MG Rover - not actually all that shit.

[CortinaDave]

Occurred to me today as I was driving to work- 8 years after the demise of MG Rover there are still a hell of a lot of the cars about.

 

Driving to work today I saw a K plate 216, several 12 year plus old ZR's and ZS's and numerous 75's all well over a decade old. Seems a real shame that in their death throes it appears they managed to produce cars that had decent longevity after years of utter tosh... But too little too late.

 

Or have I drunk too much beer tonight ??

[mercrocker]

Thats a coincidence - I admired a 75 today and I wasn't pissed yet...Mind you it was schoolie-out time and the roads were rammed  with fuckwits in sheeple carriers...

[phil_lihp]

I think a lot of Rovers in the 90s and 00s were probably bought by the sort of person who kept them in a garage, did low mileage and kept the same one for 15+ years.  Most of the latest 25s and 45s I've seen certainly seem to be driven by very elderly people.

[oman5]

I had a 52 plate 45. It was fine, very little not to like, but in the face of its competition it was very much outdated by 2003 and had a serious old giffer image (I actually had it from an old giffer who loved and cherished it) I think they couldn't afford to make a new model so just kept facelifting it.

 

I always liked the 75 but got put off by people who actually owned them long term. now, the zt 260 I could easily find a home for.

[CortinaDave]

My ZT cdti has 136k on the clock and barring a couple of small issues has nothing wrong with it and seems to do my 70 mile per day commute without complaint - more than can be said for the GM Saab 93 that preceded it and had far less miles on the clock and a much better service history.

 

I agree on the ZS /45 - by 2002/3 they were massively outdated - yet I still see loads of them today - often looking quite well cared for. You'd think they'd be almost totally gone by now.

[phil_lihp]

I do wonder about new spare parts, where are they coming from?  OEM/NOS Rover bits will presumably only get more scarce as the years go by, I have this all to look forward to as the only thing I've bought so far for mine is a NOS waterpump off ebay.

[cort16]

they did sell shit loads of them back in the day they were pretty well priced and spec'd.

 

 

MG Rover's best year for car sales was their first full year of business, in 2001  when they sold over 170,000 cars. In 2004 their sales had declined to around 120,000.

[Sloth in a bowl]

I keep being tempted by a ZS 180 but remember driving a ZS 120 when it was new and the drive was very nice (except the rough sounding motor), but the interior was bloody awful.

[Negative Creep]

I am tempted by a ZT as it's amazing what you can get for under a grand. But whilst they're common today, rock bottom prices and a bad rep means they'll vanish almost overnight

[cort16]

v6 ZS MG's are properly rapid.

[scruff]

My wife had a T reg 200 turbo diesel and it was a fab car, fast as - and 50mpg.

Wud av anover

[CortinaDave]

Honestly. - my cdti ZT Is hard to fault. I've owned a load of shitters and at sub a grand money they really are worth a look. Mine has little history and at 10 years and 136k it's still a great car. Handles well, 45 mpg, and other than the central locking playing up, no issues.

 

The ZS to me is the bargain of the bunch though. At 5-600 quid you really can't argue.

[cort16]

I'd defo smack up a ZT or 75. There was this facelift 05 diesel Rover 75 estate for sale on ebay that ended today that was a wee bit scabby but sold for 1000 quid. I can't think of much better for the money.

 

[Hendry]

I don't know if it was a fluke or not but my uncle had an R reg 400 1.4 16v "414S" hatch special edition from 2.5 years old until 10years old, so about 7 years and it never suffered the dreaded OMGHGF infact I think the radiator itself was just on the way out when he scrapped it. The body was pretty rusty by then though.

 

He had a P reg 400 2.0 16v "420 SLi" saloon in Kensington green before that and it was a cracking car back then until it got written off, the saloons always looked better IMO.

 

My missus dad also had a 2005 facelifted MG ZS 1.6 110+ hatch and it was a smart looking car too with the BTCC style rear spoiler, wing vents, 17" multi spoke alloys etc

 

And finally one of my best mates at school who's dad usually always had a new Mondeo every 2 years bought a brand new 54 plate facelift MG ZT 2.5 V6 190+ in black, that thing was cool as fuck, think his dad paid something stupid like £31K for it, a year later he traded it in for a 5 series and only got £12K trade in, we all know about new car depreciation but £19K in a year is a joke.

 

The reason MGR sold so many cars up here in Scotland owes to the fact the big groups had several Rover dealerships, the likes of AC had 10+ and in fact the 4 cars I mentioned all came from Arnold or his subsidiaries (Machargs)

[UmBongo]

Occurred to me today as I was driving to work- 8 years after the demise of MG Rover there are still a hell of a lot of the cars about.

 

Driving to work today I saw a K plate 216, several 12 year plus old ZR's and ZS's and numerous 75's all well over a decade old. Seems a real shame that in their death throes it appears they managed to produce cars that had decent longevity after years of utter tosh... But too little too late.

 

Or have I drunk too much beer tonight ??

 

I was going to post this very thought.

 

There are loads up here and some in very good nick, too.

[Lord Sterling]

I AM A ROVAH MAN.FAN.ENTHUSIAST.NUT

 

The 75 has been weighing in on my radar quite heavily of late. I can see myself buying one at some point, I've always loved the interiors of them. I've driven a few of them and they are nice, relaxing motors to glide about in, but only of course, if you pick the OMGHGF KV6. My dream motah is a Rover 75 V8 LWB. There was one made apparently, but it got destroyed when Rover went into administration.

 

Mustard mitt, never really got into the MG versions, too 'sporty' for my liking, and a lot of them seem to be driven by smug twats who seem to think they are the epitome of coolness.

 

I live just up the road from the old MG-Rovers site so there is a METRIC TONNE of MGs/Rovers still tootling around and about the local areas. When I pass by Longbridge, I cant help feeling broken hearted to see a once vast, thriving factory dead and destroyed, only to be replaced by some flat-pack housing and comjng soon; a flat-pack retails park that looks the same as all the others.

 

Seeing as I'm out of work now (again) I've been focussing on trying to find some work there, all to no avail.

[overrun]

I remember the first time I saw a facelifted 25. I thought some boyo had flushed the tailgate - even though it had wheel trims.

[Wilko220]

I keep being tempted by a ZS 180 but remember driving a ZS 120 when it was new and the drive was very nice (except the rough sounding motor), but the interior was bloody awful.

You (probably) won't regret it. I didn't.

[r.welfare]

It has occurred to me that the oldest 75s are now 14 years old, but I can't honestly say I've ever seen a rusty one.

[Hendry]

It has occurred to me that the oldest 75s are now 14 years old, but I can't honestly say I've ever seen a rusty one.

I have, when I worked for Arnies I remember valeting a 54 plate facelift 2.0 CDTi Contemporary in firefrost red with low mileage and in pretty good nick, this would've been 2009 so it was under 5 years old, the rear arches were already rusty.

 

The early 75 was better was it not, I'm sure I remember reading about Rover doing a cost cutting exercise with the 75 in 2001/2 where they removed/changed various details. Project drive rings a bell?

[For Fiats Sake]

Didn't they have record sales whilst the company was folding?

[saucedoctor]

Project Dive. Massive penny-pinching exercise, ultimately counterproductive IMO.

 

Here's one of the Bulletins for the 25 from my website

 

http://class-ni.weebly.com/project-drive.html

 

MGR didn't get it right, either - some of the stuff that wasn't supposed to be on my car was fitted.

 

My car is now getting on for 12 years old, and the front wings are starting to get a bit muddy where they meet the front bumper. I already CAN HAZ NEW WINGZ, so I'll get them fitted and the whole car resprayed sometime next year, as some twat on a bicycle hit the NS quarter a while ago.

The rest of it's bob-on, although I have drowned the boot hinges in white grease as they can get crusty.
 

[Fatchance]

I sort of agree with all the positive comments, but having three Rovers I suppose I have to.

 

1993 416Si is still going strong 91K later, though it does hibernate every winter; other than work to the inevitable rusty rear wheel arches and the Honda engine ignition issue (now hopefully cured) it's been great. No airbags or electric windows, but all-round goldfish bowl vision and light and precise to drive. Also fun when overtaking on the motorway as you're 99% guaranteed any car overtaken will just have to overtake a few minutes later.

 

The auction bargain bin 2003 MG ZT180 has, other than a dead crankshaft sensor a year ago and a greed for petrol in town, behaved impeccably and taken us to Germany and back, with assistance from DFDS Ferries, admittedly.

 

The Can of Worms and Big Bills has been the 2004 75 1.8, bought knowing it needed a new head gasket, but also ended up needing a second new head gasket, new brakes, new tappets, heater matrix, boot lid struts, clutch, master and slave cylinders. Also as a Project Drive example it has no boot lid lock, thinner steel panels, some kind of spray-can where the spare wheel should be, etc. It has proved to be very comfortable when waiting for recovery vehicles, however.

 

My advice would be to by all means buy any OK-looking Rover/MG, they are bargain-priced now, but if starts to bleed your finances, as per Can of Worm's sterling efforts, call the scrap-man or leave it outside a charity shop in a black bin bag.

[RedSparrow]

Oh, project drive. Remove spare wheels and replace them with a can of 'instant inflate'. Genius.

But it's amazing what is about in the way of second hand Rovers. I'd have a ZS any day, even though the design was outdated when they were new.

[Lacquer Peel]

I think all car companies have had 'project drive' moments, only it's not as well documented as Rover's efforts.

[ProgRocker]

Project Dive. Massive penny-pinching exercise, ultimately counterproductive IMO.

 

Out of the budgets of R&D and manufacturing costs in favour of the Phoenix Four's pensions funds...the greedy f'kers.

 

If Alchemy bought MG Rover and not Phoenix, things may have been much better.

[Guest Tony Hayers]

I live just up the road from the old MG-Rovers site so there is a METRIC TONNE of MGs/Rovers still tootling around and about the local areas. When I pass by Longbridge, I cant help feeling broken hearted to see a once vast, thriving factory dead and destroyed, only to be replaced by some flat-pack housing and comjng soon; a flat-pack retails park that looks the same as all the others.

 

Having been past several times in the last few years, lump in throat time 

[Lankytim]

We bought a 1.4 Rover 25 for next to nothing recently and apart from scabby front wings and noisy_when_cold tappits it's bloody spot on. Great to drive and very comfortable.

[Rover414]

Massive Rover fan, all started with the green 414 but had various Rovers joining that in the fleet over the years, a red K reg 214, silver 115SLD, silver 95 416GTi, red 98 220 Diesel, 98 420 Turbo and currently a 2003 75 diesel. Hopefully the 414 will be back on the road in the next year. I'd really like a MG ZS down the line too and a Tomcat. They've all had various issues but none of the Rovers have given me as much of a headache as the 2007 Ford Mondeo, that's had various faults since we had it!

[HMC]

You never seem to see any early 75s that are rusty. Put that alongside any number of similar aged mercedes. That, plus in general i always found rover group interiors quite nice, understated places to be.