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Rover 75 - Buying a Rover 75 - cosmicjazzer

Am in the market for a cheap, used car and have been offered a Rover 75, 1.8, 52 plate, 110k for £700. it looks lovely and would seem to be a lot of car for the money. It's being sold by the owner of my local garage, who I know to be a decent chap! Haven't as yet had a chance to drive the car or even speak at any length to seller... He did mention the car has a new head on it...

I'm just wondering if anyone in the know could offer their opinion of the 75... Or is buying a Rover in general just a bad idea?! What's the situation re. spares etc.. Thanks!

Rover 75 - Buying a Rover 75 - barkas

These Rovers are a nice looking car with award winning designs in their day and as you say they are a lot of car for your money,personally I love the estates and they are a up and coming classic.....however...... the achilles heel is an overheating problem which roasts the head...."ring any bells"? I dont know what causes this but it affects ALL engines fitted to this car but especially the 1.8, that tells me that the prob is not with the engines themselves, if the problem hasnt been sorted on your car it will repeat itself . I've heard the parts are hard to come by, and some parts are not available new, On the other hand I've just had a look in Ebay , and under "ROVER 75"........there are 7,231 items listed, thats good, it means there are a ready supply of affordable parts for it but b4 buying, find out what caused the demise of the head.

Rover 75 - Buying a Rover 75 - bonzo dog

Had it been a MGTF or a Freelander I would have said avoid like the plague. But many of the head-gasket problems (I believe) are due to the engine having to work too hard. In the case of the Freelander many people bought one for towing & the engine just wasn't robust enough; in the case of the MGTF the owners used them for hard accelleration (not surprising given that's one of the attractions of a roadster).

Many 75s were bought a a cheaper alternative to a BMW / Jag & were put to harsh long motorway use but equally many have been driven sedately by people who appreciated a well built (by BL standards), comfortable vehicle, representing good value for money.

For £700 it sounds like a good buy PROVIDING there's no tow bar or evidence of one

Rover 75 - Buying a Rover 75 - injection doc
I would pass, loads of trouble when it goes wrong! take it from someone that spent years working on them & headgaskets are a major issue that partly contributed to the downfall of Rover.
Rover 75 - Buying a Rover 75 - SteveLee

The Rover 75 is a wonderful car beautifully refined and a nice handler (though not over stiff like most modern cars) as for HG failures, get the water system pressure tested by the AA before buying. If it passes that then there's no reason why the gasket should fail now - it's lasted this long so should be a gooden, keep an eye on the coolant (at least weekly basis) and change it every two years to keep corrosion to a minimum, it should prove to be reliable, K-series engines hold very little coolant are are very light this is why they cannot take abuse, on the plus side you get almost instant heat in the winter and fuel economy is good as the warm up cycle is very quick.

If the engine has had a HG repaired and the mechanc used the later multilayer gasket and (even better) the all-steel "crank ladder" upgrade then the engine will be very robust.

The rest of the car is just as reliable as anything else - the later (Rover Longbridge) built cars are better screwed together than the early (BMW Cowley) models. you can tell if it's a Rover built car by the body coloured sill. That said the "BMW built" ones were stll well put together.

Automatics use the ubiquitous Jatco 'box, not the longest lasting 'boxes in the world but can be replaced for about £600.

Rover 75 - Buying a Rover 75 - Collos25

I do not know of a 1.8 that has not had the head done the problem is the very small water content of the complete system,they have o rings that leak on the inlet manifold and eventually the engine cooks.If it has properly repaired there is nothing to worry about in fact when they go its not a big problem.The other major problems are the pleniums in front of the windscreen under the plastic trim being blocked and causing the main ecu to swim (there are simple mods for this problem look on the rover forums)the other problems are the fuel pump it is under the rear seat and is in two parts one on the left one on the right they are extremely exspensive to replace again there are mods available and can also be replaced with psa units.The diesel on the other hand is almost bullet proof but then again this is reflected in the prices.For the amount of money you are thinking of spending its not much of a gamble they are superb cars to drive and own with ample supply of cheap service parts.Check the car does not overheat that the heater works correctly and the air con works any fault here is a good sign the head is going.

Edited by Andy Bairsto on 22/06/2010 at 19:03

Rover 75 - Buying a Rover 75 - mrmender

Had a 75 Diesel estate

Not a bad car

I would consider any 75 EXCEPT a 1.8 petrol aviod! For £800 I would be looking at a Nissan Primera, Mondeo, Vectra

Rover 75 - Buying a Rover 75 - SteveLee
Well with £7-800 worth of car you're taking a gamble with any car - it might pack up on the way home - it might give you years of trouble free service - you pays your money...
Rover 75 - Buying a Rover 75 - RicardoB

Lovely stylish, comfy cars.

I had a MG ZTT tourer/estate version but it was just the 1.8 non turbo. Looked the business - real presence, class and so damn comfy, and the handling with the slightly firmer suspension was really spot on. And it went surprisingly well for a smallish engine in a big car.

But regrettably, despite regular servicing and interim 6 month oil and filter change, I had plainly not checked the coolant often enough and yep, the head gasket went.

Basically cooked the engine and had a rebuild, but it was never the same again. Compression totally knocked meaning long winded starting from cold and hot. So, sooner than I planned, I traded it in and am in a Vectra now - which I rather like, despite the air-con/climate failing again just two months after it has been regassed.

But as others have said, for the money, even if it is a 1.8, then you can't complain.