ROVER 75 FUTURE CLASSIC ???

bookerboy

Just wondering what people think about the Rover 75
Is it a future classic worth investing in ?
It looks like a real bargain at the moment especially the estate model.

Grimreaper666

Perish the thought!!! If you are going down that road just stock up on head gaskets!!

quattro777

carchaeologist

The MG ZT yes...everything else probably not...

Tzar Chasm

IF, and its a big if, any of them survive til their thirties by sheer dogged determination, they will deserve their place at the shows for pure novelty value alone.
However I doubt it will arise as an issue, much in the she way I don't expect to see many earlier hyundais or kia's

carchaeologist

Tzar Chasm wrote: »

.
However I doubt it will arise as an issue, much in the she way I don't expect to see many earlier hyundais or kia's

There will always be the few sadists who will keep a few examples, much like guys like me who cant help buying old Japanese cars that should have expired 20 years ago.

Max Headroom

I was wondering the same about the Alfa 145........saw one the other day and got me thinkin........:rolleyes:

corktina

a classic is a personal thing. If you think your car (any car) is worth holding on to, then why not!

ChrisM37

Why shouldnt they be?

They are a lot better than people give them credit for. They arent recycled Hondas like the rest of the range. Large amounts of BMW technology, the head gasket issue is a bit of a red herring, only the low end 1.8 models suffered it and its now possible to permanently fix the issue for about £300 all in. The V6 is solid, the V8 indestructable, the Diesel very tough.

Actually quite reliable, high customer satisfaction, much more handsome than so considered 'better' bland euroboxes. They are much nicer places to be than something tedious like a Passat, Vectra, Mondeo etc. Safer, quieter.

They are incredibly cheap and you get a lot of car for the money. Problems are easy to avoid, cheap to fix and ownership much more satisfying than the average.

It always amused me that people love the BMW Mini, but hate the 75/ZT, when actually they are much the same in terms of technology, build and design.

Xlaxeo

I'd say it will be of interest in the future.

I understand the engines are prone to head gasket failure but the cars with diesel engines are very well engineered.

I think MG-Rover cut a lot of costs where they could be seen (ie replacing the wood veneer dashboard with a plastic version, deleting side badges and rear registration lip) and where they couldn't (removing rear anti-roll bar).

So earlier cars are much better

The only thing wrong with the car is Rover's grandfather image. But this probably won't be an issue if the brand has been defunct for such a long time.

ChrisM37

Just to be clear ONLY the 1.8 is a 4 pot K series, that is 'prone' to HGF and as i said it can be fixed more cheaply than many other cars. Many modern cars have weak head gaskets its not exclusively a Rover K series issue and the issue is somewhat exaggerated as it is. I wouldnt expect the base model 1.8 to be a classic anyway. Base models rarely are.

The KV6 does not suffer from common HGF, neither does the V8 or the M47R Diesel.

The early Cowley built cars were better made, but the later ones were no worse than anything else in the same price bracket, and many of the parts can be switched easily.

The V8 is a guaranteed classic and the super-rare semi factory approved supercharged models are going to be around for LONG time. Im after one myself.

Stained Class

bookerboy wrote: »

Just wondering what people think about the Rover 75
Is it a future classic worth investing in ?
It looks like a real bargain at the moment especially the estate model.

The Missus has been driving a diesel tourer one for the last couple of years & I've been Chief Mechanic.

They're alright cars & good if looking for something distictive.

They're let down by a few issues that really shouldn't happen in this day & age.

On Diesels the fuel pumps (yes there are 2!) are prone to early failure. Expensive fix.

Cooling fans can take an early bath aswell. This exaserbates the HG problem on the petrols & can wreak the aircon on all models.
The whole front end needs come off to change it. Trust me, I know!

We also had an airbag light problem (Search for my thread on the Motors forum for this one:rolleyes:).

Bulbs will blow, window seals will leak & assorted bits of trim will randomly fall off.

Also,I find the seats a bit uncomfortable on long journeys. Numbum sets in surprisingly quickly.

Still, Wifey loves the thing & I guess that makes it alright so....

ChrisM37

The later models fixed the fans and pump issue. The pump is actually an easy enough fix and need not be £200+. Both early units are German from the BMW parts bin, the same issues effects some BMWs.

The Airbag light is also an easy fix. Never seen a door seal or window seal leak, bits do not fall off, never heard one creak or squeak. Its one of the most comfortable cars this side of an XJ. The ZT is somewhat harder, but i managed 400 miles in one OK last year.


As soon as Rover is mentioned the reliability is called into question, but they keep averaging in the mid range in reality. Just one place below BMW in a recent survey, and the 75 was in the top 10 for a good few years in the JD power survey. Their unreliability is a myth, it always was a myth, a myth that helped kill the company.

Dont like 'em, dont buy 'em, keeps the prices down for those that love 'em.

Stained Class

ChrisM37 wrote: »

The later models fixed the fans and pump issue. The pump is actually an easy enough fix and need not be £200+. Both early units are German from the BMW parts bin, the same issues effects some BMWs.

The Airbag light is also an easy fix. Never seen a door seal or window seal leak, bits do not fall off, never heard one creak or squeak. Its one of the most comfortable cars this side of an XJ. The ZT is somewhat harder, but i managed 400 miles in one OK last year.


As soon as Rover is mentioned the reliability is called into question, but they keep averaging in the mid range in reality. Just one place below BMW in a recent survey, and the 75 was in the top 10 for a good few years in the JD power survey. Their unreliability is a myth, it always was a myth, a myth that helped kill the company.

Dont like 'em, dont buy 'em, keeps the prices down for those that love 'em.

Yeah, the very later models used a single fuel pump & that proved more reliable alright.

As for the fans. The earlier 3 speed type suffered premature brush wear. In about '02/'03ish they rewired the motor to 2 speed & added a 50W resistor. The resister, however wasn't man enough for the job, so they never cracked that problem. You need to fit an aftermarket 100W resister for real reliability. (After you've taken the front end off of course!)

The airbag light thing is usually an easy fix. (you really should my thread on that issue).

I still say that the seats are uncomfortable. Maybe the seats in other variants are different.

Window seals will leak in the estates.

Overall, they're a bit like my username Stained Class:)

ChrisM37

Its not that the single pump was more reliable than 2 as such its that the single pump was a new unit and didnt fail. The secondary pump was quite reliable but it tended to fail when the tank pump failed because it became over stressed. The early tank pump could be replaced without replacing the whole unit (using a Peugeot pump) costing £65 or so instead of £200.

Ive taken the front off a ZT, its not that bad a job. Some Renaults need the front off to replace a BULB!

bobin fudge

I was very tempted to buy a black diesel one last year was going very cheap and looked immaculate, decided not too in the end but as I say very close.

Reckon they look quite sophisticated

ChrisM37

When i had a BMW no one cared, no one asked me about it, no one gave it compliments no one admired it. When i had a ZT, it got attention, questions and admiration. Even if they didnt want one because of the undeserved reputation, pretty much everyone thought it was lovely to look at. One person said it was the car the X-type wished it was (visually).

They are just more interesting than the Germans. Black or silver BMWs/VWs are common, obvious, and dull to me now, however 'technically proficient' they are. They dont stir my emotions at all. I never looked back and admired my 330i, i did my ZT.

Stained Class

bobin fudge wrote: »

I was very tempted to buy a black diesel one last year was going very cheap and looked immaculate, decided not too in the end but as I say very close.

Reckon they look quite sophisticated

The Diesels are the best of the bunch alright.

Also, look out for the Connoisseur models. They have a huge amount of spec.

Tzar Chasm

In fairness the ZT was pretty much an instant classic, ticks all the boxes for me, V8 RWD with aggressive but not excessively over stated styling.

How many of the remaining rover 75's will be 'augmented' over the coming years by foolish boy racers to look like the mg's tho. The op might be on to something in trying to save an unmolested estate. The 400 might be one to look out for too, they were a plesant and comfy vehicle and there should be a few decent examples still available for small money.

carchaeologist

Max Headroom wrote: »

I was wondering the same about the Alfa 145........saw one the other day and got me thinkin........:rolleyes:

I saw one too, but there was a Golf parked on its roof in the scrappy!:rolleyes:

DaveCol

The 75 has quite a few fans on the Classic Rover Forum

http://classicroverforum.com/

alpina

ChrisM37 wrote: »

"When i had a BMW no one cared, no one asked me about it, no one gave it compliments no one admired it"....."They dont stir my emotions at all. I never looked back and admired my 330i, "

Wow, surely something attracted you to go to the trouble of buying one(?) especially being in a high tax bracket...

si_guru

I would hunt down a 75 V8 - much rarer than the ZT V8.

Mully_2011

The MG ZT V8 would be worth a punt as a future classic because its an oddball.

Its a shame Rover went under towards the end they seemed to be getting it right. I always had a soft spot for Rover

Do-more

I went looking at the price of the V8's about 6 months ago. At the time a dealer in Holland had a brand new 75 V8 with 10km on the clock, funnily enough they still have it, may have something to do with the €50K asking price :eek:

At that time the cheapest lhd one I could find was around €7,500 in Spain, the cheapest one listed now is €10K for a 150,000 km one in Holland, and most are €15k-€20K

RHD examples in the UK seem to be smaller money with a 32K miler available asking £7K.

I'd say if you ever come across a V8 for small money snap it up!

iverjohnston

Hard to say if it becomes a "classic" very few Rover,Leylands managed this trick, at least not since the MG Midget/Minor/MGBGT et all. Their big saloons have all but vanished from the public consiousness. I had a Montego 1.6 back in the early 90's, and it is still one of the most comfortable cars I have owned. Built like a tank as well, got rearended by a Ascona once, and the body shops car dozer wasn't man enough to pull out the rear corner! Metric size tyres on that one, a real pain as you had 2 choices in rubber, new Michelins or remoulds, some tyre changers machines wern't able to press the double bead off the rim either. Most memorable outing was when a heater hose split at the water heated inlet manifold, and all the coolant escaped. When changing down on a hill the engine seized when the clutch was pushed in. Got out and there was a trail of oil as far back the road as I could see. It got so hot before seizing, the oil got out somewhere. Let it cool for an hour or so, bypassed the split pipe, refilled with oil and water, and she fired right up! Put another 20 thousand miles on it after, no bother. Does that make it a classic?
It was red, CZS 703
Iver in Cavan

njburke

I sprung for a diesel tourer in the past few weeks, high spec with all the toys and low miles (77K) for a 10 year car. Lovin' it, mind you I've been in a defender for the last 12 years, talk about chalk and cheese.

Niall

Stained Class

njburke wrote: »

I sprung for a diesel tourer in the past few weeks, high spec with all the toys and low miles (77K) for a 10 year car. Lovin' it, mind you I've been in a defender for the last 12 years, talk about chalk and cheese.

Niall

Good on yer!

We have one for the last 2 years. Great cars, but watch for fuel pump failure.

Also cooling fans. Fatal on the petrols, but can wreak aircons across the board. Listen for 'whale' sounds in traffic when the aircon is on. Chances are that the fan is gone.

Many a 75 has been scrapped cos of cooling fan failure.

njburke

@Stained Class.
It needs few jobs and a few bits and pieces, some of which I've done myself.
Next three jobs are,lower engine mount bushes,bearings for the suspension struts and the Fan.

Fan is kaput, but oddly enough the diesel doesn't seem to need the fan as much as the air conditioning condenser does, OBD shows coolant temp of 85 degrees or over lots of driving conditions, it must have a huge thermal inertia. I think the auto box has an an oil cooler.

Its fuel burning heater should be handy over the winter once I get a wireless remote attached to it.

No issue with sourcing parts so far.

Niall

SafeSurfer

Stained Class wrote: »

Also,I find the seats a bit uncomfortable on long journeys. Numbum sets in surprisingly quickly.

Still, Wifey loves the thing & I guess that makes it alright so....

Do others find the Rover 75 seats uncomfortable? I am looking for a leather set for my Defender, they are a good fit for the seat rails.

aujopimur

I have a 10yo conni auto diesel estate for 3 years, normally a this stage of ownership I'd be thinking of a replacement, but I have not even considered this time around, and unlikely to do so for the foreseable future.

njburke

@aujopimur,
Do you do the servicing yourself or do you know a mechanic around dublin /kildare whos familiar with them ?

aujopimur

I'm in Cork, I do my own servicing, a local guy does my diagnostics if needed.

njburke

Does he have a T4 diagnostic/programming computer ?
I nip down to middleton fairly regularly.
Niall

Stevo11

We've a Diesel tourer for the last couple of years, v.good mpg, v.comfy (no problems with the seats here, always the car we take on longer journeys), v.quiet, no trim has fallen off (very well put together actually...), can't see any reason to change it for many years.

Have had 2 problems,
We have had the fuel pump problem (rear one went) so replaced both, picked them up from here for 145stlg. Easy fix, about an hour and a half for both.

Also had the crank pulley go (the rubber on the inside eventually comes apart), searching for the part in the usual places there were prices from 250e-> 400e, stick an "L" (for landrover) and you'll get the same part (as used in the Freelander) for 75stlg. Also an easy fix (except the aux belt can be a pain to get off).

For reading codes/info, I picked an elm327 and installed the Torque App.

Can definitely see it becoming a classic, especially with those retro looks vs the bland competition.

aujopimur

njburke wrote: »

Does he have a T4 diagnostic/programming computer ?
I nip down to middleton fairly regularly.
Niall

He's in Douglas, 20mins from Midleton, I'm not sure what diagnostics he uses, but he's fairly uptodate. I'll PM his details if you're interested.

aujopimur

Re Webasto fuel burning heater, does anyone know of someone who can check out one these heaters, when I bought the car it was not running. I reset it according to the Haneys book , it ran for a few seconds, then cut out, and caused all sorts of malfuntions on the dash display, once disconnected the display returned to normal. I did notice where a RC timer thingy may have been fitted in the centre armrest as there is a hole in the bottom of it, maybe the wiring was messed up when it was removed. I've tried the truck and motor home heater repair guys but none of them had a clue as to what I was talking about.

njburke

Lots of information on the FBH on the75andztclub forum. There is a 'how to' on de-coking and repairing one.

Mine doesn't have the timer that your has which was an optional extra. On mine the FBH starts on cold mornings (-5 C) to assist in getting the engine up to temperature.
If you have a can of freezer spray, you can lower the temp of FBH sensor (it has its own, its under the radiator at the lower front grill) if the heater itself is operational it should fire up once its senses low temp.

aujopimur

njburke wrote: »

Lots of information on the FBH on the75andztclub forum. There is a 'how to' on de-coking and repairing one.

Mine doesn't have the timer that your has which was an optional extra. On mine the FBH starts on cold mornings (-5 C) to assist in getting the engine up to temperature.
If you have a can of freezer spray, you can lower the temp of FBH sensor (it has its own, its under the radiator at the lower front grill) if the heater itself is operational it should fire up once its senses low temp.

It seems to be a fault with FBH, when it's plugged in, the speedo, indicator repeaters and ticker, heater display all malfunction.

aujopimur

aujopimur wrote: »

I have a 10yo conni auto diesel estate for 3 years, normally a this stage of ownership I'd be thinking of a replacement, but I have not even considered this time around, and unlikely to do so for the foreseable future.

I can relate to that.

I have my petrol ZT (2.5 KV6) over two years now, I had 8 cars in the previous 3 years, no intention of changing the ZT until mid 2013 at the earliest and I have no doubt I will really miss the ZT when I do change.

njburke

@aujopimur.
Been reading up on the FBH as I hope to get mine cranked up for the winter.
The FBH is connected to the K-bus for diagnostics, the instrument cluster and a few other control units are on the same bus, recommendations are to remove the K-Bus line from FBH as it was never well integrated from a software systems perspective.

Depending on the FBH serial number, a START control line can be pulled to 12 V or GND to manually start the heater. Many have fitted wireless remotes from ebay which latch this line to start the heater.
If the heater has failed to run properly three times, it goes into a lockout mode which is reset by pulling its fuse.

I'm not sure the status of mine, when I got the car there was a carbony/hazy/oily deposit up on both front wings. The chap that had it kept in a garage and didn't use it much, he told me he used run it one a week during winter. I'm hoping it was residue from the FBH exhaust.

Anyway, I'll give mine a bit of a molest in the next few weeks, let you know how I get on.

aujopimur

Thanks for the info, let me know how you get on, I had the same problem with the oily haze, it comes from perished O rings on the intercooler pipe,
it's a cheap fix (£5 on ebay).The manual says you need to strip the grill/bumper etc., but if you have nimble fingers it can be done without stripping the front.

allana13

Is the reliability of the Rover 75 Down to the fact it has a BMW diesel Engine

aujopimur

allana13 wrote: »

Is the reliability of the Rover 75 Down to the fact it has a BMW diesel Engine

Plus it has Jap autobox and turbo.

allana13

I am going to look into getting a Estate

Unfortunately they dont give a good fuel economy compared to the VW TDI's

njburke

Came across this article from classic car weekly, rover 75 is it a classic of the future? might go towards answering the OPs question.

Niall

Stevo11

njburke wrote: »

Lots of information on the FBH on the75andztclub forum. There is a 'how to' on de-coking and repairing one.

Mine would run for just a sec when I grounded the connector on pin 1(I think it was pin 1...), but would then shut off. I send the PCB (located inside the unit) to a guy in France, he is on the above forum (FrenchMike is his username), works perfectly now.

aujopimur

Stevo11 wrote: »

Mine would run for just a sec when I grounded the connector on pin 1(I think it was pin 1...), but would then shut off. I send the PCB (located inside the unit) to a guy in France, he is on the above forum (FrenchMike is his username), works perfectly now.

Thanks.