Rover 8 Series

[Matthew_McNally]

My father is looking at getting a new (to him) car.

He's constantly surfing the Autotrader website, and usually ends up showing me most of what he finds :D

He likes Saabs / Volvos - but has also been looking at some 8 series Rovers (825 / Stirling / 827 etc)

these offer an awful lot of car - full leather, full electrics, air con, climate control - lot of car.

But - they seem too cheap.

Example

1997 R Reg Rover Sterling 800.

Petrol, Emerald Green Metallic, Saloon, 32,000 miles , 4 Doors. Air Bag, Air-Conditioning, Alarm, Alloy Wheels, CD.Player, Central Door Locking, cream leather piped, Cruise Control, Driver Air Bag, electric adjustable mirrors, Electric Seats, Electric Slide/Tilt Steel Sunroof, Electric Windows, Heated Rear Screen, Heated Seat, In Car Entertainment, Passenger Air Bag, Power-Assisted Steering. £3,695.

thats a lot of car - 32k miles in 6 years - nothing to worry about.

£3695

there are loads like this.

My question is why are they so cheap? 800 Sterling was pretty much top of the range wasn't it?

just un-desirable and difficult to shift?

or is there something more sinister?

do they have a history of the engine falling out?

rusting to pieces?

My point to my father was that they must be priced so low for a reason - and I'm trying to find that reason out (and I know and trust the opionions of most of you guys - asking this question on the Rover Owners Club wouldn't work out so well I think )

PS

What really get me is that there are old GS's in his price range - lovely old shape GS's too. I keep telling him its criminal to look any further, but he doesn't pay any attention.

[Chris.S]

A friend of mine is currently selling his Rover Sterling,I think its on a P'reg and he's after only 2K

[agalbraith]

Hmmm....

My dad had a Rover 820 (the later model style) for several years, on an L plate.

You're right - it's a lot of car for the money. It's amazingly comfy inside, has a huge boot, and while like driving a giant sofa, it's a not unpleasant experience.

However, in the 5 years, and 100,000 miles, Dad had it:

- The central door locking failed

- Two door handles snapped off the drivers door (there's a TINY lug that actually does the 'opening')

- Three automatic gearboxes (they'd start to make a 'poop' noise shifting from 2nd to third, then after a while, not bother to shift out of anything other than N and R)

I can safely say, however, having sat in it for several hours in the blazing heat in France waiting for a tow truck, that it has by far THE BEST climate control system of any car I've ever been in or had (Lexus take note!)

Needless to say, despite how good the new 75 is, Dad is now determined never to buy another Rover :(

They're cheap for a reason.... I think he needs a GS :)

[ricky_is200]

I agree, they have never been known as reliable cars - quite the opposite!

My dad had an early one brand new as a company car in 88, in the 18 months or so he had it many things seemed to go wrong and it broke down several times even in the first couple of months and frequently refused to start. I think it had about 4 starter motors fitted before they figured out what was causing them to fail.

When I was a student my boss had a G reg 820 which was only a couple of years old at the time, overall it was reliable but did need a new engine because of a coolant leak (there was a crack in the engine).

I borrowed a K reg car for a couple of months from the company I was working for during my student placement (I thought it was amazingly cool at the time as I was used to a metro), again that was only 18 months old at the time and it had the same central locking problem and just after I gave it back the engine blew.

The only other person I know that has had one, a friends dad, had a brand new Vitesse one of the last one's and has similar engine problems. I can't remember the exact details but he had to have a new engine fitted.

That's why their cheep, still a lot of car for the money and you may be lucky.

[Chris.S]

I the later ones got better,some of them had Honda engines too

[agalbraith]

You're right, Chris. The later ones were better, and the 2.7 engines were sourced by Honda.

The 2.0 is insanely underpowered for that size of car.

If he's dead set on it Matt - just make sure he gets a really good warranty!

[Brian Berry]

In the early 90's I had a Rover 416 GTI I did 40000 miles in it no problems. It had a Honda engine.

This was followed by a Rover 420 Sli which had recurring central locking problems. It also broke down once and this was put down to a distributor fault.

Then a Rover 400 Si which had gear box reversing problems and again central locking.

I then changed over to Nissan , graduated to Toyota and finally Lexus.

I can say that my Jap cars have given no problems at all.

[Steve]

I swear by jap cars!

But i will give Rover/Austin/MG their dues.. the old Montego EFi and the Maestro EFI where very quick! But never lasted very long!

[Matthew_McNally]

Well done guys - just talked him out of the Rover

now he's looking at Audis :(

need to get him in a GS so we can ***** my brother off :P

make him park his 406 somewhere else "Lexus only on the this side"

[djanderso]

If he likes the 800, he should instead look at the Honda Legend - this is more or less the same car and had the same 2.7 V6 lump. A bit more class than the Rover I think. I think newer ones have a 3.5 V6.

[Steve]

I like the legend!.. quite similar to my car but better looking. Would like to test drive one.

but would still prefer a GS over it anyday

[Mike246]

I've had two cars with the 2.7 Honda unit, a Rover 800 coupe and a Legend coupe.

One big problem. The hydraulic tappets wear after 70,000 + and it cost a fortune to put right. The tappet cost £27, but all 24 will need to be replaced and the engine stripped so there's over £2,000 gone. A worn tappet sounds like Edmondo Ross' band when idling and plays havoc with the fuel consumption.

Not the sort of problem one would expect from a Honda engine but this was not there best effort.

The later 2.5 Rover K-series engine might be better but I would not be certain.

Apart from that, the 800 suffered from radiator leaks and steering rack leaks. The steering rack cannot be fixed up and cost £ 800 to replace. Also front pads are a special material and cost £ 110 to replace and the exhaust is a fortune.

In short, the 800 is best-avoided.

[randyreindeer]

we had a 96 800 vitesse from brand new at my last place of work. When it was time for it to go, a fellow employee bought it from the company. The car was sold just before the millenium and had clocked up just under 230,000 miles. It was regulary serviced and pampered to death. It still had its original engine and turbo when it was sold. The biggest problem with it was the stone chips on the front of the bonnet. Apart from that it behaved itself impeccably.

Now that is down to nothing more than good luck because they were put together so badly at the factory but not as bad as the SD1 buts thats another story........