MG ZR Info

Mr. Manager

Hey, the girfriend is thinking of getting an MG ZR, never had one myself so just wondering how reliable they are? Are parts cheap? An expected price to pay? Any problems that tend to occur with this car etc....
Any advice and info is appreciated!!

Car in mind is - http://www.carzone.ie/search/MG/ZR/1.8-SPOR/201115202035196/advert?channel=CARS

and

http://www.carzone.ie/search/MG/ZR/105-+-1./201104201017562/advert?channel=CARS

Max budget is €2,500

Cereal Rapist

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

how reliable they are?

Very

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

Are parts cheap?

Yes

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

An expected price to pay?

€1500+

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

Any problems that tend to occur with this car etc....

HG on the petrol models, R65 gearbox can get whiney at 100k+ miles, later petrols had a ford box, 1.8s and diesel ones have a PG1 box which is fine. Rear trailing arm bushes are more or less a service item at 50k ish miles, not an issue really.

krissovo

I have one (03) and now showing signs of age despite only 26,000 miles. Nothing major considering.

Electrics are intermittent (windows, stereo main source of trouble)
Window & Sunroof seals starting to leak
All brakes replaced in last year

Parts are still available but mostly have to be ordered in and are a little pricey for non Chinese spares.

Savage fun to drive though:D

Signpost

Send WebMonkey a mail, he knows MG's them literally better than he knows himself!

Mr. Manager

RoverJames wrote: »

Very



Yes


€1500+



HG on the petrol models, R65 gearbox can get whiney at 100k+ miles, later petrols had a ford box, 1.8s and diesel ones have a PG1 box which is fine. Rear trailing arm bushes are more or less a service item at 50k ish miles, not an issue really.

What do you make of the two linked in the EDIT?

andyseadog

i'd be wary of that 1.4, it has the rear spats and side skirts but no front splitter, nobody would order a new car like that, so how did it lose its splitter. it also looks like the interior picture is taken to hide the very common bolster wear that happens to those martix seats. it also has its wheel center caps missing which can be tricky to find.

the 1.8 looks in better condition with a better spec/ nicer interior but naturally running costs will be higher.

look out for rust under the sill scuff plates, around the front screen and rear spoiler too. make sure all the taillights are working properly, the tailgate wiring loom is well known to split and break causing rear end electrical gremlins and its a bugger to change.

obviously look into the headgasket and when/ if it has been replaced.

otherwise i can't really think of much else.

Mr. Manager

Thanks very much man, really appreciate the in depth response.

I know very little about cars in comparison to those here so will suggest bringing a mechanic along just as a precaution.

Always good feedback in this place!

That 1.8 might be a 160 which are the VVC ones, savage engine but make sure the VVC mechanism isn't rattling.

vectra

Here you go.
Bargain the seller down another bit

MG ZR

Mr. Manager

vectra wrote: »

Here you go.
Bargain the seller down another bit

MG ZR

That's a nice motor. I'll pass it on and see what she makes of it. Waving €2,500 in his face might get him to lower the price :P

Webmonkey

Maybe I could tempt you with my ZS+

http://www.adverts.ie/car/other-cars/other-cars/05-mg-zs-105-saloon/262765

It's going for the NCT next week. Don't see any issue with it.

It has been sitting in an underground car park for the past 8 months and I'm still paying for tax/insurance / services. I dont' think I need a car anymore.

This car has been really good to me. Parts are cheap and they are a lot more reliable than most cars. Don't listen to pub talk guys that think they know it all about them without actually owning one

Mr. Manager

Webmonkey wrote: »

Maybe I could tempt you with my ZS+

http://www.adverts.ie/car/other-cars/other-cars/05-mg-zs-105-saloon/262765

It's going for the NCT next week. Don't see any issue with it.

It has been sitting in an underground car park for the past 8 months and I'm still paying for tax/insurance / services. I dont' think I need a car anymore.

This car has been really good to me. Parts are cheap and they are a lot more reliable than most cars. Don't listen to pub talk guys that think they know it all about them without actually owning one

Ha, I've literally just signed off a PM to 'signpost' about your car. I'll definitely say it to the missus when I get home. It might be a bit of a stretch on the budget though. If not maybe I could tempt you to look over a car before my missus buys one

Webmonkey

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

Ha, I've literally just signed off a PM to 'signpost' about your car. I'll definitely say it to the missus when I get home. It might be a bit of a stretch on the budget though. If not maybe I could tempt you to look over a car before my missus buys one

ha no bothers. RoverJames is more of an expert than me though

You should also talk these the guys over on the MG Rover forums. There's a wealth of knowledge there.

http://forums.mg-rover.org/

johnos1984

Webmonkey wrote: »

Maybe I could tempt you with my ZS+

http://www.adverts.ie/car/other-cars/other-cars/05-mg-zs-105-saloon/262765

That is TASTY :cool:
I think RJ has given all of the info you really need to know about Rover/MG cars.

Parts are all still available both used and new. I know there are some issues regarding parts for some specialist models but I've never heard of anything about the ZR and ZS

Mr. Manager

Can't thank you all enough. Just the kind of info we were looking for!!


One happy customer

Just one or two small things that are no harm knowing, many of the ZR/ZSs heater won't work on fan settings 1 and 2 and sometimes 3, it's simply a resistor pack that is cheap and easy to sort so don't let that bother you. Also the MG badges fade quite badly on them all, excellent ones are available on ebay for very little that stick on over the existing ones, I have a set the last 8 months and they are still practically welded on.

Just to add about the rust, it's worth checking the tailgate up by the roof, bit of a water trap there and the metal is really thin. Even 02s shouldn't be rusty but it's worth checking on a car by car basis

Also two working central locking fobs are desirable along with the EKA code, this code overrides the immobiliser should you need to (if the two fobs died for instance, you never know), the EKA is on a credit card type thing in the owners manual, if it's not there they can be got online for £10 ish anyway.

Webmonkey

+1 to all of these!

Just to add maybe..

Make sure they are using the correct OAT coolant stuff (red/pinkish colour), check for the lock nut socket, that the SRS light comes on, when the timing belt was last changed etc.

and obviously the big one, no signs of anything oil residue in water or visa versa (mayo still stuff on dip stick/under oil cap etc)