The next generation of owners.

[Mike Trident]

I have read quite a few posts recently about owners selling their cars and buying something else. These owners have obviously been keen Rover / MG owners to even be on this and other forum's.

It would seem that there are owners that have had a 75 / ZT for some years and are now planning on selling up and moving on simply because their cars are getting to that age where they need plenty of TLC and are in some cases no longer viable as reliable everyday transport.

There are also new (ish) owners, like myself who bought the car for the long haul. I have a small reliable everyday car but purchased my 75 knowing that they are getting on a bit. I am expecting bills to keep coming in but don't mind. I just enjoy keeping old bikes and now cars going. I am planning to run it for years, and yes things will go wrong. Yes, rust will be a problem, but that's just the TLC it will need.

I am wondering how many owners on here belong to my group. For any old bike or car to keep going it needs good support and a strong following. Without this, it is VERY VERY hard to keep a vehicle running and working.

There are very some very knowledgeable people on this forum, and if any of those people move on to a different vehicle I know I for one would be struggling.

[scottish_don]

I'm in the same place as you.....my 75 does about 800-1000 miles a year, only on weekends and only if its dry. I know that I will pay bills that are worth more than the car but I intend to keep mine going as long as possible.

[P-Nut]

Same as you, it's a second car, there's no frickin way I'd use my ZT as my only car, the running costs of these vehicles especially at this age are becoming unreasonably high.

You either need to be very handy with a spanner or deep pockets. In the past 3 months and less than 500 miles I've spent over £1500 on repairs and parts to just get it to MOT spec, for that I could've leased a car for a year. I expect more expense to come too.

[bendrick]

I couldn't afford to run two cars, don't have the space either, my 75 has to be my daily runner.

[BillyMG]

Originally Posted by bendrick

I couldn't afford to run two cars, don't have the space either, my 75 has to be my daily runner.

Me too mate.

[Rogue]

Mine is a daily workhorse too and the preferred car to take if a work trip requires more than one of us to go.

[kelvo]

Originally Posted by P-Nut

Same as you, it's a second car, there's no frickin way I'd use my ZT as my only car, the running costs of these vehicles especially at this age are becoming unreasonably high.

You either need to be very handy with a spanner or deep pockets. In the past 3 months and less than 500 miles I've spent over £1500 on repairs and parts to just get it to MOT spec, for that I could've leased a car for a year. I expect more expense to come too.

I've used my previous ZT as an everyday car and I'm on my second one I bought last year and it's still my main car although as it's low mileage and in excellent condition (and a rarer SE) I tend to cosset it a bit more. When my dad passed away earlier this year I kept his Volvo 740 estate which i use for more running about, runs to the tip etc. Interesting working the fuel consumption out, this is a 2.0L auto and gives about 20 mpg around town which is about what I get from my 2.5L V6...

I don't see any point though in keeping the car locked away in the garage and not enjoying it, not using it regularly is probably worse for a car than one that is regularly used. I figure whatever I run there will be running costs - I would expect to have to buy things like tyres, brake pads and brake discs every so often regardless of what I bought.

I also own a classic car and a double deck bus, which averages about 8 - 9 mpg, so running costs of a V6 pale into insignificance... just £1k for 4 new tyres a couple of years ago for example.

[DMGRS]

My ZT-T has had a rather unusual history - it started out as a workhorse, but recently I've been spending more and more keeping it mechanically perfect.

It'll be undercoated and treated well - but still used as the main vehicle for the business. The end result will be a ZT-T in great condition, but with many hundreds of thousands of miles... hopefully!

[Comfortably Numb]

I suspect our 75s will appreciate less than the ZTs, because of the typical original buyer/user profile. Cars like the Escort and the Golf GTi/205GTi have soared in price because when you were young, you either had one, or aspired to one. Now, those same young men and women, now in late middle age, kids left the nest, want to relive the thrills and memories of their youth. Those cars, made in their millions, were bought, sold and thrashed and crashed. There are very few left, compared to the number of one-time owners. The ZT appealed to the young exec, whose employers switched to other makes of company car when MG/R went bust, Those same people can now afford to own that fast and flashy motor, go back to that love affair, so cruelly cut short by the workings of the wicked world. But the original Rover owner was typically an older man, who bought the car with the luxury he had promised himself all his working life. Many of you will have bought your cars from such owners, or may be such owners! These people, due to their age, are unlikely to buy again the car they once loved. Their middle aged children will probably not see the Rover with the excitement of youth remembered - they will be looking for a contemporary 3series BMW, a Saab, a Jag, possibly an Alpha. So while so many of our well maintained (how many rough-looking ones do you see?) Rovers remain, I don't see demand outstripping supply - the real cause of high prices. Let's just be happy that WE know a good thing when we see it!

[Jules]

The problem these days even for us ( in the trade) is sourcing decent quality parts.

Cheap Chinese or unbranded copy parts has sent a lot of these cars to an early grave because the owners give up paying out for the dame job to be done again in a few months.


I've heard the same from P5B, P6 3500 & SD1 owners
It's getting pretty grim out there.

For example:
We would happily pay £100 for a quality KV6 water pump instead of the Nasty 30 quid jobs out there which only last 20-30k miles if your lucky, but at the moment they don't exist.