Rover 45 advice please
 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...cars?logcode=p

Evenin' all, I am going to look at the attached Rover 45 1.6s for my bruv tomorrow, can I have any tips for weak spots to look at please. A couple of Q's as well:-
* Is there an easy spot to see if it's the Honda engine or is it just chassis number?
* Are parts for the 45 fairly easy to source currently - any bits rare as hens teeth?

All advice gratefully received, please try to avoid the 'convince him to go the 75 route' as it's too big for his missus (oo-er)!!

An 03 plate is a K series. Good cars but check the usual coolant level etc. issues with heater resistors so check all heater speeds and later cars had a habit of breaking exterior door handles. Both easy fixes and reduce the risk of handles breaking by placing your thumb on the handle housing rather than just pulling the housing ;)

Just looked at all the pictures and there is one of the engine bay! Looks a nice car

Good cars, I have a 1.4 and it really goes well. Never had to check the water, other than a coolant change.

Yes the heater resistors are bad, rear exhaust goes on short runs and brake pipes are typical Rovers but a real pain to change. Rear suspension bushes are prone to wear. Parts are easy to come by and an easy car to work on.

Will you believe the boot can get flooded.

My wife want to sell ours if you don't come right.;)

yeah had loads of them, heater resistor as said, digital clock, if late 03 it may have traffic master clock not that will help anymore, check rear suspension bushes if possible as they wear out fast and the anti roll bar drop links, all easy enough to do and can be replaced with items from honda,
they also have the rubbish under seat airbag wiring.
it will have the later uprated cable change gearbox that is quite strong, but will also have the awfull plastic slave cylinder, check that it secure in its mounting as not a fun job to fix,
see if you can see any rust at the rear wheel arches where it meets the side skirts as if there is any there chances are its rotten through under the sideskirt.
check the interior light switches on each door as the alarm will not set fully if they dont work, (just check the indicators flash on arming and that should show they are ok),
there is probs a little more to check but thats just of the top of my head, all are easy things to fix and are by no means that hard to diy repair, but is a good haggling point.

2 years ago i drove my mk2 45 td through the floods at winterbourne abbas they were rather deep had a epic bow wave that the locals didnt seem to pleased about, but she got through all ok and not even the carpets got damp in anyway, epic little car that was nothing ever stopped it, even a very close call with a late night bmw that had crashed with no lights on meaning my poor 45 ending up in a hedge missed the bmw by mm's and she reversed out with out as scratch just a lot of mud on her.

If its a hatchback open up the tailgate and check the body seam where the rear roof panel goes under the tailgate hinges. The seam sealant was not always very accurate and the seam can rust badly .

You've responded to a post from March 2015. :}

Well he hasn't said if he has bought a 45 yet?:D:getmecoat: