94 Rover 214

chicken_food

Basically im going to view a rover 214 tonight. What should i look out for? The price is very good which leads me to think theres something wrong!
Any help

ibanez

Check the water in the expansion tank for traces of oil and check under the oil cap for a white residue as these cars have a reputation for eating head gaskets.Also grab each rear wheel and shake the **** out of it to see if the compliance bushes are worn.

IrishRover

Price could be good because Rovers are usually underestimated and unwanted. What 214 is it? 3 door or 5? Si, SLi, SEi, GSi ? What is the asking price?

I suppose you could check to make sure there's no sign of HG problems. Check the coolant level is right and that it's clear. No "mayo" under the oil filler cap or on dipstick. After driving the car until at least it's at operating temperature, leave it sitting for 15 mins, after which slowly and carefully release the cap from the coolant expansion tank. You should hear a "tssssh" noise from the release of pressure. If not, then the coolant system is not keeping pressurisation properly and if it has been like this for a while the engine may have been overheated for a long period and obviously this may lead to HG problems.

Not that I am saying Rover = HG problems.

chicken_food

5dr si, Its blue, c/l just had the exhaust and clutch have just been replaced. fsh 4 new tyres and cd player all for well under a grand.(working in car buyers guide has its perks!) Il check all those things cos iv heard about the hg problem. It'l be my first car and insurance will be 1200-1800 tpft. How much is a head gasket?

ibanez

About €30 for the head gasket.Sounds like a nice car but i can go better 96 rover 416 SLI EW,(all round)EM,ES,A.B.S,Twin airbags,Remote central locking,CD autochanger and Air con for €400.

IrishRover

Well the actual head gasket set (with inlet, exhaust manifold and other gaskets and bolts) is probably less than 100 euro. The trouble is that garages in Rip off Ireland certainly know how to charge (while acting like they're doing you a favour :rolleyes: )

If the engine has actually ever overheated the cylinder head might be warped and so would need skimming. Most places do this anyway as they're too lazy to spend time cleaning the surfaces of the head and block.

In our throwaway society a car that is worth less than a grand is usually scrapped when a headgasket fails because people generally don't see the point in spending the kind of money that garages want to charge to repair a car that cost them so little in the first place. Ironic of course that your insurance premium for one year is going to be around twice what you pay for the car!

Anyway, enough talk about head gaskets. Service your car regularly and check that your coolant system is working ok every so often and it'll probably never happen. The 1.4 K16 is a great engine with lots of power for its size. I think you'll find it's so much more rewarding to drive than the micras/puntos/corsas etc that so many other first time drivers choose.

IrishRover

ibanez wrote:

About €30 for the head gasket.Sounds like a nice car but i can go better 96 rover 416 SLI EW,(all round)EM,ES,A.B.S,Twin airbags,Remote central locking,CD autochanger and Air con for €400.

That sounds like a great deal Ibanez.
Just to point out though, yours is the "bubble shape" 400 though, the one chicken_food is looking at is the older MKII 200. Maybe he prefers the older model (as I do ).

Sounds like some cheap motoring to be had by someone there though. Why the low asking price? Any problems with the car at all?