Noticed a drop off in the Rover 75 on the British roads these last few weeks
 

Any one else noticed the Rover 75/MG ZT cars dwindling on the roads lately? the last one i saw was on the Jan 10th 2020..... normally see a couple everyday, but over the past ten days, nothing past me at all..... aware they are getting old now, but these are fine machines....
are you seeing a drop off??

They are old, the newest ones are approaching 15 years now, they are not always necessarily loved or cherished, and can be tricky to source quality parts to maintain them, or otherwise.

Sometimes even when you have the equipment, tools and knowledge to repair them yourself, it does not always present itself as the best use of your time to do so.

A vehicle with an originally expected service life of six to eight years, they have done well to survive as long as they have, but they will become increasingly rarer sights on the road, as have many others that have gone before them.

I'm looking to replace my wife's car imminently, as it is rapidly becoming a maintenance liability, and I feel she deserves something a little nicer to drive as her daily.

My own ZT will be replaced shortly afterwards with something a little more practical as a workhorse, in all likelihood a VW Caddy van.

I'll hang onto one 75 as a sunny day and show car, but the days of running multiple R40 are for me, are soon to be behind me.

This comes from a diehard fan of the brand, and an enthusiast.

Brian :D

I drove 1500 miles around Scotland up the west side , along the top and back down the east side a few weeks ago and I was the only 75 on the road it seems. Last week I toured the Lakes and saw a 75 coming towards me on the A595 near Seascale so I waved but I was ignored as usual . Today I spotted a blue ZTT at McDonalds at Thinford near Durham but that is a very rare sight to see another these days .:shrug:

Yes Brian you are most likely right!! just the hard core or not far off now!! even the national autotrader a year ago was showing 100 plus R75 for sale now a little over 50 cars per week over GB, not many at all really.

I have two R75 cars left and a Rover 45/Rover streetwise and a MGTF, The fleet is rotated around, but one car stays on the road all year around R75 Tourer, that stays in constant use. Currently my R45/MGTF are mothballed and the R75/Rover streetwise and Jag XJ are in use.....

But aware like you MGR days are numbered, however R75 Tourer is for keeps...its like my own settee molded around me personally.
Sad days when no more Rover products are not seen.

I just cannot get my head around why Jaguar ( who own the Rover brand now) don't just knock out a new Rover 75 saloon.. im sure it would sell... questions questions

They are getting scarce. I’m impressed by one member on here who still runs 3 in perfect working order.
Occasionally I see the tourer I posted up on the “was it you” section and it is as expected looking like a total shed now.
I now run just the MGTF as I made some hard nosed decisions after taking redundancy last October.
Daily runner is a Peugeot 308 SW diesel and my wife has a BMW 3 series. Mainstream, reliable and very foreign!

The Honda plant in Swindon will be empty soon. Anyone think another car maker will take it on?

As I see it, the ones you will see will be mostly well kept enthusiastically owned cars, and very few “daily drivers”. Although I do expect to see the odd taxi or minicab 75 tourer, I expect to see the 75 2.5 & 2.0 V6 autos dwindle as daily drivers quicker than perhaps the diesel variants due to the tax bracket and the fuel economy, but I guess this will lead to a rise in price for well-kept good clean examples.

For me sometimes it’s the stories behind the cars that are just as important as the cars themselves and the friendships we have made, the memories will always be with us no matter what.
Mick

Last Wednesday was a proper see the 75 day in Boro.
Funnily enough all MK 1's.
Starlight silver that lives just down the road from me.
White gold tourer I pass very often on Levick Crescent
Wedge wood saloon who followed me along the A1085 for a couple of miles.
Dark blue tourer on Eston High St
Another Wedgewood on the A171 travelling towards Ormesby.

There are times though, none apart from the first two I listed.

I'm guessing that the "footfall" on here is dwindling too, as they become "rarer"! Ooooh! did I say that word? :duh: Must have been reading too many optimistic adverts! :D I've looked at alrenatives but as long as I can still do the annual MOT crawl around, I'll keep on Rovering. I shall never let my beloved car into the hands of a "yoof" who will no doubt tell me that "They all do that" or "You can't bet the bits mate", so it looks like a proper Viking burial for me! :getmecoat:

Iv seen a few this week. 2 up Rochdale area and a nice tourer that was out side th café on Road five at Winsford. I should have stopped and asked if he wanted to sell it. It was on personnel plates ending in DEN if my memory was right.... Mine in a few days time is 16 years old. Iv owned it for 9 years. Iv logged everything iv done to it and running wise parts and some labour its cost me 4114 qwid so far that's consumable's included. Wife is retyreing in October or May next year and old faithful will be going and we become a one car family.. Its been my daily driver and th odd continental blast. It starts stops and goooos and th paint is thin and car park rash from work but is solid with no tin worm. It'll be a sad day when it goes... Replacement possibles.. Kia E Niro, Mazda CX5, Skoda Superb Klemonte, Seat Leon FR estate or DEN's tourer....!!!!

Sadly I think the Rover brand has little importance to most of today's car buyers, any that do mention Rover misguidedly add the phrase Head Gasket Failure in the same sentence. The 'Rover' brand has little value to Jaguar other than its link and protection of the Land Rover brand; Jaguar would rather market compact Jaguar saloons like the XE than resurrect the Rover brand. It has sadly joined the likes of Wolseley, Riley, Austin and many others. As a MG fan from the age of 5/6 who could tell the difference between an MGC and an MGB it saddens me where the brand is now but at least it is still alive and I dream of them producing sports car again. Sadly I think that will remain a dream