Citroen ZX Temptation

The fact that it's very low mileage is not necessarily a good thing, especially when it's been owned by an old couple as they tend to just potter around at 30mph and engines really need a bit of exercise now and again. The clutch may also have taken quite a bit of punishment. I personally would look on the Auto-Trader website (or take a look at the magazine) and see what typical values that vintage goes for and take an average. I certainly wouldn't pay extra for the very low mileage because engines can manage

It's an old car. It is also French. If the bodywork is basically spotless and the engine goes well - try giving it a good kicking and see if it revs out properly - then I would offer in the £500 ~ £700 mark.

The bodywork on the ZX is very flimsy - picks up knocks very easily, and=20 the one we had with the same engine wouldn't rev above 3500rpm. But it=20 was a perfectly adequate car for knocking round in.

--=20 AG

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----------------------------------------------------------------------- Alan Gauton E-Mail agauton @ postmaster.co.uk

Never for me the lowered banner, never the last endeavour!=20 =09=09=09=09=09 (Damon Hill - 16th June 1999)

I concur, £600 tops, but aim for £450.

Top little runabout though, comfy and nice to drive. I had a diesel and a

Os

Ironically, if it was a Mazda MX-5 of the same age and mileage you could get five grand for it. That's what image and a soft top do for a car!

"It's an old car. It is also French."

The 1.4 engine is common to he Saxo / 106 / 306 / Xsara. Parts are quite cheap via GSFCarparts etc. The floorpan , running gear , brake suspension are the same as the 306 and even the Xsara which was its successor still kept the same underpinnings.

MOT won't be a worry as so little rots. The critical thing will be the head gasket on a ~10 yr old car.

I agree regarding cost though, Citroens are good cars but they are bought and sold cheap. I'd only pitch it at ~£450

My J-reg 1.4 one had 62k on when I bought it with little MOT on it when it was 12 years old. I gave £400 for it, it cost £400 the same to get through the ticket, and that was a one owner from new... oh yeah, it already had a head-gasket too.

Totally agree on the rest though, brilliant handling , comfy and cheap spares if you can DIY. The 1.9TD was much more fun though :-)

I'm not saying don't buy it, just be wary - as with any old motor, they can be a bargain.. .or not :-)

Os

No, I'm not mad. Wouldn't consider myself to be anyway To reiterate; I would aim for £450 in present condition, pay a max price of £600 if Tax'd MOT'd. (If they are genuinely nice and you like them; go out for Sunday Dinner) Chances are the old couple take it on 200 yard journeys, don't really ever wax it, because it's too hard for them and let garages rip them off and then don't do the work because they take it in to do silly jobs. Extremely sad, but I've seen it so many times. My Dad used to be advocates of ex-mobility fleet cars due to the cheapness of a three old car. I pointed out the people (Or majority) had difficulty walking (so loads of short journeys), are unable to wash/wax/maintain the car correctly themselves and as they now it's going in less than three years just don't look after it. Stereotyping, I admit, but genuine cases are within my description.

Regards

I had the same problem with mine until whatever was blocking the exhaust blew out again then it revved like it was just run in :) Mine's a P plate 1.4 petrol. Agree with the bodywork, but it makes it very light and so very nippy IMHO. I certainly find it to be fast enough for my needs, plus ride and handling is very good for the class and age. Very comfy seats too. If it wasn't pissing oil I'd love it :)

Chandy

I bought a 1996 ZX 1.4 Avantage 2 years ago for £500 with 12,495 miles on it from the mother in law after she was offered this sum in p/ex.

We have just p/exd it with 37,000 miles on it for .............£500 (with just shy of 25% off the new car to boot) When I sold it, it did have a crack in the top of the tailgate, a stone chipped headlamp, loose baffles in the exhaust (original) and a slightly suspicious head gasket.

On the plus side it never broke down, gave 37mpg and servicing was dead easy and parts cheap from GSF. It had just passed another MOT with no money spent (in fact it never failed an MOT with mother in law or me) I would have another if I wanted a cheap runabout as I could confidently drive it anywhere.

If it's been properly (at least annually) serviced I'd give £600 if it was a minter. Get them to MOT it for 12 months before you buy.

Thanks for all your replies it made interesting reading and gave me a few things to think about.

Just as a update, I took a friend who works as a mechanic for the Fire Brigade today to have a look at it, and he said that it should pass a MOT without any additional work. But he had a concern about the alternator belt which was slightly perished due to age, not wear and said that I should have all the belts, including cam belt replaced for piece of mind.

Just as a rough guess, any idea how much this should cost before I ring around for quotes.

My friend would have done it but he is not local and I do not want to burden him with the work.

Not a hard job to do, you could even do it yourself given a free Sunday and a Haynes manual.

Believe me. If I could do the job myself I would not be asking these questions. A thermostat or tyre, yes. Anything else would take me

I prefer to work with what I am good at and pay someone else who can do it quicker.

Seriously, I thought that when I first *had* to do a cambelt.

Now, I'd do another, so long as it wasn't on something complicated like my Fiat or Alfa.

On a simple car, it's well worth having a go yourself - took me

I had the cambelt changed when we bought ours as it was 8 years old though mileage was very low. New belt and tensioner were £120 fitted by Nationwide Autocentres, also get the coolant changed if there's no record of recent replacement.

Bought a car a long while back and my first job as it was fitted with a K was to book it in for a checkover and a belt chage at a very good garage I know of in Cedars Road, Clapham Common in London (plug ,plug). The car was basically sound but with one worry in that it was fitted with the original manufacturers timing belt. It had confirmed low mileage (25k) with all the service documents, the car had been used for nothing more than taking the kids 500yds to school and back plus the odd shopping trip chucked in (the owner lived in Sydenham). This was actually genuine, not a clocker.

Turns out the owner, one careful female owner I may hasten to add, interpreted the change instructions, the ones that say 3 years or 60k miles. It appears that it was a case of the car has reached 3 years but has not done the mileage so it should be ok up to the mileage mark. The only problem was that this was some 8 years after the car had been constructed, the timing belt was actually in good nick considering the abuse it had gone through but I shudder to think what would have happened if I had let that belt go as it was. The more exposed alternator belt was just about stripped, it was on it's knees.

The bottom line for me has always been in the event of buying a second hand car fitted with any sort of belts, I get the lot changed for peace of mind.

PDH

Eeek. I'd have preferred a clocked reps car.

No such thing. It's a tale parents used to tell like the Tooth Fairy, Goblins and Elves.