Hi all,
Wasn't really looking for a new/change of car but one of my mates has just given me first refusal on the following:
2003, 03 Rover 45 1.6 Impression 5 door. 39K miles demo+1 owner in silver. Excellent condition FSH etc. Mate dabbles in car trading and bought this via a probate deal. He's looking for £1700 from me (£2000 to anyone else after me!). Given he's pretty flexible as to when he gets his cash (allowing me to sell mine first and then pay the balance in 3 interest free instalments) it sounds like a reasonable way to get a newer car cheaply.
Not bothered about image (I'm a double glazing rep so image is zero anyway!!), but have always liked the 400/45 look and size - being a bit bigger than Focus but smaller than Mondeo suits me perfectly.
This is the model with a revised interior BEFORE the 2004 model changes so dual tone dash, satin wood finish rather than the shiny stuff etc. Anyone know whether Rover cost cutting came into play on this model?
Anyway, any thoughts from the backroom? Basically going to cost me about £500 to change. Current Megane will need major service/brakes all round/suspension bushes soon which I imagine will cost much the same, so unless there is anything (apart from HGF) I should look for on a Rover 45 I can't really see anything against the deal.
Over to you all...
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Too expensive, £1500 absolute maximum, £1250 probably about where it should be.
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(I'm a double glazing rep so image is zero anyway!!)
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yes get it bought sounds a bargain to me
can you post your night time telephone number up so we can ring you when you are having your tea for an update on its reliability ;-)
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Sounds like alotta money to me. Id rather have an earlier diesel myself.
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I need your phone number so you I can attempt to sell you my new head gasket insurance policy for Rover owners :)
Actually £1500 sounds ok, its a 2003 car and yes Rover 45s might be quite dated but by then they had a lot of kit and you will be paying double that for a 2003 Focus. Just try and forget that it is basically a 1992 Honda.
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I think those Rovers have very pleasant interiors and will be nice to drive and economical. I imagine there's a lot of guff talked about how unreliable they are. But there's no harm in looking underneath to make sure it's a good one.
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Brother had two of these during his Rover phase, both nice cars.
As the OP says, a bit more room than a Focus, but not enormous like a Mondy.
Too much? As Rattle says, you'd pay a lot more for a decent Focus of the same age.
The OP doesn't have to search for the car, so time/money saved there, and the deal can be made convenient to him, a consideration he wouldn't get hunting around the small ads.
The OP is as sure as he can be it's a straight car, too, with no nasty skeletons in its cupboard.
Really, there's only two words to say to his mate: 'yes' and 'please'.
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If you do buy it just make sure you check the coolant :). A customer of mine who I used to teach had bought a Rover 75 with the 1.8 K series lump in it. He dropped me off and to me it seemed really quite unpowered I knew within a few weeks he would be phoning me up to cancel due to not having any money. Sure enough the phone came, he had to have a new engine fitted because they found that his 60k Rover already had its head skimmed the last time the HG went.
I told him to check the coolant weekly and always carry some spare coolant in the boot, he actually sticks with that and four years later his new engine is fine.
So as longs as you keep the coolant fresh and constantly check it you the HG problem might not be anything to worry about. It seems to be people being careless on the coolant who get caught out.
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£1,000 tops if you must. Be paranoid about maintenance and react to any noise. And still you'll probably have to throw it away when it blows up.
There's a reason why a 2003 Focus is more expensive...
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A pleasant softly sprung comfortable car with an old fashioned interior, i wouldn't mind a good one either.
Obviously check it carefully and for peace of mind have a competent indy in mind who could sort the CHG out if needed at some point.
ISTR the gears could be a little weak, particularly reverse if someone was heavy handed...not saying nuffink else on that subject:-)
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UPDATE.
Went to see the Rover last night - and it did look like a good car. However delving into the paperwork revealed that it hadn't in fact been used for 2 years (apart from a yearly MOT trip) hence the low miles. Obviously the owner had become too frail to drive and left it in his garage. In the end I decided against this particular example, but have to say that as a means of comfortable transport it did tick all the boxes. Somehow the overall package of space, economy and performance seems just right, and makes newer mid -size cars look a little bloated.
Maybe its just me, but the size of the classes of car these days is wrong - Mondeo class is enormous, Focus is like an old Mondeo, Fiesta seems to sit where Escort used to be and KA is too small for anything except a city car. Most manufacturers appear to think everyone is turning into a lardy american requiring more and more space (with apologies to small americans!). I'm sure most people would be happy with the passenger/luggage space compromise of the likes of the Rover, but there doesn't appear to be much on the market that fits 'between classes' like the 45 used to.
Anyway ramble over, and back to annoying people at teatime (thanks for that bb!).
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In the current market it is not a bad price. 12 months ago it would be expensive but I think some people are a bit out of date as to just how expensive cheap cars have become, if that makes any sense.
Take 400,000 sub-£2k cars off the road (many of which have been the nice fully serviced examples leaving the rubbish) and the choice for under £2000 is bound to be diminished.
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spot on pd
im finally getting the message through to people i meet too
as for the car 2 years is too long and the OP was wise to walk away
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