Rover shite buying advice needed

[Junkman]

My lovely wife found this car on the bay and asked me whether I will buy it for her as an X-mas gift:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251403941793

 

Now, this is way too newfangled for me to know bugger anything about it, but I told her they are prone to OMGHGF, to which she said "is that what turns the coolant into a milkshake and maxes out the overdraft?".

 

Now my question is whether this is a Kettle series and what other common trouble spots these cars have.

[dollywobbler]

Nay. Proper Honda engineering in these. Wonderful looking cars. Rot in the rear arches the biggest issue I think.

[Cavcraft]

They had various engines though didn't they? I'm sure they came in 2.0 petrol (T series?) turbo, 2.0 n/a petrol, 1.8 petrol and a 2.0 diesel I think.

[cms206]

My mate's dad had a mega early K-reg 620Si for years and put a mid 3-figure mileage on it until it was written off. He loved it, moved onto Accords after it died. I still have mega 600 wantage issues.

 

Sent from my GT-S5830i using Tapatalk 2

[Lord Sterling]

They also came as a 2.3 petrol. These never came with any kind of K-series engines. They were directly based on the Honda Accord. Apart from the body, interior and possibly electrics, everything else; floorpan and drivetrain were Honda-sourced apart from the T-series engine which as far as I know never had head gasket issues. Good luck with the purchase.

 

The 623 GSi would have been the highest spec model 600 with full leather, electric everything, auto and the 2.3 engine, basically like the Sterling version of the 600 range. I would love to try a 600.

[dollywobbler]

The turbo lump was the only Rover engine. Very good at blowing the gearbox internals.

[Timewaster]

I had a 620turbo with the t series and obligatory HGF that rendered it scrap. Shame as it was a nice old thing. Steering wheel not really connected to the front wheels in any discernable way though.

[Charlie Croker]

I had a 1.8 version when it was 4 years old in 2003. I ran it for a year and put 23000 VERY hard miles on it and it NEVER missed a single beat. Dull as dishwater but as a runabout I couldn't fault it in any way.

 

It is also the only car ive ever owned that still survives.

 

T113 USG is on SORN until May next year according to the Dvla.

[Jim Bergerac]

The 1.8, NA 2.0 and 2.3 engines were Honda. The 2.0 Turbo and Diesel were Rover engines. They seem pretty reliable.

 

1.8 Auto might be a bit slow.

[Junkman]

Yeah, yeah, I know. Overtaking might be risky, blah, blah, rhubarb.

Nothing is as static as a pontoon 180D and I loved that to bits.

If I drove one nowadays I'd still be caught up behind some git fannying around in his turbo-24v-GT-CSI-X something, because nobody is driving the fuck on anyway out of fear of OMGMPG. It's all bollox.

[purplebargeken]

Sorry? Your wife asked you to do what? Clone her immediately and I will provide a 1st class train ticket to London.

[r.welfare]

I have the next generation of the same car, albeit an Accord 'cos BMW and Rover were living the dream by then. Same 1850cc engine (Honda F series) and 4 speed autobox. It has done megamiles and is flat out the most reliable car I've ever owned. If this one has evidence if being well looked after I would say buy it if it remains cheap enough.

 

Rust between the rear wing and bumper where the latter meets the wheel arch is the main rot spot as has been said.

[r.welfare]

Also they are not all that slow, but not really well suited to the slush pump because the Honda donk develops peak torque somewhere near 5 grand. Sounds OK for a four though. OMGMPG - mine has got just under 30mpg the last 45,000 miles.

[Junkman]

Sorry? Your wife asked you to do what? Clone her immediately and I will provide a 1st class train ticket to London.

 

She has an impeccable track record in Autoshite, which once culminated in a clapped out Chevrolet Cavalier.

I'm not going to let you in on other things she asks me for. All I will say is that I made an excellent pull all round.

[cort16]

I approve heartily of these I think they're great looking cars. I did have a diesel one once and it was totally shit blowing up it's gearbox then engine sequentially.

My friend has a 1.8 auto and he's had no real bother with it but does occasionally moan about the fuel consumption. Dirt packs in on the quarter above the rear bumper and they rust out there but other than that I think they're pretty good cars.

[warren t claim]

The Honda Accord versions are good news as well, they work great on LPG so you can park cheaply in Sheffield but make sure it comes with the key for the locking wheel nuts.

[trigger]

I like them, they are comfy, drive nicely enough and look pretty smart too, the wheel arches used to rot out on them as for some reason Rover fitted a rubber strip along the inside edge of the rear wheel arch lip, all the mud and water would build up under it and rotted them out.

 

The 623 GSi was a lovely car.

[warren t claim]

It looks like a good 'un in the advert but being a 1.8 with the Arthur Askeymatic gearbox means that it's going to be dog slow and thirsty.

[Junkman]

A car with antediluvian gearbox and too many pedals will not be bought.

The fact that this is an auto is why it is considered at all.

[warren t claim]

Impressive looking car though. If it was mine I'd seriously consider becoming a Rotarian and insisting on being addressed my my initials.

[Spiny Norman]

They make decent shitters these old Honda engined 600s. As said, the only Rover engined one is the turbo and they're to be avoided for all the usual reasons and quite a few more besides but the rest of the range seem to be surviving quite well.

The rear arches tend to get a bit Ford-ish after a while and the windows fall off their runners but they're pretty reliable if they get serviced.

The 1800 Honda lump isn't that economical even as a manual so don't be too surprised if 30mpg is but a pipe dream.

 

I had one a couple of years ago and I was quite surprised at how decent it was for the £350 I paid for it.

[purplebargeken]

Jammy git on all counts. My wife would rather frag kittens than encourage, nay, demand that I buy automotive shite.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

A friend ran about a dozen of these as cabs,which he rented out. Ok,they were Rudolfs but he raved about them ,and nothing apart from a the occasional drivers door window runner failed. If they can survive cab drivers that don't own them, I would hope they should be up to gentle domestic use by Mrs Junkman(assuming that's what it'd get).

[Junkman]

gentle domestic use by Mrs Junkman (assuming that's what it'd get).

 

To floor a pedal is an unthinkable proposition for her.

She has signed a non-agreement-pact with kerbs though and suffers from typical gender related distance misjudgement.

Despite the Rover dwarfs a 405, she thinks it's smaller and finds it much more maneuverable.

She also considers my P6es too big despite they are dimensionally smaller than the 600.

[hauserplenty]

I would, but it's so far away... 

[Dajazar]

Great cars. I've had four (one diesel and 3x 2.0 petrol). These were Rover's finest hour imho. A great looking coupe with looks that even yet remain fresh. 

 

The 2.0 diesels performance was only a fraction behind that of the petrol 2.0. You still see the odd one plying it's trade as a taxi. Rear arches and dodgy leccy windows are the bete noirs as previously stated. Should never have sold my diesel. Deffo the best car I've ever had. 

[Junkman]

Unfortunately she now realised that replacing a car with a bigger one when you really want a smaller one is not the wisest thing to do. However, this is in stark contrast to my opinion you must know.

Hence she now suggested this:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-416-Sli-Automatic-15-Service-Stamps-All-The-Same-Garage-/151140801680

 

I mustard mitt that I strangely like it and assume pretty much the same of what was said about the 600 applies?

[Lord Sterling]

These do have the K-series engine in 1.4 and 1.6, apparently there is a 1.6 D-series petrol engine, the 2.0 T-series and 2.0 Diesel. These HHR 400s do seem fairly good though, I've rarely heard of these having HGF problems, they seem more common in the 25s and 75s..

[Jim Bergerac]

416 Automatics on the HHR kept the Honda engine, only manuals used the 1.6 K-Series.

 

Odd thing about it is the upholstery and orange lenses. Those changed on the mid-1997 models, so it must have been unsold for a time before it was registered on an S plate.

[Craig the Princess]

Unfortunately she now realised that replacing a car with a bigger one when you really want a smaller one is not the wisest thing to do. However, this is in stark contrast to my opinion you must know.

Hence she now suggested this:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-416-Sli-Automatic-15-Service-Stamps-All-The-Same-Garage-/151140801680

 

I mustard mitt that I strangely like it and assume pretty much the same of what was said about the 600 applies?

 

Does it need to be an auto? If not you don't want that K-series rubbish (Actually the K-series Rover 400 I have is great and up to 120k without OMGHGFFH issues) but a lovely 2 litre 200GSi

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/15300-rover-420-foresail-mot-m8/

 

(the_Princess delivery services may be available)