lol, its not unreliable, often owners inability to service and check vehicle.

 

lol, its not unreliable, often owners inability to service and check vehicle.

Hmmm, not so sure about that. I've had 2 VVC engined cars (a 200vi and a 25gti), both of which have had HGF. Both were srviced regularly at an MGR dealer.

And checking the coolant level just avoids cooking the engine; it doesn't stop the head gasket from failing in the first place.

Mark S

 

I dont think the VVC engine is unreliable in isolation, its just post '95 K series in general suffer from HGF. However there are loads of examples of K series going past 100k miles without a problem.

IIRC the 200 VI is likely to be more reliable than a 25 GTI because it uses metal dowels as opposed to the plastic version.

Both the GTI and Vi are great cars, you can't not buy a car encase 'what if' happened....if that was the case no one would buy a Peugeot ever again!!!!!

 

hi just wondering how likely is it that the head gasket will go in the 200 vi ?
and is there anything i can do to prevent it as i drive quite hard
and dont want to buy it if its just going to get knackered.
cheers ian.

If your at all worried, buy the car, budget £150 and a day to strip the head down, fit the new Land Rover gasket, remove the sump and fit the new Land Rover oil rail, stick new timing belts on, flush and refill the coolant system, and fill the car up with new oil.

The LR oil rail increases the rigidity of the engine which will reduce the effects thermal cycling will have on the block of the engine, the new gasket is a considerably different design which is unlikely to fail like the original MG Rover part, whilst the new timing belts and such are just a good precaution to guard against failure.

 

the guy is negative in his title, "how unrelaible is the vi?"

am i supposed to say oh its a piece of ****?

no i will defend a good car

 

Hmmm, not so sure about that. I've had 2 VVC engined cars (a 200vi and a 25gti), both of which have had HGF. Both were srviced regularly at an MGR dealer.

And checking the coolant level just avoids cooking the engine; it doesn't stop the head gasket from failing in the first place.

Mark S

hence why i state "often"

are you JC in disguise?

 

tha only reason i ask is because its fairly well know that they suffer from hgf what sort of millage should i be looking for i know the lower the better but is 70k ok

 

there is nothing wrong with a 70 k k series!

 

ive had two vi's both 1999 t-reg's and havent had a thing go wrong with either of them apart from usual service items that you would expect with any car..all k's suffer from headgasket issues..its not just isolated to the vi...great car pound for pound.

 

I've got a Vi. The previous owner damaged the head gasket by letting the car overheat when the water pump failed. Since the car has been repaired it's been great. Just normal wear and tear stuff. I don't think reliability of the car in general is any more of an issue than any other car out there. It's a great car to own, and cheap enough to buy. Much cheaper than anything else that might be able to keep up with it for the same age.

 

I dont think the VVC engine is unreliable in isolation, its just post '95 K series in general suffer from HGF. However there are loads of examples of K series going past 100k miles without a problem.

IIRC the 200 VI is likely to be more reliable than a 25 GTI because it uses metal dowels as opposed to the plastic version.

Both the GTI and Vi are great cars, you can't not buy a car encase 'what if' happened....if that was the case no one would buy a Peugeot ever again!!!!!

It's t'other way round but the rest of this post is spot on IMO

 

The headgasket doenst just fail. it fails because of something else failing, water pump, inlet manifold gasket etc.

These are usually the results of bad servicing/maintenance and not doing the weekly checks that any owner of any car should perform.

You will spot a water leak if you check the fluid levels regularly. You can then take steps to rectify the problem befor HGF occurs. But, if you never venture under the bonnet, be prepared for a wallet emptying experiance.

You must understand, the K series has very small water ways. It therefore doesnt hold much coolant and once it starts leaking out, it doenst take long for things to go wrong.

The K series is a martyr to its cooling system.

 

These are usually the results of bad servicing/maintenance and not doing the weekly checks that any owner of any car should perform.

.

my point exactly

 

The headgasket doenst just fail. it fails because of something else failing, water pump, inlet manifold gasket etc.

These are usually the results of bad servicing/maintenance and not doing the weekly checks that any owner of any car should perform.

You will spot a water leak if you check the fluid levels regularly. You can then take steps to rectify the problem befor HGF occurs. But, if you never venture under the bonnet, be prepared for a wallet emptying experiance.

You must understand, the K series has very small water ways. It therefore doesnt hold much coolant and once it starts leaking out, it doenst take long for things to go wrong.

The K series is a martyr to its cooling system.

I would tend to agree with that aswell.

 

I think the only reason wh I didn't get HGF on my Vi is that I used to check under the bonnet every two days. I even had the waterpump fail on me proper style, also leaks from all the coolant pipes.

However I did have a majoy problem with the oil where I got it serviced by a dealer and another oil change 6000 miles later and between the two of them they managed to nacker the oil and caused the engine to seize.

If I was to be perfectly honest I'm currently after a new car as I'm errified of it all going wrong again.

 

I've gotta admit my Vi had HGF despite all the proper servicing - but what a car for the money ! Great to drive and totally enjoyable compared to a reliable but dull motor.

Buying them is not expensive - if you do have to repair the car (whatever might go wrong) you've saved a packet already. Do yourself a favour, get a good one (not modified or abused) and enjoy it !

Good luck !

 

I've gotta admit my Vi had HGF despite all the proper servicing - but what a car for the money ! Great to drive and totally enjoyable compared to a reliable but dull motor.

Buying them is not expensive - if you do have to repair the car (whatever might go wrong) you've saved a packet already. Do yourself a favour, get a good one (not modified or abused) and enjoy it !

Good luck !

I agree with that, the smile factor is amazing.
But on the other hand you can get a modified one but as long as it has been properly looked after. I have to say that as mine is and has been well looked after.

What is great though if you do get a Vi, that if standard it makes an amazing Q car.

 

i have made my mind up a 200 vi it is if the worsed did happen and i got a hgf how much would i be looking at to fix it also would it be worth me budgetting money for a new water pump and is there anthing eles that i should do and how much roughly ? i dont mind getting dirty when it comes to cars altho i havnt done alot yet it sounds like if i kept a close eye on it and nip any problems in the bud it should be ok .also sorry for all the questions how my would it be for a replacement engine fitted or not fitted be
cheers ian

 

I paid £1500 quid for my Vi with 75k on the clock from a garage. That's the safest way to buy one! If the head gasket is gone (like mine was when I bought the car) then it's the garages responsibility to fix it. I think the problem with buying a 2nd hand Rover is that yes the head gasket is more prone to being damaged due to the cooling system set up. So people panic when they see signs of head gasket problems and they sell up or part-ex it. So be careful. If you can buy a good, well looked after one then you'll have a fanatastic car. My car has a couple of scuffs and a little dent. Other than that though it drives almost like new and its nearly 9 years old now.

Try to buy one that has had most of the work done recently... i.e Cambelts changed, and my first Vi had a record of the head gasket having been done.

If you were doing the Head Gasket yourself and Cambelts at the same time I'd say budget something in the region of £150 for parts and consumables (oil, antifreeze). I'm sure someone here will know more on the costs involved if you were to get a garage to do it for you, but I think most of the cost is labour due to the time involved.

And yes nipping any potential problems in the bud is the best way. I checked under the bonnet recently and noticed coolant escaping from the pipe at the top of the radiator due the the jubilee clamp being worn. For the sake of replacing a clamp worth a coupe of pence I probably saved myself hundreds of pounds had the problem gone unseen!