City Rover

Hoof_Hearted

A friend is desperate for a cheap car and is tempted by a City Rover -- amazingly cheap low mileage cars around.

For example:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk

Now I know they were dreadful cars when brought out during Rover's last desperate moments, but are they reasonable A to B transport for somebody looking sub £1,000?

DUTR

I wouldn't have one, but it doesn't look bad for the money and will do the job, beats getting the bus.

Shack_attack

For under a grand you can't really go wrong if all the service history is there etc. Apparently they have pretty bad leaking problems though which doesn't bode well in our current climate so I'd advise to check seals and see if they look in good condition.

All you have to do though is watch the Top gear review and you'll see why you shouldn't have bought one new!

worried_jim

How can it have an MOT till "04/2015". What else is being exaggerated in the advert?

But for £750 it will be a good value run around that he/she should get a few good years of motoring out of it.

EdGasket

It's a bargain!
Do those models still have the K-series head gasket problem?

fivetide

Thing is, as you say, they were tat when they were new. An Indian car brought to the UK.

however, one of the big issues is that they were very over priced in comparison to the much better competition.

At this price, you aren't going to lose much, if anything and apart from the leaks, given the market they were built for, it is probably a mechnically sturdy little car.

The big issue will be if it doesn't share parts with other things in the old Rover range. Also tin worm might eventually become an issue.

SilverSaloon

Much better 2nd hand cars available for £1000 and under, so I'd give it a miss personally.

motorguy

SilverSaloon wrote: »

Much better 2nd hand cars available for £1000 and under, so I'd give it a miss personally.

+1

Not worth the hassle. Plus parts availability could be a problem.

I'd have a clio 1.2, Fiat Punto or Fiesta over that, even if it was older.

colino

Don't buy it, common faults with both the ecu and immobiliser can easily outstrip that purchase price.
The car should have been Rovers saviour if it was properly Europeanised and knocked out at £3999 and provided a breathing space and working capital to produce a serious Fiesta contender. Instead the vulture capitalists bought it from Tata for £3k and wondered why they couldn't sell them for £6500.

Hoof_Hearted

Quite a split on this. Are spare parts a problem?

Anything serious and it's priced low enough to just scrap.

There's quite a few about priced not much more than the annual service on my car.

jase1

Hyundai Getz is not much more expensive than this for the same age and is a much better car.

I'd have a Chevrolet/Daewoo Kalos rather than one of these as well -- for all people slag off Daewoos at least the parts are readily available.