[Johnboy247]

I've only had the bloody thing a couple of Months and already had no car for over three weeks after it went to the bosdyshop for repair and then the head gasket failed on the way home.

I also need to repair all the seats which are falling apart, fix the aircon which is not working, find the loose connection that keeps telling me a bulb is out (even though they all work), buy some decent alloys (15" scuffed and crap ones), replace some pieces of exterior trim that are falling off, find out why it rattles over bumps, fix scraths to the dashboard and plastic over the dials, oh and fix the boot opener too (kerchunk, kerchunk, kerchunk, kerchunk).......

And all this on a car that is only a '51 with just 50k on the clock.

I'm well and truly fed up and thinking of buying the Autotrader at lunchtime (if I ever get the ******* heap back from the garage that is!!!!!!

:guns3:

 

[MikeM]

That is not good and I'm not surprised at how angry you feel

Going from your list there is a fair amount on it that really will be down to the previous owner.

Quick question-why did you buy it in that condition? Any car will be rubbish if not serviced and looked after.

Hope you get through this pain and start to enjoy what really is a great car.................

Regards

Mike

 

[David Lee Newsham]

It looks like you have a 75 that has benn treated badly by it's previous owner.

Some of the problems you mention are easily fixed:

The blown bulb is likely to be a loose contact on the rear numberplate lights - remove bulbs and squeeze holders to hold bulbs tighter.

The boot opener can be resolved by turning the rubber bungs located on the underside of the bootlid to offer less resistance.

The aircon may very well need recharging on a 5 year old car.

I'm afraid rattles, scratched interior trim and damaged alloys are a result of neglect rather than a poor quality car.

 

[Johnboy247]

That is not good and I'm not surprised at how angry you feel

Going from your list there is a fair amount on it that really will be down to the previous owner.

Quick question-why did you buy it in that condition? Any car will be rubbish if not serviced and looked after.

Hope you get through this pain and start to enjoy what really is a great car.................

Regards

Mike

When I bought it, it wasn't that bad.

The seats were dirty and at my insistence given a bloody good valet, problem is a week or two afterwards all the material started to fray and disintegrate where they had to scrub the stains.

Mechanically is was fine too, it got a full service and inspection.

The trim and stuff has only recently started to fall off, the clips underneath are weathered and brittle.

The aircon proably just needs re-gassing.

HGF seems to be a design feature, how soon till it goes again?

but still, if it literally falls apart over the course of a few weeks, surely I'd be a muppet not to bin it ASAP.

 

[20696]

When I bought it, it wasn't that bad.

The seats were dirty and at my insistence given a bloody good valet, problem is a week or two afterwards all the material started to fray and disintegrate where they had to scrub the stains.

Mechanically is was fine too, it got a full service and inspection.

The trim and stuff has only recently started to fall off, the clips underneath are weathered and brittle.

The aircon proably just needs re-gassing.

HGF seems to be a design feature, how soon till it goes again?

but still, if it literally falls apart over the course of a few weeks, surely I'd be a muppet not to bin it ASAP.

Hi,
Sorry to learn of your troubles. One important matter however is the repair of the Head Gasket, and that is to ensure that the repair is carried out using the latest gasket modification kit, which is available through Land Rover Dealers and is used for the Freelander model which uses the same 1.8 K series engine. If you go to the Guru section of MG-Rover.org you will find a "Sticky Item" giving you the full details of this latest modification. This uses a totally different Gasket and also involves the fitting of a stronger gallery bracket in the sump area which has been designed the give a firmer hold for the retaining cylinder head bolts.
Hopefully this latest mod will greatly assist those engines which may have experienced HG failure.
Regards
Telfer.

 

[V8King]

As far as seat facings falling apart, this sounds suspicously like someone cleaned them with an extremely strong detergent which has reacted with the material. I've cleaned mine thoroughly about a dozen times since 2001 and never had an issue with the trim fraying - and I have not heard about this happening with any other examples either.

Reference trim falling off, what exactly is coming off? I have never heard of clips becoming brittle and weathered - mine was left outside every night since I had it and not one piece of trim even so much as squeaks.

Air Con - happens to us all, make sure it is does thoroughly and correctly. Ask if they dye the refrigerant.

HGF - as stated above, get this done with the proper kit and by a reputable specialist and will be good as gold.

Of course, if you're going to bin it then you can throw it over this way - I'll happily take it off your hands.

 

[Ken75]

Air Con - happens to us all, make sure it is does thoroughly and correctly. Ask if they dye the refrigerant.

Sorry V8 you have lost me there can I ask why?

Cheers

Ken

 

[7T5]

mine was regassed recently and a yellow dye was put in this is so you can see if and where a leak occurs as when the gas escapes the dye leaves yellow tell tale signs!!!

 

[Homer]

So he can see if theres a major leak I think.

 

[Ken75]

mine was regassed recently and a yellow dye was put in this is so you can see if and where a leak occurs as when the gas escapes the dye leaves yellow tell tale signs!!!

Obvious I suppose but its been a long hard day, ta

 

[Johnboy247]

Just got back from the garage.

£782 all in for the HGF.

That's roughly 25% of the price I paid for the car in the first place.

The mechanic's were well nice, really attentive and polite, showing me everything they'd done, etc, but not optimistic about its future.

"can't stress it enough mate, check the water level as often as possible, always watch the temp gauge, if it plays up at all, pull over and call the AA, don't drive it any further..."

"We see so many of these awful k-series engines, the cars are great but the engine is just crap..."

They have even written in big letters across my bill "CHECK WATER OFTEN"

...sheesh...

 

[ZTalker]

Yes, at 50K miles you certainly don’t expect a modern-day car to fail in such a way – 250K miles, perhaps!
Even if your car had only had an oil changed in the past, and nothing else, this kind of malfunction is unacceptable.

 

[Johnboy247]

LOL...and it gets worse, I've just upgraded to Zenon bulbs and when I was changing the near side, the whole of the inards of the head light unit rocks up and down and is loose. On inspection the beams are seriously out, that means more money or it'll fail its MOT....**** me sidewards.

All the time there was a high pitch whine and the noise of a struggling motor too!

Its definetly going in the Autotrader at the weekend, I might as well be putting my money down the toilet at this rate.

Sod being patriotic I've had enough :irked:

 

[Johnboy247]

Yes, at 50K miles you certainly don’t expect a modern-day car to fail in such a way – 250K miles, perhaps!
Even if your car had only had an oil changed in the past, and nothing else, this kind of malfunction is unacceptable.

btw why are you so smug, I guess the ZT has a different engine? lucky sod

 

[20696]

Just got back from the garage.

£782 all in for the HGF.

That's roughly 25% of the price I paid for the car in the first place.

The mechanic's were well nice, really attentive and polite, showing me everything they'd done, etc, but not optimistic about its future.

"can't stress it enough mate, check the water level as often as possible, always watch the temp gauge, if it plays up at all, pull over and call the AA, don't drive it any further..."

"We see so many of these awful k-series engines, the cars are great but the engine is just crap..."

They have even written in big letters across my bill "CHECK WATER OFTEN"

...sheesh...

Mmmmm. It looks as if they have just replaced the gasket with the old type
and left it at that and not taken the trouble to get the latest mod. With regard to their remarks, I have had 3 1.8 75s and have had no engine problems at all. The first one covered 70000 miles in 19 months and it was worked very hard indeed.
As 75s go there are possibly more 1.8s about than other versions, so naturally the failure rate could appear to be higher. Also there are a number of factors that can cause water loss other than the head gasket itself, any of which will in turn cause a head gasket failure due to water loss.
Let's hope that all goes well for you now.
Regards
Telfer.

 

[Rover_King]

You have been very very unlucky so it seems. It does seem though that the car has been neglected in the past.

 

[mmcomputing]

LOL...and it gets worse, I've just upgraded to Zenon bulbs and when I was changing the near side, the whole of the inards of the head light unit rocks up and down and is loose. On inspection the beams are seriously out, that means more money or it'll fail its MOT....f*** me sidewards.

All the time there was a high pitch whine and the noise of a struggling motor too!

Its definetly going in the Autotrader at the weekend, I might as well be putting my money down the toilet at this rate.

Sod being patriotic I've had enough :irked:

Johnboy
I've kept out of this so far but I have to speak. You have unfortunately been lumbered with a vehicle that has had no TLC at all during it's life. Whoever owned it previously doesn't deserve to own a roller skate let alone a car. Please don't judge all 75s or ZTs by the poor standard of yours. My advice is as you so rightly say get rid, you don't know what could be in store on such a vehicle.
If you can bear to give MGR another go around then go for a V6 or Diesel both, enginewise, more robust and reliable than the 1.8. Now you know what to look for you are likely to end up with a cracking car.
Nothing wrong with the 1.8 before I get shot down in flames, it just takes that much more looking after.
A good MGR car is as good if not better than any other car on the market.

Best of luck

MM

 

[Johnboy247]

Regardless of manufacturer, my car is definetly a dud.

 

[Keith Alexander]

If you do decide to off load it it is just possible the new owner will be a future member here :-(

We could be having this discusion with someone else soon!

Perhaps you ought to put a code word published here on any add you place so that existing members don't accidentally buy it?

 

[Johnboy247]

If you do decide to off load it it is just possible the new owner will be a future member here :-(

We could be having this discusion with someone else soon!

Perhaps you ought to put a code word published here on any add you place so that existing members don't accidentally buy it?

I'll put my '[email protected]' email with the ad in the autotrader.