Jolly Green Monster 2

A mate is after a 220 Coupe and has asked me to look at one as I will sort of be driving past it on Friday.

Anyone got any buying advise with regard to the Rover?

I have never been in one.. details are :

Coupe in BRG, R reg, 40k Miles, 2 owners, A/C, 1/2 leather, good condition.

Anyone on here selling one?

Many thanks for any pointers

JGM

Blues

Not selling a car but do have A20 RVR numberplate for sale. Currently on my old car (220 gti) but thats going soon.

The plates for sale with a few internet site at about £750 but as always I'm open to offers.

Also got B5 EMB for sale and that's on my Scooby at the mo.

Just thought I'd post as your mate may fancy the plate.

Blues.

Blues

Sorry forgot to add as it's obvious to me but the plate should read A 2.0 RVR as in A 2 litre rover.

Jolly Green Monster 2

I shall let him know but he is stretching his budget to the limit as it is so I doubt he will be interested.

JGM

Blues

No worries. Thought it was worth a mention ...
Hope he enjoys the car (when he gets it) as I think they are very underrated. I had mine for 3 yrs and no problems to mention.

BLues.

Jolly Green Monster 2

Okay cheers

JGM

Shark

Be careful ! I'm sure Matt will agree - they can end up costing a ****e load of money.

David

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

I've driven a couple of them and handling is err, not the best.

The steering is not great at all, starts heavy then goes light as you turn in.

However, my Mum used to have a 216 GTi hatchback (Honda engine & bits) and that handled superbly, so God knows what they changed on the 220, but whatever they did it was wrong!

Jolly Green Monster 2

Cheers for the input so far..

Didn't Matt have a Turbo one? was the expense due to it being a turbo model? or effect the NA too?

Cheers

JGM

adamm

I had a 220 Turbo on a N plate a couple of years ago - 40 miles on the clock - handling was super-poo - brakes where dire also.. so be careful..

Jolly Green Monster 2

Just learned it has the VVC engine... dunno if that makes any difference.

Also apparently suspension and engine were updated on the later models or something..

Cheers for feedback so far

JGM

Reffro

If its VVC its the same 143bhp engine used in the MGF. Watch out for the cambelt and head gasket. Cambelts particularly need to be changed on the dot, similarly gaskets do go pop on the K series engines.

towzer

I had one as a company car years ago...bloody nightmare. It had a minor flaw in that turning the steering wheel had no effect in moving the direction of the car. The engine developed anannoying buzzing noise and the Rover garage fixed it by tearing off a heatshield. At one point the driver's windows droped into the door.

After a year I bought a Celica GT4.

Phil

robby

i had a p reg 218vvc coupe a couple of years ago (vvc are all 1.8), boot always wet after it had rained - traced to rear window (common prob), the body flexes too much due to no proper roof strenghening (targa roof), brakes crap, standard handling crap (poly bushes do help though), lots of rattles, creaks, windows rattle when down a little (no door pillars).

mutant_matt

OK,

I had an M reg 28,000 mile (4 year old at the time) 220 Coupe in DBM. It was in very good condition with a full Rover service history, only one owner.

Handling, not bad, very predicable if a little sluggish, overall grip, not bad. Brakes, ok but nothing special.....

Engine, produces a reasonable amount of power but unfortunaely, not the most reliable unit in the world. At about 30,000 miles, the head gasket blew, which required £1300 of work to fix I've since found out that this is a known weakness with the K Series and since then I have known at least 4 others with the same problem, ranging from Metros, 220 GSi's, 620 Ti, 340R.....

I would not recommend your friend buys one of these as they are just too unreliable, the build quality sucks and things break all the time.

Also, Shark (Dangerous Dave Medcalf) before he was a Subaru dealer was a Rover dealer and he would advise you not to buy a Rover (except for the ones with the Honda engine in them (the 216 I believe))

Hope this helps

Matt

mutant_matt

P.S. No it wasn't the Turbo but from what I understand, they were useless 'cos they had the same suspension as the non-Turbo and the chassis was completely overwhelmed by the (un-reliable power)....

Matt

K30

I have heard that the interior is pants, and they are very uncomfy. i have never actually been in one, but i wanted one a while back and a few people that owned them managed to put me off. i do no think that is a good sign.

adam

jamesjones

Sorry to spoil the party but i've just sold my Rover 220 coupe turbo with 135000 miles on the clock after over 5 years of reliable motoring. It was 9 years old and still on its original clutch. Ithought it was time to change before the big bills came. Running costs were sooooo much cheaper the my Subaru. £150 for a major service, £45 a tyre (pirelli's), pads were £70 fitted, 28mpg (where i get 20mpg now). It was basically a Rover 200 with a turbo and minor performance upgrades so everything was as the standard family car.

I realised the handling and brakes were ****e straight away and got Koni adjustables and springs all round plus grooved and drilled disks. I must say that improved the handling no end, to about comparable to my Scooby now with these bloody RE010 tyres on (can't wait for my Toyos next week). The steering was very vague though still). Most of my miles were motorway and I found it a pleasure to drive (very comfortable and relaxing).

J

worley

I had a 220 GTI for 5 years 130k miles - zero running costs, zero maintenance. But when he inevitable happened, the engine fire was quite impressive. Ended up selling what was left for £100.

mook

I had a 220 turbo coupe, chopped it in when I needed some cash and then bought a 220gsi turbo when I had some cash again. The three door shape is a lot better than the coupe, as those who mention the 216 gti will testify. Yes the brakes and suspension are naff, and not upto the job, I've gone to town on mine with Eibach springs, KYB shocks, Powerflex bushes allround, front strut brace and 325mm 4 pot brake upgrade on the front. The difference is chalk and cheese, makes the car so much nicer to drive and much more confidence in cornering. Relaibility isn't a great issue if services properly and things like the cambelt do need changing regularly (30k). The headgasket is a known design floor which was 'corrected' on later models with the aid of a 3 ply headgasket, which is readily available for any 220. I did 55k on original gasket (half that with upped boost) and now at 65k with no problems whatsoever from the new uprated gasket.

Having owned 5 Rovers, I'd definately say the 3 door hatch is a better chassis than the coupe, and with properly amended brakse and suspension it can be lots of fun for not much cash

http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/thread.asp?threadid=107707

RB170

You need to speak to Muttant Matt

He had a 220 coupe and I'm sure he'll tell you about all the wonderful experiences he had whilst owning that car

Mike

[Edited by RB170 - 7/10/2002 2:30:38 PM]