Hi,
I am really looking for some advise before I purchase my next car. I have been offered a Rover 75 2.0 Diesel from my dad. It is one of his fleet cars and has been solely owned by the company since new.
The problem lies with the mileage. Although the car is in excellent condition and has been maintained regardless of cost, it has covered 210,000 miles, most of which are motorway covered. The car will come with a full service and MOT and a tune up as the car is currently a little low on power (suspected turbo problem) which will be sorted before sale.
Am I right in saying its a BMW engine and not a Rover L Series?
Also would it be a good buy and how long do these engines last without too many problems?
I am expecting to pay around the £1,000 mark if not less as they write the cost of the car off as soon as its purchased.
I dont want to end up with a potential money pit and not be able to afford to run it.
Is this a sensible purchase or should I go for something older and with less miles for the money??
Any help much appreciated!!
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Have you checked out car by car breakdown.left pane below HJ.this may answer you.?
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Was mech1
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Looking at the breakdown I take its a BMW engine and I was told it had been chipped from nearly new so expect its at 130bhp.
Does anyone know if this engine is at the end of its life at this mileage (210,000) or will I get a couple more years of average motoring out of it.
I know the purchase price is cheap but I dont want a bill for a new/recon engine that will cost a few grand in a few months time.
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I'd go for it for around £1000, it's easy come, easy go.
I take much more notice of what I see in the car, rather than the mileage.
Take it for a run and check it over speed humps, and broken surfaces, test the ABS on a slippery surface and make sure it all feels and sounds tight.
If you don't buy it, I'd put money on it quickly changing hands a few times and being on sale somewhere with 74,785 miles on the clock, and for much more money.
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I think the engine is the least of your worries. Most Diesels will happily go 500,000 miles as long as they are well maintained. You have to consider the other parts of the car that could potentially fail- like driveshft joints, shockers etc. That said, if its for sale at £1000 or less and you're going to keep it for a couple of years then its probably good value for money. The likelyhood is that you won't have any problems at all as most things go wrong in the first 18 months. You could buy the same car for thousands more and be at the dealership more than your home.
Go for it- the worst thing you could do is re-sell it.
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These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
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Yes it's a BMW engine. The L series was never fitted to the 75.
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if you dont want it - could you let me know the details.
as you may be aware, my current car is proving difficult to repair.
i wouild be interested in purchasing it, and would be willing to pay posibly more than 1000 pounds.
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Robin, Rover 75 X reg CDT. BMW engine?
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Robin, Rover 75 X reg CDT. BMW engine?
About 9 years to late
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Ive decided to take the chance and buy the car, finally got it for £750, bargain of the year I think..
I rang the local Rover dealer to find out when the timing belt should be changed and they said every 90K or 5 yrs. After checking the service history the belt has never been changed as the owner believes it to be a chain. The guy is an engineer and says its an M43 Timing Chain.
I expect him to be right as the belt would have snapped by now with 200k under it, and also the car has a full Rover service history.
If this is the case then my local rover garage must have made a mistake or did they change it to a belt at a later date?
Also if it is a chain, do these need replacing?
Thanks
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I dont kow about the belt, but i do know you got yourself a bargain.
well done.
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You said this car came from a company fleet. Do they have any other similar cars at similar prices? Some people here might be interested. (I would, but I've got to stop acquiring vehicles...)
-M.
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Do get some bargains from time to time, some more than others. Got the car as a favour as my dad is Company Account Sales Manager, however they do got to their employees at same prices, or chucked thro auctions, probably having some miles shaved off and sold for £1000s more....
CAn get some real cheapies tho, Omega CDX - 120K - £1000, Rover 800 - 180K - £600
Just waiting for my dads 02 Audi A4.. will have about 200K by time to sell but will get that at a snatch as well.
I will see if I can get a list of current cars for sale and post on here...dont know policy tho..
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It definitely has a chain. Does it need replacing? Well, nothing lasts forever. Depends what the dealer will charge to change it, given the low cost of the car.
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do let us konw.
i am wanting to replace my car in the next month and would be interested.
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As it's from a fleet it should have been maintained regardless of cost.
A 75 for a grand?? i'd bite his hand off!!
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Sounds like you got yourself a raving bargain. Enjoy!
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Ive now got to the bottom of the low performance and high fuel consumption issue, its aparantly the air mass meter that has failed, a common problem on this BMW engine!! Im waiting for this to be confimed through a diagnostic test, however MG Rover has quoted £300 plus VAT to renew it. As I have never had a diesel I have no idea what it does so dont know whether this is reasonable. Anyone know how much I should be paying?
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I know it's certainly a common problem with VW MAFs. It may be that the part is genuinely defunct, or it may simply need cleaning.
Cleaning a MAF involves removing it, spraying with brake-cleaning fluid, allowing it to evaporate dry, and refitting it.
If cleaning doesn't solve the problem and it's a case of replacing it, the Mercedes MAF can be fitted to a VW (VAG) engine, so it *may* be possible to do the same with your Rover/BMW engine. The reason to try this is the Merc MAF only costs around £60. However, I should clarify that I'm only speculating as to whether it can be fitted to your car - don't buy one unless you know this to be the case.
Here's a link to how someone replaced his own MAF with a Merc one. The same page has a link to how you clean a MAF.
www.dieselcar.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=dr_v...8
I would also suggest that if a Merc MAF won't fit your car, it would be worth trying to see if you can source the genuine item from the likes of EuroCarParts for less dosh than the dealer is quoting. £300 is a lot of money for this part.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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