Rover 75 Diesel Bargain

[BMWE34FAN]

Hi there, picked up a W Reg Rover 75 Diesel for the small price off £300! It's got a few marks, the main being the lacquer coming away off the boot but apart from that it's in good shape! It's done 125.000 miles and mechanically is perfect apart from needing a new battery as it needs bump starting at the moment!
My plans are to tidy it up on a budget and give it a really good valet as its covered in moss and just generally very dirty! I have found a replacement boot for £25 so it looks like this will be a cheap project for me!


I will update this thread regularly with updates. Thanks for looking!

Edited by BMWE34FAN on Monday 15th September 15:15

[LukeFR]

Bargain, I keep debating on these - I do really like them and quite fancy one for winter!

[SavanP]

Looks like a decent buy. Must be lovely to waft around in.

[a1burns]

Don't these use the BMW 320D engine? If so good buy for £300 should last if looked after?

[Jonny_]

Was there a bag of exclamation marks left in the boot...?

Haha, just kidding. Looks good, bargain at that price! I still find it strange that these cars are down to Shed money.

[Steffan]

Jonny_ said:

Was there a bag of exclamation marks left in the boot...?

Haha, just kidding. Looks good, bargain at that price! I still find it strange that these cars are down to Shed money.

Below shed money for a decent diesel . Rovers are all pretty cheap nowadays particularly the K series stuff. With a BMW derived diesel this should be a reliable inexpensive winter car with a lot of creature comforts. Awful lot of car for the money damned good buy. Well done the buyer.

[BMWE34FAN]

You are right yes, it's the BMW diesel engine. Just got a battery from the scrap yard for £25 and all is good now, no more bump starting! (I do use explanation marks alot don't I).

[swansea v6]

Lot of car for the money! Very comfortable motorway muncher, just be careful with the clutch and DMF.

[Steffan]

swansea v6 said:

Lot of car for the money! Very comfortable motorway muncher, just be careful with the clutch and DMF.

I have distrusted DMF applications from their early days. The fact that many companies offer single flyweels for many diesels nowadays confirms the downside IMO. One of the reasons I prefer petrol cars personally. DMF costs are stupid.

[BMWE34FAN]

Since I replaced the battery I've lost the radio code and the airbag light is on....any pointers how to solve these problems, especially the airbag light (MOT fail) Thanks all.

[Steffan]

BMWE34FAN said:

Since I replaced the battery I've lost the radio code and the airbag light is on....any pointers how to solve these problems, especially the airbag light (MOT fail) Thanks all.

As you probably know disconnecting the battery has lost the code. IME some cars have this code written on the radio itself. Otherwise its an expert garge job who can preprrmam the radio. Best avoided fir the future by not disconnecting the battery but ensuring continuous contact as the battery is changed. Airbag light will be another fault code prorogamming job again again expert garage needed with the soft ware to reset this code on this car. Electrics are by far the most common problem on modern cars.

[BMWE34FAN]

Oh no, I was hoping this was going to be cheap motoring, my fault I suppose. Read around that it could be the connections under the seat. Apparently if you just move them slightly then leave it for 15 minutes then it might stay off. Will try first thing in the morning.

[Miner49er]

Yep, just wiggle the yellow connector under each front seat.

[renorti]

Steffan said:

swansea v6 said:

Lot of car for the money! Very comfortable motorway muncher, just be careful with the clutch and DMF.

I have distrusted DMF applications from their early days. The fact that many companies offer single flyweels for many diesels nowadays confirms the downside IMO. One of the reasons I prefer petrol cars personally. DMF costs are stupid.

dual mass flywheels,are expensive you can get solid conversions, or like I found out afterwards,a few years{2008} ago my laguna dci had a rattling flywheel, was under warranty.eventually broke it for parts,only to find Renault dealer had welded the dual mass flywheel,can't say to much as it lasted well.

[trackdemon]

I'm on 181k miles now, 63k on from the auction purchase 3 years ago, only consumables and a diesel pump down. Good car, consumate comfortable mile muncher. Clutch masters go, front suspension joints wear, odd electrical issues. My airbag light went off again after showing for a week. Get yourself on http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/ for advice on radio code.

[BMWE34FAN]

Bit of a result today, managed to get the airbag light off. Fiddled round with the Orange cable under the drivers seat and disconnected the battery for 30 seconds and is good again!

[DanielJames]

Good work, it's hard not to like projects like this.

[Jakg]

BMWE34FAN said:

Bit of a result today, managed to get the airbag light off. Fiddled round with the Orange cable under the drivers seat and disconnected the battery for 30 seconds and is good again!

The orange cable is for the heated / electric seats. But you've probably jiggled the other cables (for the airbags) at the same time that fixed it

Steffan said:

As you probably know disconnecting the battery has lost the code. IME some cars have this code written on the radio itself. Otherwise its an expert garge job who can preprrmam the radio. Best avoided fir the future by not disconnecting the battery but ensuring continuous contact as the battery is changed. Airbag light will be another fault code prorogamming job again again expert garage needed with the soft ware to reset this code on this car. Electrics are by far the most common problem on modern cars.

Xpart (the forum member) can sort you out with a new code if it is as it left the factory.

I bought a 75 and got the code, only to find when I took the radio out it was written on top!

You don't need a fault code reader to reset the light if it's just a loose connection under the seats.

[BMWE34FAN]

Yeah I just pretended I knew what I was doing and wiggled lots of cables haha. I'm gonna pull the stereo out tomorrow, it's not a massive problem at the moment! Just glad everything so far has been dead cheap, the car now owes me £325! Next job is to tackle the interior as its filthy, especially the cream plastics. Might just buy a cheap steam cleaner and see what that does.

[Steffan]

BMWE34FAN said:

Yeah I just pretended I knew what I was doing and wiggled lots of cables haha. I'm gonna pull the stereo out tomorrow, it's not a massive problem at the moment! Just glad everything so far has been dead cheap, the car now owes me £325! Next job is to tackle the interior as its filthy, especially the cream plastics. Might just buy a cheap steam cleaner and see what that does.

Steam cleaning can be very effective on car interiors. Really better than any abrasive cleaner IME because it obviates the dangers of scuffing etc marking surfaces. A good clean can be a very good way of getting to know how your latest velocipede has fared in the hands of pervious owners. Good way to really gage how this car has been cherished or perhaps not in the bargain shed prices.

Having said that years ago we needed a spare car when my daily driver blew up and our pool cars were already away and I bought a Skoda Estele from my long term, always has a cheap daily driver, mechanic friend Colin. It was pre VW involvement. From memory it was less than £200 all told with 12 months mot. It was quite a revelation it started stopped went well enough in a gutess way and was actually quite driveable. The stepper motor went we cobbled a repair with a spare from Colin and we sold it a few months after for £220 I think when the DD came back.

Shed motoring really can be educational and fun but you do have to know when to chop. Otherwise big bils soon ruin the theoretical low cst involved. Just got to be ruthless if something big goes bang. I hope you car is as good as it seems I see no reason why it should not be. Best of luck.