Buying advice Rover 75
Discussion
Considering buying Rover 75. Any advice would be gratefully accepted. Budget £5- 6,000. Reliability for everyday commute prob about 10,000 miles per year. Fuel consumption and any advice about engine size, advantages/ disadvantages of different engines and fuel consumption of different size engines would be most welcome. I am a new user to the site and will gratefully post a reply to any advice.
Pop on here, an absolute mine of info.
www.the75andztclub.co.uk
The V6 75 is an incredible bargain at the moment, go for top spec as there's little difference when 2nd hand.Diesels are good but you pay a big premium for one. I'd probably avoid the 1.8.
If you scroll down this page here..
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
You'll see my posts onwhat I bought and what I think of it !
10 months on and it's had one bulb go, that's it.
www.the75andztclub.co.uk
The V6 75 is an incredible bargain at the moment, go for top spec as there's little difference when 2nd hand.Diesels are good but you pay a big premium for one. I'd probably avoid the 1.8.
If you scroll down this page here..
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
You'll see my posts onwhat I bought and what I think of it !
10 months on and it's had one bulb go, that's it.
jonpe69 said:
I owned a V6 auto, great car and I would buy another any day. Make sure the cam belts have been changed as required because they are quad cams and cost IIRC in the region of £400 to change. Other than that general items with proof of regular service is a must.
Belt change on the V6 is more like £550 plus nowadays. Having said that there is a lot of scremongering about this IMHO.The belts were designed to have a life of 150000 miles,the 6 year/90K miles is just a precaution. I bought mine at 8 years old 28K miles and haven't bothered after speaking to my Mg/Rover dealerFor half your £5-6,000 budget, you should be able to find a nice well cared for example. £6,000 could get the rather nice V8 version ~ depends on your real needs and priorities.
The 1.8 with the K-Series is in my opinion asking a lot for that little engine even in turbocharged form in this medium sized car. Some have completed huge mileages without much trouble whilst others have been troublesome with damaged cylinder head gaskets. They are an easy inexpensive fix provided the problem is spotted before the engine is damaged by excessive heat. However some pro-outfits see those repairs as a nice little earner... even when they do not need doing! Others charge fairer more reasonably for the job. The job is well within the scope of any half decent DIYer and that can keep the actual cost well below £100.
The V6s are a fine engine and really suit the car. Being more powerful and giving better performance. Of course, the V6s are less economical than the 1.8s. However, both can return very good figures when driven for economy. The diesel versions are also held in high regard.
Drive the various types and you can then decide which suits you best. Then find a well maintained and cared for car and I'm sure you'll be delighted with it. There is some excellent value out there if you search with patience.
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The 1.8 with the K-Series is in my opinion asking a lot for that little engine even in turbocharged form in this medium sized car. Some have completed huge mileages without much trouble whilst others have been troublesome with damaged cylinder head gaskets. They are an easy inexpensive fix provided the problem is spotted before the engine is damaged by excessive heat. However some pro-outfits see those repairs as a nice little earner... even when they do not need doing! Others charge fairer more reasonably for the job. The job is well within the scope of any half decent DIYer and that can keep the actual cost well below £100.
The V6s are a fine engine and really suit the car. Being more powerful and giving better performance. Of course, the V6s are less economical than the 1.8s. However, both can return very good figures when driven for economy. The diesel versions are also held in high regard.
Drive the various types and you can then decide which suits you best. Then find a well maintained and cared for car and I'm sure you'll be delighted with it. There is some excellent value out there if you search with patience.
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tali1 said:
MGJohn said:
The 1.8 with the K-Series is in my opinion asking a lot for that little engine even in turbocharged form in this medium sized car.
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Performance figures for the 1.8 Turbo are more than adequate -in fact very close to thirsty V6 2.5..
I was talking about the 1.8 in the R75.... Despite its adequate 1.8 capacity, it's a physically small engine in a physically large car. The original K-Series engine design was a small 1.1 or 1.4.... it was stretched and stretched. The basic design was a very good one. Had they scaled up that design rather than over stretching the little 1.1 to 1.8, it would have been better in so many more ways.
What I mean by physically small... I can lift a 1.8 K-Series engine. Rover's similar capacity O or T-series engines I struggle to move, let alone lift. There are three 1.8 K-Series engines in our family fleet including the VVC versions. We are enthusiasts for the engine and in all its forms. Despite being designed over two decades ago, the little k-Series still can punch well above its weight ...
I bought a new 1.8 K-Series engined MGZS new in 2003. Touch wood, the car has been 100% reliable just needing routine renewals. That engine is ideal in that car, but putting it in the larger heavier R75 is asking a lot but I can understand why they did. The R75 is a nice car and not everybody wants or needs 200ps under the bonnet which my daily driver Rover has.
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michael lowe said:
Considering buying Rover 75. Any advice would be gratefully accepted. Budget £5- 6,000. Reliability for everyday commute prob about 10,000 miles per year. Fuel consumption and any advice about engine size, advantages/ disadvantages of different engines and fuel consumption of different size engines would be most welcome. I am a new user to the site and will gratefully post a reply to any advice.
Nice car shame about the engines . . . Don't buy any of the K/KV6 petrol ones, both the 4 and V6 units suffer from head gasket failures, which if left unfixed also damages the block (the material becomes softened due to the repeated overheating). These failures cannot be avoided, even carefully driven, fully serviced cars go pop. On the 4 cylinder cars failure is pretty much a certainty, at between 50 and 80k miles. V6 isn't quite as bad but still very risky. And they are thirsty too.
Thats why the diesels are worth more, although they are said to be a tad underpowered. But at least they are reliable.
A petrol Mundy is probably a much better bet, and they are equally cheap.
robgee1964 said:
michael lowe said:
Considering buying Rover 75. Any advice would be gratefully accepted. Budget £5- 6,000. Reliability for everyday commute prob about 10,000 miles per year. Fuel consumption and any advice about engine size, advantages/ disadvantages of different engines and fuel consumption of different size engines would be most welcome. I am a new user to the site and will gratefully post a reply to any advice.
Nice car shame about the engines . . . Don't buy any of the K/KV6 petrol ones, both the 4 and V6 units suffer from head gasket failures, which if left unfixed also damages the block (the material becomes softened due to the repeated overheating). These failures cannot be avoided, even carefully driven, fully serviced cars go pop. On the 4 cylinder cars failure is pretty much a certainty, at between 50 and 80k miles. V6 isn't quite as bad but still very risky. And they are thirsty too.
Thats why the diesels are worth more, although they are said to be a tad underpowered. But at least they are reliable.
A petrol Mundy is probably a much better bet, and they are equally cheap.
robgee1964 said:
michael lowe said:
Considering buying Rover 75. Any advice would be gratefully accepted. Budget £5- 6,000. Reliability for everyday commute prob about 10,000 miles per year. Fuel consumption and any advice about engine size, advantages/ disadvantages of different engines and fuel consumption of different size engines would be most welcome. I am a new user to the site and will gratefully post a reply to any advice.
Nice car shame about the engines . . . Don't buy any of the K/KV6 petrol ones, both the 4 and V6 units suffer from head gasket failures, which if left unfixed also damages the block (the material becomes softened due to the repeated overheating). These failures cannot be avoided, even carefully driven, fully serviced cars go pop. On the 4 cylinder cars failure is pretty much a certainty, at between 50 and 80k miles. V6 isn't quite as bad but still very risky. And they are thirsty too.
Thats why the diesels are worth more, although they are said to be a tad underpowered. But at least they are reliable.
A petrol Mundy is probably a much better bet, and they are equally cheap.
A petrol Mondeo will A - Be 100% bland and B - Have no toys at all.
If running costs are an issue, then i'd say get the V6 (they are super cheap atm) and then LPG it... diesel spend, petrol power!
I personally know two people with KV6 engined 75's, the pub landlord & a friend, both have suffered HGF's, both cars are one owner bought new with FSH neither have done over 60k !!
So that's a 100% HGF rate on the the two cars I know of.
Diesel or the V8 are the only ones I'd buy, though the interiors are shockingly bad at wearing miles.
So that's a 100% HGF rate on the the two cars I know of.
Diesel or the V8 are the only ones I'd buy, though the interiors are shockingly bad at wearing miles.
Edited by cptsideways on Monday 16th August 23:55
cptsideways said:
I personally know two people with KV6 engined 75's, the pub landlord & a friend, both have suffered HGF's, both cars are one owner bought new with FSH neither have done over 60k !!
So that's a 100% HGF rate on the the two cars I know of.
Diesel or the V8 are the only ones I'd buy, though the interiors are shockingly bad at wearing miles.
I think you must of seen some very bad examples... i've only heard of one KV6 HGF, and besides the seat bolsters on the ZT (which get torn up when people get in...) & the white Rover 75 steering wheel the interior wells very very well...So that's a 100% HGF rate on the the two cars I know of.
Diesel or the V8 are the only ones I'd buy, though the interiors are shockingly bad at wearing miles.
Edited by cptsideways on Monday 16th August 23:55
Jakg said:
cptsideways said:
I personally know two people with KV6 engined 75's, the pub landlord & a friend, both have suffered HGF's, both cars are one owner bought new with FSH neither have done over 60k !!
So that's a 100% HGF rate on the the two cars I know of.
The KV6's established a reputation for head gasket failures quite early on, just ask any experienced mechanic. They are a lot dearer to fix than the 4 cylinder cars. So that's a 100% HGF rate on the the two cars I know of.
The police soon found them unreliable too, having had the Honda 2.7 (which was superb) replaced with the KV6 2.5 in the Rover 800.
As for diesels they are adequate for some but the general consensus is they are just that bit short of power.
As I said, nice cars shame about the engines . . .
cptsideways said:
I personally know two people with KV6 engined 75's, the pub landlord & a friend, both have suffered HGF's, both cars are one owner bought new with FSH neither have done over 60k !!
So that's a 100% HGF rate on the the two cars I know of.
Diesel or the V8 are the only ones I'd buy, though the interiors are shockingly bad at wearing miles.
Well I personally know of 2 cars,both V6's (my own and a my work colleague) that have a combined car age of 15 and neither have suffered HGF.So that's a 100% HGF rate on the the two cars I know of.
Diesel or the V8 are the only ones I'd buy, though the interiors are shockingly bad at wearing miles.
Edited by cptsideways on Monday 16th August 23:55
So that's a 100% NON-failure rate on cars I have immediate experience of.In fact it's b
ks, because on the owners forum you'll see it's VERY rare on the V6 period.As I said earlier, personally I'd avoid the 1.8, but to tar the V6 in the V6 as the same is simply laughable.It's tehsame with the belts on the V6, there's a few scare stories but failure rate is miniscule. My own TVR/Noble,Rover-Mg dealer told me not to bother with the belts on mine as they had a built in life of 150,000 miles and they had never had a belt go prematurely in the 11 years of them servicing the 75/ZT.sjc said:
Well I personally know of 2 cars,
So that's a 100% NON-failure rate on cars I have immediate experience of.
Its good to hear they made at least two working ones. But to apply to same (flawed) statistical reasoning, we could say that of the 4 cars sampled on this discussion, 50% of them suffered head gasket failure.So that's a 100% NON-failure rate on cars I have immediate experience of.
My comments were based reliable information along with personal experiences and encounters. The OP asked for things to watch out for with the cars, and frankly this is one of them.
I of all people am very disappointed by it all, particularly as I worked as part of the development team for the KV6 (albeit on the electronic controls), in the mid 1990's. I'd love to have a 75 as I really like the car, but I can't be doing with a complex engine whose reliability, even when correctly treated, is questionable.
Edited by robgee1964 on Tuesday 17th August 09:33
Edited by robgee1964 on Tuesday 17th August 09:40
sjc said:
cptsideways said:
I personally know two people with KV6 engined 75's, the pub landlord & a friend, both have suffered HGF's, both cars are one owner bought new with FSH neither have done over 60k !!
So that's a 100% HGF rate on the the two cars I know of.
Diesel or the V8 are the only ones I'd buy, though the interiors are shockingly bad at wearing miles.
Well I personally know of 2 cars,both V6's (my own and a my work colleague) that have a combined car age of 15 and neither have suffered HGF.So that's a 100% HGF rate on the the two cars I know of.
Diesel or the V8 are the only ones I'd buy, though the interiors are shockingly bad at wearing miles.
Edited by cptsideways on Monday 16th August 23:55
So that's a 100% NON-failure rate on cars I have immediate experience of.In fact it's b
ks, because on the owners forum you'll see it's VERY rare on the V6 period.As I said earlier, personally I'd avoid the 1.8, but to tar the V6 in the V6 as the same is simply laughable.It's tehsame with the belts on the V6, there's a few scare stories but failure rate is miniscule. My own TVR/Noble,Rover-Mg dealer told me not to bother with the belts on mine as they had a built in life of 150,000 miles and they had never had a belt go prematurely in the 11 years of them servicing the 75/ZT.
The other issue with HGF on the v6 if you do get it is there are two of the blighters per engine. Whicj could effecitively double the costs involved. I think one of the failures was a corrosion related issue, despite the car running on Rover spec coolant & 100% Rover history. The old boy was dumbfounded as it was his retirement present. It's now worth about 50p but we did warn him
Think someone has had your pants down mate, HGF is extremelly rare on the modern KV6 engine however there has been issuses with the inlet manifold gaskets which can give the same symtoms of HGF.
Are you 100% sure that they indeed replaced the head gaskets or did they charge for it and only replace the inlet manifold gasket.
I would advise anybody buying which ever model of car to frequent the owners club forums and get an indepth feel before purchasing instead of relying on ill informed "experts".
All cars have their various problems not just MGROVER cars.
Are you 100% sure that they indeed replaced the head gaskets or did they charge for it and only replace the inlet manifold gasket.
I would advise anybody buying which ever model of car to frequent the owners club forums and get an indepth feel before purchasing instead of relying on ill informed "experts".
All cars have their various problems not just MGROVER cars.
MGZT 190 said:
Think someone has had your pants down mate, HGF is extremelly rare on the modern KV6 engine however there has been issuses with the inlet manifold gaskets which can give the same symtoms of HGF.
Are you 100% sure that they indeed replaced the head gaskets or did they charge for it and only replace the inlet manifold gasket.
I would advise anybody buying which ever model of car to frequent the owners club forums and get an indepth feel before purchasing instead of relying on ill informed "experts".
All cars have their various problems not just MGROVER cars.
Nah, deffo better to listen to someone who knew someone in a pub who knew a bloke who had an 825, or alternatively some bloke who worked on the fuseboard for it.Are you 100% sure that they indeed replaced the head gaskets or did they charge for it and only replace the inlet manifold gasket.
I would advise anybody buying which ever model of car to frequent the owners club forums and get an indepth feel before purchasing instead of relying on ill informed "experts".
All cars have their various problems not just MGROVER cars.
Edited to add, but harsh but you see my point.!
Edited by sjc on Tuesday 17th August 14:41
robgee1964 said:
sjc said:
Well I personally know of 2 cars,
So that's a 100% NON-failure rate on cars I have immediate experience of.
Its good to hear they made at least two working ones. But to apply to same (flawed) statistical reasoning, we could say that of the 4 cars sampled on this discussion, 50% of them suffered head gasket failure.So that's a 100% NON-failure rate on cars I have immediate experience of.
Edited by robgee1964 on Tuesday 17th August 09:40
statistical reasoning, I was merely defending the 75 against a Captainsideways comment of "both" V6 75's he " knew" of had HGF which apparently made a 100% failure rate.Edited by sjc on Tuesday 17th August 14:37
The pub landlords 75, definately both hg's changed as they could'nt determine which side had failed. I can confrim it was done & since then its now suffering leaky manifolds too. I'm not commenting on the workmanship done, its just I see the car & its owner several times a week. Its a bit of a running joke as he bought the V6 as he previously owned a K-Series!
Unfortunatley I don't know of any other V6 owners (other than the two previously mentioned) to confirm if any others have been fine. So my limted knowledge of them led me to believe they were crap - imho.
Unfortunatley I don't know of any other V6 owners (other than the two previously mentioned) to confirm if any others have been fine. So my limted knowledge of them led me to believe they were crap - imho.
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