BX TZD Turbo Estate

Supremely comfortable, reliable and versatile characterful workhorse

Bought off ebay for £120 as an MOT failure with 148k miles on the clock in October 2008. A major point in favour of the car was the fitted towbar and electrics. Spent about £500 on parts including clutch, crank and cam oil seals, water pump, timing belt, pads and discs all round, various low pressure return pipes, rear arm bearings, lhm change. Car was bought to be a workhorse whilst restoring a house in France. I fitted rear headrests, plastic headlamp protectors, lhd headlamps.

The BX has carried incredible loads, towed a trailer filled with 5 metre lengths of wood, taken hundreds of trailer loads of rubble to our local tip. After 3.5 years and 52k more miles of heavy work the BX has entered it's 20th year. Fuel consumption has averaged over 50mpg with highs of 55mpg and lows around 40mpg when towing fully loaded.

What has it needed in repairs?

2009 octopus fitted (or spider as they are called in France), 4 new tyres, glow plugs replaced
2010 exhaust pipe before the back box, brake light bulb, handbrake cables, new front pads
2011 clutch cable, reinforced coolant hose, alternator, battery, drive belts, second hand fuse
box and ignition lock, all new spheres
2012 Indicator stalk snapped, 4 new tyres

In addition to this the car has had regular oil, coolant, LHM and filter changes

The car has never broken down or failed to start

The BX is just fantastic, I had a new one back in 1992 that completed 120k utterly reliable miles in just 2 years and it was this experience that influenced my decision to go with a BX estate as a cheap workhorse.

The car is happy on the autoroutes at 130 kph/81mph and it will pull at 70kph/44mph in 5th gear on rural roads. The road holding is astonishing though the handling is a little roly poly.

The bodywork has more than its fair share of knocks and dents though there is no rust anywhere and the car has not had any welding. I think all the brake hoses will need changing for the 2 yearly Controle Technique this coming September.

The question I keep asking myself is, when the time comes, how do I replace the BX? The Xantia, though a superb car (there is a V6 Xantia Activa in the garage) it is much heavier than a BX and far less economical on fuel

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