Primrose R75...... The End, for now...

[EssDeeWon]

Ok, here is my conundrum regarding Rover 75s

 

I currently own the former Wilko220 and PBK Rover 75 Connoisseur (2.5 V6) with just 67k from new, its runs a dream and is proving totally reliable. It does need a new windscreen before long and the 3 speed cooling fan needs replacing (although it does not overheat). It was pensioner owned for the first 10 years and has had a small fortune spent in up keep from new.

 

But.....

 

I have the chance of buying a Primrose yellow Rover 75 connoisseur, which you may or may not know are rare as rocking horse poo poo, but the primrose car is a little tatty, a short MOT and needs some attention here and there. It has also done 67k from new but with very little in the way of service history.

 

I have not yet discussed figures with the primrose owner but he is aware it needs some work and from speaking to him I would hope to snap up the primrose for about £500.

 

The problem is I love my blue 75 and really do not want to part with it, but I dont really have the finances or the room for two 75's at the moment. When will another primrose come up for sale, and just 2 miles round the corner??

 

Here it is when I papped it last year;

 

2000 Rover 75 V6 Connoisseur by steve wilson, on Flickr

[Bren]

Spray yours primrose.

 

Job done.

[MarvinsMom]

when?

 

possibly never, but, i am a great believer in it is better the devil you know, and if the blue one is a good-un then hang onto the blue one.

 

i personally prefer the dark colours on the rover 75, with the exception of silver...

 

i guess it depends how badly do you want a yellow one?

[Sealtainn]

When will another primrose come up for sale, and just 2 miles round the corner??

Probably not for a long time BUT do you want to swap a car that you "know" mechanically in a colour you're ambivalent about for a car that you are unsure of mechanically but you like the colour?

If it was me and the colour was the main factor then I would get the blue 75 wrapped for a couple of hundred quid - you could end up spending many times that in mechanical remedies on the yellow one

[EssDeeWon]

Good points Bren and Sealtainn but im a purist and a primrose yellow car would have to be a genuine primrose car.

 

Its just bad timing really, come September I will hopefully have the cash to plough into the car and to bring it up to scratch.

[The Moog]

As mentioned above colour can be fixed. All cars will become rare at some point.

 

 

But you have decided you want primrose....

 

So number 24 please..

[New POD]

How much would it cost to have 2 cars instead of one? Insurance might be possible on a low miles classic policy for £150 a year, and tax will be £250 ish and an MOT £50, and then budget £200 for servicing and repairs. This is what out mx5 cost last year. Yes 40p a mile plus petrol.

 

Buy it. Own 2 cars. Stop buying beer, fags, coffee, going to the cinema. Get rid of sky, sell the cat.

[EssDeeWon]

How much would it cost to have 2 cars instead of one? Insurance might be possible on a low miles classic policy for £150 a year, and tax will be £250 ish and an MOT £50, and then budget £200 for servicing and repairs. This is what out mx5 cost last year. Yes 40p a mile plus petrol.

 

Buy it. Own 2 cars. Stop buying beer, fags, coffee, going to the cinema. Get rid of sky, sell the cat.

 

Good points NP, however I have limited off street parking and the road is permit holders (for the residents without off street parking) so although running two cars would be possible but I physically don't have the space 

 

£200 per year to service and maintain two 75's. Much LOLZ M8!!

 

Also, I don't go to the cinema, have a cat, got sky or smoke lol! And im not giving up beer 

[Angrydicky]

Sell the current 75 and get another SD1. Go on...

[HH-R]

I don't really "get" primrose yellow, but that one does look very smart. Early one with correct black sills and bullet badges, too.

[EssDeeWon]

I don't really "get" primrose yellow, but that one does look very smart. Early one with correct black sills and bullet badges, too.

 

Even among 75 folk the primrose yellow colour is very much loved or hated. When you see it coming towards you especially on a sunny day it just looks class!

[purplebargeken]

Have a good think mate and have a chat with me if needed eh?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Defo get the primrose job, I would

[Sealtainn]

When I saw the picture it reminded me of Ford Citrine Yellow that was put on the Mk1 Mondeo Si. I thought it looked ace when it first came out then I saw one a few years later and the colour hadn't aged well at all, much like any Ford Red tends to go Pogweasel Pink. What would the term be for faded Citrine Yellow, Pogweasel Piss? Actually I think as it ages it turns to Latrine Yellow as it looks like those cubes you see in the urinals down the local pub.

I've always had a soft spot for the 75, I think the interiors look ace and that yellow does seem to suit it, I think of it as an up-to-date Meastro Hearing-Aid Beige

[Tickman]

 And im not giving up beer 

Then the obvious answer is to drink lots of beer and then make an 'informed decision' to but it and try and find a place to store it until September.

Quite simple really

John

[Semi-C]

Go Primrose.

[EssDeeWon]

Just to emphasise how rare these primrose 75's are;

 

Five hundred 75's were painted in Primrose yellow, of which only 180 (some say 130) were released to the UK market, each main dealer was only allowed ONE primrose car for display purposes, the other few would of been Rover management cars.

[mercedade]

If you're mega driven by the desire for a primrose one, you'll probably do yourself more favours waiting for a good one that you can love, rather than resent for not being as good as you need it to be.

 

That said, if you're REALLY mega driven by the desire for a primrose one, you'll just buy this one anyway and eff the consequences!

 

In short, didn't help, don't bother reading this.

[carlo]

I think your only problem is finding somewhere to store it, probably on SORN.  I'm sure you feel about Rover 75s the same way I feel about 405s, and if I found a rare colour 405 I Ioved to my favourite spec I know I'd find some way of buying it.  (Well I've bought seven of the things, and we have no off street parking.)  Justify it to yourself (and anyone else who may have a vested interest..) by calling it a spares car; these Rovers won't be as cheap for ever methinks.  Then when you've given it a thorough once over you can decide which one to focus on.  In the meantime, get it bought!

 

Someone must have somewhere you can keep the thing for a while!

[carlo]

And by the way it looks absolutely superb in Yellow, although I am a bit of a sucker for yellow cars.

[stripped fred]

I was all set up to say stick with what you know etc but having seen the primrose car I am smitten. She's a beauty! Could you justify buying the primrose car then having a good look over it, see if you gel with it and how much it's going to cost you and then make your decision in a few weeks time which one to sell?

[stripped fred]

I think your only problem is finding somewhere to store it, probably on SORN. I'm sure you feel about Rover 75s the same way I feel about 405s, and if I found a rare colour 405 I Ioved to my favourite spec I know I'd find some way of buying it. (Well I've bought seven of the things, and we have no off street parking.) Justify it to yourself (and anyone else who may have a vested interest..) by calling it a spares car; these Rovers won't be as cheap for ever methinks. Then when you've given it a thorough once over you can decide which one to focus on. In the meantime, get it bought!

 

Someone must have somewhere you can keep the thing for a while!

Only just saw this previous post but exactly what i was trying to say. I think you may regret it if you let it go especially at £500.

[EssDeeWon]

Some excellent replies chaps, many thanks.

 

I do plan to buy the primrose car before parting with my blue one, the question is money and how little I can talk the guy down. I have offered to pop round on Saturday and clean out the plenum drains for the old chap because he has never checked these in two years!! I will make an offer...

[robinmasters]

Doesn't sound like there's a great deal wrong with it, and for £500 you can't go far wrong especially if it can be punted on to an 'enthusiast'.

 

On the other hand it looks fucking awful. It's what would be parked in the drive if your grandad came home early from bowls to find a geriatric Robin Asquith shagging your gran.

[EssDeeWon]

Doesn't sound like there's a great deal wrong with it, and for £500 you can't go far wrong especially if it can be punted on to an 'enthusiast'.

 

On the other hand it looks fucking awful. It's what would be parked in the drive if your grandad came home early from bowls to find a geriatric Robin Asquith shagging your gran.

 

LOL! Nicely backs up the love or hate opinion on these cars.

[Tam]

Personally I love Primrose and if this opportunity came up on my doorstep I wouldn't be able to talk myself out of it! 

That said you say no service history so I take it no record of belts being done ? Pretty costly and something the Owners Club seems pretty anal about ( Don't know if its such a big issue never really heard of belts going ).

How is the paint work ? I had the chance of one local to me but the paint was pretty faded in places. Poor thing is now languishing in a scrapyard in Dundee which was a bit devastating when I found out!

So knowing the feeling of letting one slip through my fingers and currently owning a rare monogram colour I would say get it bought and and find somewhere to store it! Job Done   

[In The Pit]

I'd buy the Primrose one and then decide which one to keep.  If you decide to sell the Primrose one you can do so through the owners club and probably make afew quid on it,  I know the Primrose colour is sought after so it should get snapped up.

The worst case scenario is that you don't buy it and the owner scraps it as he "thought knowone would want it".

 

(Of course spraying a car in a rare colour is just cheating, it's got to be the real thing to count).

[Split_Pin]

Just get the Primrose one. A 'fuck it' moment keeps the ardrenaline level topped up.

[Vince70]

I'd buy the primrose one then decide which car to keep as well the only difference I wouldn't be able to part with either cars and end up with one parked up in a lock up/garage for the next 5 years with it occasionally seeing daylight once or twice a year for an mot and a service..

 

That's what I did with my old low mileage early A4 and even though I didn't use the thing I still regretted selling it to this day as I wouldn't find another to replace it...

 

So I say go for it and worry about the small things like tax insurance and bankruptcy etc at a later date lol.

[EssDeeWon]

Personally I love Primrose and if this opportunity came up on my doorstep I wouldn't be able to talk myself out of it! 

That said you say no service history so I take it no record of belts being done ? Pretty costly and something the Owners Club seems pretty anal about ( Don't know if its such a big issue never really heard of belts going ).

How is the paint work ? I had the chance of one local to me but the paint was pretty faded in places. Poor thing is now languishing in a scrapyard in Dundee which was a bit devastating when I found out!

So knowing the feeling of letting one slip through my fingers and currently owning a rare monogram colour I would say get it bought and and find somewhere to store it! Job Done   

 

I agree about assuming the belts have not been done, although there is a lack of service history I do get the impression the car has been cherished in a past life, under the bonnet is very clean and its only done 67k, but the current owner of two years has done little to it.

 

The Paint - Yes there is some fading in places, it does require a good polish and certainly a day of T- cutting. Its very straight and still carries the original MG Rover dealer plates. It would require a couple of new bullet mirrors too.

 

When the chap started it up yesterday I did detect a slight tapping from the engine, difficult to tell where from but that would need closer inspection along with a very thorough service. It would be something of a rolling project but once my holidays are over I would hopefully have the funds to plough into it.

 

I am popping round to make an offer tomorrow.