From: Dave Plowman on
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
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
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
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
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