Ds Hunting

[Paulinqld]

Having recently purchased a C4, the marque now has me in its spell. I've been scouting out DSs.
Can anyone advise as to whether $7900 is a fair asking price for a '74 DS 23 Pallas auto ?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[pottsy]

Paul

My personal opinion is that this price is quite reasonable. Cars that have been fully restored or kept in immaculate condition command far more than this. For a car that is registered, roadworthy and driveable, this is well in the ball park.

You have to be aware, however, that any car of this type is going to potentially need a lot of time and money spent on it to (a) bring it up to scratch, (b) keep it in good nick and (c) maintain it rust free.

As you will gather from this forum the rust issue with DS Citroens is always to the fore.

That being said, if you're prepared to do the work yourself and have somewhere to do it, go for it.

Don't be scared by the hydraulic system either. It's actually quite simple in its operation, and there's plenty of support for it in Australia.

The DS is, of course, becoming a collectable classic and the more people who appreciate them as the mobile art form they are the better. I had a DS23 some 20 odd years ago and it was magnificent to drive. Mine was the 5 speed, but I imagine that the auto would be quite acceptable. I suspect that even an auto DS23 would be marginally faster than my D Special, but then arthritic snails give me a run for their money as well!

If the auto is the borg warner derived BW35 as most of the later ones were, I believe, you certainly won't have any problems with parts availability. And the BW35 is also a fairly bulletproof design, its used in many different cars from Peugeot 504 through to Falcons.

In summmary, go for it. You will never regret owning one of the automotive world's most unique and satisfying cars, and I suggest that if you keep it in good usable condition, you'll never lose on it either.

See you on the DS 50th anniversary run in October?

Cheers, Pottsy.

 

[donat]

Having recently purchased a C4, the marque now has me in its spell. I've been scouting out DSs.
Can anyone advise as to whether $7900 is a fair asking price for a '74 DS 23 Pallas auto ?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Come to the Citroen Car Club of Queensland's meeting and have a chat with some of our lovely members who'll gladly offer you advice regarding DS models.

We have our meetings at Chevron Prestige Cars on Abbotsford Rd, Bowen Hills behind (in front?) of the train station there. Our next meeting is this coming Wednesday from 7:30pm

http://www.citroenclub.org/

 

[Clutch Cargo]

Can anyone advise as to whether $7900 is a fair asking price for a '74 DS 23 Pallas auto ?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

It's a real 'how long is a piece of string' question. But the points made already are all very true. As a recent DS buyer, it seemed to me when I bought, that the market consists of:

C grade:
Upto $5,000 for a potentially drivable yet non-registered rusting, dented DS with poor interior and no history.

B grade:
$5,000 to $15,000 for a drivable DS with little rust, a fair history and fairly well maintained.

A grade:
$15,000 to $30,000 for a fully restored, fully optioned, excellent condition DS with a good service history.

The newer the year of manufacter / original condition / more options = higher price.

Definately not a hard and fast rule - but those are my own thoughts on pricing for you. Without any appriasal on the car to go from except it's year and auto, I would say it is a good potential purchase for the price.

But I would STRONGLY advise getting in contact with the local club and finding a knowledgable DS mechanic and paying them for a full check over - it could save you $$$$$.

Good luck!

 

[Paulinqld]

To all - thanks for the advice, it is appreciated.

I definitely will attend a meeting of the Qld Club. Unfortunately I'm an accountant and it's absolutely impossible to take the travel time to attend the meetings at this time of year. I will make it though later on I'm sure.

 

[Aaron]

An accountant buying a 30+ year old citroen - strange - but I like it!:headbang: