SOLD
Does anyone know why Citroen called their 2CV a 3CV in Argentina?
Asking Price: $13,000
Location: Hagerstown, Maryland
Title Status: Missing
Seller’s Description: This is a Citroen 3CV produced in Argentina, roughly 6,600 were made. This Citroen has the ability to switch between a hard top and rag top convertible. New tires come with the car as well as an additional 4 that are on the car. new upholstery in car. Has the original manual ( in spanish )
Body Condition: Original paint with minor chips to under coat. There are a few minor rust spots along the bottom. There are no dents or dings. bumper sits slightly crooked because it is loose.
Mechanical Condition: Has authentic Citroen parts from Argentina. The engine recently had $3,000 put into it. The engine starts, but has not been started for 3 years. The battery is new and all the electronics seem to work when auxiliary is on.
List your classified here on Barn Finds!
Nice to see that this is a deluxe model instead of the basic version. The only one I’ve ever driven with a basic one that I drove inside of the Michelin plant in France. It was below basic, the seats were canvas (no cushions, just canvas between bars). The shift lever came out of the dash, no door locks etc. Despite all that, it was quite fun to drive.
‘ Rag top convertible ‘ ?? 😂
chitty chitty bang bang
There was a great write up here on barnfinds from a couple of years ago.
https://barnfinds.com/french-by-way-of-argentina-citroen-3cv/
Basically, the 3CV has a 3 HP engine instead of the 2CV or “2 horse”
So it looks like the same seller is trying to sell it again, SimCity same color etc. He kept another 2 years and raised the price $4000!
Never seen one in person, but always thought they were so ugly they were cute. I remember seeing the panel van in one of the Pink Panther movies, thought it was impressive and funny in there.
Seems like a lot of money for a rusty, non road-worthy 2cv with its original chassis and no title. The fact that the Argentinian version is less common would not seem to support that kind of price. There were all kinds of special edition 2cv’s, but their rarity doesn’t seem to translate to this kind of price.
I have to admit when I am wrong, I thought that the Lotus Europa was the ugliest automobile ever made. Now I stand corrected, this one wins the prize today. It’s as if all the designers were in charge of one piece and they all met at the factory and put it together. In the car business they say there is an a** for every seat.
I guess you haven’t seen a Nissan Juke, or older Murano?
They made more than 6500 of them. There’s still that many on the road in the provincial areas
Let me get this straight: The car starts, but hasn’t been started in 3 years?
The two seem mutually exclusive…if it started today or last week, then it starts. But if it hasn’t started in 3 years, than we don’t really know if it starts.
And then there is the title issue: For the 13K asking price, you would think the seller would make some effort to get a title for the car. Sure, some states don’t need titles for old cars, but many states do, so the seller is limiting his potential buying audience without a title to the car.
Start the car today and get a title! Come on people, try harder!
I remember seeing these in Germany.I didn’t think I would ever see those things over here.
@ David Frank.According to Wikipedia the 2 cv engine HP ranges from 0 to 29 HP depending on the size of engine 375 to 602 cc
In France, we have what we call “tax power” or “puissance fiscale”.
It is roughly based upon the size of the engine.
The early 2CV had a 425cc engine which lead to a 2CV “tax power”.
In creasing the capacity to 625cc lead to 3CV “tax power”
Citroen continued to call the model 2CV.
We are living in Spain now and these are fairly easy to find in the classified ADs. Prices are much more reasonable than this one, but of course, you’d still need to ship it Stateside.
How did they manage to spend 3K on the engine? I’ve never spent that much and I’m building them to race.
Derek, you should come to Australia. I just fitted new head gaskets, timing belt, water pump, radiator hoses etc to my 2004 Subaru Forester and the parts cost $1500Aus. I didn’t even get the heads machined and did all the work myself. In regard to the Citroen, as they are quite old now, it is possible the parts are premium priced. Also, they can lose a tooth off the crown wheel and as the gear box (which holds the crown wheel) is very small the tooth can jamb up and split the gearbox.
Parts for these cars are dirt cheap and everything is available.
2CV’s a flat twin; no head gasket and air-cooled. A barrel-and-piston set’s a couple of hundred; new valves less than a hundred. Never had to buy a crank. They’re the kind of engine that you can keep running until everything’s so utterly knackered that it absolutely flies – fairly briefly. I’ve never had any gearbox trouble and I have a very heavy right foot. I’ve quite often driven to Glasgow with the needle on the stop all the way.
Driving the green car here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvrqmNKNFZs
This car is WAY OVER-PRICED. I’ve owned about a dozen, they’re great fun when they’re good but this looks pretty beat on the outside, one has to wonder how bad the chassis is and are those big rubber bands holding the headlight lenses in place??
read the sunday funnies first, then read barn finds! both amusing!
The one reader is correct. I live in Argentina in San Rafael Mendoza close to the Andes. there are thousands of those cars still on the road here they are very very popular because they are cheap to operate. the 3 CV has a larger engine 625 CC than the 2cv. every now and then you see a 2cv here but they are rare. most of them are the threes .they have a lot of them there which are little pickup trucks with covered canopies . they are very popular with the workers .very cheap here but most of them at this point are in bad shape. You can buy some of them here for three or four hundred dollars US and every now and then you can find a good one for around $1000. If anybody is interested I can have them shipped out of here to the states I can get three of them in one container and the freight cost into the west coast is about $6, 500.
Drop me a note if you are interested
If you find any good ones, please let us know and we will feature it on the site. Thanks Tomas!
I don´t see why this ad should be selected by Barn Finds.
Surely you know that this is a ridiculous price for a beater Citroen 2CV (Argentinian, even with “authentic Citroën parts from Argentina” adds no value)?
If so, why condone it by giving the seller publicity? If not, how credible is the site?
I’m pretty sure I first looked at this car 10 years ago when I lived not far from Hagerstown, MD. If it’s the same car, potential buyers should examine the underside of the car very carefully, especially the rocker assemblies where the front & rear suspension systems are mounted to the body.
Before buying, I would suggest a potential buyer check out the VIN with both EPA and the DOT to make sure it has been properly imported. [It’s easy to legally drive a car thru a border checkpoint, then illegally sell it in the US, without DOT/EPA papers.] The importation tax in America is not too high, but at 2% of the sale price, that’s still almost $700.
Without a record of importation and US title, it could be a major effort to obtain legal ownership.
I would love to own another 2CV, especially the “more refined” 3 HP version like this one. They really are fun to drive, and they seem to attract cute 20-something ladies like a ‘Vette does!
The suspension’s all attached to the (separate) chassis, not the body. New chassis are £300-ish. Bodies are a bit rusty, generally.
Derek,
My bad, I wasn’t describing it right, what I remember was the chassis rails having a lot of rot around the suspension points. Thanks for correcting me.
Right!
http://www.savoiacars.com/principal_in.html from Argentina sells frames and other parts, in Germany http://www.cipere.fr and many more in France: Mehariclub, MCDA, Cesbron Jerome,…see ebay.fr
Parts are very cheap and easy to locate, they made millions of these cars
I would bet the only difference between this one and the Euro ones is the stamped numbers for pieces. Shipped to SA and then just assembled there “out of the box”. There’s 4,000 plus early Camaros in Europe that came in a box and assembled there. Want something to do? Go to the Phillipines and look for the one big block early Camaro there and then ask your price……….
It’s like soccer , Argentina are out of the park and so is this man’s asking price ! 😂
HAHAHAHAHA, W T F. $13,000 for this red garbage can with lost title and not recently checked out to see if it starts for sure. Surely the guys either on drugs or dreaming.
Or . . . maybe he’s hopin’ for a buyer stoned stupid!!
I had no idea that an auto maker disliked the French people that much to build something this hideous for the buying public.
David,
You should realize the French public has a VERY different idea of what things should look like compared to the rest of the world. the French, as well as most of the 3rd world car buying public, loved the 2CV. It’s the car that saved Citroen from bankruptcy in the late 1950s. They were in steady production for over 30 years.
Yes, it’s ugly, quirky, & under powered, but they went into remote places where American or other European cars, trucks, & 4WD vehicles simply could not go. This was often accomplished by taking the 4 doors off the car [they lift off the hinge pins on early models], taking out the motor/gearbox, removing the wheels, and then humans and/or pack animals would carry the entire car in pieces, to the other side of ravines, mountains, & rivers, then quickly reassemble the car & drive away!
10 to 1 the wife wouldn’t get out of the car and you had to pack her too.
Re: David Ulrey – I think you misunderstand the motivation of any auto maker, simply put, their goal is to produce what the public will buy and obviously this little car was very successful. No automaker would intentionally inflict (well the exception may be the Pontiac Aztec) something upon the public that they didn’t think would sell. But even GM in it’s misguided arrogance thought there would be a market for the Aztec. Ironically, all the little European cars introduced as basic no-frills motoring to the working classes became trendy and popular with the rich as well, and continue to be highly collectible. In addition to these little Citroens there is of course VW’s Beetle (and the older the better), the Austin Mini, and the Fiats Topolino and 500. From a personal perspective, a Citroen 2CV is a delightful car to drive, I think it’s impossible to maintain a frown or scowl while behind the wheel – very cheap therapy for the depressed!!
The most comical I’ve read about Citroën is a feeling about shareholders:
‘Shareholders are dumb scoundrels; fool, because they give us their money, rogues, as they want to earn money without working’
2CV, any Beetle, Mini cooper and 500 would make my ideal mini car collection.
Don’t forget the Issetta, initially designed in Italy, produced by BMW under license.
A Swiss team is preparing a remake, called: ‘Microlino’, a Spanish group constructs a mixed feet and electric powered car, the: ‘Evovelo’
Also: Microlino, Evovelo, updated versions of Isetta microcar, produced under license by BMW
My readings indicated that nearing the end of the second world war the Germans destroyed the Citroen car factory as they retreated against the allies. There was no heavy machinery left and the 2CV panels were designed to be made on hand presses. Whether that is true or not I can’t say but it might well be.
No, Citroën factory was not destroyed, nazis sent machinery by train to their controlled places, but ‘resistance’ changed the shipment labels, and it was lost for a long time. The prototypes were stored in a concealed site, and only discovered very recently
…..way overpriced considering the apparent condition! Although lately we’ve seen some 2cv sold for much more than justified……good luck to the seller…..warning to the buyer!
I have owned a 2CV for many years, and I can confirm that they are a hoot to drive. Even with the “big” engine (602cc) you can drive flat out pretty much all the time. The 602 has enough power to be used on modern highways, as long as you stay aware of what is going on around you. Easy to work on, and still affordable parts. This particular listing needs a lot more photos, specifically of commonly rust prone areas. Even just some photos of the floors with the mats removed would help. I helped to sell a couple of 2CVs last summer, so I know the market. These cars have increased in value over the last few years, but it is the very clean cars that bring the strong prices.
As you know, the Citroën presidency asked their engineers to design a car where the driver could get in with his hat on, and able to carry a basket of eggs over a carved field with no eggs broken after the trip. They met all the requirements.
Initially, the car had a flat-twin, water cooled engine, but they switched for production to air cooling, 425 cc, finally, 602 cc; a related engine in ‘VISA’ had 652 cc. Panhard, a company Citroën purchased, had 750 cc and 850 cc air-cooled flat twins, also Daf in the Netherlands had it. Fiat installed 2 cylinders in line air-cooled engines in their 500 and 126 line of small cars.
Air-cooled engines will start with the same ease in the Death Valley or in Alaska winter