The Rover 75 after 14 days - review
in [UK Drivers]
|
From: Ed Chilada on 12 Jun 2010 04:54 On Fri, 11 Jun 2010 23:45:17 +0100, Harry Bloomfield <harry.m1byt(a)NOSPAM.tiscali.co.uk> wrote: >My only complaints are that I don't like the way the memory seats >operate, its FWD The V8 one is RWD! > The dash instruments are also of rather an eccentric retro > look styling I kinda like those!
From: Derek C on 12 Jun 2010 05:21 On Jun 11, 11:45 pm, Harry Bloomfield <harry.m1...(a)NOSPAM.tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > I said I would post my findings after owning it for a while, so here > goes... > > It is a late 2004 Rover 75 Mk II Contemporary SE CDTi (rather than the > Connoisseur SE I originally suggested) in a metallic black colour, with > a bit more mileage under its belt than I really intended (90K), but my > opinion from the feel of it is that they are mostly motorway miles. It > has every conceivable option already fitted. 17" wide low profiles, > sports setup, Satnav/TV, electric everything, power folds, all leather > and a manual box, Traffic Master, instrument pack, Xenon's. > > All it lacked was a tow bar + electrics, which I fitted the first > weekend and it was slightly over due a full service/inspection, prior > to which it had FSH and a fresh MOT. > > Over the past couple of weeks I have been working my way gradually > around the car, finding and sorting out the few minor problems I could > find and doing the service / inspection and finally running the > diagnostics - which indicated no faults at all recorded or current. > > The car had by far the least number of problems of any vehicle I have > ever bought second hand, yet by a fair margin, with all of its built-in > toys, is the most complex one. > > My only complaints are that I don't like the way the memory seats > operate, its FWD and it lacks a 'global close' for the windows/sunroof. > If you press a memory button whilst on the road, it does a shuffle to > the new set position, rather than taking the quick short route to the > new position like my old car did and you have to manually close all of > the windows. The dash instruments are also of rather an eccentric retro > look styling and the clutch pedal is heavy. > > The paint work is just a tad below being immaculate, I found no sign of > any rust anywhere in it including the underside. If you asked me how > old it were, from my inspection I would say a matter of months, rather > than years, it also drives the like new. It is in much better condition > and feels newer than my 18 month old works hack. > > I sorted out one suspension level sensor (for the xenon's) which had > been pulled from its ball joint, an handbrake lever with excess travel > and a rather odd case of a loose bolt each on two small suspension > sub-frame braces. One bolt was hanging by its last thread and I suspect > these were not tightened correctly at the factory. > > It has an annoying twanging front O/S suspension spring - which I have > still to resolve. > > I have so far clocked around 500 miles in it, between working on it. On > the road, it is more than capable of making good fast progress and its > handling is good if a little soft particularly at the rear. It feels a > little cramped inside, when compared to my old motor - which was almost > an identical overall size, if a bit faster and a little more powerful. > Interior noise wise it is about the same, but a little quieter on noisy > road surfaces. Despite continuously swapping on a daily basis from > manual to auto, the Rover feels so like my old auto, I'm tending to > forget I need to manually change gear. The car oozes quality of build. > > Am I happy with it - absolutely. It handles well, is extremely > comfortable, it is far from slow and it is between 2/3 and half the > fuel cost to run as my 3L petrol. This was the first 75 (or any car) I > looked at in the flesh this time around and I agreed to buy it after > just a ten minute run in it - with not much clue about its true > condition. I'm a terrible car buyer and I hate buying them. I'm good at > finding and fixing problems, but it takes me a good couple of weeks of > effort to really judge the condition of car. This car I now know is > spot on, which straight away doubles its value to me. > > The 75 has a very active web forum inhabited by some very knowledgeable > enthusiasts and parts seem not to be a problem. > > -- > Regards, > Harry (M1BYT) (L)http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk Nice to know that us Brits can still do decent engineering. Shame that Mrs Hatchett, Mr Bliar and Mr Broon thought that Financial Services and the service industries generally where the only way to go. Now that bubble has burst, we need to get back to making and selling things that people want to buy. But how? When I was threatened with redundancy a few years ago (didn't happen in the end) I was sent on a business opportunities course. The lecturer was totally dismissive of anything to do with manufacturing industry, because it requires a lot of capital to develop things and the payback time is too long. He advised that it is far better from a personal wealth point of view to buy a franchise in a kebab chain, or to be a financial advisor! Mind you, the businessmen who bought and eventually bankrupted Rover personally did very nicely out of it, thank you very much! Why do we have such wet politicians? No wonder the country has gone to the dogs! Derek C
From: Brimstone on 12 Jun 2010 05:28 "Derek C" <del.copeland(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote in message news:27c0651f-b319-4f9c-8dba-bddf4644daca(a)b35g2000yqi.googlegroups.com... > Nice to know that us Brits can still do decent engineering. Shame that > Mrs Hatchett, Mr Bliar and Mr Broon thought that Financial Services > and the service industries generally where the only way to go. Now > that bubble has burst, we need to get back to making and selling > things that people want to buy. But how? > > When I was threatened with redundancy a few years ago (didn't happen > in the end) I was sent on a business opportunities course. The > lecturer was totally dismissive of anything to do with manufacturing > industry, because it requires a lot of capital to develop things and > the payback time is too long. He advised that it is far better from a > personal wealth point of view to buy a franchise in a kebab chain, or > to be a financial advisor! Mind you, the businessmen who bought and > eventually bankrupted Rover personally did very nicely out of it, > thank you very much! > > Why do we have such wet politicians? No wonder the country has gone to > the dogs! > Your lecturer was, in one sense, right. Most people want a quick return on their investment and we get the politicians we deserve.
From: Derek C on 12 Jun 2010 06:09 On Jun 12, 10:28 am, "Brimstone" <brimst...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > "Derek C" <del.copel...(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote in message > > news:27c0651f-b319-4f9c-8dba-bddf4644daca(a)b35g2000yqi.googlegroups.com... > > > > > > > Nice to know that us Brits can still do decent engineering. Shame that > > Mrs Hatchett, Mr Bliar and Mr Broon thought that Financial Services > > and the service industries generally where the only way to go. Now > > that bubble has burst, we need to get back to making and selling > > things that people want to buy. But how? > > > When I was threatened with redundancy a few years ago (didn't happen > > in the end) I was sent on a business opportunities course. The > > lecturer was totally dismissive of anything to do with manufacturing > > industry, because it requires a lot of capital to develop things and > > the payback time is too long. He advised that it is far better from a > > personal wealth point of view to buy a franchise in a kebab chain, or > > to be a financial advisor! Mind you, the businessmen who bought and > > eventually bankrupted Rover personally did very nicely out of it, > > thank you very much! > > > Why do we have such wet politicians? No wonder the country has gone to > > the dogs! > > Your lecturer was, in one sense, right. Most people want a quick return on > their investment and we get the politicians we deserve.- Hide quoted text - > Quite a few people made vast fortunes from manufacturing industry in the past! Derek C
From: Dave Plowman on 12 Jun 2010 06:15
In article <huvcu6$67v$1(a)speranza.aioe.org>, Silk <me(a)privacy.net> wrote: > On 11/06/2010 23:55, Harry Bloomfield wrote: > > Nearly forgot, the rain sensing wipers - brilliant :-) > > > > You can just turn them on and forget them. It rains they wipe, it > > stops they don't - they wipe just as and when needed, they make a > > better job of knowing when you need them to wipe and how often to wipe > > than I could. > Yeah, we get the picture. Had them for years. Nothing new. They must be a different design from that on my E39 BMW. They don't cope well with light or intermittent rain. -- *Half the people in the world are below average. Dave Plowman dave(a)davesound.co.uk London SW 12 |