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rover 75 advice.


taxi paul

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Hello I am looking for some advice come words of wisdom. I have a newish 4x4.has my daily driver. I have got rid of my mazda 323 , or rather rust did and also my mazda tribute. I am now coveting a rover 75. There are two for sale locally. Both the same year 02. One is a 2.0 v6 and the other the 2.5 v6. Both manual and petrol flavour. They are both same price , £600. Ish. I will only be using it for wafting about in occasionally. Is the a preferred choice of engine that would help me make a decision. Both have similar mileage and history , although the 2.0 ltr says recent cambelt change. Or is this going to be blindingly obvious and go and look at both and pick which one feels right. Thank you for any help.

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The 2.5 has belts that need changing this is a difficult and expensive job. (edit: after reading the above post I guess the 2.0 also has difficult to change belts)

 

I have a 75 Club diesel and they are amazing cars, the interior feels very upmarket far more than a Merc or BMW and they won't rust like a Merc or BMW.  Whatever one you go for i'm sure you'll really like it.

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Thanks for the advice. The 2.5 will need the camber etc doing in around 10,000. Miles. The 2.0 ltr on reading advert closer , new glasses on order. Is a 2000 car on a w. So it's an Oxford not a Longbridge car. But it is one owner full history and cambelt done at 60,000 miles. To throw the cat amongst the pigeons I have just come across a y reg 1.8 manual. Full history Inc camebelt. No mention of head gasket though for £500.00 . Are these to be avoided or worth a punt? I appreciate a diesel is best choice but the finance committee, head of household and all things in charge . Says I can maybe have one but for not much money.

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Probably a good idea to weigh each car up on its own merits. Some thoughts:

 

1. The older car is likely to feel more solid inside. This is due to better materials (pre project drive) and the Cowley cars are arguably built to a better standard - although there are those who will disagree with this - in my opinion and experience. Watch for rust around the rear jacking points on the sills, especially on Cowley cars.

 

2. The fact that the 2.0 has had a belt change is a BIG thing. Cambelts are around a £500 job inc. labour and an absolute pain if you intend to do it yourself. 

 

3. The 2.0 v6 engine had 147ps - I had one and found it more than enough for general wafting and sounds LOVELY. The 2.0 is a smoother engine than the 2.5. Both are good solid engines but share the same common faults.

 

4. Thermostats. Some pillock decided the thermostat should have a plastic housing and piping around it - hence they go brittle and leak / split. They are located in the 'vee' of the engine, so it's worth popping the engine cover off and looking for any pink stains on the block, as well as checking the coolant level. If a V6 is munching coolant it's likely to be this - not HGF which the i4 K series are renowned for (obviously any engine will suffer HGF is it's been loosing coolant and been allowed to overheat!).

 

5. Ticking noises. Usually from part of the VVC mechanism in the inlet manifold that is made out of plastic. Wears due to age and flaps about causing a noise which is VERY similar to noisy tappets. Generally nothing to worry about, but it's time for a new intake manifold if you want to cure it (or bash the insides out if you're not worried about the variable set up although this will probably harm what little fuel economy you manage!).

 

6. VIS Motors. Part of the variable system. If a V6 feels completely lifeless then the VIS motors which move the little plastic flaps reference above are not working. There is a chap on the owners' club who refurbishes the motors and runs an exchange service. Very easy to swap both power and balance VIS for amateur mechanics. Just need a philips screwdriver.

 

7. Suspension noises. They are prone to clonks and squeaks from the suspension. If the steering 'clonks' around the middle when turning lock to lock at slow speeds then your top mounts need renewing. Drop links are practically a service item. Lower wishbones are a big job if the ball joint fails (and DON'T let Kwik fit do it if you don't want a fucking great dent put in your sill with a trolley jack).

 

8. Brake pips corrosion is a common MOT failure now, due to them picking up shit from the roads. Replacing isn't too much of a job or too costly though.

 

9. Handbrakes are generally crap. I'm living with mine at the moment, and although it passed the MOT with no advisories, the handbrake is properly shit. Due to a metal part in the handbrake mechanism stretching with use. Again a chap on the owners' forum does a replacement / exchange service and it's easy enough to swap out (although there is a little bit of interior disassembly, but it's fine, I've done it on 3 of mine and I'm useless with tools.)

 

10. Plenums. Two chambers at the back of the engine bay, by the scuttle panel. One houses the ECU. The drains get clogged up with leaves and stuff, then the ECU ends up sitting in water. Good to check regularly to make sure you don't have any ECU problems or water ingress into the cabin.

 

11. Boot leaks. All 75s will have a pond in the boot at some point. This is usually the rear light seals (uprated ones available now), or the clips which hold the rear screen in. Silicone will, of course, sort both problems.

 

12. Airbag light. Due to a connection under the drivers' seat. Remove, squirt with WD40, replace, et voila.

 

Other than that they're fucking brilliant. I love mine - I think of it almost of a parody of Britishness. A big 'fuck you' to all the modern German stuff. I know the list looks a bit big above, but it's to show most of the issues are fairly minor and easily fixed. They're fantastic cars and none of mine have let me down. Apart from the kettle powered one. AVOID THE K SERIES IMO. I've owned 6 K series'd cars and they're all been pampered, and they've all been shit.

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What he said ^^

 

Bloody good owners forum. Befriend local 75 lunatics and you will be fine. 

 

Make sure the rad fan works as well when the heater is on. Mine didn't and cost me £100 for a replacement although fitting is time consuming but straightforward.

 

Take your time there are tons out there. There is a buyers guide on the Rover 75 owners forum. Somewhere.

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Thank you roveragous for you comprehensive advice. I will go with your advice and look for a 2.0 ltr which has had a cambelt change. The 2.5 may have been a bit insurance overkill. Thanks again.

Not a problem! I've owned all engine variants so if you need anything answering just shout. As I said the 2.0 doesn't give you a 'fast' car, but it gives you enough poke for general wafting, and sounds glorious. Anyway, it's good for these engines to be worked hard so you get to hear the glorious noise. If it feels really flat then it will need new VIS motors (no problem driving it with knackered ones, won't cause any problems, but will feel lifeless and give you even less MPG.)

 

On that note, MPG isn't great on these. They're thirsty engines and they're a heavy car. My 2.0v6 gave me 33mpg over my ownership. But it doesn't matter, because:

 

25guvyx.jpg

Just look at it!

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Used to have a diseasel tourer. Lovely car and superb comfort. Look out for the clutches though. Had to scrap mine as the clutch went on it ( need a flywheel as well when changing the clutch) upwards of £800 supply and fit. Fxxk that!! Defo get another though. Got a black MG tourer mk1 rear bumper ( no sensors ) if anyone is interested?

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i have nothing much else to say as most folks have covered the important points above.

 

i've got a diesel estate, and i love it!

 

the clutches seem to last 100k there or there abouts.

 

i've had mine done by a chap off of the owners forum.

 

i've had the clutch (£320) and the master cylinder (£160) done and the car drives like new.

 

plus been a 2 ton car they do go through drop links and front wishbone bushes with some regularity. but this isn't just a rover thing as many car do that.

 

good quality bits though can be a problem, imho the unipart bits were the best though, since unipart went pop these can be hard to find.

 

again though there are a number of specialist traders, and mechanic fellers on the owners forum who have parts and can service the car better than an MGR dealer ever could!

 

i can recommend having a mooch around on the owners forum before taking the plunge, i did!

 

anyway..... i'll just leave a piccy of this here for you....

 

post-18270-0-57941000-1441646309_thumb.jpg

post-18270-0-99423500-1441646370_thumb.jpg

post-18270-0-99154700-1441646426_thumb.jpg

post-18270-0-76835100-1441646489_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

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That is a fantastic car Marvin's mom. I have looked on the owners forum and there is one in particular that stands out. But it is in Suffolk and travelling to look is a bit hard at the moment. I shall keep looking and if something catches my eye and my self employed income allows I shall see if I can purchase one. My wife thinks I am mad cos our modern daily has electric everything even handbrake , pain in the backside that is. It even reads your text messages to you.I tell her it has lots of life but no soul. Which makes her worse to be honest.

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thank you, yes it is proper nice car....

 

when i had the company car i had to drive the pool diesel pisshat for several weeks which had one of those electrical hand brake things, no proper key to start it, and all that stop-start jizzle. .

 

the car was total cack.

 

the seats were horrid rock hard things, the ride was terrible and i couldn't get it in the right gear, it was either labouring in low revs or bouncing off of the rev limiter!

 

hated loathed the damn thing.

 

i'd even go as far as saying the whole car was proper rubbish, the rover is a country mile better than it in every way!

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Yes I had one delivered to me by my son on Saturday. A 2.0 v6 classic se. Its Tahiti blue with a stone interior. I was offered a 1.8 by another forum member but I had settled on a 2.0 ltr. It came from an elderly gent in leafy Suffolk who had bought himself a 75 05 plate diesel. Mechanically all seems well. History from new and lots of reciepts. Mileage is a bit higher than I would of liked at 132,00 but with my budget , well Xmas present off wife budget it seemed the best 2.0 ltr one around.cambelt changed at 75,000 so will probably do it next year. But has I intend to do around 1,000 miles a year I shall see. I have cleaned all plenum chambers today and give it a clean . It has 12 months mot with advisory on rear discs. Has 4 new tyres ,budget ones . Has had new clutch , radiator and inlet manifolds replaced in may of this year. But its missing a mudflap , so not all good. Going to have a ride to a breakers this week and see what I can find in the mudflap section. My son drove it the 250 miles home and said it seems fine , just the drivers seat is a bit soft. Cant please some people. 😃

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