hello from a potential 75 owner, advice please
 

i have been shopping about for a new car, the wife n i like the 75 and have looked at a few, we arenew to rover and currently own a vx omega cdx 2.5 v6.

we have narrowed our choice down to an 02 plate 75 with full service history and only 60.000+ miles
http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www...00921334955071

really nice car.

or they have a 2.0 litre diesle version on a w plate with part history also in good condition. which do you all think would be a better buy.
any thing i should check for on both before i buy, your opinions would be great thanx

I.8 have a headgasket history, not as bad now with the new MLS gasket but if one hasnt been fitted in the past you just know it will need one in the future. After a 2.5 you may find the 1.8 wanting a little.

Diesel engines go on forever, If they do breakdown can be a little difficult to diagnose. No timing belts on the diesel and power upgrades like the roverron box put you back in the power game ;) they come is 115bhp and 135bhp IIRC. Roverron box increases this significantly.

All 75's need plenums checking for water, and manuals needs to be checked for correct clutch operation. Cooling fans need to be checked for correct operation. No matter what model start engine make sure econ is NOT selected and put climate control on to low. Fan should run. If not could be a A/C fault or fan fault. Fan fault can be £300 or £30.

Others will be along with more soon.

HTH

Hi. Welcome to the club! :)

Would definately say it's worth considering a V6. Love mine to bits! Watch for expensive cam belt service on them and also Variable Inlet System (VIS).

Obviously not as economical as the diesel but on runs can do 30mpg+!

All the best with the car hunting!

v6
 

the guy has a v6 also, not looked at it tho, may do so tomorrow, what milage does the timing belt need changeing, also what malage does the hg usually blow and how much to replace if it does

Timing belts should be done at 6 years or 90 000, whichever comes first.
Head gaskets not a common problem on the KV6. Several members on here have very reasonable prices for this service depending on where you are.

Some cheap V6's out there too.
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk...cleRegLetter=V

2.5 V6 needs cambelts changed at 90K or 6 Years whichever comes first beleive it costs around £500.

Head gasket on the 1.8 is around £650 IIRC

This is my second deisil 75,my first was 99 Vreg it had done 180.000 miles and still sounded the same as the day I bought it, had no problems at all, this car I have now has run extremely well over the 2years 3 months I have had it, get yourself a deisil.

Hi Baconbuttyman

The diesels are very popular, for obvious reasons of economy and the fact that it is a BMW engine and is virtually bullet-proof. No cam belt to do on this one, but they do have a few oddities which you can find out on this site.

The V6s are also very good, but a bit thirsty, and I should know !! Not a car for a 3 mile drive to work, although I do this, and accept the petrol bills. Biggie job on the V6 is the cambelts, yes, plural because there are 3 of them to replace at 5 years or 90k miles. As far as I can judge, most people get to the 5 years before the 90k. Lates600 (see website) did mine and a very good job at a reasonable price. There are other specialists around who also do these jobs at a good price because they have the special tools which speed the job up. The tensioner is also normally replaced at the same time because the bearings wont last another 90k, also the bolts are replaced which secure the cam sprockets.

Coolant loss on the V6s is normally cracking of the plastic thermostat housing in the 'V' between the cylinder banks. A relatively easy job to replace, and one of our forum members in South Africa has developed an aluminium replacement for the plastic part. I have one on order just in case mine goes, but so far all is OK

Other thing that fails on the V6s are the VIS motors, (Variable Inlet System), but these don't actually stop you at the side of the road, in fact if you are not a 'quick' motorist, you may not even notice they have failed, until the service man tells you, (as did Lates in my case).

Essentially the 1.8 is all about the head gasket, there is very little else that goes wrong. MG Rover had the new gasket ready, but never got round to putting it onto their own engines, only those they built for Land Rover, before they went bust, so it is up the trade to fit them when and if it fails. As the car you are looking at has done 60k it is probably alright. The main thing is never to drive on when it lets go, but get the car recovered and repair is then normally a routine job with the new gasket. Reason not to ignore is that the coolant soon disappears, the engine overheats, and then it's goodbye engine.

Lots of members are running 1.8s so can give you their views. I have taken my 2.5 V6 auto from 43k to 73k since March 2007 and this includes tours of France, Italy (as far south as Rome), Germany and Switzerland. In one day I drove back home from Chambery to Crewe without aches and pains at the end.

Certain faults are common to all models as outlined here, none too serious unless ignored. Why people think a fault will disappear on its own, if they just ignore it, I don't know. The garage where I have my 75 serviced had a Vauxhall Vectra diesel in with wrecked top end. Chap had noticed a coolant leak, and asked Louis the mechanic/owner what he should do. He was told to bring it in as soon as he could, but just ignored it until the coolant disappeared, engine overheated, water pump seized, cam belt stripped its teeth, piston hit a valve, making what would have been a £200 job into a £950 one, (I saw the bill).

The 75 is a wonderful car, basically.

I'm not going to talk any technical gubbins because as you can see above there's plenty of member here with far more knowledge than myself, but I would like to add my piece :)

Most people on here will tell you that owning your 75 is like no ownership experience you will have had before. It's not normal human behaviour to get sentimental about your every day car, especially when you're only spending the kind of money they go for these days, but you might find that this time you will...! I'd say take your time over choosing the car, if you can offord to wait a little. I think shifting from the Omega to the 75, you'll find that it maybe doesn't feel quite as nimble for its size as the slightly larger(?) Omega does, but being inside it for hours on end is a far more satisfying experince on the whole. Going from a nice spec Omega like you currently have to a relatively low spec 75 might leave you wanting for a few toys though. Do some research on the spec levels for the 75 and you'll probably find you need you go up a little from the Classic. I also agree with what's said above regarding the engine choice. You'll probably find the 1.8 petrol wanting compared to the Omega, even moreso if you're a relatively relaxed driver and don't like having to thrash the engine much.

Whatever you do, find a nice example and you won't be sorry :)