Brother_Will

Hi all well my short if underpowered experiment with scooby ownership is at an end, my sport goes this weekend and im trying to replace it with something cheaper and of a higher spec fairly recent too. On Paper the Rover 200 BRM looks like an interesting proposition a fully kitted out interior leather seats door cards etc sunroof air con. On the outside its got some nice 6 spoke alloys with a 20mm lowering all round and under the bonnet the 1.8 kseries VVC 145bhp.

Does anyone have any advice on these or warnings about the engine. Also some alternatives around a 99 plate hatch around 150bhp with a good spec for 2k to 2.5k

k.b

you should be able to pick up an ibiza gti 16v for that money.half leather interior,150 bhp,air con,sunroof and other things like leccy windows etc.

i have a cupra sport which is nice to drive(i think anyway) fairly quick,not too bad on fuel and a comfy and generally nice car to be in.spend a wee bit of dosh on it and lower it a bit and you should have yourself a pretty competent car.

Brun

........... and it doesn't have daft orange bits

Daz34

Or a disgusting interior

s70rjw

iTrader: (2)

Wife had one from new. It was awful...no first gear when cold. non starter in the damp. rust on drivers wing where it meets bumper.
I'd spend your hard earned elsewhere...

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Wouldn't say it was awfu, I quite enjoyed mine, it was cheap, distinctive and fun. It is an aquired taste with its orange bits and red seats but you couldnt call it dull. I was as quick as a cooper S (mine had 161 bhp) and it cornered well apart from the fact the seats werent that grippy in the corners. The gearchange was the best of any car I have driven and the brakes were awesome.

I think they are a nice shape, the alloys are lovely as are the side bits in silver, the 'beak' you get used to and its up to you whether to paint it as it can be removed easily.

What you have to watch with them is the dreaded Head Gasket Failure, got rid of mine cos of this, beware of ones that show ANY sign of HGF and run a mile from ones that have been 'fixed'. The can rust, check round the arches and badges/side repeaters.

There isnt much else at the price that so individual and capable, obviously a lot of people cant cope with being a bit different (thats why they buy silver cars with black leather interiors), for the money at that age there isnt much else available, I mean what kind of Golf GTI do you get for 2.5 grand, the ones I looked at were manky P and R platers with the 8 valve 115 bhp motor, the BRM is much much quicker but I would agree the Golf would probably drag itself around (slowly) for longer, the 16 valve Golf may be worth a look but beware, despite the image the MK3 Golf also rusts.

Prices on the BRM have firmed a bit, they went into free fall when new as it is a limited ammount of people that would have them, three camps

1/ Euurggh WTF 50%
2/ Hmm, quite like that but too lairy for me 49.99%
3/ BRM owners <0.01%

I was amazed how many positive comments it got, perhaps they thought I was special and needed humouring ?

Varboy

I had a 200vi from new as a company car, run it for 60k and for the most part it was fun.

Light car so very chuckable, Went through 4 engines in it which wasn't so good. I reckon if you had a good one and chipped it, it would be a decent cheap and relatively quick motor. Have seen the orange mouth sprayed silver which looks a lot better.

RS Grant

Would also look into the Seat Ibiza Cupra's cause even the 8v engine is nippy in the Seat as its based on the Polo instead of the Golf.

If you dont mind going a bit older then what about a Civic VTi, 1.6 VTEC, 160bhp, Bombproof Reliability..... Have had 2 and if I was in the market for a quick, cheap hatch then I'd be looking at these very seriously.


Cheers,
Grant

s70rjw

iTrader: (2)

4 engines in 60k would nail the coffin shut for me.......

Stiver3

''Above all its a rover'' and no doubt the head gaskets will go. Although it does look different on the road allbeit a bit 'Chav'

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

4 engines in 60k would nail the coffin shut for me.......

Yes, it only took me one, real pity as if the engines were reliable it would be a decent little car, mine just failed when I removed the previous owners 'cold air induction kit', which in actual fact was a flexi pipe strangling the engine, it gained about 20% more power and was lovely fun, then the tell tale steam on cold days and a puddle of water, Rover kind of committed suicide really, they had been trying since the seventies, this time it worked. My auntie wants an MGF for her sixtieth birthday but there is no way given the reputation they have, Rover/MG, always nearly but not quite good enough at the time and now just not worth the bother.

Brother_Will

Some interesting input, the engine thing has given me serious things to think about.

The ibiza is another for the list but finding one that hasn't had its ***** thrashed off might be a challenge.

Thanks Everyone