Cars ain't cheap, and just about anything you bought could bite your balls if it wanted to.

So I wouldn't really worry so much about the headgasket, i'd worry about looking after the engine. Service and look after it properly and you can have no excuse for not having a reliable car out of the K series.

 

hmmm id say it sounds like a pretty good deal, id be changing the belts etc just for piece of mind tbh it only costs around 120 to do but it saves you 500 if they do snap.

Id also check mot and tax etc this could give you a cheaper price to hit him/her with ... ie £500 tell him youl need to change the belts for £100 ... theres your £600 that you have allowed for.
check for signs of just ... pretty common around the arches etc im sure but definitely check the condition of the car underneath

HG can go at any time but if the car is regularly serviced and taken care of properly then you shouldnt have any major problems * fingerscrossed *


Dougie
keep in mind it is 7am tho and iv not had my cup of tea

so other people may disagree with me

 

as above ,any car costs you money and since the haedgasket as been changed already? i wouldnt worry about it,buy and enjoy.

 

Thanks for the quick replys! i can see im going to be spending many hours on this forum haha!

buttsi i just thought perhaps because the head gasket has already been changed it might be one of these things that just keeps coming back for the rest of the cars life (like how when you hurt your back really bad its never the same lol)

Millar its coming with 12 months mot and service but ill be sure to mention the belts ! i had to read your post about 5 times before i realized 'check for signs of just' was meant to be 'check for signs or rust' haha like you said its 7am and ive not had my cuppa either

any more things i should be looking out for?
and is this sounding like a good buy then yeah?

Im going to go to bed now, been up all night looking for....basically this forum lol
but ill be back in the afternoon again thanks for all the replys, greatly appreciated!

 

Would make a good first car I think,it's also from an era that Rover actually got things right IMO.
I'm assuming its bubble shape.

 

I bought a 214 Si 16V a couple of months ago and I'm very happy with it. Only bad thing was having to get the radiator replaced, but since your one has already had it done you should be fine.

Mine's an S reg, but with more miles and I paid 800 quid, so it seems like you'd be getting a pretty good deal as well.

 

When i brought my MG i was thinking the same, but after joining this forum and learning a bit more about the K series engine, i wasn't worried.
MG Rovers can be a fantastic bit of kit if you look after it. Cars are cars, they will break, but they can be fixed, the K series is an easy engine to work on, grab yourself a haynes manuel and work any problems out yourself.

 

Drdial yep its the bubble shape mate
Mickeh so far yours has been a good buy then yeah? good the hear
Cdr thats good to hear i wanted a zr but didnt have 1.5k to spend lol then this came along so it seemd like the right thing to do lol!

o yeah and i went bed after my last post..was about to go sleep when i got a text from my driving instructor saying ive got a lesson at half 10! thought it was tomorrow lol, will be glad to get these over and done with, test on feb the 3rd

You have all made me feel allot more confident that im not going to regret buying this car and also given me a few good replys to any questions my mum might ask (you know what mums are like lol).

 

Mickeh so far yours has been a good buy then yeah? good the hear

Yeah, I'm definitely happy with it. It's a lot happier on the motorway than my mates 1.4 Polo, and I paid less for it (his is the same age, but he did get it about 18 months before I got mine)

Aside from the radiator going it's been pretty fault free; there's a couple of niggly things wrong with it but I should be able to fix them - the boot leaks around one of the back lights and I can't get the spare wheel out because the bolt holding it in has rusted. Once I get round to fixing them all should be well though

 

if u look after the car it will look after you. even at those miles u got about about 50k before it wud go !! unless u drive like maniac

 

well i dont believe in going under 70 and the clutch is only there to get the revs up to where they should be so i can drift round the corner safely!

haha im jokin
well that was an enjoyable driving lesson but im really of to bed now lol
goodnight people
i would say thanks for all the replys but i feel ive said it to many times already lol so ill just say
Cheersss

 

Great fun cars to drive. Look after it and there shouldnt be a reason for things to go wrong.

Bought a 1.4 16v last august, still have it living lively..... only thing that had to be done M.O.T was the mid exhaust pipe. Nothing else has gone wrong apart from the occasional loss of coolant but you just got to keep an eye on things.

Get one, i think you will enjoy it. So much you can do to them aswell ... modifying wise.

 

Buy IT!!!!!

 

Dont buy a rover, buy an MG!

 

waaaaat, no way rover all the way, specially as a first car

 

yeah if i dont buy this im going to end up with a ****ty 1.1 skoda or something lol

RedRover ive already started looking at alloys, lights, zr suspention with 20mm springs & a zr spoiler lol would love to have the chance to kit this badboi up

So the fact that the head gasket has already gone should not be something to be worried about atall?

Also any other specific checks i should do?

 

rover is a great car not had many problems with mine especially none serious (fingers crossed) if your going for the sporty look then go for the mg but for a first car with better insurance prices i would say definatly a rover.

 

You can really enhance the interior by minimal spending - zr interior seats, zr dash inserts instead of the wood etc etc.

 

like said, so much modding is available with little spending, specially if you hav access to good scarp yards. and youll love the little engine, pulls well, just read up on general 200 ownership, lettting her warm up before thrashing the engine, plus servicing her well, and should be as good as any other car

 

As a first car, a Rover will be fine and i'm sure you will enjoy it, like the others said, service it and treat it right and it'll look after you.

I personally am getting a bit fed up of my Rover that i bought back in September (for my 21st birthday) I've outgrown the painfully slow 1.4 engine and am looking at MG ZS's now.

However, the 1.4 engine is perfect for your age and as a first car - enjoy it!

 

I've always been a Peugeot (mainly diesel) fan. My Rover 25 came to me cheaply and has been family owned, and I really enjoy it. It's got personality, hard to find in a car these days. Plus this forum is the most knowledgeable I have ever found, and is a real community.

Russ.

 

tdk you mentioned that it was pretty slow, was that the 8v or the 16?
the kid im getting this of claims it does 0-60 in just under 10 seconds with 105bhp, its the 16v si
dont hold me to this lol this is just what ive been told by him ill check once ive got it

 

0-60 takes just over 10, but its one of the fastest 1.4's you can buy, and will give most cars a good run for their money

I think it's 16v, all i know is while i like the car, i hate the engine, it's slow, hesitant and to be honest, not that economical. To be fair to it though, it's always started and never had no mechanical issues.

 

0-60 takes just over 10, but its one of the fastest 1.4's you can buy, and will give most cars a good run for their money

 

mate, go for it, i had one for my second car, i paid 750 for it, and it never had any issues at all, i woned it for about 9 months and the only reason i sold it was because i brought a ZR, ive had loads of different cars and something keeps bringing me back to rover 25s/zr's i currently have a yellow MK ZR and i love it! - hope it goes well for you, you wont regret buying it just make sure you check coolant weekly and keep the servicing up to date.

 

Hate to say this, but check the insurance prices . . .

I was going to sell my old 214ise to my brother (Who passed last year) but the insurance was £2100.

 

my advice,, first get your head under it check for rust,floor and wheel arches
then be a cheeky sod and haggle....its a buyers market

 

For £600 it's got to be worth a go hasn't it?

 

I had a Rover 25 1.4 (pritty much the same car as the 214) its a good vehicle, ask if you can; if it was replaced with the newer uprated mils gasket (although a load of 'normal' people wont know what it is). Its got good fuel consuption, good power and good safety. Its an easy engine to work on so you can give it services yourself and save yourself a few pounds, there are plenty of things you can do to the car to mod and improve it in the future, if looked after it can look after you for years to come. I was happy with mine, sold it to my mum and then got my TF (which also has the k series engine in it!)