Is this where CXs go to die?

"BvdV - The Dutch Engineer" (dutchengineer)
05/17/2018 at 03:22 • Filed to: citroen cx, Citroën, citrobarn, barnfind

Barn number 2

I sure hope some of them are going to be saved!

Last Saturday fellow Opponaut Jobjoris and I went to see what is probably the biggest collection (or hoard) of Citroën CXs (CXses, CXii, whatever the plural is) in the Netherlands, if not the World. It consists of 147 cars! I’ll let you take that in for a moment.....

Most of them are CXs, with some DSs, BXs and XMs thrown in, and to finish it up a Diane and a C6. To keep things exciting there were also a Rover SD1, 2 Renault Aliance Convertibles ( why? ), and 2 Jaguars (an XJ40 and either a XJ6 or XJ12).

Sad looking Alliance is sad, probably about how it has to spend it’s days in a barn in the Netherlands, and not in sunny California, as it was promised it would!

So why stockpile such an enormous amount of cars? Well from what I gather it’s a combination of passion for the brand and model, and entrepreneurial spirit. A Citroën specialist, the owner of this collection, noticed the prices of trade-in and lease return CXs were low in the late 80s and throughout the 90s, but he had the gut feeling the prices would increase. So what he did was store all these cars in a complex of former chicken barns (And 8 others at a (former) garage in Breda).

A beauty, even in the condition.

Now the idea of stockpiling some future classics is not a bad one, on the contrary, it could earn you some nice profits if your predictions were right. However, it is key that you keep the cars in an as good as possible shape. Storing them in chicken barns, and neglecting them for between 20 and 30 years, doesn’t help towards that goal, especially not so for Citroëns that are know to fare best under regular use and maintenance.

Barn number 2, we got a ride in the DS on the right.

So I can hear you wondering, how bad are these cars? Honestly it depends on where the cars are. The 8 cars in Breda are clearly the best ones, and could get back on the road with some TLC, as they have been stored in a good location.

The former garage now doubled as a second hand store, hence the junk in the background

GTi, according to Jobjoris the one to have.

As for the barn cars it varies per barn. The first barn we went in was very moist, had a roof which was in the process of caving in, and full of birds, and the cars clearly showed, some being completely covered in excrement, and others being rusty and having small pieces of moss growing in the panel gaps.

Barn 1 (excuse the iPhone shot)

Probably the worst looking car in Barn 1, apart from the half Prestige. (excuse the iPhone shot)

Not much Prestige left in this one...

The biggest barn probably has the best cars off that complex, as the roof is good, there are not too many birds and it is reasonably dry, which showed in the cars being in slightly better condition than the ones in the other barn. However this barn was mostly filled with the less desirable models, mainly diesel and LPG fuelled lease returns, and the odd ones out (except for the Rover). It did have tons of Breaks though!

Barn number 2 (excuse the iPhone shot)

All those Breaks in barn 2!

The final barn was heartbreaking to see. It’s inside walls and roof had been covered in styrofoam at some point, and birds hat eaten away at it, making the roof leaky, and the floor and cars covered in a layer of styrofoam pellets and excrement (the smell wasn’t the greatest). The cars in here were some of the more desirable ones (Turbo’s, GTi’s, an early low roof Prestige), however, as the styrofoam and poo was everywhere they were probably among the worst of the collection. The styrofoam had filled intake manifolds and bonnet vents, on some cars for instance.

The styrofoam barn.

Father and son.

No that is not a bucket of popcorn, it’s a styrofoam and poo filled intake pipe.

It was very impressive to see all these cars, too bad I’m not in the market for a CX (although the collection, and especially those in Breda got Jobjoris itching for a CX), or else I could maybe have tried to save one with lots of TLC.

If any of you feel the urge to save one of the cars, this is the link to the Dutch site:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the pictures and story, of this extraordinary place. Also, I want to thank Jobjoris again for joining in on my plan relatively last minute, and driving me there in his Porsche 911!

T for Turbo, the same design can be seen in the wheels.

See, the cut out in the wheels matches the badge on the bonnet, how cool!

(Pictures taken using my Canon 700D with EF 50mm f/1.8 lens, and my iPhone 6S. The 50mm forced me to stay away from taking too much overview pictures, and to look for the details and such. Some of the pictures are slightly edited, others are straight out of the camera, as I already liked the look of them.)

DISCUSSION (39)

duurtlang > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 14:15

That’s very painful to watch. The owner had a great idea but very poor execution :(

As you can see in my avatar I quite like these...

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > duurtlang
05/16/2018 at 14:20

It was indeed very painful. Jobjoris and I were both taken aback by the size, and state of the collection. If they had at least kept them clean, started and drove them once in a while, they would probably have been way better.

I know, I even tried to find one with a similar badge, but could only find later GTi’s, not an early one like in your avatar.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 14:25

As intriguing as the CX collection is, I’m most perplexed by the Alliances. Were they actually sold in Europe officially or did someone actually go to the trouble of importing them from the US?

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/16/2018 at 14:36

The Alliance was not sold in Europe as far as I know. So someone went through the trouble of importing them (it’s easier from the US to Europe than the other way around though). Which surprised us too, why would you import them, over buying something like a 205 CJ/CTi or a Golf convertible (assuming those could be had for similar money).

(When looking up the plate it comes back as a 1984 Renault 11 TL, which is curious to say the least)

Edit: there is of course the link of both the CX and Alliance/11/9 having been designed by Robert Opron.

duurtlang > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/16/2018 at 14:37

My first reaction was “silly guy born in the 90s, those are simply Renault 11 convertibles”. Then I double checked wikipedia, and it said “convertible only available in North America”.

So, imported from the US. That’s a 1984/1985 plate on there though, so it was imported very early in its life (new?).

edit : I ran the plate: Registered as a Renault 11 TL. First registered July 1984. Date of first registration and first Dutch registration match, so imported as a brand new car. Last sold in March 1996, so probably parked there for 22 years now.

feather-throttle-not-hair > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 14:38

This was a cool read, Thanks for sharing!

Reminds me of the time I found a bunch of brand new MGs and Rovers parked under an overpass in the middle of beijing circa 2005 or so.

(Here are some pictures i took at the time of the Rovers)

Kinja'd!!!

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > feather-throttle-not-hair
05/16/2018 at 14:43

Thanks!

Awesome, must have had something to do with the whole debacle following the collapse of MG Rover and the Chinese take over.

T here used to be a bunch of Shuanghuan SCEO’s parked in the harbour of Rotterdam, during the copy right infringement case (because it was a BMW X5 and Toyota Landcruiser copy), looked very similar to those MG-Rovers.

Kinja'd!!!

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > duurtlang
05/16/2018 at 14:47

The plot thickens when looking the plate up, it comes back to an originally Dutch 1984 Renault 11 TL. I’m wondering if that was laziness on the part of the RDW (it’s just a Renault 11, lets register at that) or some trickery to register it more easily (I can imagine the VIN’s being from the same series).

user314 > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 15:17

Huh, guess we found Ron’s long lost Dutch cousin...

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > user314
05/16/2018 at 15:20

Haha! Well his name is Ton, so only one letter difference ;p

feather-throttle-not-hair > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 15:29

Yeah, i’m pretty sure you’re correct on the chinese takeover thing regarding rover. Its always kind of shocking as a car person to see brand new cars sitting and not being used at all.

That Shuanghuan though..... its...kind of amazing. I mean, its awful too, but also kind of amazing.

CaptDale - is secretly British > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 16:12

He showed me this too!!! I so badly want a CX

Jobjoris > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 16:20

Not much Prestige left in this one...

Moohahaha! Great read Bjorn, glad you allowed me to join! You didn’t shoot any of our ride in that DS nor mention it? ;-)

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Jobjoris
05/16/2018 at 16:25

Thanks!

I did take a couple of shots, but didn’t mention it as I notice it became a bit too much of a tangent while writing, and the story is plenty long as it is, haha.

Cé hé sin > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 16:32

I seem to remember a story a couple of years ago about another hoarder who had a collection of DSs (or was it Ro80s?) in a similar state of dereliction.

Also, I saw the Baillon collection at Rétromobile in 2015. Collected in the same way but much older and mostly in a terrible state.

AuthiCooper1300 > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 16:33

Some réportage! Thank you!

Question: you mention “an early low roof Prestige”. Does this mean that there were high-roof and low-roof production cars? I imagine the coachbuilt, bespoke ones (Giscard’s and Honecker’s, for example) were high-roof, for obvious reasons.

You seem to imply, however, that among the production ones, the first Prestiges were just longer whereas the later ones were both longer and taller.

Care to elaborate?

(Again, great pictures and write up. Much appreciated!)

Cé hé sin > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 16:34

It must have been the nearest match (although it would have been closer to a 9 than an 11?)

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Cé hé sin
05/16/2018 at 16:45

I remember reading something similar about Ro80s. I think it was a German NSU dealer buying up after the production stopped and storing them.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > AuthiCooper1300
05/16/2018 at 16:52

Thanks!

Yes, there is a difference, as I only found out after being there (so I have no shot of the low roof prestige) In 1976 the Prestige was introduced, increasing the legroom, after which in 1977 the headroom was increased. Logical, no. French, very.

Low-roof:

Kinja'd!!!

High-roof:

Kinja'd!!!

The difference is small, but is most evident around the C-pillar.

AuthiCooper1300 > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 17:06

Fascinating! Thank you!

I suppose the day will come when the CX (and the GS) will get all the attention they deserve.

In the meantime the attrition rate must be horrendous, unfortunately.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > AuthiCooper1300
05/16/2018 at 17:08

The CX is relatively popular in the Netherlands (compared to the rest of Europe) however it’s still nowhere compared to the ID/DS. It’s even rumoured that there are more ID/DS’s in the Netherland than in France.

AuthiCooper1300 > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/16/2018 at 17:23

Well, you do have the perfect place to enjoy the DS/CX/GS cars. Being a flat country with good roads it is easier to keep a highish average without taxing too much their (smallish) engines.

What I had never imagined is that the love for the ID/DS is even greater than in France. On the other hand....is there any old-style Citroën the Dutch are not crazy about? I understand you also adore the flat-twin ones... wait, your roads are perfect for those too!

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > AuthiCooper1300
05/16/2018 at 17:51

Yes, Dutch people love Citroëns, maybe it’s because of the quirkiness, or because Andre was of Dutch descent, who knows! The love for other French brands is a little less though, more on par with the love for other classics.

pip bip - choose Corrour > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/17/2018 at 03:40

but will they ever become collectible is the big question.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > pip bip - choose Corrour
05/17/2018 at 03:51

Collectible in the sense of a 911 or Ferrari, no, probably not. More valuable, like a lot of youngtimers, yes, that is already happening.

His hunch was good, he bought them at the bottom of the market, and the prices did go up. He just didn’t store them in the right way, making them worth less than they would have been otherwise.

duurtlang > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/17/2018 at 05:27

A decent but not overly special CX is worth about 5-8 thousand euros or so I would guess. Let’s say the condition these cars were in when they were stored. In this condition though, did you see how much they sold for?

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > duurtlang
05/17/2018 at 05:51

I don’t know what they actually sold them for, but most of them are priced in the 1000-3000 range (according to the very vague pricing on the website). Everything is on a bidding basis though, so ‘wat de gek er voor geeft’ probably holds as well.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/17/2018 at 06:52

As someone with a CX buried deep in his Australian childhood...this story has caused a significant outbreak of nostalgia.

duurtlang > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/17/2018 at 07:11

I can’t imagine they made any money. Probably lost a lot. From an economic perspective and given the condition those cars are in they just should’ve sold them shortly after they came in. That, or store them properly.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
05/17/2018 at 08:48

It’s like a very specific time capsule. Walking around there made you forget what year it was. (You don’t want to know how ofter Jobjoris told me something, followed by something along the lines of: “You wouldn’t know, you weren’t even born yet!” ;p )

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > duurtlang
05/17/2018 at 08:50

Especially seeing most of the cars they bought have nevet been sold, I’d say they only turned a loss on it. Having sold them immediately would have definitely been a wiser financial decision.

duurtlang > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/17/2018 at 09:01

That red one on the left though... Had I had the time, money, space and skill I’d really like that one.

Kinja'd!!!

The blue one is a diesel. Probably one of the, if not the , fastest and most advance diesels of its time (1985 plate). I don’t want a diesel though.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > duurtlang
05/17/2018 at 09:12

I actually pointed that one out to Jobjoris, as it seemed pretty solid, despite being in barn 1. But Jobjoris would prefer one that needs minimal TLC.

duurtlang > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/17/2018 at 09:15

And he’s not wrong. I cannot determine what those cars need though. The CX, together with the 505, were the last PSA cars with real rust issues. That would worry me. That, and the neglected suspension.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > duurtlang
05/17/2018 at 09:41

On these I’d be woried about rust, suspension bits worn from sitting, and on some seized engines (or other engine problems). Which would be a reason to prefer a normal GTi over a Turbo or TRD Turbo, as less can go wrong in the engine. Also, the phase 2 cars seemed less rusty than phase 1 cars, but it was very dependent on the barn they were in, and for how long they had been there.

duurtlang > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/17/2018 at 10:17

Fair enough. I do believe the TR D (Turbo) is a diesel though. Anyway, with cars like these power just needs to be ‘adequate’. You’re not going canyon carving or drag racing. Looking at the specs, the manual GTi was powerful enough already. With a slushbox (3 speed...) they’re on the slow side.

I’m not surprised the phase 2 cars are less rusty. They were introduced around the time PSA got their rust issues in check. With the BX, for example, the phase 1 had rust issues which were mostly solved in the (1986) phase 2 and beyond. Additionally, they were exposed to fewer winters on salted roads.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > duurtlang
05/17/2018 at 10:39

Yes, the TRD Turbo is a diesel, but some of the people there were into that kind of CXs (no clue why)

sonicgabe > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
05/18/2018 at 11:49

This is tragically beautiful. Also, those turbo T details are amazing.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > sonicgabe
05/18/2018 at 17:03

Yeah, it was so painful to see, but also beautiful in some way.

Those turbo details are amazing indeed, very low key.