[wraymond]

Just sat and counted the cars I have owned since passing the test in 1960.

Comes to about, must have forgotten a couple, around 36. From my first car, an Austin A55, through a R-R Silver Shadow to my now daily 2.5 V6 with about 8 P6’s on the way.

Without any shadow of a doubt this Rover 75 has been the least troublesome of them all and the longest I have owned a car. Still a joy to drive after 9 years of ownership, it has niggles but in the general scheme of things absolutely wonderful. Cost me a modest amount of money plus routine servicing mainly. Including, incidentally, belts and pulleys at Lates (on here), whom I can fully recommend.

Therein lies its problem. These cars are so nice, with the most inaccurate and wrongly held image, it represents incredible value to those who appreciate fine cars but might be hard pressed to buy one. So the routine servicing is the first casualty after the first resale and so many are just waiting for the unwary buyer. That says far more about the secondary buyers than it does about the car.

Usually with about £500/1000 to add to the price, to cover the necessary but neglected routine belts and other service routines, the omissions surface as they would with any car. A lapse in servicing is not economy, it is a delayed transferred cost.