Grey market cars like today’s Citroën CX are always a roll of the dice. Parts and service are often sketchy, but that can be overcome by exclusivity and uniqueness. That is, if the price is right.
Rabbit season! Duck season! Rabbit season! Duck season! Well, apparently it’s definitely not Rabbit season, at least not when it comes to yesterday’s which 68% of you ducked out on, leaving it with a Crack Pipe loss.
Do you know what I like about Volkswagen? It’s the name, there’s nothing cryptic or ungainly about it, it simply means People’s Car, exactly what it was intended to be. I like the cut of its jib. What I don’t like is Citroën. You know why? It’s because of that damn ë.
You see the two dots over the top of it like My Favorite Martian’s freaky antennae? The dots are called a trema in French, or umlaut in Latin and are a pain in the ass for me to have to remember to type. That’s why I don’t like writing about Citroëns. Argh, there it is again!
This makes for an exception, as it appears clean and seems to have been federalized while still being delightfully funky.
The CX proved to be a wildly successful model for Citroën, selling more that 130K in its first year. This was a good thing, seeing as it replaced the venerable and hugely popular DS.
The CX didn’t have as many tricks up its sleeve as did the DS, but it still offered such Citroën quirks as a hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension, DIRAVI speed adjustable and self-centering (but not self-centered) steering, and a single spoke steering wheel to give you an unencumbered view of the pod-based instrument binnacle. You also get a radio mysteriously hidden sidesaddle in the center console and a convex rear window that reminds me of an old Dodge Dart Swinger.
This cream-on-tan CX has all of that and seems to be for all intents and purposes wholly intact. Under its pointy snout lives a 2,165-cc SOHC four good for 113-bhp when new, and a five-speed manual tranny. This is the shorter, 112-inch wheelbase edition and it should tip the scales at a modest 2,730 pounds. All rolled together that should make for a slow car that’s at least entertaining to drive if not all that quick.
The seller says the car has 98,000 kilometers on the clock, and that is about 60K in U.S. miles, which are the best ones. He also notes that the car has no rust (Citroën started rust-proofing these cars in the early ‘80s), no accidents, and that it comes with a clean Texas title. Yee-haw, mon frere.
That title and the side marker lights indicate that this might have been a CINA (Citroën Importers of North America) car. I don’t think that’s the case however, as I don’t think CINA monkeyed with anything other than the higher-zoot Prestige models. Also, while the seller claims to have owned the car for 12 years, he apparently has also been trying to get rid of it for a good bit of that time, including in 2012 when it made its way to .
Here it is on Craigslist, and a full grand cheaper. Yes it still has the glass sunroof and the wheel covers that look like they were stolen from a picnic in the park, but overall it appears to be a solid citizen, at least in the pics.
What’s your take on this cool old Citroën and that $6,250 price? Does that seem like a deal to need dramamine to drive? Or, is this CX just too sketchy to ask that much?
You decide!
Dallas , or go if the ad disappears.
H/T to Patrick George for the hookup!
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