Nearly bought a new car last night

[rab60bit]

Originally Posted by hogweed

If only... if you do read through all those threads, you will find plenty from very experienced members (that doesn't include me) who have done all this, yet the problem persists...

Did mine 3 years back and they've been fine ever since. As you'll see from the Tech Bulletin, MGR replaced the plug (went from a 'large' yellow to a small/smaller yellow) at some point but I think the terminals were also changed to gold plated (yes, I think it really was gold plated) because the earlier version had corrosion issues concerning some story about gases leeching out of the seat bolster foam; if the contact pressure on the terminals isn't perfect it will trigger the SRS warning light which is why the cable routing/fastening was revised to correct the small constant movements created by sitting in the seat plus adjusting the seat position. Makes sense and it fixed mine.

[hogweed]

Originally Posted by rab60bit

Did mine 3 years back and they've been fine ever since.

Yes, when I originally did mine, they lasted for years too… then one day they didn’t. Since then, Mr T4 here has “done” them at least twice. At that point, I’d decided that understanding the intricacies of it all was beyond my willingness to learn, and each time, just thought that’s it – it’s fixed for good now. Then back it would come when the seat was moved.

Originally Posted by rab60bit

As you'll see from the Tech Bulletin, MGR replaced the plug (went from a 'large' yellow to a small/smaller yellow) at some point but I think the terminals were also changed to gold plated (yes, I think it really was gold plated) because the earlier version had corrosion issues concerning some story about gases leeching out of the seat bolster foam

I remember Marinabrian telling me something about the decay of the foam releasing tiny quantities of HCN, which corroded them.

Originally Posted by rab60bit

If the contact pressure on the terminals isn't perfect it will trigger the SRS warning light which is why the cable routing/fastening was revised to correct the small constant movements created by sitting in the seat plus adjusting the seat position. Makes sense and it fixed mine.

Makes perfect sense, I agree. I soldered all mine, doing away with any question of contact reliability altogether. Theoretically.


Anyway, God knows. Having taken the time to study everything under the seat, I now find that, although there’s a nasty complex mess of wires etc, it seems that only 2 pairs are relevant to this problem, and they’ve been very carefully crimped together now, but the problem remains.


Maybe the SRS Tool has indeed corrupted the airbag ECU, in which case no doubt T4 will tell us, but that won’t happen this month or possibly next.


My observation that highly experienced members have struggled was, this time, based on this recent post, in which Arctic and Vitesse struggled – even with T4 – and eventually got the light to go out more by luck than judgment, I think

[Deskjet990]

Hi Hogweed,
Just feel I must throw in my never ending love story of my 75 Tourer.
I purchased this white gold super car in 2005 from a guy in Sheffield, so now in its 17th year with me! The Motoring Press had voted it Best second hand car buy that year. I paid £6000 cash and in the following years it has “never failed to get us home from where ever we had been”.
Apart from the last few years we have always had a caravan and travelled a great deal. Our special places were Snowdonia and Cornwall along with our own coast line in Suffolk.
In the early years we had a new clutch and flywheel and the usual suspension bushes, but nothing major. I also had an ECU problem that kept turning on the rear window wiper during the night and burning it out. Fortunately I found the ECU Doctor, on the web and posted the ECU to him. He replaced a couple of chips and it has never missed a beat since, cost me £200.
During lockdown I used a different garage for the MOT and they suggested I get something done about the rear jacking points! It has taken me a year to find someone in this area to carry out the repair. Fortunately the repairer is a real professional and lover of old cars. When the garage sealed up the cavity behind the rear sills it caused even more corrosion. It would have collapsed had I put a jack under those jacking points. The repair is better than new now and to the very highest standard. We used the Tom Hobbs replacement parts which my repairer commented on as being first class.
I consider myself to be in credit cash wise. I had my first car when I was seventeen and loads after that, but have kept this car the longest.

All I need now is a front passenger door in White Gold, I dented mine a couple of years ago
Kindest regards to you all, John

[hogweed]

Well, if DHL ever get around to delivering the new selector cables to the garage, she'll get another reprieve... for now... I really don't want another car.


But I need one I can trust

[Saga Lout]

Originally Posted by hogweed

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…

Most of the issues mentioned are maintenance and service related things, I get that you're now a pensioner and it might be less easy to find these faults but, they are known faults and are easily sorted once known. I'm the 14th owner of my 75, everytime it had a fault it must have been sold to someone else with that fault, I've had it now for seven years and although off road just now, it's done over 50,000 miles more than it was sent to the scrapyard with on its clock. We need to accept that the cars are getting older and give them the care they need before they go wrong, That's up to all of us if we run a Rover or ZT.

[hogweed]

Back on the road again


One set of cables from DMGRS for £100 (nearly £300 from Rimmers), £70 for a couple of hours' labour, and we're back in business...

[grivas]

Originally Posted by SD1too

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.

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

I agree with you totally, if is reliability you are after, then Japanese is what you buy. The Mazda 6 is a great car, but diesel versions need to be driven or they suffer ( as all modern diesels suffer) from particulate filter clogging up, so consider that. My choice will be a Mazda 5 petrol, sit back and enjoy a superb car, German cars are overrated and bought by those who have money to burn. Have your Mercedes service according to Mr MB, and be certain you are lying down when they give you the bill, that's the easy bit, anything needs replacement, and many things will.., sooner than you think, you better be on oxygen when the bill comes in.
Japanese every time for reliability, style is not always the best but....

[hogweed]

Originally Posted by grivas

My choice will be a Mazda 5 petrol

Yes - only reason I stick with diesel is the combination of performance and economy. Hard to get that with a petrol car.

Originally Posted by grivas

Japanese every time for reliability, style is not always the best but....

My girlfriend has a little AYGO, and I love it. Drives and parks like a dodgem, doesn't drink much, very very reliable etc. Totally impractical for normal-sized people like me (15st, 6'1") though

[stevestrat]

Originally Posted by hogweed

I soldered all mine, doing away with any question of contact reliability altogether. Theoretically.

Solder and heatshrink with my old 1.8T and current 260 but took the extra step of adding about 6" of wire to everything so that seat movement is never an issue again.