Mr Laurence

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201904177067403 £100 - 2 days MOT. I doubt it’d pass another though

For context, here’s the photo I found when it was on eBay. The plate matches what the current seller has told me. This was taken about 6 months ago, when it was being sold as a project and went for a bit less than they’re wanting now. I don’t know how much it’s changed since, if at all.

Might as well post on here rather than making a new thread: I’ve been on look out for a 205 XS, and following a speculative message to an unrealated gumtree ad, I’ve been offered one. It’s a Red G reg with MOT until June and some spares to go with it. 146k miles, lots of little jobs done over the last 1000 or so miles (radiator, gear linkages, filters etc.) apparently it’s cosmetically a bit messy, with lots of little dents, scratches and stone chips. I’ve not seen any photos of it, but a quick googling found a few older pictures of the same car. Says he’s looking for around £1,500. Is that about right or way off the mark?

Interesting... About 15 years ago, my dad had an Astra identical to this, the same spec colour, everything. At the time, he didn’t live far from Nottingham. I know it’s unlikely, but I can’t shake the feeling this might be the same one....

Really interesting stuff that! 0.3133% doesn’t sound much, but apparently that’s more than 90k cars. Not bad at all considering it’s been nearly 15 years since the last Rover was made.

Glad I’m not the only one who thinks this! Nearly all cars have a colour that they just look ‘right’ in. A few I can think of: Brooklands Green on Triumph Dolomites Tuscan Blue on early Range Rovers Russet Brown on late 70’s Minis Broom Yellow on Fiat Cinquecentos Mariner Blue on Mk1 Mx5s Wedgewood Blue on Rover 75s Fantasia Green on VW Lupos

Paid

This is almost a 5 hour journey each way from me, and if my previous experiences of small Citroens are anything to go by, I’ll have trouble folding myself into it... That said, one random please.

If you’re willing to build a plastic kit, Aoshima make one that looks pretty nice in photos

Depending on what cars chosen, id possibly be interested in this. How about this: https://www.gumtree.com/p/austin/2.0l-auto-montego-estate/1332973300 Properly miserable looking, but MOT till August. I’d bet that at £8ish a ticket this would sell fairly quick on here

Probably stating the obvious here, but looking at photos, it’s a flat round part. Would a generic cover the right size work?

I’ve got an 07 plate 1.4 Polo, save for the facelift, essentially the same as an 04. I quite like it, it’s been pretty reliable so far, everything seems properly put together on them - as far as I know there’s no major common issues either. It’s also got far more space than a Fiesta/Corsa of the era. For something this size and age, the fuel economy isn’t amazing (I average somewhere between 42-45mpg), but by no means awful Really my only criticisms are the laughably tiny glovebox and how boring they are - everything is just really grey, dull and predictable. Before I got it, I was actually after a Lupo/Arosa. Probably slightly too small, but generally much cheaper, and little more exciting and just as well made.

Okay, so back from a look now, here’s the verdict Lovely car to drive. They pull away pretty quick and handle nicely too. The owner was selling as he was moving back to Poland, he seemed honest and was polite and friendly with me, so all good. The body wasn’t too bad, I had a good prod around, especially the boot, which felt solid and looked like it hadn’t been welded. The passenger side rear inner arch was a bit scabby, but nothing that’d fail an mot. The worst of the rust looked like the battery tray. Other than that, nothing unexepected for a 16+ year old car, mostly just little scrapes and a bonnet that was silver on the inside. Interior was all good, the seats and mounts felt solid. Everything was a bit grubby, but that’s just me being fussy. It had a sunroof, but with it being so cold out, it was frozen shut. There weren’t any signs it leaked, and the seller told me it worked. Don’t really have any reason to doubt him. My main gripe was the size. I’m ever so slightly above average height, and I’ve been driving a mini for over 2 years now so wasn’t expecting any problems, but it wasn’t all that comfy; my head touches the roof and my knees barely miss the steering wheel. No matter where I moved the seat I couldn’t get comfy. The clutch seemed much heavier than I was expecting. It went into gear fine, but took some getting used to. Are they all like this? And now the dreaded rear axle.... I couldn’t hear any obvious noises, but there was enough negative camber for me to think that it would need fixing pretty soon The seller said he would take £750 for it. It was nice, but I’m not really sure that it was for me. Any thoughts?

Big thank you to everyone who posted so far. So in summary: Rear axle - check for negative camber, loud creaking and iffy ride height Rust - basically everywhere, but check boot, jacking points, inner wings and seat mounts. Generally it’s much worse than it looks at first Gearbox - crunchy 2nd and 3rd Sychros Power steering - if the pumps noisy it’s on its way out Anything I’ve missed?

Lots of really good advice so far, thank you!!