Ready to get weird? Check out this rare 1987 Citroen CX 25 here on craigslist, which is a long wheelbase Prestige variant. Though never officially sold in the U.S. market, a few of these oddities did make their way stateside as grey market vehicles or through importers that dealt specifically with Citroen vehicles. This example is a bit rough cosmetically but said to have been expertly maintained; it is located in Los Angeles for $7,750.
As you can see, the paint appears uneven and there’s a large dent on the driver’s side rear. The wheels are also sporting some cheap-looking hubcaps, which are an odd choice for such a rare vehicle. It sits quite low and that’s no accident: the CX featured Citroen’s clever (but maintenance-intensive and expensive to fix) hydro-pneumatic suspension. It has a legendary ability to soak up bumps and provide a glass-smooth ride to occupants.
The seller doesn’t provide us much information in the way of details on how well this Citroen has been maintained. There’s lots of flowery language about its upkeep, but a vehicle like this needs ample details on what’s been serviced and when. Ironically, some of the bigger trouble spots for repair on these cars has less to do with the complex operating systems and more to do with normal wear and tear items. The perception of poor quality control did not help the CX’s reputation with customers.
There’s more evidence of dings, dents and poor paint quality on the passenger side, which does make you wonder what kind of a life this CX has lead despite being “expertly maintained by the best mechanic in America” for this generation of Citroen. Regardless of its cosmetic woes and lousy advertising, this CX 25 is a unique vehicle that doesn’t pop up every day, and certainly an interesting anecdote in the automotive encyclopedia. Have you ever driven one? Did its ride quality – or repair bills – blow you away?
If my toy fund was not presently sitting with a balance that would only cover about half the cost, I would love to have this. Have always wanted one!
well chris i do have one here in arizona a customer has left it behind and its been at my shop for over two years its a 86 model black with tan interior and i am getting title soon . dont care for the car myself i just fixed it for customer and well he just left it to die here. sort of speak. Robweiser39@gmail.com 5/4/2016.
I remember growing up in th 70’s there was a local guy that had a mechanical shop in Marietta Ga that had a parking lot full of these cars in for repairs, I can recall that was the only place I ever seen these. Cool looking cars
Yes, I drove several of these in EU livery, both the Prestige and Turbo versions. I drove them because they give you a fantastic ride even on very rough roads, the turbo is plenty fast and they are pretty much bullet proof when you know how to “feel” a car while driving it. Comes with all the bells and whistles, great for cross country trips. The only expense you can’t fix at any normal mechanic is the hydraulic system (which is high and I never had any issues with in 1000s of miles) but all else should not scare you off. Well, maybe the availability of service parts, that could be an issue here in the US – not sure about that as I never drove one here so maybe someone can chime in on that.
As to the car offered: how many more of the same exterior pictures does he want to show us??? We get it; it’s banged up! Someone didn’t “feel” this car and makes this car overpriced for me based on that alone. And then, these had very nice leather interior, I want to see that, also the dash is unobtainable and if cracked forget it. From what I can see someone with little respect for cars drove this one, no statement about some “best mechanic in the USA” can put this one at a higher level. Should be half the price for all the stuff that’s not shown/mentioned and undoubtedly coming at you but for one of THE best rides you’ll ever be in.
well for the ride iv driven one and its definitly a jewel to drive and sure is weird to drive since you do have three different settings on the suspension as in low to the ground and then middle like all other cars height and then high which makes it like a 4wheel drive car (eagle) its definitly a strange one though. the interior is a bit strange key hole (ign) is on the left side and the stereo is in the center concel right by the arm rest so no reaching for the stereo its at finger touch and for the back seat wow the leg room it has its like your sitting in a recliner literly.
Love it. If i lived in SoCal – or near any Citroen specialist – I’d grab it.
We used to have a CX25 Familiale estate (8 seater). Probably one of the most reliable cars we’ve ever had. Extremely comfortable ride and simple to maintain apart from the hydraulics – they needed expert attention. But in the 7 years we had it the only time it needed major work was the first time it went in for its annual test and they found corrosion on the steel hydraulic lines. So a local Citroen expert replaced all the steel lines with cupro-nickel ones and swapped out all the spheres at the same time as a precaution. After that it was fine. Only oddities were the indicators which were not self-cancelling as the switch was on the dash, not the column and the radio which was located down in in the centre console pointing upwards.
needs $10,000 in suspension work :((
How do you know this James, did you talk to the seller?
no, just a guess on the rare imported parts, my bad.
How is this a barn find?
Those are the correct hubcaps, btw.
I commissioned 16 CX and XM variants from Pierre Tissier as 6 wheel Ambulance based variants to use as press delivery trucks. The suspension is utterly reliable; there isn’t 10K worth of parts in it. We used 18 sphere systems with 75 gallon fuel cells under the floor. 2.5 liter diesels with turbos did around 60k miles every 2 months. Nly weak spot was the diesels broke cranks between 3 and 4 cylinder.
The cars would cruise at 160-180 KPH loaded with 1400 kilos.
a friend of mine in Philly had one he was Greek it was so incredible to look at and the ride was incredible