Nearly bought a new car last night
 

Despite a great deal of money having been spent on it over the last few years, the Rover keeps letting me down – 3 times now in as many months:


1. Front spring broke, had to be towed;
2. Little pin came away in the rear brake drum, locking the back wheel on a busy roundabout. Managed to free it by reversing, and got to a garage, but everybody was booked up solid, so it was 2 weeks to get fixed. And he noticed a rear shocker leaking, so spent a bit replacing both of them.
3. Gear lever suddenly went funny, accompanied by clunks under the bonnet – sounds like the selector cables. It’s in for diagnosis today, but still could be weeks before I get it back unless it’s very quick to fix.


So over the last few days, I started looking at replacements, up to an absolute maximum of £10k. Second hand motors are expensive these days, aren’t they… Mazda 6 diesel was quite nice, but characterless.


Last night, we went to see a BMW 318D SE which was in almost mint condition. 10 years old, but genuine 19,000 on the clock, and looked and felt it. It was a delight to drive, a fair bit quicker than the Rover, and very tight on the bends etc. Auto box, which I could grow to love in my old age.


But it completely lacked any character at all – it was soulless. And the trim seemed a bit plasticky and cheap. I’ve owned Beemers in the past, and they were much better than this.


Having said that, I might have bought it and settled for a life of bland but probably dependable motoring… had it not been for the fact that it had a faint odour of stale cigarette smoke combined with Febreze or something equally repulsive. The smell was still in my nostrils hours later.


This saved me from buying – and probably regretting – I dunno. Cautiously driving the old girl down to the garage this morning, I could REALLY feel the difference in quality between it and the BM, so have (unwisely?) decided to chuck even more money at it. Could be anything, this time, from a little clamp to fix the selector cable, to a 2nd hand gearbox (and would that be any better than mine?) or whatever.


I feel kind of trapped in a no-win situation. I’m a pensioner these days, and can’t afford to buy anything which would be a real replacement for the Rover. Meanwhile I’m buzzing about in the TF, which has an engine warning light (O2 sensor) but is running OK… for now…


There’s a part of me which would like to buy this, but I think the expense if anything did go wrong could be eye-watering…

My wife has a BMW 318i SE. Lovely to drive. 2 litre petrol with auto box.
Bills are eye watering.
Mazda 6 is written about as the great unknown gem of a car. I'd agree. They really are good.
If you want bland reliability with sensible bills take a look at Hyundi.
As for prices, yes they are very expensive right now.
I bought my Peugeot 308 from a dealer in 2019 for £3500.
Same car same age on dealer forecourt is now £3995.


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That's good to hear Roger.

I don't consider your decision to be unwise. You mused that the BMW might have provided "dependable" motoring. It surprises me how the legacy of the air cooled Beetle and Germany's post-war manufacturing strategy is still with us over 70 years later! In my experience today's German cars are no more reliable than any other. My best friend has a BMW convertible but she always prefers travelling in my Rover 75. :D

Anyway, back to your repairs.

1. Sadly broken front springs are a known manufacturing defect (I've had both of mine snap).
2. On the other hand a little pin "coming away" in the rear brake drum (handbrake shoes) isn't a known fault. It sounds like the outcome of inattentive past service or corrosion. Regarding the leaking rear shock absorber, they don't last for ever on any car. I also renewed both of mine a few years ago.
3. Please do report back on what the problem with the gear lever turns out to be.

Simon

There’s a part of me which would like to buy this, but I think the expense if anything did go wrong could be eye-watering…

That's a lot of money for an older Mercedes built during their "poorer" years.
Local RAC man hates all Mercedes but then their reputation amongst us mortals is that they are the very best you can buy.........

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Quote:

Originally Posted by SD1too (Post 2928009) You mused that the BMW might have provided "dependable" motoring. In my experience today's German cars are no more reliable than any other.

Oh, I know – my daughter has a 1-series with only 60k or so on the clock, full service history, and has had to spend a lot on it already. My comment was more related to the low mileage than the fact it was a BM…

Quote:

Originally Posted by SD1too (Post 2928009) Sadly broken front springs are a known manufacturing defect (I've had both of mine snap).

Yes and it’s not just Rovers – the breakdown truck told me he’d seend loads of them this winter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SD1too (Post 2928009) On the other hand a little pin "coming away" in the rear brake drum (handbrake shoes) isn't a known fault. It sounds like the outcome of inattentive past service or corrosion.

It was corrosion, I believe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SD1too (Post 2928009) Regarding the leaking rear shock absorber, they don't last for ever on any car.

No, of course – this is merely part of my more general feeling that, on a car with 200k on the clock, everything is starting to wear out :duh:

Quote:

Originally Posted by SD1too (Post 2928009) Please do report back on what the problem with the gear lever turns out to be.

You can be sure of it ;)

I get how you feel, keep spending money on something that is not worth that much.
You need t spend quite a lot on repairs to make a replacement worth the change.
Wear and tear can be one thing after another and it feels like it is never ending.
For some the reliability is the key, for others the love of the car is key and it seems your key is the love.

macafee2

The problem is you could spend all that money, and still get problems, As cars age, so does the amount of likily things appearing, no car last's for ever, How much would it take to make your Rover reliable, as much of it can be put down to routine maintaince, and a program of timely renewal of worn out parts, compare this to buying another car, you might not enjoy as much,

As Simon mentioned, OEM front springs on our cars seem to be an issue that most of us have to deal with and I'd expect to replace dampers on a maybe +100k/20 year old car. That pin in the rear hub could be the handbrake shoe retaining pin pulling through a rusted brake back plate which is another common age related problem (new back plates or even complete assemblies - probably a better bet - are available at quite reasonable prices from DMGRS) and I would have renew the rear hub bearings at the same time whilst it's all in bits and your paying for labour. Don't know much about the GB issue but the your suggestion of the selector cables is a good hunch. If the body is in good nick the engine is pretty much indestructable - go on keep it, you know you love it really.

Yes, I believe that was what happened. I did suggest the new backplate assemblies from DMGRS to the previous mechanic, when he replaced all my disks and pads etc 3 or 4 years ago, but he said mine were OK. And this guy says they’re actually in good nick apart from just around the little pin, so he’s put a nut and bolt in or something. Sometimes you feel buffeted around by all the different mechanics, and hard to know what’s right…
Yeah mechanic just been in touch – one cable actually broken. Will order DMGRS ones today…
Oh, I DO… I just can’t trust it. Bit like a bad relationship :o

Now you see, here’s a perfect example of what I’m saying. It’s just been with the mechanic to diagnose my problem (cable bust as expected), and he moved the driver’s seat forward a bit as he’s smaller than me.


So now, of course, the ******* airbag light is on again.


This time it’s “401 – Airbag-ECU – configuration error”.


Never seen that one before. But you see my point – every time I go near the car, it seems there’s another issue.