LG John

In relation to my beater thread does anyone have thoughts on experiences of these. I've seen a year 2000 with 27k miles, 2 owners, near me for £2,950 and thats trade. What's the value of that car?

They seem pretty nippy and ok to look at? What about mpg and other running costs? If something goes wrong is a nightmare to get parts and to get it worked on? What about the head gasket - how do you know if its going? Is this a majorily risky car to get involved with?

I can't ignore the fact that the one i refer to seems very good value for money.

mikey s

there not that bad tbh. headgaskets are risky on all pre 2001 cars.
look for: oil in the header tank, burning antifreeze, miss-fire, mega pressurisation of the header tank.

on post 2001 cars rover redesigned the headgasket and used metal gasket locating pins in the block (the earlier cars used plastic, it melted, the heads shift slighty and the gaskets blow to smithereens). this mod, along with a multilayer laminate gasket and the special shim to protect the gasket from the head,make them much better.

the trim usually falls too pieces after big miles and they dont stand up to much heavy abuse.
parts are still available for them but you may find exotic items (fuel pumps, senders, sensors etc) are usually on back order, so a wait will be in order.

hope that helps a little

LG John

Useful thanks Is there anyway to protect yourself against gasket problems on a 2000 model? Is it pretty much a case of 'will happen, just a matter of when'? Would it be worth getting a years warranty at say £200 (assuming it covers gaskets, etc). How much is the head gasket repair likely to be, etc?

mikey s

there's no time scale to them failing.

i have seen them fail at 30000 miles and others have been at 70000.

my garage usually do them for about 500 all in, but there quite simple so diy could be an option.

warrantys arent worth the paper there printed on imho, better getting a discount.

LG John

If the gasket fails what is the likely hood of it taking the engine with it. IIRC the gasket went on my mates S1 elise and it leaked coolant into the cylinders when where then compressed on turn over bending and buckling engine parts = whole new engine!!

mikey s

ive never seen one take an engine out before.

sounds like your mates elise hydraulic'd up from too much water in the cylinder, probably bent the conrods.

just keep an close eye on it. if it starts boiling up, overheating, using water etc, get it too a garage and have it tested. we always advise anybody with an headgasket gone, regardless of make, to not drive the car.

SD

I've run mine for the last 4 years and just under 60,000 miles. Have a VVC coupe before that for a similar time. It's currently being punished with a daily 150 mile round trip commute, but to be honest is pretty much soaking it up. I can sit at 65-70 and it returns 42mpg, which isn't too shabby I suppose. That's from spreadsheeting it for the last 17,000 miles so I know it's accurate. Really good fun and it surprises a lot with it's turn of speed and Q-car looks.

Normal things to look for are like any second hand car I think. People have filled you in with the engine details, but don't always believe the horror stories. This is my third 'k', and second VVC 'k', and in 200,000 miles across those 3 I've had one gasket go on a '97 engine and that was it, and I'm not shy of the red-line when it's warmed up.

Try it for size and see for yourself...

Simon

LG John

Went to see it and the guy was pretty dodgy. Didn't like his attitude and my spidey senses were tingling pretty much as soon as I met him. The car looked like it had some front end paint but I could'nt establish what the likely cause was. There was some oil seeping out of the rocker cover which isn't overly concerning but when I got under the car there was a fair bit of fresh oil down at the bottom end and there was a clunking when you drove it. The clutch was also graty and mega heavy (is that normal). Decided to walk away.

robby

If you instincts told you there was something dodgy then you were right to walk away
There are other cars out there
Rover : Rover 200Vi
Rover : rover 25 turbo
Rover : rover 200vi (1.8 16v vvc engine)
eBay.co.uk: 2001 ROVER 25 1.8 GTI 16V SILVER (item 250117864161 end time 27-May-07 20:54:22 BST)
eBay.co.uk: 2000 ROVER 25 GTI 16V GOLD (item 170114134496 end time 27-May-07 22:02:32 BST)
eBay.co.uk: MG ZR 160, 1.8VVC REPLICA (ROVER 25 GTI) (item 300114231657 end time 30-May-07 21:30:00 BST)

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yes, by not buying it, remember my BRM ?

NotoriousREV

IF it blows the engine, replace it with a T16. That'll blow as well, but it'll be fun till then.