looking for a hatch auto if poss, any body know about these cars ! thanks
socram,
Jul 12, 12:57pm
You will now get 25 replies all saying they are rubbish. I disagree, but I will probably be the only one.
sas777,
Jul 12, 1:05pm
Can't vouch for the 200 as never owned one, but plenty of experience with 800 series. In a word - crap. The plastic door handles snap off even in summer, and can cut your hand. Do not use windscreen washer with driver's door window open, as the water finds it's way into the 4x electric window switch and they go up and down like yoyos. Rust. Parts cost a fortune. Electrics are shocking!
esprit,
Jul 12, 1:26pm
I'm with Socram on this one. One that's been well looked after and properly maintained will be a very reliable car.
richardmayes,
Jul 12, 1:37pm
I hope you like your suspension HARD.
twink19,
Jul 12, 1:55pm
only ever worked on ones with blown head gaskets
andy61,
Jul 12, 2:41pm
Google Overheating/Head gasket issues with Rovers.Common fault.If you want to keep your mechanic wealthy ,BUY ONE
esprit,
Jul 12, 2:45pm
I've used one of these engines in various Lotuses over the last 7 years, each thrashed within an inch of their life around almost all of NZ's race circuits. I've never once had a cooling system or head-gasket related failure.
mgmad,
Jul 12, 2:54pm
Have you driven one! They're actually a pretty compliant ride, unlike the MG version.
Assuming OP is referring to a 96 on bubble shape, and not the previous wedge shape.
Mum has one, 300,000km on the clock and still going strong. It's been quite a work horse with few faults. Good cars and you can get a pretty good one for not a lot. I would avoid the auto personally, it's not that flash and not that strong either, but if you're just pootling around town shouldn't be a major worry.
Head gasket problems are significantly over exagerated, and if they do go shouldn't cost that much to do. A competent garage should be able to do the job in a 200 in ~4 hours. As with esprit, my heavily modified supercharged K series has no problems with the HG, and it gets a lot of abuse.
richardmayes,
Jul 12, 4:43pm
No I'm telling utter bare-faced lies, because I'm an utter bare-faced liar.
richardmayes,
Jul 12, 4:48pm
I'm sorry but I really really did mean what I said.
I don't know what car you drove, but the (bubble-shaped) Rover 200 I drove had THE COMPLETE POLAR OPPOSITE of what anyone would say is "a pretty compliant ride."
It felt pretty sporty, but that was because it was a small car with a noisy engine, noisy tyres, suspension that was as hard as all hell, and an interior that was a lot plastickier and nastier than first impressions suggest.
I actually like the looks of them, but it was just an awful little car, you might as well be driving some bare-minimum Japper, you can get plastic fake wood dash inserts in a lot of those too.
mgmad,
Jul 12, 4:55pm
It was a genuine question, given I've never driven one with particularly stiff suspension, even the 200vi is relatively soft despite being lower and stiffer than the rest of the lineup. In fact a lot of owners in the UK complain they are too soft and not sporty enough. Perhaps you drove a vi which had been further lowered and stiffened!
richardmayes,
Jul 12, 4:57pm
I don't know, it was a "Rover 200" according to the badges on the back. Didn't look like it had been modified or abused.
In fairness I would probably still own one over an equivalent Japper, just because it had leather seats and a sunroof and shiny bits.
The price would have to be right though.!
shane.64,
Jul 12, 5:41pm
Most Rover's have Honda motors in them .The 200 /216 should of been recalled once they get hot the piston cylinders can sink down and blow the head gasket.So can't simply just change the gasket.So if you have one or get one you need to take care of coolant and never let it get to hot
mgmad,
Jul 12, 6:01pm
All bubble shape Rover 200s have Rover engines, only some of the earlier wedge shape 200s had Honda engines.
Liner movement is fairly uncommon if a car has just got hot, it has to seriously overheat for quite a while for the liners to move. If you do get a problem, it is worth checking the liner protrusion though to make sure it is correct, but it would be wrong to assume that liner movement occurs whenever the engine is overheated (just as it is wrong to assume that just because a K series has overheated the head gasket must be the cause).
socram,
Jul 12, 6:24pm
Oh dearie me.How uninformed can you be.
MGmad does at least know what he is talking about and has more experienec than most with K Series engines.
Our 214 Rover was a cracker, and if any Rover has a harsh ride, all is not well, as most ride far better than the opposition.I am not sure, (MGmad would know) but when Rover and Honda did collaborate, Rover always did their own thing with the suspension and steering.
wilgil,
Jul 12, 6:33pm
Got a 216 with nearly 200k on it - still goes like a rocket. The CVT took a bit of getting used to and the interior is starting to look somewhat shabby, but it's cheap to run. Used every work day - 74ks round trip. Yes, the head gasket blew in it's earlier life, but all fixed now.
ajlnz11,
Jul 12, 7:40pm
I have an MG ZR160 which is an awesome little hot hatch and very reliable.
mantagsi,
Jul 12, 8:26pm
Take note, some of the rovers that had Honda engines in them, well, they were a Honda design etc but engines were not made by Honda, and slight differences are sometimes apparent. These slight differences can sometimes equate to difficulty buying parts / very expensive!
"Most Rovers" - What year would you like to start from!The K series is but one engine.Neither of the V8 Rover engines currently in my garage have the remotest connection with Honda.Buick/Oldsmobile yes.Honda, no. We had 7 years of K series Rover engines in two vehicles (- one often used for towing the race car!) and zero problems.Three years with a T series, (Rover 420Gsi) no problems.
trogedon,
Jul 12, 8:47pm
Drinking! Tired! End of a hard week! What is it SOCRAM! There must be a reason for your spelling & grammar errors!!
socram,
Jul 13, 7:45am
Sorry teech!Obviously the morning's yoga stretch session didn't achieve the totally positive results expected of the body (typo) or the mind (spelling).
Two very frustrating afternoons trying to get my recently acquired Mitsubishi to do what it is supposed to do.Will have to call on expert help again.
andy61,
Jul 13, 8:49am
I had a Rover 200 here to replace the headliner that had fallen down,it had done less than 70000kms,CVT transmission had been reconditioned twice(receipts for both repairs in glovebox),transmission still felt stuffed-slow to pick up speed and shuddered away and the motor was running on less than 4 cylinders-felt like engine was full of water in the bores,perhaps sunken cylinder liners!.When the dealer took it away there was a big stream of water pouring out the exhaust pipe.I would hate the repair bill for that car.
trogedon,
Jul 13, 8:58am
I understand. I hope you get the Mitisi sorted.
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