From: Dave Plowman on 12 Jun 2010 06:50 In article <37266312-d6d7-4152-bffb-f9b499c2347e(a)u26g2000yqu.googlegroups.com>, Derek C <del.copeland(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > > They must be a different design from that on my E39 BMW. They don't > > cope well with light or intermittent rain. > > > Serves you right for buying a German car! One of my friends who is a > self employed motor engineer, and works on them all the time, thinks > they are rubbish, and that French and Italian cars are even worse. He > recommends Japanese cars and runs a Mitsubishi Galant Estate himself. Does it have rain sensing wipers that work well? I'm quite critical about such things. Others just marvel at them. -- *Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary * Dave Plowman dave(a)davesound.co.uk London SW 12
From: Mike P on 12 Jun 2010 06:56 On Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:21:54 -0700, Derek C spouted forth: > 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. Ignoring the 75 for arguments sake, when has there *ever* been a good, high volume production car made in the UK, by a British company since about 1965? The only one that springs to mind is the SD1, and good design though it was, they were often of shocking quality.. Mike P
From: Dave Plowman on 12 Jun 2010 06:57 In article <18d8dfe9-7765-4a3a-9283-4a7aba36a24f(a)t10g2000yqg.googlegroups.com>, Derek C <del.copeland(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > On Jun 12, 11:21 am, Dave Plowman <d...(a)davesound.co.uk> wrote: > > In article > > <27c0651f-b319-4f9c-8dba-bddf4644d...(a)b35g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>, > > Derek C <del.copel...(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > > > > > Nice to know that us Brits can still do decent engineering. > > > > Courtesy of BMW? > > > Only the new Mini (better than nothing). The 75 was mainly engineered under BMW control. > The Germans obviously value their engineering companies much more so > than the UK does. If only the UK government had helped BWM to finish modernising BL, we might have still had a major car maker. > Could we independently wage a war to defend ourselves > these days? Don't think so, because we couldn't make any aeroplanes, > tanks, guns, battleships and other manufactured items, and the Financial > Services sector has bankrupted us anyway. Indeed. The great financial services revolution turned out to bankrupt the country. Just shows the politicians didn't understand it anymore than industry. Anything for a quick fix. -- *Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.* Dave Plowman dave(a)davesound.co.uk London SW 12
From: Ret. on 12 Jun 2010 07:01 Dave Plowman wrote: > In article > <37266312-d6d7-4152-bffb-f9b499c2347e(a)u26g2000yqu.googlegroups.com>, > Derek C <del.copeland(a)tiscali.co.uk> wrote: >>> They must be a different design from that on my E39 BMW. They don't >>> cope well with light or intermittent rain. >>> >> Serves you right for buying a German car! One of my friends who is a >> self employed motor engineer, and works on them all the time, thinks >> they are rubbish, and that French and Italian cars are even worse. He >> recommends Japanese cars and runs a Mitsubishi Galant Estate himself. > > Does it have rain sensing wipers that work well? I'm quite critical > about such things. Others just marvel at them. The one's on my 75 estate work very well indeed - and far better than ordinary intermittent wipers. The self-dimming rear view mirror is also excellent. -- Kev
From: Dave Plowman on 12 Jun 2010 07:01
In article <huvp5g$fgg$4(a)news.eternal-september.org>, Mike P <stickit(a)up-uranus.com> wrote: > Ignoring the 75 for arguments sake, when has there *ever* been a good, > high volume production car made in the UK, by a British company since > about 1965? > The only one that springs to mind is the SD1, and good design though it > was, they were often of shocking quality.. Does the Sierra fit? Or was it basically a german design? -- *Young at heart -- slightly older in other places Dave Plowman dave(a)davesound.co.uk London SW 12 |