Rover 75 connoisseur

dellboy102

Hi, After driving my very reliable but old nissan for a year and a half (my first car! ) I've been looking at some other cars, the one I really really like is the Rover 75 connoisseur (2002), I just love the interior of it, + its actually within my price range (around 4k), at that price i'm expecting the mileage to be about 100k
I just wanted some advice from fellow MSE'ers, if something was to go wrong are parts readily available, and if so are they very expensive or reasonable, from what I heard the car seems to be pretty reliable, i've factored in some annual costs like increased servicing costs for £200 but other then that I'm expecting running costs to be pretty similar to my nissan.

Advice/opinions would be much appreciated :money:

Middlers

I heard that parts are still very plentiful so should pose you no problems. Go for it.

maccyroo

I worked for a recovery company in the past and Rover cars and Fiats were the ones we always seemed to be recovering. From memory gaskets were a problem with the Rovers. Also as Rover have gone bust I'd worry about getting spares.

dellboy102

maccyroo wrote:

I worked for a recovery company in the past and Rover cars and Fiats were the ones we always seemed to be recovering. From memory gaskets were a problem with the Rovers. Also as Rover have gone bust I'd worry about getting spares.

Do you mean rovers in general or this specific model, I was really hoping to get this one!

Lawe

Take a look at this site: http://forums.mg-rover.org/
This should give you plenty of info and reading.

HTH

Nile

Hello dellboy102

I'll move your thread over to the 'Motoring & Public Transport' board, where it should get more views and responses.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

LesD

maccyroo wrote:

I worked for a recovery company in the past and Rover cars and Fiats were the ones we always seemed to be recovering. From memory gaskets were a problem with the Rovers. Also as Rover have gone bust I'd worry about getting spares.

Not a very helpful comment for someone seeking help on ONE particular Rover car!

Here is the detail on parts supply.

The most likely parts to run out first will be body panels. Mechanicals will keep being made while there is demand. Most parts were not 'made' by Rover anyway.

Here's an article about the engine.

It's true that the 1.8 'K' series has had major problems over the years with head gaskets. Most problems, however, have been in the much heavier Freelander and the old Rover 800. If this is a worry, look for a 2.0 litre petrol or diesel.

The 75 went through the BMW testing regime and is generally considered to be the best Rover put together.

There is, however, one other problem - with the in-tank fuel pump (actually a BMW component I think!!!). Top-to-bottom is a twist fit which may come loose if the car is regularly driven over rough ground - or too many speed humps! There is a service fix for this which involves an extra 'O'-ring being inserted around the join.

dellboy102

Thank you for the informative reply LesD, I'm glad to see parts are still available so thats not longer a worry.
I have no other concerns now, I just need one final piece of advice, I have never brought a car before (my nissan was brought from someone I know local), I have read up on what to look for etc and while I was primarily looking on Ebay I'm thinking there may be other places which offer good prices, so
1 - if you were in my shoes where would you go and look
2 - Do you guys know of any good prices on vehicle inspection services, I checked out the AA and RAC and the rough cost works around £200+.

I checked out E-bay completed listings and I dont think I will be able to get the spec I want for £4k, might have to look into some lower (non connoisseur ) models, hopefully I wont have to sacrifice leather seats!.

Thanks again guys, this is much appreciated!

Murphy_The_Cat

Hi dellboy

I don't know if it helps but I used to have a 75cdti Tourer Conn Se that i ran for 4 1/2 years / 64000 mile with no problems whatsoever.

I would suggest getting a diese and then a cdti rather than a cdt and the Conn SE has quite a few extras on it that the Conn doesn't.

MTC