RE: Shed of the Week
Discussion
I had the pleasure(!) of driving a Rover 400 a few years back. The clutch pedal was about 3 feet long, the gearchange started near the bonnet and ended near the rear seats. It was a bloody awful car, and I was glad to be out of it. There was zero steering feedback, the brakes on my mountain bike were more effective, and birds were nesting in the panel gaps.
Rover is dead and gone, and for very good reasons IMO.
Rover is dead and gone, and for very good reasons IMO.
egomeister said:
Richard Moss - as spotted earlier today...
So funny I almost stayed awake!
Well, you do have to block out the sound of people like yourself, stigcv8 and budgie of doom talking total bollox. If you are too dense to take on board the odd FACT or two, prefering to get by on superstition and rumour then there really is very little hope for you.
You probably still burn witches "down your way" - because someone in the pub said that he heard from a bloke down the market, who heard from his cousins best mate's second sister's brother-in-laws's next door neighbours uncle that witches float if you chuck them into the village pond (although said bloke had never seen it for himself).
"She floats - burn her!"
I think Parrott has an aversion to Rovers. All's fine with that.
I suggest we look at his recent car history, always seems to lose thousands on each one.
Me. I've lost about £200 in value (only because I probably spent £100 more on it when I bought it) and I've spent about £300 on cambelt change(precautionary), power steering pipe and bottom ball joint.
Unnecessary spending includes a set of alloys and a stainless steel custom built exhaust (both of which will fit my Mk1 820 when she's fully restored).
PS, it's still on its' original headgasket, windscreen and engine and at 277,000 miles I'm not complaining.
I suggest we look at his recent car history, always seems to lose thousands on each one.
Me. I've lost about £200 in value (only because I probably spent £100 more on it when I bought it) and I've spent about £300 on cambelt change(precautionary), power steering pipe and bottom ball joint.
Unnecessary spending includes a set of alloys and a stainless steel custom built exhaust (both of which will fit my Mk1 820 when she's fully restored).
PS, it's still on its' original headgasket, windscreen and engine and at 277,000 miles I'm not complaining.
Richard Moss said:
egomeister said:
Richard Moss - as spotted earlier today...
So funny I almost stayed awake!
Well, you do have to block out the sound of people like yourself, stigcv8 and budgie of doom talking total bollox. If you are too dense to take on board the odd FACT or two, prefering to get by on superstition and rumour then there really is very little hope for you.
You probably still burn witches "down your way" - because someone in the pub said that he heard from a bloke down the market, who heard from his cousins best mate's second sister's brother-in-laws's next door neighbours uncle that witches float if you chuck them into the village pond (although said bloke had never seen it for himself).
"She floats - burn her!"
I'm only joking with ya Richard
As I said earlier in the thread, my dad used to own an 800 (K reg Vitesse) and I thought it to be a pretty average car to be honest - it just didn't handle like a sports model should, although it was reliable and comfortable. I convinced him to get a test drive in a Volvo 850 T5 when the time came to replace it, and the Rover never got a look in - the volvo was simply a different class.
Having said that, I'd consider the Sterling as a bargain barge, but not for that money..
Rover 200 owner here. Well its the fiancee's really, but still counts. Cant really argue with it, cracking little car, gets the job done. Lugs stuff about, up and down the Motorways when we need it to and returns decent fuel economy around town.
My masculinity and ego are restored by the other car being a Sagaris.
My masculinity and ego are restored by the other car being a Sagaris.
Bought a 620 a few years back as a hack to get me to Le Mans - 70k and FSH, near mint and one owner. Ended up keeping it for 2 and a half years and another trip to the 24hrs. Totally reliable over the 20k I did in it although not particularly great to drive (to say the least!) - got rid for £600. If you can deal with the lack of street cred, as a mile muncher they get the job done for pennies - I've just had to spend more than I paid for the Rover on discs/ pads and ball-joints for my E46 Coupe...
egomeister said:
Having said that, I'd consider the Sterling as a bargain barge, but not for that money..
Now you're talking.
I've just bought an immaculate 1998 820 with Sterling spec interior (leather, aircon, full electrics, heated seats etc. etc. etc.) for £100. It got a first time MOT pass for £30 - total - £130 for what is a truly immaculate, luxury car.
I could sell it tomorrow for a profit - and indeed, I have yet to lose money on any Rover 800 - they are an absolute bargain because people don't appreciate how good they are.
How about a £250 Vitesse - with aircon etc? Had it two years and spent no money on it whatsoever apart from oil, filters and brakepads. 130+ mph car for £250. Beat that!
Edited by Richard Moss on Monday 8th January 12:31
BlueRover said:
I think Parrott has an aversion to Rovers. All's fine with that.
I suggest we look at his recent car history, always seems to lose thousands on each one.
I suggest we look at his recent car history, always seems to lose thousands on each one.
I'm not complaining. The only duffer I've ever owned was the Audi TT, it was the reason I signed up here as it was a pile of shite and I needed advice as to what to do. I then bought a Chimaera which remains the greatest car I've ever owned - and also the most expensive.
If you like cars that are cheap, fair enough. Myself I like cars that are good, and the cost doesn't really come into it.
I had a 600ti for 60,000 miles - Good car, reliable, quick, discreet & frugal (32mpg high speed cruising) & excellent fun as a Q car.
No personal experience of an 800 (preferred the more modern 600) but I think either an 827 or a 200bhp Vitesse Sport would be best. Later shape 800s seem much better built.
Tony Pond lapped the IOM TT course in an 827 at over 100mph - standard apart from tyres & a sports exhaust.
No personal experience of an 800 (preferred the more modern 600) but I think either an 827 or a 200bhp Vitesse Sport would be best. Later shape 800s seem much better built.
Tony Pond lapped the IOM TT course in an 827 at over 100mph - standard apart from tyres & a sports exhaust.
Parrot of Doom said:
If you like cars that are cheap, fair enough. Myself I like cars that are good, and the cost doesn't really come into it.
I think it then becomes a question of defining good. In many cases people will say VFM is good, others will say performance is good, comfort will also be a factor and street cred I suppose. I can see the old 800 series meeting most of those requirements, although the metal returning to its natural state prematurely might be a problem for some
S'funny how much passion a defunct old car company can arouse in us isn't it?
For the past 20 years of so (until a couple of years ago) I ran company cars and for 15 of those years, along with my normal job I also carried out the duties of ad hoc fleet manager for the company.
We used to buy all our cars new, and we pretty much could have what we liked, provided we had enough money in the kitty at the time
We ran quite a few cars up to around the 80 -100k miles using main delaer servicing. Here's my experience of the various brands we had:
Audi: Very solid body construction, but appalling bits attached to them. Engines, (mostly TDi) gearboxes, steering and electrics all gave major problems. This make held our fleet record for leaving its drivers stranded by the roadside the most times. Audi support was crap too.
Austin. Did stellar mileage on a montego turbo diesel . No problems whatsoever.
BMW: Also very solidly built. Largely trouble free except for minor electrical niggles (windows not closing, lights blowing,) The only major mechanical thing was an engine failure on a 1997 523. Very expensive to service
Only stranded a driver once
Ford. Where to begin? Collapsed suspension (sierra 4 x 4) broken gearboxes (sierra 4 x 4) brake problems (all of the Fords we ran suffered warped discs when ABS was specified) Engine management problems (V6) Electrical problems, fires (scorpio) more leaks than Wales (both into and out of the car) . Dealers were friendly but incompetent. Cheap to buy, but not always cheap to fix. Stranded drivers several times.
Land Rover: Only ran one - a V8 discovery. Totally faultless.
MG. Blown turbo seal (Montego turbo) and some paint niggles (Maestros) but otherwise faultless. Never left drivers stranded ever, despite being used for track days sometimes We even had a Tickford Maestro turbo. Ugly but very fast and handled quite well.
Peugeot: Only ran two. one - a 405 Mi16 was great except for shoddy build quality and dodgy brakes (Bendix ABS)
Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING squeeked or rattled on a hot day. The other was a 205Gti 1.9 that was delivered with a hole in the engine block (oil everywhere) . It all went downhill from there..... Crap dealers
Renault: One laguna. It was awful. Sloppy , thirsty and rough. Didn't break muchh though!
Rover: Ran a mix of 216 gtis, 220s, 800 vitesses, and one 827 coupe. Had a couple of roll bar links on the 800s which needed replacing (they knock when worn) and thats about it. dealers very variable. None of the cars ever broke down.
Saab: Only ran one but it was very good. Only stranded driver once (blew off the turbo to inlet manifold pipe)
We were sad to see it go. Great dealers too.
Subaru: No faults, great dealers.
TVR: Ran my first Chim on the company. Some early build issues (leaky screen) and my first dealer (Graypauls) was awful. Other than that, very reliable car (did 30k miles in just over 12 months)
Vauxhall: OK, but a bit uninspiring. Used to get front suspension problems with Astras (the wishbones broke!) and the odd electrical problem. Otherwise pretty good. Dealers not nice though.
Volvo: Nice initial build quality, but everything broke. Interior trim, seats, cupholders etc. Engines missfired, suspension came loose. clutches failed, Loads of electrical problems, including random self unlocking when it rained, windows that would not close, drained batteries and much more. (These were all early 2000s S60 model cars) Paint problems. Never actually left drivers stranded, but not confidence inspiring. Dealers a mixed bag.
Andy
For the past 20 years of so (until a couple of years ago) I ran company cars and for 15 of those years, along with my normal job I also carried out the duties of ad hoc fleet manager for the company.
We used to buy all our cars new, and we pretty much could have what we liked, provided we had enough money in the kitty at the time
We ran quite a few cars up to around the 80 -100k miles using main delaer servicing. Here's my experience of the various brands we had: Audi: Very solid body construction, but appalling bits attached to them. Engines, (mostly TDi) gearboxes, steering and electrics all gave major problems. This make held our fleet record for leaving its drivers stranded by the roadside the most times. Audi support was crap too.
Austin. Did stellar mileage on a montego turbo diesel . No problems whatsoever.
BMW: Also very solidly built. Largely trouble free except for minor electrical niggles (windows not closing, lights blowing,) The only major mechanical thing was an engine failure on a 1997 523. Very expensive to service
Only stranded a driver once
Ford. Where to begin? Collapsed suspension (sierra 4 x 4) broken gearboxes (sierra 4 x 4) brake problems (all of the Fords we ran suffered warped discs when ABS was specified) Engine management problems (V6) Electrical problems, fires (scorpio) more leaks than Wales (both into and out of the car) . Dealers were friendly but incompetent. Cheap to buy, but not always cheap to fix. Stranded drivers several times.
Land Rover: Only ran one - a V8 discovery. Totally faultless.
MG. Blown turbo seal (Montego turbo) and some paint niggles (Maestros) but otherwise faultless. Never left drivers stranded ever, despite being used for track days sometimes
We even had a Tickford Maestro turbo. Ugly but very fast and handled quite well. Peugeot: Only ran two. one - a 405 Mi16 was great except for shoddy build quality and dodgy brakes (Bendix ABS)
Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING squeeked or rattled on a hot day. The other was a 205Gti 1.9 that was delivered with a hole in the engine block (oil everywhere) . It all went downhill from there..... Crap dealers
Renault: One laguna. It was awful. Sloppy , thirsty and rough. Didn't break muchh though!
Rover: Ran a mix of 216 gtis, 220s, 800 vitesses, and one 827 coupe. Had a couple of roll bar links on the 800s which needed replacing (they knock when worn) and thats about it. dealers very variable. None of the cars ever broke down.
Saab: Only ran one but it was very good. Only stranded driver once (blew off the turbo to inlet manifold pipe)
We were sad to see it go. Great dealers too.
Subaru: No faults, great dealers.
TVR: Ran my first Chim on the company. Some early build issues (leaky screen) and my first dealer (Graypauls) was awful. Other than that, very reliable car (did 30k miles in just over 12 months)
Vauxhall: OK, but a bit uninspiring. Used to get front suspension problems with Astras (the wishbones broke!) and the odd electrical problem. Otherwise pretty good. Dealers not nice though.
Volvo: Nice initial build quality, but everything broke. Interior trim, seats, cupholders etc. Engines missfired, suspension came loose. clutches failed, Loads of electrical problems, including random self unlocking when it rained, windows that would not close, drained batteries and much more. (These were all early 2000s S60 model cars) Paint problems. Never actually left drivers stranded, but not confidence inspiring. Dealers a mixed bag.
Andy
stigcv8 said:
skid said:
I don't get angry very often but jesus some of you dickheads posting here are so full of shite.
You don't deserve to post in Pistonheads your bar room utter tripe, picked up over a half pint of bullshit beer. Some here are so full of crap they think is gospel because 'your Mum's Uncle's Son's Dogs, third Bitche's Owner's inbred Cousin once had an Allegro, and it was all-agro! ha ha ha' ..... not! Tossers!
Speaking clearly here, I worked with Rover Cars at Dealerships level so took the faults on the chin with the customers, and I think I can speak with some authority on the subject considering I was General Manager of 2 Sites for 4 years. We sold and serviced abolutely thousands of these (new and used) up to 6 to 7 years old and say 60k miles.
The 800 had it's problems, BUT THEN SO DOES EVERY OTHER CAR!!!!!! As it happens the worst offender was the later K series V6, and most of the problems related to the engine gaskets, as already stated here. We even had one car with the heads off with the gaskets missing! However apart from this particular weak point, generally the car had run of the mill warranty issues, the same as any other. Trust me I used to see the warranty returns every month for years!!!!
Chassis cracking and other such nonsense I did not see. The only older problem of real pain was the dash board warping under extreme heat after some years and Rover did many withour complaint, even when way out of the 3 year warranty!!!!
With regard to Rover and warranty issues, please understand this; when BMW owned Rover and all models were analysed together, the car with the least warranty cost to BMW/Rover group was the Rover 420, which uses the same engine as the 800 in this thread. The biggest offender was a BMW (can't remember which one)!!!!!!!!!! This is not due to part prices but hours cost in rectification and internal warranty rates were pretty smilar then.
Anyway nob-heads, go and drink some petrol and learn some facts before you post ill informed nonsense.
Hey mods, sin bin me if you need but I just don't care. I've got increasingly fed up with the lowering of the intellectual content of this site the last 18 months or so.
Perhaps new members should be vetted, maybe a driving licence would be a good start!
You don't deserve to post in Pistonheads your bar room utter tripe, picked up over a half pint of bullshit beer. Some here are so full of crap they think is gospel because 'your Mum's Uncle's Son's Dogs, third Bitche's Owner's inbred Cousin once had an Allegro, and it was all-agro! ha ha ha' ..... not! Tossers!
Speaking clearly here, I worked with Rover Cars at Dealerships level so took the faults on the chin with the customers, and I think I can speak with some authority on the subject considering I was General Manager of 2 Sites for 4 years. We sold and serviced abolutely thousands of these (new and used) up to 6 to 7 years old and say 60k miles.
The 800 had it's problems, BUT THEN SO DOES EVERY OTHER CAR!!!!!! As it happens the worst offender was the later K series V6, and most of the problems related to the engine gaskets, as already stated here. We even had one car with the heads off with the gaskets missing! However apart from this particular weak point, generally the car had run of the mill warranty issues, the same as any other. Trust me I used to see the warranty returns every month for years!!!!
Chassis cracking and other such nonsense I did not see. The only older problem of real pain was the dash board warping under extreme heat after some years and Rover did many withour complaint, even when way out of the 3 year warranty!!!!
With regard to Rover and warranty issues, please understand this; when BMW owned Rover and all models were analysed together, the car with the least warranty cost to BMW/Rover group was the Rover 420, which uses the same engine as the 800 in this thread. The biggest offender was a BMW (can't remember which one)!!!!!!!!!! This is not due to part prices but hours cost in rectification and internal warranty rates were pretty smilar then.
Anyway nob-heads, go and drink some petrol and learn some facts before you post ill informed nonsense.
Hey mods, sin bin me if you need but I just don't care. I've got increasingly fed up with the lowering of the intellectual content of this site the last 18 months or so.
Perhaps new members should be vetted, maybe a driving licence would be a good start!
Angry ex rover sales man balances argument with unbiased logical rant
Since when have Rovers EVER been pistonhead material. They were rubbish and the dealers who supported them were rubbish.
I hate all this inverted snobbery and denial. My mother had an Allegro new in 1973 which the boot used to fill up with water. Dealer fix solution, drill a hole in the superbly rust proofed floor!
Built by monkeys sold and serviced by monkeys.
Bogracer said:
Since when have Rovers EVER been pistonhead material. They were rubbish and the dealers who supported them were rubbish.
I hate all this inverted snobbery and denial. My mother had an Allegro new in 1973 which the boot used to fill up with water. Dealer fix solution, drill a hole in the superbly rust proofed floor!
Built by monkeys sold and serviced by monkeys.
D'ya see why Skid gets annoyed when you post nonsense like this? You're still talking Allegro stories from 1973 FFS!
Since you're allowed to go back to 73, so can I.......
Pistonhead material Rover group cars. Well taken in context (ie, viewed against their peers of the day) there are quite a few actually.......
How about
Rover P5 coupe
Rover P6 V8S
Rover SD1 V8 vitesse
Triumph Dolomite sprint
Rover 827 Vitesse
Rover 220 turbo coupe (aka Tomcat)
Mini Cooper
Austin Healey 3000
Triumph GT6
Triumph TR6
Triumph Stag
Jaguar XJ 6 / 12/ S and coupe (it was part of BL in the 70s)
E type
MG ZR
MG ZS
MG ZT
MG ZTT
MGZT V8
MGF
MGTF
MG Metro (the original was a blast)
MG Maestro Tickford Turbo (don't even think about denying this cos I'll bet my house you have never been in one)
There's probably more, but theres more than enough here to show you up as a silly boy!
Andy
I might have the dubious distinction of owning FIVE Rovers. Ok, two of those were classics (both P6s). I've owned two 600s and currently have a Rover 75 CDTi.
Here's a list of all the things that have needed replacing, bearing in mind two of these cars were over 30 years old. My current P6B is 37, almost 38 years old.
New rear suspension springs
New fuel pump
New dizzy cap and HT Leads
New fuel filter
New engine mounts
Two exhausts
Eight full sets of brake pads
Twenty eight tyres
New radiator
Two new cooling fans
A few circlips
Here's the total number of breakdown's in those ten years....
Once when the fuel pump expired
Dirty starter motor electrics not disengaging the solenoid.
The back box of the exhaust came loose (rotted) fixed with some bale string and off to Kwik-Fit.
Of the three contemporary Rovers covering over 200,000 miles, the only items I've needed have been a few circlips, a new rad (holed by a stone), a cooling fan, tyres and pads and a couple of exhausts. That's it, no drama or fuss, no steaming breakdown at the side of the road.
They may not be sporty, or have much brand cache (that to me is of huge appeal, I'll take the image of old git and flat cap) but they are simply very good motorway wafters. I have a friend who sells second-hand cars, Rover are a well kept secret, especially 45s and 25s as they go for peanuts trade but get a good markup with very little comeback.
In my experience, cab drivers own a lot of Rovers and that hasn't hurt 'The Stuttgart Taxi' brand much either. If you want an indication of cheap, reliable and comfortable cars, look at what the cabbie pulls up in. Most of the time, it's some Rover round me, a lot of 600s and quite a few 800s as well.
As for 800s, sadly ARG let this car out too early, just like SD1 and it simply didn't have its gremlins ironed out prior to release. The latter 1997 onwards 800s are very good cars, like the SD1 it never survived the early models. Anything with a FSH for £500-£1000 is going to be a steal, easily get a couple of years out of it, probably more.
Rover died to me in 1971 when Jaguar killed off the P8 and P9/Alvis Coupe and Triumph came in as 'Special Division'.
As for 'mate in the pub says .....' everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess, no matter how misinformed.
Here's a list of all the things that have needed replacing, bearing in mind two of these cars were over 30 years old. My current P6B is 37, almost 38 years old.
New rear suspension springs
New fuel pump
New dizzy cap and HT Leads
New fuel filter
New engine mounts
Two exhausts
Eight full sets of brake pads
Twenty eight tyres
New radiator
Two new cooling fans
A few circlips
Here's the total number of breakdown's in those ten years....
Once when the fuel pump expired
Dirty starter motor electrics not disengaging the solenoid.
The back box of the exhaust came loose (rotted) fixed with some bale string and off to Kwik-Fit.
Of the three contemporary Rovers covering over 200,000 miles, the only items I've needed have been a few circlips, a new rad (holed by a stone), a cooling fan, tyres and pads and a couple of exhausts. That's it, no drama or fuss, no steaming breakdown at the side of the road.
They may not be sporty, or have much brand cache (that to me is of huge appeal, I'll take the image of old git and flat cap) but they are simply very good motorway wafters. I have a friend who sells second-hand cars, Rover are a well kept secret, especially 45s and 25s as they go for peanuts trade but get a good markup with very little comeback.
In my experience, cab drivers own a lot of Rovers and that hasn't hurt 'The Stuttgart Taxi' brand much either. If you want an indication of cheap, reliable and comfortable cars, look at what the cabbie pulls up in. Most of the time, it's some Rover round me, a lot of 600s and quite a few 800s as well.
As for 800s, sadly ARG let this car out too early, just like SD1 and it simply didn't have its gremlins ironed out prior to release. The latter 1997 onwards 800s are very good cars, like the SD1 it never survived the early models. Anything with a FSH for £500-£1000 is going to be a steal, easily get a couple of years out of it, probably more.
Rover died to me in 1971 when Jaguar killed off the P8 and P9/Alvis Coupe and Triumph came in as 'Special Division'.
As for 'mate in the pub says .....' everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess, no matter how misinformed.
215cu said:
everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess, no matter how misinformed.
how do you define misinformed? Where are rover? What is their history? What is their reputation?
do you think poupular opinion is just a figment of the imagination?
Ford, Vauxhall, Skoda all got rid of their reputations yet Rover failed, why?
Have to agree with what other people have said here, a fair amount of crap being spouted from people who have never owned or driven a rover. I have owned a few in my time
214 cab * 2
MGF
MGZS 180 v6
45 auto (honda engine and box)
mixture of new and 2nd hand.
How many times did any of these break down? NONE in total probably around 500k+ miles the 45 did 60k miles in 6 months alone.
Apart from normal servicing and things like brake pads I never had anything go wrong or need replacing.
So I must be the luckiest person in the world then? I also had a TVR that shock horror never broke down, the only bill I ever had for it was when accelerator cable broke.
Some Rover dealers where a joke, I'll give you that.
I don't see the world through rose tinted glasses, the rovers where never my only car, they where usually my get me to work car. Far more reliable and cheaper to run then my french, jap, us, german etc etc cars have ever been.
So stop spouting the same old rubbish, head gasgets yawn, rust yawn, crap yawn
Only beaten in reliabilty stakes by my current landcruiser.
214 cab * 2
MGF
MGZS 180 v6
45 auto (honda engine and box)
mixture of new and 2nd hand.
How many times did any of these break down? NONE in total probably around 500k+ miles the 45 did 60k miles in 6 months alone.
Apart from normal servicing and things like brake pads I never had anything go wrong or need replacing.
So I must be the luckiest person in the world then? I also had a TVR that shock horror never broke down, the only bill I ever had for it was when accelerator cable broke.
Some Rover dealers where a joke, I'll give you that.
I don't see the world through rose tinted glasses, the rovers where never my only car, they where usually my get me to work car. Far more reliable and cheaper to run then my french, jap, us, german etc etc cars have ever been.
So stop spouting the same old rubbish, head gasgets yawn, rust yawn, crap yawn
Only beaten in reliabilty stakes by my current landcruiser.
stigcv8 said:
215cu said:
everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess, no matter how misinformed.
how do you define misinformed? Where are rover? What is their history? What is their reputation?
do you think poupular opinion is just a figment of the imagination?
Ford, Vauxhall, Skoda all got rid of their reputations yet Rover failed, why?
The same way Merc are the last word in build quality, funny my 2 brand new mercs where the worst bolted together pieces of crap I have ever owned, and VW's are renowned for there reliability, again funny how mine broke down more times then I care to remember. If enough people say it it must be true
stigcv8 said:
215cu said:
everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess, no matter how misinformed.
how do you define misinformed? Where are rover? What is their history? What is their reputation?
do you think poupular opinion is just a figment of the imagination?
Ford, Vauxhall, Skoda all got rid of their reputations yet Rover failed, why?
There's no doubt that Rover made too many mistakes. The trouble is, by the time they were doing it right nobody was listening any more. And in the real world marketplace perception is reality for the customer, as we all know! In fact, it became really quite fashionable to knock Rover, no matter how good the products were. A couple of Christmas's ago I went to my in-laws for the season. Also coming was my wifes cousin. We were all supposed to meet on Christmas eve for drinks and a bite to eat. It got to 21.30hrs and still no sign of the cousin. The weather was dreadful so we were staring to fear the worst. Then she showed up, in a tow truck. Her brand new Seat thingy with its VW engine had broken down on Telegraph hill, stranding her in the rain for several hours. Turned out to be a faulty throttle pot. The breakdown man said he got called to dozens of VW /Audi / SEAT / koda cars every month with the same problem. Took 3 weeks to fix. No courtesy car was supplied. When it came back there were problems with the Radio, the aircon and the clutch.
Two bits of irony followed:: Cousin spotted my MG ZTT as she climbed down from the truck. Cue comment " Nice looking car, but I'd never buy a Rover, too unreliable!" (at that point I was on 60k miles with absolutely NO problems!. Then, the following summer at a family get together I overheard the same cousin saying how wonderful he SEAT was, and how it was wonderfully reliable, gave her no trouble etc etc etc. Even today, in her mind my MG is a pile of trouble waiting to happen and her SEAT is a paragon of virtue.
Andy
Edited by andymadmak on Tuesday 9th January 15:26
In my opinion, the biggest damage to Rover's reputation came from downgrading the Rover badge on to cars that had begun life (and arguably should have remained) Austins.
Then there's the issue of product. The P6 was class-leading when released. The SD1 would have been if it had launched on time - even two years late, look at the performance and economy figures compared to the cars of the day.
The two generations of 800 could by no stretch of the imagination claim to be as forward-looking. The latter one kept its head well above water and reviewed well in 1991 - but a few years later the cars it stood against then had made way for a new generation that significantly shifted the goalposts for ability.
The 75 was a revelation in comparison, but too late and unfortunately saddled with BMW's notions of "Britishness". The proof of what Rover's engineers could do with the cash (new Mini, anyone?) and even without the cash (MG ZT V8) was impressive, but without the image to prosper in the premium sector or the product to survive in a mass market enjoying the talents of the Focus, where were they going to go?
Then there's the issue of product. The P6 was class-leading when released. The SD1 would have been if it had launched on time - even two years late, look at the performance and economy figures compared to the cars of the day.
The two generations of 800 could by no stretch of the imagination claim to be as forward-looking. The latter one kept its head well above water and reviewed well in 1991 - but a few years later the cars it stood against then had made way for a new generation that significantly shifted the goalposts for ability.
The 75 was a revelation in comparison, but too late and unfortunately saddled with BMW's notions of "Britishness". The proof of what Rover's engineers could do with the cash (new Mini, anyone?) and even without the cash (MG ZT V8) was impressive, but without the image to prosper in the premium sector or the product to survive in a mass market enjoying the talents of the Focus, where were they going to go?
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