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Old 17th July 2019, 12:49   #13
cb750chris
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Rover 75 Tourer

Join Date: Apr 2011
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I guess the first question to actually ask, why was the car laid up - driver issues, or a car fault?
If it was a car fault, then obviously this will need rectifying.

Other than that, I would query when the belts were done - a simple enough job on the 1.8, but catastrophic if they fail.

I would be tempted to charge the battery (try a substitute battery if it doesn't hold a charge - 3 years is a long time), change the oil & oil filter. Eyeball the belts and make sure they are not cracked/perished, check the coolant level, throw a couple of gallon of fuel in, then give the engine a try and see what happens - As Dawn says, it may take a bit of effort to get going.

If the engine runs, keep an eye on the temperature and leave to run for say 20 mins (until hot) - and check that everything works as it should - clutch (if a manual), windows, heaters, engine cooling fan, door locks etc.
Note I have known clutches to "stick" when parked for a long time, so check you have pedal pressure, and if the clutch does not clear with the engine running, try turning the engine off, putting in gear, then with your foot on the brake & clutch try and start the engine.

After that, it then a case of assessing what the state of the car is - tyres, brakes & rust, and decide where you want to go from there - if the brakes work (both stop the car and release) then it may be worth chucking in for an MOT and seeing what it fails on (if anything - far cheaper than spending money sorting other things, to then find it has a terminal case of tinworm)

After 3 years stood, I would be tempted to do the oil&filter, air filter, change the belts, change the coolant, possibly flush the brake fluid through, and if an auto maybe even change the gearbox fluid - that way you know you have a nominally serviced car - although it all depends how much you want to spend, but if you are planning on your daughter using the car at uni, and if she isn't mechanically minded this may not be a bad starting point anyway.

Hope this is of some help
Regards
Chris
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