What would you do? - Rover 416SLi H/b Auto needs tlc.

My wife has a 1995 416SLi Auto which she has driven for the last 10 years.

It has only 49,800 on the clock.









The bodywork is almost immaculate - we had a new wing to replace a rusty one 2 years ago, and the front end was resprayed to a perfect match apart from the rear wheel arches which have a problem with rust through. these were 'plated' a couple of years ago but rust is showing through again - as seen in these photos.









As we're retired on a tight budget it has been layed up for 9 months but now my car was written off 2 weeks ago (van decided to back up without looking and took the front out) as it is 'uneconomical to repair'.

I have been looking around at what is available to replace it with the money the insurance are offering - £800 - which is less than I spent on it last year to keep it mechanically sound and bodily perfect - and cannot find anything that comes close to the quality of my lost car or the 416.



To consider whether or not to put the 416 back on the road we had a pre-MOT check done and (apart from the arches problem) it needs the following:



- 2 new tyres

- one set disc pads

- new Cat and centre box

- one rear caliper sticking

- one front caliper sticking



There is also a leak into the drivers foot-well which only ever occurs en extremely heavy rain (such as over the last few weeks) and I need to investigate this further.



My question to forum members is - would you spend the money (about £400) to put the 416 back on the road and then the extra to have the arches replated (not sure if better replating is do-able, or what the cost might be, or even how long it may last) or would you just scrap it and continue looking for something else.



Thanks for any thoughts.

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