Year:2001
Make:Rover
Model:45
Mileage:33000 M
Transmission:Manual
Engine:1.6
Trim:Leather
Anyone wishing to come & view is more than welcome to but please note cold callers making derisory offers will not be answered! I have had a fair share of guys with pick-up vans, tow trucks & trailers apparently "just passing by & noticing" the car which I don't believe as I have never actually given the address to anyone. After speaking to someone who was taking away a vintage car from a house opposite, it seemed like word spread & a few tried their luck. I have been told the car is scrap but I know parts are getting rarer & hard to find meaning the value & cost is increasing. I have sold a few parts from another car for a couple of hundred pounds so it's not entirely worthless
Hello & welcome to my listing for a:
2001 Rover 45 1.6 Impression Saloon, Silver, 33,000 For Spares/Repair
*Just so you are aware, the first 11 pictures were taken March 2017 with the last 5 pictures taken January 2023 so the car isn't as clean now as it was then but only due to moss/algi, dirt & the ever changing weather *
In January 2017, whilst I was driving home one evening out of nowhere the became slightly lumpy & gradually came to a stop. The battery light, oil light & engine managment light was on & I was unable to start it. Eventually I managed to get it going but when dropping off a relative, thr car stopped again outside their house & this time I couldn't start it. At the time I thought it was just the battery as there was no overheating or prior warning but the heating didn't work to help demist the windows so after going to get a socket set to disconnect the battery to charge it overnight I tried one more time to start the car & it did first time with all the lights going out & I managed to get the car home with no problems.
After charging the battery overnight I went to reconnect it the next morning & saw that the coolant bottle was empty so I put some more in & started it & although it turned over, it didn't sound right so I switched it off immediately & checked the oil t9 find that on the indie of the cap & dipstick, the oil was a thick muddy brown colour. Handily there is a mechanic who lives a few houses up my road so I popped up to see him straight away & he said it sounded like head gasket had gone & after checking it the following day, this was confirmed. He was unable to do the work at home himself so after looking into it a bit I got in touch a mobile mechanics who specialise in just MG/Rovers & came a few weeks later to do the work but not long after starting & stripping it down, there was more bad news & damage than initially first thought. It was a lot to take in & understand so I contacted them & they put in writing what the issues were & the solutions.
" Upon removing the cylinder head, it was found to have indentation to the face, unfortunately this is too deep to skim safely & therefore a good second hand head is required, purely because if we re-fit your head or skim it & refit, you would have another head gasket failure quite quickly as the head gasket will not seal. Three of the liner faces are pitted & two of the liners are literally clinging to block level, again meaning the head gasket cannot seal & would be a complete waste of our time & your money as without a successful seal, you will just have another head gasket failure. To repair your engine, those three pitted liners will need to be replaced & liner shims (these bring the liners up in height slightly, but enough for a head gasket to seal & be successful). It would also need another cylinder head & three liners replaced but this would mean you could keep the original engine ".
The only other option was a replacement engine which wasn't that much more expensive & meant that the liners on it would be a more sufficient height, whereas on the existing engine, they are not meaning that if the gasket was to fail again in years to come, the liners would still be of sufficient height unless you'd let it overheat significantly as it's the overheating that causes the liners to sink. Keeping the existing engine & replacing the three pitted liners & liner shims meant that the liners wouldn't be the same height as they were originally or on a second hand engine, but would be enough for a new gasket to seal & be successful.
After thinking about it & looking into it more, we were made aware that although the headgasket & all the componants invloved in replacing that would be new, the liners & shims wouldn't be, making the mileage of the car irrelevant & would be taken off the replacement engine we was offered which we thought was reconditioned but was just stripped down & checked over & had done 80,000. We was also told having new parts or a reconditioned engine would have been quite a bit more than quoted & wanted to pay & after talking to my uncle who also spoke with a friend he knew from work who used to be a mechanic, we was advised it would be best to cut our losses & that is what was decided. Fortunately we had another car we got up & running after being stationary for a number of years which was slightly larger with slightly bigger doors & an automatic.
As stated, it has done just over 33,000 miles with 10,000 being on the clock when purchased. At the time of being off road it had four brand new Firestone tyres which only covered 1000 miles & the black leather electric seats are in an excellent condition with the back ones hardly been sat on & the front only having some scratches, no rips or tears, just a little bit mouldy due to conditions & the time spent stationary. A good clean & some leather product will make them come up a treat & look like new. The same can be said for the interior with a few scratches on tuenwood veneer & the radio control buttons on the steering wheel don't work & would need sticking back on. Finally regarding the inside, the roof lining has sagged & come away & was a but mouldy which I tried to clean with white vinegar so this would obviously need replacing & because of loose trim at the top of the window on the outside, water is getting in & making the footwells wet along with condensation.
The window on the driver side isn't working properly because when it went right up or down, it didn't run true as it should have stayed in its rubber seal but has been like this as long as I can remember & always needed guiding into place & is likely to have come off its runner.
The bodywork itself could be better which is the rear bumper having parking sensors but is split on the passenger side. Also just above where it meets the light part of the body work is pushed in but a bit of filler on both should sort it out. The front bumper on the drivers side is scratched, as is the chrome trim & the passenger side front wing is a bit dented but I think this could be pulled out. There is also a tiny bit of rust by the passenger light which can be easily touched up & the front drivers light is slightly scratched on the lens but this was never an MOT issue. There are your usual cat scratches, slightly kerbed alloys which again would come up a treat & on the last MOT, the rear trailing arms were an advisory but both CV gaiters were replaced.
I know it sounds like this car has a lot of negatives but if you have the knowledge & patience, it wouldn't take much to get this car up & running again. Just to make it clear, the car IS NOT driveable & would need to be towed or placed on a trailer & needs to be taken away as a whole, NOT bits & pieces being taken off here & there.
I think I have given you all the information provided but if you have any questions then please don't hesitate getting in touch.
Thank you.
Hello & welcome to my listing for a:
2001 Rover 45 1.6 Impression Saloon, Silver, 33,000 For Spares/Repair
*Just so you are aware, the first 11 pictures were taken March 2017 with the last 5 pictures taken January 2023 so the car isn't as clean now as it was then but only due to moss/algi, dirt & the ever changing weather *
In January 2017, whilst I was driving home one evening out of nowhere the became slightly lumpy & gradually came to a stop. The battery light, oil light & engine managment light was on & I was unable to start it. Eventually I managed to get it going but when dropping off a relative, thr car stopped again outside their house & this time I couldn't start it. At the time I thought it was just the battery as there was no overheating or prior warning but the heating didn't work to help demist the windows so after going to get a socket set to disconnect the battery to charge it overnight I tried one more time to start the car & it did first time with all the lights going out & I managed to get the car home with no problems.
After charging the battery overnight I went to reconnect it the next morning & saw that the coolant bottle was empty so I put some more in & started it & although it turned over, it didn't sound right so I switched it off immediately & checked the oil t9 find that on the indie of the cap & dipstick, the oil was a thick muddy brown colour. Handily there is a mechanic who lives a few houses up my road so I popped up to see him straight away & he said it sounded like head gasket had gone & after checking it the following day, this was confirmed. He was unable to do the work at home himself so after looking into it a bit I got in touch a mobile mechanics who specialise in just MG/Rovers & came a few weeks later to do the work but not long after starting & stripping it down, there was more bad news & damage than initially first thought. It was a lot to take in & understand so I contacted them & they put in writing what the issues were & the solutions.
" Upon removing the cylinder head, it was found to have indentation to the face, unfortunately this is too deep to skim safely & therefore a good second hand head is required, purely because if we re-fit your head or skim it & refit, you would have another head gasket failure quite quickly as the head gasket will not seal. Three of the liner faces are pitted & two of the liners are literally clinging to block level, again meaning the head gasket cannot seal & would be a complete waste of our time & your money as without a successful seal, you will just have another head gasket failure. To repair your engine, those three pitted liners will need to be replaced & liner shims (these bring the liners up in height slightly, but enough for a head gasket to seal & be successful). It would also need another cylinder head & three liners replaced but this would mean you could keep the original engine ".
The only other option was a replacement engine which wasn't that much more expensive & meant that the liners on it would be a more sufficient height, whereas on the existing engine, they are not meaning that if the gasket was to fail again in years to come, the liners would still be of sufficient height unless you'd let it overheat significantly as it's the overheating that causes the liners to sink. Keeping the existing engine & replacing the three pitted liners & liner shims meant that the liners wouldn't be the same height as they were originally or on a second hand engine, but would be enough for a new gasket to seal & be successful.
After thinking about it & looking into it more, we were made aware that although the headgasket & all the componants invloved in replacing that would be new, the liners & shims wouldn't be, making the mileage of the car irrelevant & would be taken off the replacement engine we was offered which we thought was reconditioned but was just stripped down & checked over & had done 80,000. We was also told having new parts or a reconditioned engine would have been quite a bit more than quoted & wanted to pay & after talking to my uncle who also spoke with a friend he knew from work who used to be a mechanic, we was advised it would be best to cut our losses & that is what was decided. Fortunately we had another car we got up & running after being stationary for a number of years which was slightly larger with slightly bigger doors & an automatic.
As stated, it has done just over 33,000 miles with 10,000 being on the clock when purchased. At the time of being off road it had four brand new Firestone tyres which only covered 1000 miles & the black leather electric seats are in an excellent condition with the back ones hardly been sat on & the front only having some scratches, no rips or tears, just a little bit mouldy due to conditions & the time spent stationary. A good clean & some leather product will make them come up a treat & look like new. The same can be said for the interior with a few scratches on tuenwood veneer & the radio control buttons on the steering wheel don't work & would need sticking back on. Finally regarding the inside, the roof lining has sagged & come away & was a but mouldy which I tried to clean with white vinegar so this would obviously need replacing & because of loose trim at the top of the window on the outside, water is getting in & making the footwells wet along with condensation.
The window on the driver side isn't working properly because when it went right up or down, it didn't run true as it should have stayed in its rubber seal but has been like this as long as I can remember & always needed guiding into place & is likely to have come off its runner.
The bodywork itself could be better which is the rear bumper having parking sensors but is split on the passenger side. Also just above where it meets the light part of the body work is pushed in but a bit of filler on both should sort it out. The front bumper on the drivers side is scratched, as is the chrome trim & the passenger side front wing is a bit dented but I think this could be pulled out. There is also a tiny bit of rust by the passenger light which can be easily touched up & the front drivers light is slightly scratched on the lens but this was never an MOT issue. There are your usual cat scratches, slightly kerbed alloys which again would come up a treat & on the last MOT, the rear trailing arms were an advisory but both CV gaiters were replaced.
I know it sounds like this car has a lot of negatives but if you have the knowledge & patience, it wouldn't take much to get this car up & running again. Just to make it clear, the car IS NOT driveable & would need to be towed or placed on a trailer & needs to be taken away as a whole, NOT bits & pieces being taken off here & there.
I think I have given you all the information provided but if you have any questions then please don't hesitate getting in touch.
Thank you.
