First timer!
Hello everyone,
My name is Tommy and I'm an American living in the UK with my wife of 21 years and 6 children.
3 weeks ago we bought a Rover MG ZS 120 on a 52 plate in Trophy Blue.
It was being sold on the side of the road and the only reason I'd seen it for sale was because I'd decided to go a different route than normal to put petrol in our Mazda.
I'd always loved the look of the MG ZS's and ZR's so it immediately caught my eye. It looked in great shape. Paint work had some minor scratches and parking dings. The only thing that stood out was a rust bubble on the bonnet edge just above the passenger side head light. For £400 it seemed a bargain and was listed as "a great runner".
Contacted the guy and he said it was a great car. I was told "it has 150000 miles but at £400 it is what it is". Clearly my appreciation of the model impaired my sensible judgement I usually exercise when buying a used car. I test drove it. There was a noise coming from the drivers side wheel. It sounded very much like a wheel bearing and I thought to myself that it was an inexpensive fix. I bought the car.
The next morning I took it to the garage who investigated the problem. It turned out the wheels only had 3 lug nuts on each wheel and the drivers side front was literally only on by a few remaining threads. I got lucky. All lugs tightened and new lugs bought. £26 all in. I asked them to do a general inspection bumper to bumper for me. They found a water leak at the thermostat housing. Next day I dropped it off to be repaired. The thermostat housing was found to be broken beyond repair. New housing and labor £146. Next day I drove the car 1 mile from our house. Coolant hose explodes and I lose all coolant. I call the garage and they come to my rescue because I was literally 200 yards away. New coolant hose, labor £100. At this point we've owned the car for 7 days. 5 of which it has been in the garage. Next day I'm off to the scrap yard which is 3 miles away. Almost there and I notice the temp gauge is going up. I pull over and wait for 30 mins. I call my wife who calls the garage and they said to bring it in. I limp home stopping 4 times to wait 30 min each time for the car to cool down. 2 hours to go 2 miles. At the garage they do a head gasket test. It turns green. HGF!!
Their advice was to scrap it. 8 days owned, 2 days driven. We named the car MeG (Meg). At this point we are £600 in. I call the wife. She's upset of course but she says, "Don't scrap Meg". We're quoted £400 - £600 for the job. 3 days later we receive a call from the garage. The cylinder head is no good. We still, of course have to pay the £60 it cost to have it tested. 5 days later a new cylinder head is sourced from a scrap yard off of a ZS that had 20000 miles in the clock. All of the coolant hoses are robbed from the engine as well because mine are extremely weak. The cylinder head is sent off to be tested and is given the all clear. Today is the 2 week mark and I'm told Meg should be out of the hospital today our tomorrow. We're really worried about the cost but we believe we have enough in our savings to cover it.
I've since seen many good examples for sale on fleabay that went for little money. Including a couple of very nice 180's with body kits that had low miles.
The moral of this story is that I was ignorant to the inherent problems of HGF with these cars. We've owned the car for 3 weeks and in that time we've driven it for 2 days. I know my ignorance was taken advantage of however the responsibility ultimately lies with me the buyer. I'm normally quite patient when inspecting a used car. In my defence I did check the water level and oil / filler cap and nothing looked untoward.
I've used this time to learn a lot more about Rover MG's. I've come to the conclusion that I'm still very happy to have Meg and I'm quite excited she's coming home within the next day or 2. Though we won't be getting rid of her I will be keeping my eye out for a 180 as and when I can afford it!
Kind regards,
Tommy
My name is Tommy and I'm an American living in the UK with my wife of 21 years and 6 children.
3 weeks ago we bought a Rover MG ZS 120 on a 52 plate in Trophy Blue.
It was being sold on the side of the road and the only reason I'd seen it for sale was because I'd decided to go a different route than normal to put petrol in our Mazda.
I'd always loved the look of the MG ZS's and ZR's so it immediately caught my eye. It looked in great shape. Paint work had some minor scratches and parking dings. The only thing that stood out was a rust bubble on the bonnet edge just above the passenger side head light. For £400 it seemed a bargain and was listed as "a great runner".
Contacted the guy and he said it was a great car. I was told "it has 150000 miles but at £400 it is what it is". Clearly my appreciation of the model impaired my sensible judgement I usually exercise when buying a used car. I test drove it. There was a noise coming from the drivers side wheel. It sounded very much like a wheel bearing and I thought to myself that it was an inexpensive fix. I bought the car.
The next morning I took it to the garage who investigated the problem. It turned out the wheels only had 3 lug nuts on each wheel and the drivers side front was literally only on by a few remaining threads. I got lucky. All lugs tightened and new lugs bought. £26 all in. I asked them to do a general inspection bumper to bumper for me. They found a water leak at the thermostat housing. Next day I dropped it off to be repaired. The thermostat housing was found to be broken beyond repair. New housing and labor £146. Next day I drove the car 1 mile from our house. Coolant hose explodes and I lose all coolant. I call the garage and they come to my rescue because I was literally 200 yards away. New coolant hose, labor £100. At this point we've owned the car for 7 days. 5 of which it has been in the garage. Next day I'm off to the scrap yard which is 3 miles away. Almost there and I notice the temp gauge is going up. I pull over and wait for 30 mins. I call my wife who calls the garage and they said to bring it in. I limp home stopping 4 times to wait 30 min each time for the car to cool down. 2 hours to go 2 miles. At the garage they do a head gasket test. It turns green. HGF!!
Their advice was to scrap it. 8 days owned, 2 days driven. We named the car MeG (Meg). At this point we are £600 in. I call the wife. She's upset of course but she says, "Don't scrap Meg". We're quoted £400 - £600 for the job. 3 days later we receive a call from the garage. The cylinder head is no good. We still, of course have to pay the £60 it cost to have it tested. 5 days later a new cylinder head is sourced from a scrap yard off of a ZS that had 20000 miles in the clock. All of the coolant hoses are robbed from the engine as well because mine are extremely weak. The cylinder head is sent off to be tested and is given the all clear. Today is the 2 week mark and I'm told Meg should be out of the hospital today our tomorrow. We're really worried about the cost but we believe we have enough in our savings to cover it.
I've since seen many good examples for sale on fleabay that went for little money. Including a couple of very nice 180's with body kits that had low miles.
The moral of this story is that I was ignorant to the inherent problems of HGF with these cars. We've owned the car for 3 weeks and in that time we've driven it for 2 days. I know my ignorance was taken advantage of however the responsibility ultimately lies with me the buyer. I'm normally quite patient when inspecting a used car. In my defence I did check the water level and oil / filler cap and nothing looked untoward.
I've used this time to learn a lot more about Rover MG's. I've come to the conclusion that I'm still very happy to have Meg and I'm quite excited she's coming home within the next day or 2. Though we won't be getting rid of her I will be keeping my eye out for a 180 as and when I can afford it!
Kind regards,
Tommy
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publié par vb @ 04:00
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