Hi guys, I'm just thinking aloud really, but I was wondering what you guys think of the MG ZR/Rover 25 cars. With their values now seriously hit, I was thinking about trading in the 1.6 Focus for a 1.4/diesel one of the same 51/02 year and releasing some £££...do you reckon they'd be significantly worse? (I understand space, but quality/drive etc...and what's the diesel actually like - someone told me the 111bhp version is the 75 one, which has an old BMW engine??? Cause I may choose to go derv...)
And another question is, would I actually be getting value for money? I mean, the value is depressed now, so in a few years time, would it be significantly worse, or do you reckon they'd stabilise?
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Don't do it, the Focus is a lovely car that drives nicely and is going to continue to depreciate in a predictable way.
I test drove a brand new MGZR last week and it was awful, sure it was lovely at going round corners, but the fit and finish weren't up to Focus standards IMO, the seat didn't even have a height adjust, the sterring wheel wouldn't asjust and I was very uncomforatble throughout the test drive. I certainly didn't bond with the car.
Like you I went along thinking the MGZR would be quite a nice sporty car, I was actually ready to part with about £8K to get a brand spanking new one, my test drive of the car stopped me dead in my tracks. I was genuinely disappointed as well because I was looking forward to owning it, thank god I did the test drive though, it stopped me from making a HUGE mistake.
I'm now looking to buy an older Focus TDCi, so that should tell you what I think of the MG. ;-)
Blue
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It's a Rover 214. Do you really want one?
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Adam
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Well no, but a grand in the bank seemed like a nice idea...but given Blue's review, I think I may just not bother...
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Well no, but a grand in the bank seemed like a nice idea...but given Blue's review, I think I may just not bother...
You should really make up your own mind and test drive one yourself not take the opinion of somebody else. MGZR/25 are obviously no world beaters but I think they are a reasonable car at the right money even for a 10year old car I still think they look better than a new fiesta or corsa and certainly drive better than a corsa, it's unfair to compare them with a Focus because they are different classes and focus is a well respected car although not very individual.
Having said all that the trouble with an MG ROVER is nobody knows what the future holds regarding parts etc so I would say stay with the focus for now for that reason only.
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Well no, but a grand in the bank seemed like a nice idea...but given Blue's review, I think I may just not bother...
My experience of cars is that you cant save money in this way !
There are no short cuts, if you buy a cheap marque now you will lose this money again later.
The only possible way to save this amount of money is to literally wear the car out and discard it, but who is to say that the dearer car won't have a greater useful life in any way.
I recently bough a new Saab 93SS beleiving all of the pink fluffy dice about how their residuals were going to be similar to Audi/BMW etc. Not true ! The SaaB seemed cheap but lost its value rapidly. I've gone over to Audi now who have a proven track record of holding thier resale value whilst being slightly dearer in the first place.
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Hi Blue, sorry to be nosey but did you not buy a new Fiesta a couple of years ago? Why did you get rid of it? (Tell me to go away for being nosey if you want!)
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y2k+4,
Yeah ok - a grand in the bank is great. But at least consider a different car. Not that I want to ramble on about how great a car is that I own but after having a Focus, I think you'd be severely disappointed with everything else - moreso with a 21...sorry - ZR.
That being said, you're going into it understanding that you'll have a worse car. As long as you're aware of that then take the money!
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Adam
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The problem is that if you buy from a dealer, there's likely to be £800 of profit margin in there somewhere. That means, to increase your liquid assets by £1k you'll actually decrease your assets by £800 - if that were interest, we'd call it kneecapping.
Of course if you have sufficient liquidity then you can buy the Roveralike first and sell the Focus privately afterwards, but if you have that much liquidity then I doubt you desperately need that £1k in the bank.
Plus one head gasket failure and it's all gone anyway...
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Well it seems the forum has made it's (and my) decision. Alas, I'd probably have never managed it anyway...I do love my Focus after all...it was just a crazy thought...
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If its a 214 then there is a design fault with the brakes. They are not pinioned in any way but sit in a housing. When they get thinner (but still plenty of pad left) if you put your foot on the brake pedal they shoot out the back end of the car.
Very dangerous.
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Yep, I did get a new Fiesta, and god I wish I still had it! :-)
I got rid of it as at the time I was working for a Ford dealership with a company car, I couldn't really afford to keep paying for the Fiesta as well as company car tax, so I stuck it in the showroom with a price on and it sold in no time. :-(
I do miss my little car, I discovered when I sold it that it was one of the nicest colour and spec combinations that I could have chosen. There weren't many others that looked nice AND had the A/C that mine had.
Anyway, I no longer work for them but I can't say I'm too badly done to as I have my dad's old 3 series to run around in so apart from huge fuel bills I'm happy. But I still have a big soft spot for my old Fiesta.
As for the Focus/MGZR thing, I know it's not fair to compare them normally, the ZR simply isn't in the same class as the Focus, but that is exactly what Y2K has to do. He currently owns a Focus so therefore he must be comparing a ZR to a Focus.
Y2K - As has been said, don't take my word for it, go and test drive a 51 reg model and see what you think, whether you will think that the difference in the cars is worth getting just about £1000 in the bank is up to you. I was test driving brand new which has changed since the 51 reg, so maybe the 51 reg is better. The only thing I would warn against is that for the sake of £1000 you would definately be getting a smaller car that IMHO doesn't drive as nicely, and you also don't know it's history as well as you do your own car's. A 51 reg MGZR is likely to have had quite a hard life, and they're also prone to blowing head gaskets, I just would personally think it's a large risk for the sake of about a grand, but that's just my personal opinion, go check it out, you might completely disagree!
Blue
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Well I drove both at a dealer's today, and I've got say, I actually think the 25 is a better car than the more-revered ZR. IMHO handling of the 25 is only a little worse, and it's quieter and more supple-riding.
I must say I was surprised by the 25's ride/handling ability, it's not THAT much worse than a Focus, at least this 2.0 diesel iS wasn't. The boot is also quite big, though I don't think I'd be taking many people in the back.
Considering Rover's more snobby middle-class image when compared to Ford, I was shocked at the quality of interior fittings - not the materials particularly, just the general construction-finish. I also found out that 25 has relatively high insurance (group 7/8 for the models I'm looking at, the ZR is 8/9), which would cancel out any savings made on fuel...if I had the petrol version it would eat into the money-saving, so there's not as much cash in it as I thought.
However, what really put me off was the driving position - it's dire! The seats lack support (though it cornered fairly flatly I seemed to be sliding off the seat), the stereo was practically on the floor, and generally it just felt 'wrong'. So that's it. It really is significantly worse, and it's a shame, because now I can see why they never sold well enough to keep Rover afloat in the first place...
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It's a shame isn't it? I wouldn't mind if I hadn't gone along so excited at the thought of buying it only to so bitterly disappointed!
Blue
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