Hello
I am considering buying a Citroen BX for my 23 year old Daughter - However I am slightly worried that they don't seem very sturdy, She had an Old Astra before which she crashed, only a very low speed accident but she was horrified at the amount of damage done to the car.
She has now tried out this Citroen which a friend of ours is selling, she really likes driving the car, its a good price £300 and is in good order - confirmed by an independant specialist and our only concern is whether it would stand up well in an accident. I have found a wealth of information relating to the BX on the internet but nothing relating to the secondary safety aspect, hence my posting this message.
Best Regards
Marc.
PS - I preferred the old Forum, it was more "user friendly"
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Marc
I've been running a BX for a year or so now, and I looked into this before buying. As far as I recall, for its day the BX was actually quite good. There's a website that gives this information, probably you can find it using Google, but I seem to recall that deaths per passenger mile were not far off Volvo in the mid-1980s. I was impressed enough to go ahead, anyway. Just bear in mind the BX is now a twenty-year-old design, so it's nowhere near as safe from a passive point of view as a newer design. However, the active safety features, such as fully powered brakes, brake force distribution according to load, and the self-levelling suspension itself, are actually quite advanced. Later upper range models had ABS as well. The single spoke steering wheel is about as safe as it gets without an airbag. The fact that they are so unstressful to drive is an advantage as well. For 300 quid this is one of the better ones, I reckon, but remember its a 300 quid car, not a new Mercedes.
Chris
PS Blimey, you go away for a few days and look what happens.
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"She had an Old Astra before which she crashed, only a very low speed accident but she was horrified at the amount of damage done to the car. "
There may well have been a lot of damage to the old Astra, it may have been designed in such a way so that the car suffered the damage while damage to the driver was minimised.
Or am I crediting Vauxhall with too much here, and assuming that your daughter wasn't badly hurt ?
Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
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"Damage done to the car" is actually a very good thing, in safety terms. The more a car deforms, the more energy it absorbs, the kinder it is to its occupants.
As a general rule, the heavier and longer a car is, the safer it is. Cars like the Jaguar XJ series are always near (or at) the top of survival/crash tables. The rules of physics always favour a heavy lump over a light one. Ever wondered why Saab and Volvo don't make cars that weigh less than a ton?
On the weight/length basis, a BX is much safer than an AX (or any other old supermini). For £300 quid with commensurate running costs, I think you'd be hard pressed to put her in a safer car.
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My son wrote off a Vx Corsa, by running into a ditch with a swipe at a telegraph pole , no airbag but he praised the seatbelt pre-tensioner which he reconned saved him from injury.
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Marc
I have had a number of BXs and SWMBO has just updated her J reg estate. I too looked at safety records at the time and, for their era, they were pretty good. Luckily I only had one minor prang, someone ran into front wing when I was parked and this resulted only in a dislocated bumper. SWMBO had 2 new tailgates on her estate - one an argument with a carpark bollard the other being rearended by a courier van on an M25 on-sliproad. Second one was pretty violent but apart from the tailgate no serious damage. IIRC the polycarbonate used for some body panels (eg bonnet, tailgates) is actually stronger than steel although the paint finish does dull on these panels more than on metal because they had to use a different paint.
Depending on year, condition etc I'd say you're getting a good deal.
Terry
PS Thought about some advanced or defensive driving lessons for her as a birthday/Christmas present?
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Marc,
Do you know I write a column for The Citroen Car Club each month on the BX...so they are a very familiar beast.
The guys are right, cars are designed to crush and save you these days, they often look terrible after a smallish accident. Moral being you can get another car.
Amazingly this very week I have been getting ready a 1988 BX19TRS for a lad who is without a car...because he has just crashed his Astra!
My few comments about the BX in this context are that they rarely rust so the basic shell will be safe. They have quite fail-safe handling and absolutely superb brakes. Lastly they do not seem to encourage nutty driving.
The deal on the one I'm doing is that the car has been given to this lad, the only cost to him being a few repairs to get it in good order.
As it had been well maintained so far I just had to do a little repair to the exhaust plus fit new front brake discs/pads and replace the front tyres for new Firstone F590s (my current budget favourites).
David W [Moderator]
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mailto:david_moderator@honestjohn.co.uk
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Excellent response, many thanks to all who've contributed.
Firstly the accident in which my daughter damaged her Astra was only at walking pace, she caught the bumper of a parked car with her N/S Doors and caved them both in, the MOT is due in a couple of weeks, its H registered and done over 100 000 miles, it has been a real pig to start over the last couple of months, despite a new Carb.
PLUS she is on a Yellow card from the AA ! we don't feel it is worth spending any more to get it through another MOT - The sills are starting to rot and it's got to the end of the line.
We have decided to go ahead with the BX, they are different from most cars however there is a local Guy ex citroen who can deal with the suspension & any other unusual requirements.
Plus I have been unable to find anything remotely decent (such as a VW jetta) for less than £ 1000.
I'll let you know how we go on ! Also is there any Value in the Astra ? I'd take £50 if anyone wants it.
Many Thanks again
Marc
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Oh Dear !
We've ended up with a Mercedes 190 E now, There were a few problems with the BX - exhaust blowing and the Hydraulics kept ticking at idle which suggests a faulty central accumulator - the Seller wanted £400 not £300 so we had a look in the Ad Mag and found this 1986 Merc with only 83000 miles ( plenty of evidence ) in excellent order with 7 months MOT and 3 months Tax and so we bagged it for £ 450 !!!!
Its an absolute gem and drives beautifully, so Hopefully she will look after this a bit better than the last car.
Now off to Euro Car parts for some chrome arch trims.........
Only Joking!!
Marc
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Are you sure a 0 hasn't dropped of the price tag?
Sounds a superb bargain, and from the good old days when MB built cars to last!
Enjoy!!
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Dizzy,
Funny that because on my way to our windy city the other day I passed an older 190E for sale in a drive... £495 or £695. It was in that yellow/beige that only MB can get away with and looked damm smart for the money.
In town near Partco there is a dealer with a K-reg in dark met green and alloys. Looks a lot of car at £2495. Non-dating plate and it just becomes a Mercedes for very little money.
Marc if the BX deal didn\'t feel right you were wise to leave well alone. As I said earlier they are often given away now so even a few hundred is too much if it doesn\'t seem straight.
David W
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