not, could sit on motorway at a steady 100-110mph and just eat up the miles. Hydraulic suspension very comfortable, and surprisingly good on country roads.

1900 engine very torquey, takes time to build speed, but not much slows it down.

Comfort good, very spacious inside, although noisy, and heavy steering.

I would probably happily take on a newer turbo-diesel with power steering.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th February, 1998