Description
I must admit I only bought this CX in June, rather on impulse, but the reality is that I do not have the space or time to do it justice (I have a Rover 800 with a long list of jobs).
When I got the CX, I took it to Chevronics for a service and a thorough look-over. Chevronics undertook a number of jobs for me, and noted other pieces of work that would need doing, which you can see on the attached scan of their invoice.
The most urgent piece of work is a replacement timing belt as, from the history file I received with the car (which contains a lot of old invoices), it would seem the last time the timing belt was changed was in 2011, so it is well overdue. I did have this planned for October, but given I have decided to sell the CX I thought any new custodian might have their own preferred Citroen specialist do the work.
So what have I found during the time I have owned the car?
It drives very nicely, it pulls strongly, and it seems to get better every time I take it out, which is a couple of times a week.
The hydraulics work as they should.
1st, 2nd and Reverse all require the clutch to be fully pressed to the floor, and you can´t hurry gear changes. I don´t know if this is symptomatic of these gearboxes or not.
The car doesn´t require much choke to start and runs without any very quickly.
The steering pulls ever so slightly to the right.
There are a number of small rust spots around the car (see photos) that will need attention in due course.
The passenger door window goes up rather slowly.
There are a number of what look like finger indentations in the lip of the bonnet, presumably from where someone has closed it over-enthusiastically.
The interior upholstery is in very good condition, but a small amount of remedial work is required on some of the door cards.
The folding rear seat seems to be missing one of the retaining bolts, but it does stay securely in place.
There are some creaks from around the cabin, but they are not excessive.
There is some rattling from the exhaust heading towards the manifold when driving (noted by Chevronics, but they didn´t think it needed immediate attention).
From the history file there has been some welding undertaken on the car. Both rear sills in 2011, and the jacking points in 2014.
There is a mileage discrepancy. The odometer reduced by 4, 879 miles between the April 2011 and April 2012 MOT tests according to the car check I got. Otherwise the mileage rises slowly and steadily as might be expected.
The front fog lights don´t appear to work.
Prior to me the car has had only 5 keepers, all seem to have kept it for a while, and the history file would seem to show that money has been spent on it when necessary.
If I had the space (and time) I would keep this CX. It is most definitely different to any other car I have ever owned and is quite fascinating. However, when I bought it, I was wholly unrealistic about looking after it. It needs a better custodian than I am.
