Citroën 2cv
One of our cars exceeded it’s economic lifespan for us. It required a repair that cost more than the car’s value. We’d had the new-style VW bug for ten years, but it was time to move on.
My lovely wife used to drive a Citroën 2cv before I knew her and she always liked it. The 2cv is the French analog to the original German VW bug. It’s a people’s car; easy to maintain, reliable, and cheap to run. But the 2cvs were never sold in the US. While popular in Europe it’s a niche car here.
There’s a restorer and reseller online in New Jersey: Eurocar Imports. He also sells on eBay. We drove up and met the owner and looked at a car he had. Like all 2cvs the design is from the 1930s, although this car was built in 1983. (That makes it 10 years newer than our plane.) We made a deal and they’ve been doing some restoration on it since. Here it is after priming. It will be the classic Celeste Blue.
We pick it up this coming weekend and will be a 2-car family again.
The 2cv is a small car with a small engine: 26 hp. Some riding lawn mowers are more powerful. Of course this doesn’t have to drive a grass-cutting blade either! The 2cv can go 100 kph (63 mph) and gets around the same milage as our Prius, 50 mpg. We’ll drive it on longer trips sometimes but it will primarily be an around-town car.
I’ll be able to handle the repairs and maintenance. I used to work on my old-style bug and VW bus, and will be able to work on this too. I don’t work on modern cars anymore but I’ve still got my metric wrenches.
September 27th, 2009 at 20:50
I am jealous! ::))
I am very interested in a 2cv eventually. Have been in touch with them. Would LOVE to know how your experience works out and if you have any advice and roughly what it would take to own one like you did.
September 28th, 2009 at 08:17
We’ve been working with Noel Slade in Lakewood NJ, I’m sure he’d love to have more business! He sells on eBay as “citroenimportsusa” and his eBay store is http://stores.shop.ebay.com/EurocarimportsUSA__W0QQ_armrsZ1. He also sells offline too, which is how we’re doing it.
He seems like a very straight up guy, no bull, friendly and easygoing. He met us at his shop when we drove up there. It’s a set of garages in a light industrial area, although he’s moving soon or has moved to larger facility. There’s no storefront or anything like that to drive up overhead.
Owning a 2cv will require some effort as mechanics that know it are few in the US. Plan on doing much of your own maintenance. Fortunately, it’s a simple car!