Bangernomics car of the week/day part III

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

It's sister car, the Honda civic, albeit older, is better built and far more reliable car. If I wanted a car like that I'd be going down the Honda route

You'd pay more for a 200k miles '95 Civic than for a 50k miles '05 Rover 400 though

Never liked the Rover 400 series myself. Horrible to drive. Did own a Rover 75 with the same K-series engine from when it was 5 years old until it was 10 years old. No head gasket problems at all. Just make sure the car has coolant (so it doesn't overheat) and you won't have any problems. That's obviously too much to ask for 90% of owners though

C0N0R wrote: »

Is that not verging on to good to be true?!

No it's just about right imho. Car is worth about €800 and there's about €600 tax on it.

unkel wrote: »

You'd pay more for a 200k miles '95 Civic than for a 50k miles '05 Rover 400 though

The ma/mb rover shape civics can be picked up for peanuts though. A good 98 or 99 example can be got for around €6-700. They can also be got with the excellent 1.5 unit which produces 114bhp whilst still returning 45-50 mpg.

The model of civic you are thinking about is the Jap EG 3dr hatch, saloon. These are far more desirable and sought after compared to the rover shaped civic and as a result the cost more. They are essentially the same car, or at least very similar, underneath.

unkel wrote: »

Never liked the Rover 400 series myself. Horrible to drive.

In stock form they mightn't be the nicest to drive, but considering they are a car from the mid 90's they are remarkably comfortable and refined. The use Honda's excellent double wishbone suspension means, with a few mods, they can be turned into an excellent drivers car however. Just look at how good the mg zs is to drive, it's one of the best handling fwd cars out there and easily beats it's siblings, the zr and zt in the twisties.

unkel wrote: »

Did own a Rover 75 with the same K-series engine from when it was 5 years old until it was 10 years old. No head gasket problems at all. Just make sure the car has coolant (so it doesn't overheat) and you won't have any problems. That's obviously too much to ask for 90% of owners though

I honestly don't believe that the route cause of the vast majority of hg failures on these is coolant loss. I think its mainly down to the design of the block coupled with the long bolt setup. You had good luck with yours though, many unfortunately haven't though, even in the UK were the vast majority of cars are maintained by the book.

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

I honestly don't believe that the route cause of the vast majority of hg failures on these is coolant loss. I think its mainly down to the design of the block coupled with the long bolt setup.

I don't disagree! Of course it is a weakness in the design. My point is though that an owner knowing about this weakness is a lot less likely to blow the HG than someone just trashing it about, never checking temps / coolant

What didn't help on my particular car was that the CTS went faulty too, which seemed to be a common enough issue when I researched it. Main Rover dealer "diagnosed" mine as having HGF, the lazy feckers

have you a link Kaiser?

Certainly not for everyone at this age or money.!
But it has shined up well.!
Test 'till 2015
3 months tax
Asking €1,250

http://cars.donedeal.ie/vintagecars-for-sale/could-this-be-the-best-carina-e-for-sale/6776394

colm_mcm wrote: »

These are actually decent to drive :eek:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/05-nissan-tino/6799256

Are they half decent reliability wise?
Bargain modern family car if they are.

wotzgoingon wrote: »

That's expensive for it's age. I bought a 95 model for €1000 with over a years NCT about 6 years ago. Never had to get anything for it. Came with four new tyres as well.

Bought a 93 2.0 diesel myself for €1250 back in 2004.
I already suggested the car is not for everyone at the current asking price.

Great thing about these cars is they hit a bit of a floor in terms of depreciation and don't go much below that for a long time if they are looked after.

Simple, reliable cars. regardless of the first two digits on the number plate.