MG ZT CDTi ECU AND AIRBAG LIGHTS ON
 

Hi Everyone,

Years ago I had a Rover 75 which I loved before the head gasket went, I now have a opportunity to purchase a MG ZT CDTi 54 plate auto for £600.

The MOT is due in October and as far as I'm aware the ECU and airbag lights are on and the handbrake cable may need replacing or adjusting.

Is this a wise purchase?

I would really appreciate some advice on the time and costs this may occur?

Thanks

Andy

Airbag light and handbrake are common faults with well-documented, straightforward and usually economic solutions on here.

There is expert help available for ECU problems (e.g. MarinaBrian) - and may also be economic, depending on the root cause (e.g. water damage in a drain-blocked plenum).

Is the car running and otherwise sound? Gearbox ok?

With a budget of £200 (without resorting to commercial garages) to sort out the named problems, £600 sounds a very good price for an '04 diesel if there are no other issues.

Hi Ken,

As far as I'm aware it's all good apart from that, it has done 155,000 miles but I hear good things about the BMW engine.

Will see if there is any advisories on the last MOT

So would you go for it?

Cheers

Andy

At that price, and again if there are no other issues it's a good price.
The only concern is you use the term 'as far as I'm aware' which implies you haven't seen it or driven it.

If that's the case but you know the seller then it's probably still a good buy.
If it's an eBay or AutoTraders type purchase then you're taking more of a gamble.

If the latter you could put the details up here and see if anyone knows the car. Most of the people on here are more knowledgeable than me and may be able to point out other concerns from the pics (e.g. springs sagging etc).

You could also ask someone who's local to have a look at it (see the thread at the top of the general forum - there's a list of club members willing to do this).

I was thinking a bit different to Ken

1. Handbrake will probably be the compensator so as Ken said easy fiz and cheap. A well know 75 issue
2. Im not sure the arbag light is a problem on the face lift cars as the connectors were changed so I would look a little deeper. (I presume the car is a facelift being 04:shrug:) I would check that the sensors are not water damaged under the carpet or that the seatbelts have been fired. Saying that a T4 session would answer this query and most is an easy fix.

3. Ecu light. Do you mean the engine management light? Again I would check the plenum chamber for water as the diesel ECUs are prone to water damage but if its dry in the plenum then again a T4 session would help diagnose the issue. Also has the car got\had any electrical bolt on to upgrade horsepower because these can cause the engine management light to come on when they are removed faulty or set incorrectly

Saying all that if the car is good and sound the above is all sortable and you get a cheap cdti:D

Hi Ken,

Your right I haven't seen it yet, it's a private sale and I'm happy to spend a bit on it, will need to find a expert in oxfordshire.

Thanks for the advice.

Hi,

By ability when it comes to cars is a minor service at best but I will check out your solutions to these problems. I'm yet to view it.

Thanks for your time

Andy.

They are! :D

If you do decide to buy it, run it over to Milton Keynes and i can have a look at it for you.

Hi Phil,

Excellent is Sunday 16th any good for you?