Rover800.Info

So my old man has run Rovers all his life. Most notably a P4 105R, P5 saloon MK3, 2300 Sd1, MK1 820Se and MK2 820 Si. He tended to buy them about 5 years old and hold onto them for about 8-10 years.

So, if I were to follow in his footsteps these days, buying something of the same, status same age with a view to hold onto it for the same length of time, what would I buy?

I was initially thinking BMW 5-Series or Audi A6 but they're getting quite common.

Jag?

The German saloons will start costing big money to keep running by the time they are 15 years old. They can keep their facade of "quality teutonic engineering" for about 8 years these days before you start being subjected to astronomic parts and servicing costs.

A Jag will have similar problems, but you won't be so surprised when it breaks. Also aftermarket parts will be much more reasonable thanks to the recent Ford connection.

Volvo or maybe Lexus would be my recommendation. Both can laugh off 15 years and mega miles with very few problems.

Two good choices from Tom there, also consider a Honda Legend as they will also go for inter-galactic mileages without needing anything nasty, just routine servicing.

Whatever you go for, make sure it has full dealer service history (at 5 years old that shouldn't be a problem) and then keep up the servicing. A drawback with that is a lot of manufacturers (particularly the Germans) have deleted such useful things as sump drain plugs from the engines, transmissions etc which makes life hard for the home mechanic.

Very difficult these days looking at newer stuff.

I've started looking at cars I wouldn't normally consider. Most new stuff is well spec'd compared to older stuff.

No actual suggestions I'm afraid as I'm looking at estates rather than saloons.

Sod That !!!!!

But another Rover

Good call Dean but he's after something no older than 5 years from what i can work out?

I can feel a Jag coming on, an XF would do. All the German stuff is too common at the moment.
Think we all know someone that's got a 3 or 5 series or a Passat. Nice looking cars but they are everywhere.
Just don't get one of those fat pretend 4x4 things

XF's aren't rare round here.

My mate Joe had one for a while, nice car but ultimately useless for him as a family car so he sold it.

I was in this spot a few years back and wondered what I would get when the time came to move my 75 cdti tourer on. I had done the Rover rounds too P6B, '89 820si fastback, '94 820i fastback, '98 825 sd fastback, a short time with a 620, '98 820 coupe and finally the 75. I looked at Jags...honestly could not see anything else I liked but the thought of owning one, realy did not do anything for me. I even toyed with a Land Rover, but didn't fancy it as my main vehicle. I thought long and hard about a BMW coupe for a short period of time but quickly put that aside and I had no wishes to put up with Audi seats. I wanted space, comfort, leather, wood (even faux wood).

So went back to an 800 (1999 diesel coupe)....and have neither regrets or plans to change.

Having had a couple of 800's myself (MK2 820Si & MK1 827Si), I had considered getting another one. Problem is, I have a young family and job which requires me to do lots of miles, so I need something reliable with a healthy source of spare parts.

I bought a 1.2 Corsa as a stop gap just to get me by until I got something else. That was 2 years ago, so it's become a little more than a stop gap! The Corsa's a good little car, but it's not the quickest and is a bit too small for getting about with the wife and kids. I've always had bigger cars (Audi A4, A6, A7, Q7, Rover 820, Merc C-Class).

I had initially considered a Saab 9-5. Problem is, with Saab having gone bust, I'd be concerned about support / parts.

Currently considering a MK2 Volvo S80. Always had a bit of a soft spot for a Volvo.

I always forget about Volvo's. My father used to drive those, the last being a police spec V70 turbo which was always enjoyable to drive, if not a bit blande compared to an 800. A friend has S80. He is about to sell it to buy something bigger.

If you are looking at cars around 5 years old, newer MG's are falling into the used car market, I have seen MG6 under £5k. Never looked at them myself as at the moment am happy with my 800.

If the used car market is as big as the panel gaps on an MG6 they'll simply fall through the used car market, never mind into it!

There's an MG dealer opened up near me and i had a look recently at some of the cars and the panel gaps were totally shocking - i even saw a bus drive out of a couple of them!

scoobyh123 wrote:If the used car market is as big as the panel gaps on an MG6 they'll simply fall through the used car market, never mind into it!

There's an MG dealer opened up near me and i had a look recently at some of the cars and the panel gaps were totally shocking - i even saw a bus drive out of a couple of them!

Great to know they are keeping up with the Rover build quality

tonewheeldude wrote:

scoobyh123 wrote:If the used car market is as big as the panel gaps on an MG6 they'll simply fall through the used car market, never mind into it!

There's an MG dealer opened up near me and i had a look recently at some of the cars and the panel gaps were totally shocking - i even saw a bus drive out of a couple of them!

Great to know they are keeping up with the Rover build quality

They make the original Rover panel gaps look like Titus Aduxas (say his name quick,you'll get the drift!), they really were bad. This is on showroom cars, not even registered but offered for sale to the general victims - errr, public even!

scoobyh123 wrote:
They make the original Rover panel gaps look like Titus Aduxas (say his name quick,you'll get the drift!),!

I had to actually say it out loud a few times to get that