Faults:

Fuel pump.

Spheres.

Clutch.

Rust on boot floor exhaust hanger area, and to the back end of the sills.

General wear and tear on the front suspension components.

General Comments:

Brought this car for £50 approx 5 years ago (195,000 miles). Was going to be scrapped after failing an MOT.

Needed lots of work. The fuel pump was dead, various rust patches, brakes all worn, spheres flat, clutch slipping, fan blower u/s, fuel lines rusted, some hydraulic pipes leaking and corroded, rear height corrector seized.

Put it in my garage, got it about 3 feet off the ground, sourced a NOS fuel pump, and front/rear brake discs, pads, and a clutch on eBay. Replaced 3 hydraulic pipes, fuel lines, a few return pipes, 5 new spheres (GSF), fitted the new clutch, new bottom ball joints, wishbones and drop links, steering gators, un-seized rear height corrector, full engine service, welded the boot floor, sills and rear chassis.

Was lucky to find a BX in a local scrapyard for a fan blower, door mirrors and a few trim parts.

So far, so good. 3 years trouble free, including MOT passes. Drives like new, still pulls 115mph.

Now showing 255,000 miles, uses no oil or water between services. Cheap motoring at 45/50mpg. Should see a few more years yet.

Faults:

The accumulator ticks, but it's just wear and tear.

General Comments:

The car is well equipped for its age; better than the 2000 Xantia I previously owned.

Goes very well for a 1.4. Extremely responsive on the throttle and brakes.

The car is very comfortable and handles a lot better than expected (better than the Xantia), so would well recommend it over the Xantia. Also a lot cheaper to run tax and insure.

The dash is quite bland; dull grey plastic and no power steering, but a pleasure to drive.

Faults:

Blow-out on motorway at 80mph!! Caused by original tyres on low-mileage 20-year-old car. If Michelin X tyres aren't replaced every 5 years they blow!

Starter motor now needs replacing.

Kept well-maintained its whole life, so nothing until now.

General Comments:

Don't buy this car if you're not an enthusiast. They are too good to be wasted and they're getting rare!

Unique design, possibly ugly? I think it looks mean! Makes a welcome change to all modern bubble cars that seem to all look the same.

All my mates say it looks like the Delorean from Back to the Future!! Love the way it can be instantly lowered by a lever next to the handbrake!

Very roomy inside, easy to park due to boxy design. A beautiful compromise. Big yet lightweight meaning even the 1.4 is fairly poky, and good on fuel, averages 43mpg; 36mpg at worst, 56mpg @ constant 56mph.

Mines a basic model with manual sunroof/windows, no power-assisted steering (it's not necessary) so nothing really to go wrong, and nothing has! Except the starter motor, which I am angered to find means raising the engine to change (this is only the case with the 1.4).

Top speed Citroen say is 102mph. I haven't taken it above 90 as it sounds like it may rev itself to death.

The suspension means the ride comfort is ridiculously comfortable, may send you to sleep on long journeys, and compromises cornering, where it tends to lean a fair bit. My old ZX was better in this respect.

Supposedly this being a non computer controlled car means it will go on forever! So long as it continues to be maintained.

Best car I've bought to date.

Faults:

Mostly due to lack of care by previous owner, being sat on used car dealership forecourt for at least a year and age of car (15 years old). Here it goes!!:

Fuel line. When I picked up the car I took it to nearest petrol station to fill up for long journey home, when I returned I found her standing in lake of petrol!!.

Rear exhaust. To-wards the end of the long journey home, on a lovely summers day with stereo on and windows down I heard 'b-b-b-b-bang' as rear exhaust fell away (and hit following car!!).

Suspension pipes (leaked).

Not a fault with a car, but have replaced the Hydro-pneumatics to cure harsh/bouncy ride; new spheres (x4), new accumulator, pipework. Also 'Hydra-Flushed' the system, this is well worth doing as it clears the high pressure pump and pipework of accumulated muck and dirt, lessening the likely-hood of future problems.

None of the above work was expensive, having used a UK French car parts specialist with excellent on-line ordering, website with 'chat forums' which offer excellent advice and help and deal in genuine Citroen spares; indeed the spheres have a two year warranty!!

General Comments:

I bought the BX (in addition to my other Citroen, a ZX) as a hobby car and because I have always wanted one.

I think the BX is a very underrated motor car being comfortable, quick, economical, more reliable than people think, pretty rust resistant and suprisingly durable. I also think the BX is attractively styled and is aging remarkably well... launched in 1982 in France so 23 years old this year. Indeed its stylist is responsible for Lamborghini Countach, Diablo etc.

Ironically for a car today some rate as 'The last REAL Citroen', by which they mean technologically advanced, forward thinking, aerodynamically efficient and distinctive, was seen as anything, but at launched having been quite heavily influenced by Citroen's new masters/partners Peugeot having a floor-plan shared with Peugeot's yet to be unveiled 405, a compromised version of the famed 'hydro-pneumatic' suspension system utilizing struts at the front as opposed to the wishbone arrangement found on the DS, SM, GS and CX. This meant that even though the BX gave a very comfortable ride it was never the 'Magic Carpet' of the earlier vehicles. High pressure brakes were retained, but power steering, when unveiled was a conventional system as opposed to the 'Vari-Power' system of earlier Cits. Indeed Peugeot was planning to dump Hydro-pneumatics entirely for the BX, but relented when faced with opposition from Citroen staff and dealers. Unlike its predecessor, the GSA, BX had conventional Peugeot sourced water cooled engines as opposed to air cooled. Also despite being pretty aerodynamically efficient it was not as efficient as its predecessor, GSA.

But the BX did pioneer the use of composite materials in cars, being light weight and rust resistant.

For some the BX is a compromised Peugeot/Citroen hybrid for others it was the perfect balance of Citroen virtues without too many 'frighting' quirks. That's why it was Citroen's first very successful model in the UK and one of the best selling diesel cars here ever.

The BX is a comfortable car, having great seats, plenty of space and light and is attractively styled internally for an '80's car.

The suspension does give a remarkably absorbent, floaty ride, but doesn't quite provided that legendary 'Magic Carpet' sensation of the earlier classics, being marginally smoother than my steel sprung ZX, however if you need self leveling this system is relatively simple. Also height adjustment is a real advantage for wheel changing and flooded roads/mild off-roading.

The BX handles fairly tidily, corners quite well and is pleasing to drive in an uninvolved kind of way.

The performance of my 1.4 carb model is surprisingly sprightly, refined for its age and economical, but my choice would be a Turbo Diesel for perfect economy/performance trade off. The BX's light weight is responsible for the decent performace/economy and is both the car's outstanding feature/Achilles heal at the same time; while the Composite construction provides genuinely creditable performance and economy and impressive rust resistance it also makes the car feel somewhat flimsy and insubstantial and leads to poor crash protection, occasionally dodgy handling and its all to easy to lock the high pressure brakes.

In summing up this model I'd say it was a flawed gem; comfortable, economical, quick and stylish on the one hand flimsy, insubstantial on the other. I feel that the BX is a future classic for sure and pleasing day to day transport... if cared for.