Saturday, 07/07/07
I didn't go out today with the intention of buying a car - honest!

I've been looking for a Mark 1 BX for a while, and I did have one lined up - a GT with various issues to be sorted before I'd pick it up. The plan for today was to deliver the red 19RD to Chris Salter to pass on to a friend of his who's after a cheap runabout. I'd then borrow Chris' GSA, which the friend has been using up to now, until the Mark 1 BX earmarked for me was ready.

What happened was slightly different. I drove up to Chris' place with my girlfriend - the first time she'd been in my BX. She did comment that it was very comfy - just what I like to hear. Noisy and slow, though but. We got to Chris', had a bit of a chat, and I couldn't resist asking him for a drive in his Mk 1 TRS Auto, which I knew he had up for sale to fund his impending purchase of a DS23 Pallas. I really enjoyed the drive, and crawled all over it afterwards looking for faults and rust and finding very little of either.

Right. Off we go to deliver the red BX to Chris' friend and pick up the GSA. They would have made a nice photo - identical colours, and Axxx HVF next to D180 HVF - but Chris' friend is such a non-enthusiast that I was embarrassed to whip my camera out and gush.

I asked to drive the GSA back to Chris' place. All GS/A's are fun to drive and this was no exception - I had a big grin smeared over my face.

However, it had big holes in the doors, the driver's seat was stuck so my knees were up around my ears somewhere, the brakes didn't work properly and the exhaust was so bad that it sounded like a squadron of Messerschmitts going over. All I could see in the rear view mirror was the Unimpressed Expression on my girlfriend's face. Oh, and her knees - you forget how small G-series cars are after a while in a BX.

So, I said to Chris: "Give me directions to a cashpoint and I'll drive your BX home today." He took some persuading but finally handed over the keys!

I know that I always get excited when I pick up a new car, but I'm really very, very pleased with this one. The overall condition is excellent, apart from a few small points, and I just love Mk1 BXs. They are so much of their time - there's something about the looks, the early-style square bumpers and above all that wonderful dashboard that takes you right back to that wonderful early-80s era of Commodore 64s and Sinclair C5s. It's forward looking but so much of its time that it looked dated within seconds of launch. The Mk 2 interior is attractive, modern and works well but lacks the period charm of the Mk 1. Especially as my car is beige and brown.

It's the dash that really does it - the wonderful, forward-looking car graphic, drum speedo and horizontal LED rev counter. I love it - especially as mine all works. I even love that wonderful OCR font. In all seriousness, it's excellent design - all the switchgear is reachable without taking your hands off the wheel and the instrumentation is so clear and compact that it's all underneath the bottom of the windscreen, giving a clear and panoramic view of the road.

Even my girlfriend likes it, in a quiet sort of way. She was really eyeing up Chris' Renault 16. I like them too, but I wouldn't want to run one of those as an everyday car.

The BX, though, is the perfect compromise car. It's got it all. More than modern in terms of speed, road-holding, and practical things like lighting and load-space, but with the classic Citroen shape, quirky looks and PRN controls. If only it had DIRAVI steering I think I'd be in love.

Sunday, 08/07/07
Dropped K off home this morning, and on the way back it started making scary scraping noises. Ah. That would be the exhaust then.

One of the issues I mentioned was that the rear exhaust bracket had broken and was temporarily replaced by a cable tie. It didn't last quite as long as I'd hoped.

At the suggestion of a friend, I grabbed a wire coat hanger from the wardrobe and set to work.

The car's booked in to have the bracket replaced properly on Wednesday - this will do until then!

Wednesday, 11/07/07
Exhaust hanger? Easy job compared to when it happened to the grey TXD - thirty quid at trusty Roger Jackson's.

D562 VTF write-off - the full story
On Sunday the 29th July, I was driving along a clear, open A-road in broad daylight, going to visit friends of my girlfriend's. Their grass driveway goes directly onto the NSL A-road. I checked my mirror well in advance, saw nothing but a black speck in the distance, indicated left and started braking. I was almost at a standstill with my front wheels on the grass and turning left when someone picked the world up and shook it. All I remember is a second of staring up at the sunroof, then seeing everything whizzing by sideways through the windscreen. I couldn't figure out what I'd done wrong to cause this to happen. Then we were at rest and I gradually became aware of a mechanical screaming. After a second or two I realised that it was because I was hunkered way down in my seat and my foot was pressed hard against the throttle. The front wheels were spinning and digging themselves into the ground.

I finally figured out what had happened and groggily took my foot off the throttle. We'd been hit from behind.

I managed to get out of the car and exchange details with the other driver, then my legs gave way and I had to sit down in Snoopy's passenger seat for a bit. Kind people led me inside and fed me tea and sympathy while my girlfriend (who recovered mentally rather quicker than I did) called the police and generally dealt with the situation in an incredibly admirable way.

This is the car that hit us, and spun us right round. It had just been a black speck in the mirror when I started indicating.

Police came and went, did their thing in a very professional manner, and the other driver admitted responsibility there and then. An ambulance was also called, but after consulting with the paramedics we decided we were able to be driven to hospital by one of our friends, rather than taking up more of the ambulance's time.

In Casualty we could start to see the humour of the situation, both of us walking like robots and unable to turn to look at each other. We were seen quite quickly and discharged with a huge box of painkillers to share.

Going back the following weekend (in a courtesy Astra provided by the other driver's insurance company) to inspect the damage was a stressful experience. It was much worse than I thought, and the first time that I realised Snoopy might be a write-off. When I was in shock I just thought bumper, bootlid, crossmember. Easy job. But no.

The impact had been big enough to close up the rear door-shuts. I'm no structural engineer but I can see that's bad news.

The boot floor was seriously rippled, and the rear wings pushed outwards. I couldn't get the boot open so I lowered the rear bench to gain access - when I did that, the parcel shelf fell to the boot floor as the rear wings were no longer holding it in place.

Remember how hard my foot was jammed down on the throttle when we came to a standstill? It shouldn't have been possible, but my body had smashed through the driver's seat on impact. The guy who bought the interior, once we'd broken the car for spares, later described it as a "twisted mess." He had to get another seat frame to put my fabric on.

Then came the fun part - the insurance claim. I won't go into a blow-by-blow account, unless I get a flood of emails asking me to. In short, the claim for injury compensation was handled quickly and efficiently by a no-win-no-fee lawyer recommended by a friend, and I have no complaints there.

The claim for the car, on the other hand, was a total nightmare. I made the mistake claiming through my own insurers, who made me an absolutely derisory offer. I should have claimed with the other driver's insurers.

Here is the text of the last letter I sent to my broker - I think it sums up the whole story and my feelings about the situation quite well.

COMPLAINT

30th September 2007

To whom it may concern,
This complaint is not directed at you, but the insurer Equity Red Star. I am asking for your help and advice as my independent broker in resolving this situation.

My car (a Citroen BX registered D562 VTF) was written off in an accident on 29/07/07. It was the other driver’s fault: he accepted responsibility at the scene and has not since tried to change this position.

I have three problems with the way in which Equity Red Star handled my claim.

• 1. I was offered £400 for my car. This was £100 lower than the agreed value, which was in fact a low value for the car. I estimate it was actually worth £700-£800, but I would have accepted £500 as that was the sum we had agreed. Why did they break that contract? Why did they make such a low offer for a car in exceptional condition with low mileage, especially as they would be claiming the sum back from the other driver’s insurance? Surely they should have been working for me, their client, to get the highest claim possible. On a more personal note, when I phoned Equity Red Star to discuss this, the representative I spoke to me was extremely rude. I was left feeling that I shouldn’t have had the presumption to ask for more money, like a child complaining about his Christmas present and asking for a better one, despite the fact that the offer would not be enough to replace my car with another in similar condition.
• 2. They will not release me from the contract. Having discovered how poor their service is, I decided to change insurers. I found another insurance company which is recommended by friends, and which gives me a cheaper quote. But when I rang you to cancel my policy last week I was told that I could not cancel my policy until it comes to an end in February 2008 "because I have made a claim" and "because they need to make sure they will recoup what they’ve paid out." I did not record the call so I am paraphrasing – please correct me if I have misunderstood. First, I have not made a claim. The claim is against the other driver. They have paid me £300 (£400 less excess) for the car and they will be claiming that back from the other driver’s insurance company. Second, if I stay with them until February I will be paying them a total of £210 between now and then – so, if you choose to look at it this way, I am receiving just £90 to replace my car. I must also ask if I would be trapped in this contract if I had not replaced my car. I cannot function without a vehicle so I have had to buy a £150 banger, which I have transferred the policy to. What if I hadn’t? Would I still have to keep paying until February?
• 3. When I wrote to them with evidence to show that my car was worth more than £400, I included a line in my letter saying that I expect to receive a no-claims certificate when I move on to another insurance company, as the accident was the other driver’s fault. They have replied saying that they will issue this certificate only when they have recouped their losses from the other insurance company. This is utterly unacceptable – it is no concern of mine how quickly the other company pays its bills.

I pay the monthly direct debit on the first of every month so by the time you receive this I will have paid for coverage through October. I would therefore like to cancel my policy on the 31st October and start with my new insurance company on the 1st November. I would like Equity Red Star to review my car claim quickly and pay out the rest (for a value between £750 and £1,950 according to the documentation I have sent them) by the end of October. Please note that the above only applies to the car claim; having discovered Equity Red Star’s level of service I have engaged an external firm of lawyers and am pursuing my injury claim directly with the other driver’s insurers through them rather than use the legal cover included with my policy. I hope you will be able to help me with this matter. If not, please let me know straight away – I will then take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman.

Yours faithfully,

Stuart Hedges

A few days later, I received a cheque and a letter of apology - which raised even more questions and concerns than it answered - bringing the total of the claim for the car to £750.

It's important to state that I dislike exaggerated claims - but I was not going to accept that Snoopy was only worth £300 (£400, less excess - which I shouldn't have been paying as it was not my fault). I believe £750 was a fair value for the car, so I'm walking away happy with the result - but very upset that I had to go through two months of work, researching car adverts, being insulted by a company that I give a lot of money to and writing letters before I achieved what I should have got in the first place.

Having a car accident is an extremely stressful thing. I pay my insurance company lots of money to take part of that stress away. Instead, Equity Red Star added to it.

With the insurance situation finally sorted out, it was time to remove the car from my friend's field, where it had been resting since the accident.

My good friend David, who I know through the forums at the BXProject, came down with his van and big trailer to take it away. He would later strip the car and distribute the spares among other BXProject members. I didn't ask for any money - I just wanted the bits to be useful. As it happens, almost everything went.

Getting the car out of the field was entertaining. We couldn't get the car started (the boot lamp had stayed on and completely killed the battery) and there wasn't space in front to manoeuvre the van plus trailer in front of it so we had to shift the car.

First we pulled it back and around, using the van and a towrope - fun, on a wet field.

Then David moved the trailer in front of the car and pushed the car forwards towards it with the van. I was steering the BX through both of these manoeuvres and I did not enjoy it. It was like reliving the accident in slow motion.

I had an email from David a few days later.

What I have discovered though, in the process of breaking the car up for spares, is the reason why the rear of the car refused to rise after the accident: It appears that the force of the impact was partly taken by the spare wheel, which did a fairly admirable job of smashing straight through the transverse exhaust box, breaking the height corrector off the rear axle and then bending the rear axle tube. The floor is so damaged under there that the fuel filler neck has been ripped from the floor and the fuel tank very nearly came off too. It's a good thing that the BX fuel tank is so far forward.

I'm guessing that the progressive nature of the impact (bumper, rear floor, spare, exhaust, axle) was the saving grace. Had it been a solid square-on impact at the same speed, I hate to think how much more serious it would have been.

*makes mental note to be driving the BX next time someone decides to run into the back of me*

Gulp.