Is a longship the answer?
Discussion
The shed search has been dragging on for long enough now. Finding a cheap car that satisfies the shedders holy trinity of quick, comfortable and reliable (2 out of 3 is a satisfactory score) has seen me scouring the earth for a 10 ish year old BMW within budget, or a 20 ish year old Benz without tinworm. It also needs to do 20,000+ miles per annum so must run on tractor juice.
Could the answer be a Rover 75? It has a pre-complications BMW diesel engine, Mercedes like build quality (without the rust), and all the comfortable cruising toys for very little money; leather, air con, cruise control etc.
Am I wrong?
Could the answer be a Rover 75? It has a pre-complications BMW diesel engine, Mercedes like build quality (without the rust), and all the comfortable cruising toys for very little money; leather, air con, cruise control etc.
Am I wrong?
I tried to convince a friend that a 75 estate would be far better than a focus estate. Then we went and saw some of them. The first was a one owner 50k mile V6; it was falling apart inside, literally. The second a we equipped 1.8T - one of the light units fell out when I opened the boot. The third was just as bad and a diesel.
I passengered in a few back in the day and they were comfortable, but i've never had three relatively unabused cars in a row fall apart in front of me when car shopping as when looking at 75s, unfortunately
I passengered in a few back in the day and they were comfortable, but i've never had three relatively unabused cars in a row fall apart in front of me when car shopping as when looking at 75s, unfortunately
They are sublime to drive if you get a good one.
Personally I'd only buy a diesel. I'd only buy one from a fanboi on the owners forum. And I'd only buy a manual with a new clutch or an automatic. The job is shy of £1k. You also want the 130bhp not the 115.
They are a simpler unit than the BMW of the same vintage got and so plod on and on. The car will fall apart around it first. Buy from an enthusiast and you'll generally find a cat that's been looked after better than their own child.
Personally I'd only buy a diesel. I'd only buy one from a fanboi on the owners forum. And I'd only buy a manual with a new clutch or an automatic. The job is shy of £1k. You also want the 130bhp not the 115.
They are a simpler unit than the BMW of the same vintage got and so plod on and on. The car will fall apart around it first. Buy from an enthusiast and you'll generally find a cat that's been looked after better than their own child.
radiodanno said:
They are sublime to drive if you get a good one.
Personally I'd only buy a diesel. I'd only buy one from a fanboi on the owners forum. And I'd only buy a manual with a new clutch or an automatic. The job is shy of £1k. You also want the 130bhp not the 115.
They are a simpler unit than the BMW of the same vintage got and so plod on and on. The car will fall apart around it first. Buy from an enthusiast and you'll generally find a cat that's been looked after better than their own child.
I really liked the idea of the 75 prior to viewing some, were some better made than others? Personally I'd only buy a diesel. I'd only buy one from a fanboi on the owners forum. And I'd only buy a manual with a new clutch or an automatic. The job is shy of £1k. You also want the 130bhp not the 115.
They are a simpler unit than the BMW of the same vintage got and so plod on and on. The car will fall apart around it first. Buy from an enthusiast and you'll generally find a cat that's been looked after better than their own child.
I thought the 2.5 v6 was fairly robust, if not a 'fast' engine a refined and relatively reliable one?
Why not consider a Volvo OP?
0a said:
I really liked the idea of the 75 prior to viewing some, were some better made than others?
I thought the 2.5 v6 was fairly robust, if not a 'fast' engine a refined and relatively reliable one?
Why not consider a Volvo OP?
Volvo are on my radar, Saab too, but I see so many reletively young ones advertised as 'spares or repair' that I suspect there are reliability issues (I could be wrong, that did happen once).I thought the 2.5 v6 was fairly robust, if not a 'fast' engine a refined and relatively reliable one?
Why not consider a Volvo OP?
The only real stumbling block with the 75 is the way they look. Admittedly I'm no longer young, but I don't wish to wear (approaching) middle-age like a badge of honour, or drive it to work. Looks aren't everything, and entirely personal, but the rover screams 'grandad' a little too loud for my liking. I know some people like the 'retro' styling, but retro will always be retro, rather than 'classic'.
Apolgies for starting a topic then disappearing, the wife fed me some funky chicken last night and I've been rather occupied with the mass evacuation.
johnny fotze said:
The shed search has been dragging on for long enough now. Finding a cheap car that satisfies the shedders holy trinity of quick, comfortable and reliable (2 out of 3 is a satisfactory score) has seen me scouring the earth for a 10 ish year old BMW within budget, or a 20 ish year old Benz without tinworm. It also needs to do 20,000+ miles per annum so must run on tractor juice.
Could the answer be a Rover 75? It has a pre-complications BMW diesel engine, Mercedes like build quality (without the rust), and all the comfortable cruising toys for very little money; leather, air con, cruise control etc.
Am I wrong?
Speaking as someone who has just got rid of a 75 after 6 months and only 1000 miles of driving, I'd say stay the hell away!Could the answer be a Rover 75? It has a pre-complications BMW diesel engine, Mercedes like build quality (without the rust), and all the comfortable cruising toys for very little money; leather, air con, cruise control etc.
Am I wrong?
Nice cars, but they are far, far from MB build quality and there are lots of common faults which, whilst not expensive to fix, are just annoying.
If you're doing 20k pa why not lease something new for £2500 a year, surely less of a headache than running a 75!
johnny fotze said:
The only real stumbling block with the 75 is the way they look. Admittedly I'm no longer young, but I don't wish to wear (approaching) middle-age like a badge of honour, or drive it to work. Looks aren't everything, and entirely personal, but the rover screams 'grandad' a little too loud for my liking. I know some people like the 'retro' styling, but retro will always be retro, rather than 'classic'.
The answer to that is the MG ZT.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff