RE: SOTW: Rover 216 Vitesse EFI
Discussion
Yuck. As a person who usually really appreciates cars of any form in tip top nick this should be relegated to a neat, tightly bound cube in a scrap yard.
Yes it's old and in good condition but I draw the line here- those saying you could drive it with no depreciation/ costs- i'd walk whatever distance that driving it involved thanks!
Old rovers are just cars that forever hold the rest of the public up, travelling sub-30mph on perfectly wonderful B-roads.
/rant!
Yes it's old and in good condition but I draw the line here- those saying you could drive it with no depreciation/ costs- i'd walk whatever distance that driving it involved thanks!
Old rovers are just cars that forever hold the rest of the public up, travelling sub-30mph on perfectly wonderful B-roads.
/rant!
I had the same car, but in Van den Plas trim, when I was 18. Same injected 1.6 litre lump, but with more fake wood, full leather trim, and even softer suspension. The car was on a C plate, and wore fairly hideous pale metallic green paint. Even after 20 years and probably the same number of cars, the old Rover remains remains the most financially rewarding vehicle I have ever owned.
It had been festering in a friend of my dad's garden for a year, and I picked it up for the princely sum of £35 (what the scrap man offered). It started and drove, but had a pretty crippling running fault where it wouldn't tick over properly, or take any more than a light brush of the throttle without spluttering to a halt. The driver's side window was also propped up with a modified hockey stick after the regulator had failed! But it did start and drive, and apart from scabs on the door bottoms, was a pretty tidy car. Said friend had long since bought another car, and his wife wanted "that monstrosity" gone. Did the deal, pumped up the tyres), and nursed it the 2 miles home.
The running problem was cured by a clean out and lube of the throttle pot, and the window fixed for £35 using breakers yard parts. I also took back, filled and painted the bottoms of the rear doors as they were going crusty. A good wash and wax, and it looked remarkably presentable. Better still, the MOT man said yes a few days later.
Drove it around for a few months, got bored with it, and stuck it in the Thames Valley Trader (as it was then) for £895. Some bloke came around the following day with £800 cash and drove it away.
I remember the engine being very gutsy, the handling being terrifying, and the steering lacking anything resembling feel. The rest is a bit hazy. It had decent seats, 80's jap-plastic interior with stick on Rover bling. What I really loved it for though, was that it paid for my return flight to Australia that summer. :-)
Performance (and profit) aside, it was totally forgettable if I'm being honest. Even as a nostalgic so-and-so, I have no desire to own another.
It had been festering in a friend of my dad's garden for a year, and I picked it up for the princely sum of £35 (what the scrap man offered). It started and drove, but had a pretty crippling running fault where it wouldn't tick over properly, or take any more than a light brush of the throttle without spluttering to a halt. The driver's side window was also propped up with a modified hockey stick after the regulator had failed! But it did start and drive, and apart from scabs on the door bottoms, was a pretty tidy car. Said friend had long since bought another car, and his wife wanted "that monstrosity" gone. Did the deal, pumped up the tyres), and nursed it the 2 miles home.
The running problem was cured by a clean out and lube of the throttle pot, and the window fixed for £35 using breakers yard parts. I also took back, filled and painted the bottoms of the rear doors as they were going crusty. A good wash and wax, and it looked remarkably presentable. Better still, the MOT man said yes a few days later.
Drove it around for a few months, got bored with it, and stuck it in the Thames Valley Trader (as it was then) for £895. Some bloke came around the following day with £800 cash and drove it away.
I remember the engine being very gutsy, the handling being terrifying, and the steering lacking anything resembling feel. The rest is a bit hazy. It had decent seats, 80's jap-plastic interior with stick on Rover bling. What I really loved it for though, was that it paid for my return flight to Australia that summer. :-)
Performance (and profit) aside, it was totally forgettable if I'm being honest. Even as a nostalgic so-and-so, I have no desire to own another.
Edited by Limpet on Friday 6th May 13:24
Edited by Limpet on Friday 6th May 13:27
Oh dear - my hands are up.... this was my second car... Maestro 1.6L first then the 216 SE EFI F reg....
What can I say.
it had a sun roof
electric wing mirrors
chucky feel steering wheel - for the time
dire rear legroom
dire lower back support front seats
creaky dash
electric windows - with ver expensive replacement motors to the point I couldnt afford a new motor so pushed it up with my hands!
diabolical brakes & diabolical handbrake no matter what you did with it.
Engine always had a flat spot at 1,800rpm or so where it would die and then kick back in at 1500rpm (similar thing at 5,500rpm)
Had a number of breakdowns, engine backfiring through the air filter which gave a huge bang, air flow meter, ECU (3 of), exhaust had a life of a couple of years if you were lucky.
Rusty bottom of doors
Shocking door seals & boot seal.
I thought it had a lot of power... um yea maybe not & my god did it sound terrible a really hard I4 when your on the lound pedal.
5 speed - an upgrade from my 4 speed Maestro.
I eventually killed the car in a banger race - the clutch went on the starting line after.... so I sat there with Throttle WIDE OPEN and it nearly lasted the entire race before BANG .
I would not recommend this car to anyone on paper it seemed good but reality a poor car lots of faults especially intermittant ones you spend all weekend trying to recreate.
Oh head gasket went once so I bored the block slightly and honed the cylinders - what a waste of money that was should have scrapped the thing before then.
This is why I dislike rovers - and also the newer Bubble one which frankly was little better the one we had.
What can I say.
it had a sun roof
electric wing mirrors
chucky feel steering wheel - for the time
dire rear legroom
dire lower back support front seats
creaky dash
electric windows - with ver expensive replacement motors to the point I couldnt afford a new motor so pushed it up with my hands!
diabolical brakes & diabolical handbrake no matter what you did with it.
Engine always had a flat spot at 1,800rpm or so where it would die and then kick back in at 1500rpm (similar thing at 5,500rpm)
Had a number of breakdowns, engine backfiring through the air filter which gave a huge bang, air flow meter, ECU (3 of), exhaust had a life of a couple of years if you were lucky.
Rusty bottom of doors
Shocking door seals & boot seal.
I thought it had a lot of power... um yea maybe not & my god did it sound terrible a really hard I4 when your on the lound pedal.
5 speed - an upgrade from my 4 speed Maestro.
I eventually killed the car in a banger race - the clutch went on the starting line after.... so I sat there with Throttle WIDE OPEN and it nearly lasted the entire race before BANG .
I would not recommend this car to anyone on paper it seemed good but reality a poor car lots of faults especially intermittant ones you spend all weekend trying to recreate.
Oh head gasket went once so I bored the block slightly and honed the cylinders - what a waste of money that was should have scrapped the thing before then.
This is why I dislike rovers - and also the newer Bubble one which frankly was little better the one we had.
Si_man306 said:
Yuck...Old rovers are just cars that forever hold the rest of the public up, travelling sub-30mph on perfectly wonderful B-roads. /rant!
Surely that's down to the drivers... I hardly ever see an old Rover these days - Your description sounds more like Toyota Corolla and Nissan Micra drivers to me...M
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C213374
I can sort of see it at £899, but £1495 is a bit strong. You could have a rusty tomcat for that. (Thats not a euphemism.)
I can sort of see it at £899, but £1495 is a bit strong. You could have a rusty tomcat for that. (Thats not a euphemism.)
Gizmo! said:
A lot of ignorance on this thread.
Too right and not just this thread. So, what else is new ... 
May I remind the Right Honourable Gizmo that this is Piston Heads... nuff sed.
I strongly suspect that many of the know alls bad mouthing this aged but very tidy Rover are actually younger than the car.
.
Motorrad said:
3/10 for desirability, 8/10 for the actual shedding.
The condition alone sort of justifies it, sort of.
Really... I bought our 51 reg Seat leon Cupra 1 owner main dealer service history, all belts & tensionsers just changed, fresh MOT, as new condition for £1.1k.The condition alone sort of justifies it, sort of.
Why would anyone consider any offer over £45? Tyres may last a few hundred miles... great likewise exhaust great - those two together is what £200-350 cost due now or within the next 8 week.
utter diabolical car and the price is a joke.
Oh my one died on 78k miles and it was barely 11 years old.
Now if someone said £150 for a Cavalier SRi 130 of the 80's veriety that would be interesting.
MGJohn said:
Gizmo! said:
A lot of ignorance on this thread.
Too right and not just this thread. So, what else is new ... May I remind the Right Honourable Gizmo that this is Piston Heads... nuff sed.
I strongly suspect that many of the know alls bad mouthing this aged but very tidy Rover are actually younger than the car.
.
I had a base 213 as my 5th car (I was a student at the time) - was cheap, comfortable, well made inside, though did rot on the out. At the time I do remember it being a reasonably entertaining car so I did semi-lust after the Vitesse model. Only down side was that looking at them you thought Rover/Honda and Over-50s only at the same time.
If I didn't have too many cars already I'd be tempted to look for one of these at about half the price, but I do agree I think, even with the low milage, it's too much. Still it's what SOTW is all about.
Alfa Papa said:
All my dad ever said about his was how good the Honda gearbox was. Very nice. It's BooKAY!!!!!
It was nice in the sence it was a 5 speeder which for me at the time was a first and desirable for lower M way engine speed.As far as "very nice" its much more direct than the Austin Maestro.
I have never owned one of these.
I don't particularly want to own one of these.
I do have a Rover Vitesse, but it drives the correct wheels. I also have an MG (it is a ZT so just a car to use every day) but I don't have a beard as previously mentioned in this thread.
With all the above said, I think people do this old 216 an injustice, but I do not think this is a PH car. My old Honda Civic 1.5GTi with the same dash mouldings now that would be another matter.
I don't particularly want to own one of these.
I do have a Rover Vitesse, but it drives the correct wheels. I also have an MG (it is a ZT so just a car to use every day) but I don't have a beard as previously mentioned in this thread.
With all the above said, I think people do this old 216 an injustice, but I do not think this is a PH car. My old Honda Civic 1.5GTi with the same dash mouldings now that would be another matter.
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