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

[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).

[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.

[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.

[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!

[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.

[BMWE34FAN]

Well to be honest it's had money spent on it just before it was parked up for a year, but looking at the state of the interior and minor marks around the car it wasn't the most loved car! As much as I want to run it till it dies, I'm quite fond of it so I'm going to bring it up to a reasonable state on a very tight budget if that is possible. Luckily I know how to fix cars to a good standard so I can save on Labour, it's just electrics is a no no!

[BMWE34FAN]

But of a panic this morning, put the key in and it just clicked when I turned it. Quick fiddle with the battery connections and the old bus started up no problems. MOT booked 10am tomorrow morning, just needs a tyre and a headlight bulb as far as I can see! Nervous though...

[BMWE34FAN]

Thanks, I'm hoping it does too. Today I replaced the N/S/R tyre with a decent tread Michelin part worn (budget motoring) that cost me £25 (225/55/16) and a passenger side headlight bulb that was actually very simple to replace (little access point in wheel arch). I'm a little nervous about the brake discs as they are very rusty (I will get pics up soon for advice). The car was standing over a year before I purchased it as the elderly gentleman passed away. Once the MOT is all done I'm going to treat it to the 2nd hand boot lid I've seen (£25) and a really good bath as its absolutley filthy inside.
All in all the car now owes me around £355 which is a steal in my eyes for a decent BMW Diesel engined 75.

[BMWE34FAN]

Pass an MOT? All discs are like that.

[BMWE34FAN]

Little update! Car failed it's MOT on a coil spring and brake pipes. Am I right in thinking you can just cover them in wax oil and they will be ok? Want to get this fixed up on the cheap :-)

[BMWE34FAN]

Had a quote for 148 for the brake pipes, that's both sides front to rear. Also had a quote for 148 for the coil spring which seems a tad excessive. Going to get it done but cheaper, then treat the car to a valet and a replacement boot lid. I'm quite fond of the car as it drives great and should be reliable for me.

[BMWE34FAN]

Just had a quick look through the MOT history (very interesting site) and the car has only done around 7,000 a year and in the last 2 years less than a 1000 miles! The failures were actually advisories on the last MOT so I can't really complain.

[BMWE34FAN]

I've never heard of them before but after a bit of googleing it seems like its a bad problem on the 75/ZT. I will give it a check later on. Just a quick thing, on the MOT it said "Offside front headlamp aim beam image obviously incorrect... could that just be an old bulb that needs replacing?

[BMWE34FAN]

Just showing the boot where the lacquer has failed, going to pick up a 2nd hand one this week after the MOT work is complete.



Also gave it a quick Hoover, it's come up ok!

[BMWE34FAN]

Quick shot of the front end.

[BMWE34FAN]

Always loved the front ends on these!

[BMWE34FAN]

Little update! £310 poorer and the car is now MOTd for 12 months. A bit more than I wanted to pay but hey should give me 12 months service now.

[BMWE34FAN]

Little update on the £300 75 Diesel. It's all MOT and taxed again now after 2 years of standing. It drives really well and is very relaxing. I'm just finding it very sluggish, are all the 2.0 CDT like this?
I gave it a quick wash to get rid of all the moss etc and I must say it's come up really well. Just need to source a replacement boot lid to make it more presentable.

[BMWE34FAN]

Wow that sounds promising about the remap! How are you finding going from a V6 to a high mileage diesel? Are there big differences in mpg? Is yours a standard CDT like mine? No belts to worry about that will save you money.
I now call mine the slug, I've driven 110bhp Passats that felt alot quicker. I think I will definitely find someone local with the equipment.
Tomorrow I'm going to tackle the interior, the cream plastics are very dirty so it could be a hard task. Will grab pictures of the results.