Rover 75/MG ZT. Good or rubbish?

[PowerslideSWE]

Looking just for kicks atm, but noticed that MG's can be had for peanuts incl a one owner, 105000 mile V6 04 with full service history and a boat load of stuff done for under £2000. (which maybe is alot in the U.K?) Even found one ZT 260 in that horrible changing colour, not for 2 grand mind...

75's can be had for alot less.

Rover doesn't really have the stigma of being a really rubbish car in Sweden, that I'm aware of anyways and I think they look good and comfy.

Am I mad to even concider one over my current E39 530? I like odd cars, having had a few Alfas etc. Don't like un-reliable cars that much tho, hence me driving a string of 00's BMW's on the trot where the 5'ers as opposed to the sevens really haven't been all that reliable..

[jayemm89]

As far as I recall the Rover 75 got extremely good reviews back in the day. Very comfortable and practical car. Later ones you might even find equipped with BMW sat nav etc

[alpha channel]

They're generally regarded as having a good chassis for the type of car that they are (the ZS has a highly regarded chassis set up as well). There are a few weaknesses of the V6 range, thirsty for the horses on show, some weak components due to the materials they're manufactured with (nothing really show stopping but can reduce power output) but others with more experience will be able to point you in the right direction, I'm afraid my Rover experience dates as only as far as the '98 Coupe for the last twelve years. The V6 enines are generally quite tough and don't suffer the head gasket issues that might arise on the 4 pot K-series engines if they're not looked after.

The V8 is basically the 8 valve engine out of a Mustang (some still even have the Mustang logo plate on the block judging by some of the pictures that I've seen), underpowered by modern standards, thirsty but, if you've got money to spare, and slightly financially masochistic, the Dreadnought supercharger can be fitted to take it up to approximately 400HP-ish (again judging by the stuff on youtube airstrip drag videos that I've seen it's enough to keep a 911 honest in a straight line).

If I was shedding I'd certainly consider one, especially in blue, I still really like them (though I wouldn't mind a 620GSi).

Edited by alpha channel on Tuesday 23 August 11:38

[anonymous-user]

They are good, but the youngest ones are 12 years old now and they were fairly complex cars at the time. A boggo spec diesel is probably the best bet for a snotter, as pointed out the V6 engines suffer from irritating failures of cheap components in the variable inlet manifold system. Belt changes are also a major job on the KV6. It's a very nice engine when it's working, probably one of the best small V6s available at that time.

Is it a better car than an E39 530i though? Not even close. I suspect a £1k Rover 75 will be a cleaner and more reliable prospect than a £1k E39 though

Edited by dme123 on Tuesday 23 August 11:42

[PowerslideSWE]

Thanks fellas. Seems a good idea to keep the BMW then

[DegsyE39]

dme123 said:

They are good, but the youngest ones are 12 years old now and they were fairly complex cars at the time. A boggo spec diesel is probably the best bet for a snotter, as pointed out the V6 engines suffer from irritating failures of cheap components in the variable inlet manifold system. Belt changes are also a major job on the KV6. It's a very nice engine when it's working, probably one of the best small V6s available at that time.

Is it a better car than an E39 530i though? Not even close. I suspect a £1k Rover 75 will be a cleaner and more reliable prospect than a £1k E39 though

Edited by dme123 on Tuesday 23 August 11:42

Dme makes some good points and neither of these cars at a bag are a good idea if you dont like getting your hands dirty and doing a bit.

The e39 is quite a car (biased sorry) But i wouldnt class longbridge/cowley offerings as worse.. Just different its kind of hard to explain, but longbridge were as good at setting up a chassis as munich

e39's are head and shoulders above in build quality though i dont doubt this.

Im hankering after a 75 soon myself

Regards D.

[cptsideways]

They are essentially a front wheel drive e39 BMW! Well built & apart from some common issues that are an easy fix find a nice one & they are lovely things. Best ride of any normal car in the past 20 years too.

Diesel auto Connoisseur but it has to be the earlier ones before "they made them cheaper" with cruise heated seats & the diesel heater for winter (easy to mod for winter warm ups remotely)

[kambites]

cptsideways said:

Best ride of any normal car in the past 20 years too.

I think you need to try a Citroen C6.

[cptsideways]

kambites said:

I think you need to try a Citroen C6.

Having driven several of them new I thought they were rubbish & crashy compared to Lemons of old of which I had many GS,s & GSA's. Sorry but the 75's on the 15's win on that front.

[kambites]

cptsideways said:

kambites said:

I think you need to try a Citroen C6.

Having driven several of them new I thought they were rubbish & crashy compared to Lemons of old of which I had many GS,s & GSA's. Sorry but the 75's on the 15's win on that front.

How odd. The 75 is certainly good and probably better than anything mainstream from Germany that I've driven but I found the C6 to be significantly better. I guess different people notice different harmonics in suspension tuning.