06 MG ZR €5000

Tony Broke

To cut a long story short I have been searching around for a ZR for about a month now, I was interested in one on adverts but that had a small crash sometime ago, anyway I spotted this 06 one and was onto the owner and the car is running A+.

So is this a pretty good deal?

Owner is quite flexible on the price, about 5k would get it.

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=1305817

From research on mg-rover.org, it seems the head gasket is the main problem, but they go in alot of cars so wouldn't be put off by that.

I hear they are great yoke to drive, with great power for a 1.4 and good on petrol.

Good buy or should I wait until people are feeling the bite more and get a Golf, Focus, A3, 307 etc?

colm_mcm

The head gasket is a major issue with them, much moreso than other cars. also bear in mind that this is essentially a Rover 200 from the early 90's so safety and interior fitments are a decade behind other 06 cars. There is also the parts availability issue and the chavviness of the ZR to contend with.

EPM

Head gaskets go on lots of cars yes for various reasons but that 1.4 engine has an unhealthy appetite for them. Friends of mine bought a new rover 25 back in the day and the amount of trouble it gave in the first year was ridiculous. Dodgy sunroof, windows that opened in the rain, kept blowing light bulbs. Seriously, for your 5k or 6k there is miles better out there

L1011

Its an 05 build despite the 06 plate, remember - any 06/07/08s (there is ONE MG/Rover car with an 08 plate in Ireland!) are NOS that was sitting around a dealers....

Theres no real parts availability issue though.

Tony Broke

For some reason the search function wont search MG ZR, I have found a few threads on the car by searching Rover.

Anyways I have about 7k and want to get something that is good value.A 06 quick little MG looked liked one, but the other threads are concuring with you guys.

This is only a few days ago!!!

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055462506

What would ye buy?

I dont want to get ripped off by getting an over priced Golf, but dont want a heap of crap either.

So under rated/unpopular cars that are good and most importantly cheap

Tony Broke

03 Lexus IS200 Sport anyone?

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=1291504

colm_mcm

Nah, the auto box ruins it.

Tony Broke

Its a good price though, yeah auto would suck.

colm_mcm

It does, it's only 4 speed. Sport spec is v.nice though.

ssmith6287

ill sell ya an 02 one for 2500€, it has way more bite then a civic or golf, they just have higher top speeds

Tony Broke

What do ye guys think of this Kia?

03 KIA Shuma, 1.6, with only 37k 3400e.

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=1239692

What price should I start off with, if I like?

2800.

El Guapo!

the shuma is really not a nice car and they arent very nice to drive either. plus there not a very common or popular car and in 6months time it will be worth half that. for 7grand you could easily pick up a nice 00/01 bmw 318.

Top Dog

Going on the other threads, and personal opinion (which the purchase of a car always comes down to in the end) I'd probably buy the MG you've linked above. If you've a budget of 7k then use some of the spare money to get an uprated headgasket and then you can drive away happily knowing that the weak link has been taken care of. It sounds like it would suit what you want from a car, and at only 3 years old and less than 40k on the clock I'd say it was a good deal if you can get it for 5k or less.

Just IMO of course.

lifer_sean

Head gasket failure is a bigger deal on these than on any other car. Not only is it prone to happen, but is more difficult to fix. The bolts holding down the head are long bolts that go through the block and hold the main bearing caps in place. Head gasket on one of these is best left to an "independent specialist". Secondhand engine is not an option because impossible to get due to high demand.

These Rovers are regularly for sale cheap but most people in the trade will not go near them.

It's not a case of if it will give trouble, but when.

woop

these engines were also in the metro gti.............bita random info for ye

id say take a look around.........I can see the appeal of them though.............and especially that car being so new and all

get it check over

woop

out of interest did the shim fix the problem with overheating or is this not a cure?

lifer_sean

woop wrote: »

out of interest did the shim fix the problem with overheating or is this not a cure?

I'm no expert on these (I just know enough to avoid like the plague !!!) but I understood that there was an issue with the inlet manifold that typically caused a leak that in turn caused head gasket failure ? Anyone I know of that had a Rover with 1.4 engine had to do the head gasket at some stage.

Hope there is a Rover expert around that can shed more light than I can ?