Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Citroën is a wagon, which in France is often referred to as a Break. Let’s see if this rare-in-the-U.S. longroof is priced not to break the bank.
The holiday season is in full swing and yesterday we formally welcomed December with a 2000 Porsche Boxster that would likely prove a holiday gift that keeps on giving. A $6,200 asking price meant it could easily be the best secret Santa present to yourself too. That asking earned the Porsche a solid 69 percent Nice Price win, and, based on the comments, some holiday joy in all our hearts. Whoa, is that mistletoe you’re standing under?
Have you ever met someone from France? If so, you’ve likely noticed that by way of greeting they oftentimes don’t just awkwardly shake hands while avoiding eye contact as most Americans do. Instead, they pull you in for a hug and a quick peck on each cheek. That warmth and in-yo-face nature isn’t exclusive to the French people either. It extends to their cars as well.
Take today’s 1969 Citroën Ami 6 Break as an example. When was the last time you saw such a fun little wagon? From the nose, it looks remarkably like a miniature version of the Plymouth Fury from a decade prior, only not as evil as envisioned by Stephen King. Interestingly, this one sports a quartet of sealed beam headlamps rather than the Ami’s more traditional oval units. Introduced in 1961, the Ami 6 was, in fact, one of the first cars to have oval lamps.
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The wagon body style is practical and full of fun little details like the skirted rear fenders and windows that slide back and forth rather than roll down. And if you think this wagon is funky, you should see the sedan. That features a reverse-rake rear window with a roofline intended to hold the boot lid up when open.
Underneath all this is a modified 2CV platform and a larger 602cc edition of the 2CV’s air-cooled flat-twin engine. In 1969 that provided 32 horsepower (gross) which gives the Ami a top speed of about 75 miles per hour. Sorry if you thought the 6 in the model name referenced cylinder count, that was just the model designation. Later models went by Ami 8 and Ami Super, the latter being a four-cylinder edition. The transmission is a four-speed manual with an umbrella-style handle shifter sprouting jauntily from under the dash. In old-school Citroën fashion, the car also sports a single-spoke steering wheel.
The arrest-me red paint on this Ami is said to be just seven years old. That was a part of a restoration that was undertaken after the car was imported into Canada from the South of France where it had been resident transport at an estate. What a sad turn of events for the car to be spirited away from such an idyllic life to the icy poutine palace that is our neighbor to the north.
According to the ad, this Ami was then brought to Southern California where it was put into storage for an undisclosed length of time. It has since been brought out of storage and revitalized with a rebuild for the carb, brake work, a new starter, and some ignition updates to make it what the seller calls “a pleasure on the road.”
Most cars of this era, and especially Citroëns, rust like crazy. This one, however, seems to have dodged that bullet. The bodywork looks clean and straight, and all of the bright work seems intact. A fun feature of these cars is the ease with which the seats may be removed. Early ads for the Ami showed them serving as picnic perches outside the car. If you wanted to do that with this Ami, you wouldn’t need to feel any embarrassment over the upholstery since that looks to be in fine shape. Everything else in the cabin seems serviceable as well.
The ad gives us a look at an Ami’s engine bay, just perhaps not this Ami’s engine bay. For whatever reason, the seller has included a shot of a blue car’s motor. Whether that’s an old shot of this car from before the paint job or of another car entirely goes without explanation in the ad.
What we do get from the ad is that both the odometer and the title appear to have issues. The former is broken leaving the actual mileage unknown, while the latter is, in fact, missing and will need to be reconstituted. The car is offered with a bill of sale and the seller is apparently willing to do the title work at the DMV for an additional fee. Yeah, I think we can handle that.
What we will need to determine is whether or not we can handle the seller’s set $19,500 asking price for this Ami. That’s a lot of money for so little a car. It should be noted that nice 2CVs are going for about that here in the States and this is a good bit rarer than those these days.
What do you say, is this Ami 6 worth that $19,500 asking as it’s presented in the ad? Or, does that price make it no friend of yours?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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Keyword: At $19,500, Is This 1969 Citroën Ami 6 Break A Good Deal?