Bargain Sterling?

The Rovering Member

The Rovering Member

Well-Known Member
I came across this by accident & have been very tempted by it. A lot of motor for very little money, 10 months ticket & very local to me to boot:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROVER-STERLIN ... 9643511%26

To quote Harvey's advice to me, "If you take in to account that you could probably weigh it in for a couple of hundred quid, then if you can part with £395 use it for the month of tax left on it and make a decision whether it's worth taxing again, considering it has 9 months MOT on it then if you're prepared to accept the possibility it might die almost immediately and you lose the remainder of the money I'd say it was a chance worth taking. Pretty much anything going wrong would write it off, but if nothing goes wrong you're on to a winner."

I'm going to resist it though, other things are requiring £400 & I think I'd also have to start a separate insurance policy for it too.
 
They have all but disappeared from Australian roads. I can only ever remember one or two coming along to the Rover club display days, and that was back in the 1990s. They were called Rover 825 and then Rover 827, the Sterling name and badge never appeared.

That one looks a bargain.

Ron.
 
It's so tempting, they're lovely cars.....however the three that we've either attempted to look after or had in the last few years have always come to grief.

They're of so little value that spending heavy money on one is pointless.

There'll be a few on this forum hovering at the end of the phone.

He doesn't mention the notorious fuel filler...
 
Looks a nice car. They're enormous value for money. Its got the dodgy KV6 engine though. They love blowing their head gaskets. If this one is on its originals, its only a matter of time! Ive got an immaculate 54,000 mile 1999 vitesse with full history etc. Its a beauty and I love it.
 
We had an 820 till kwik fit destroyed the experience.

They really are a fabulous car. The 825 is the least reliable but also the smoothest engine. It's done 71k and if it's been ok this far it'll probably be fine.

Like nick says the fuel filler pipe can be a problem. Check that carefully - you'll be paying £100+ for a good one of those. Other thing to look for is squeaky suspension and wander in the steering as there are a couple of rubbers at the front that are unobtainable.

Rover800.info is the site of choice, hosted by our good friend Richard Moss :) They're a really helpful bunch...

Rich
 
We got the 2 litre versions here (NA and Turbocharged) for the usual tax reasons, but all were fully kitted.
I have been tempted by this for quite some time now as it looks rather nice, with less than 60 K miles and reasonably cheap.
http://www.car.gr/classifieds/cars/photos/2047207/

However i wouldn't dare having registered another 2 litre car (the first is the P6 off course) as this would mean another 660 euros per year road tax and 450 for insurance. :evil:
 
tax by engine size is fairly ridiculous. I pretty sure people all over europe will be paying enough on their fuel costs...
 
The timing belt change on that would have produced a £500+ bill at a garage. It looks like a nice car and is cheap enough to take risk with.
 
I am sorely tempted but must remain strong & it helps that I'm away this weekend anyway. It would be my first foray into 'Ronda' type ownership but using the wife's little Pug for work recently is demonstrating the advantages of a modern car as regards heat & drivability. :LOL: Not that the old'uns can't do that but I did use the P5B the night before & noticed the difference in temperature inside the car though granted, she does need a winter thermostat & a little TLC. I think I'll probably feel different once Bruiser is back on the road & equipped with her new HiF6 'Harvey' specials & the LT77, which will happen in the new year now though the accident damage is sorted & awaiting paint, as is the whole car since we decided to do the lot while we were at it.
But that Sterling is a lot of car for very little money which is quite a fun thing for somebody with a taste for the marque & I wouldn't mind living with it for a while, just for the experience.

Strong, I must be strong! :wink:
 
DaveHerns said:
I'd be tempted if it was a coupe
Click to expand...

The Coupe is a particularily lovely car. The one I had a couple of years ago was possibly the nicest car to drive I've ever had - more relaxing than my 328 BMW. They're just so fragile electrically (although the 827 engine is fairly indistructible). The ongoing niggles though make owning another one a distant possibility (we had to break an 825 Coupe recently as it just wasn't worth the owner's money to repair).

This 825, incidentally, came from a very known Classic Car author, and apparently, being a 1999 car, had the later KV6 engine in it, which is far less likely to do head gaskets/combust than the earlier cars. The KV6 was rushed into production before it was properly developed, and cars from 1996-1999 are a liability in this department.
 
The NASP 2.0 is very good yes.

The turbo would be better, though i'd personally prefer an auto and cruise control - only available on the non turbo for the auto and the v6 for the cruise...

Rich
 
After-market cruise control kits can be fitted to the 2 litre T-series engine and work well.

The NASP T-series is probably the best bet of all - enough power to be relaxing to use, not so powerful that it trashes the gearbox (unlike the turbo), WAAAAAAAAAAAY more reliable than the 825 KV6 and easier to work on than the Honda V6 (timing belt change in 1 hour rather than 6).

Most electrical problems can be traced to the solder joints on the fuse box which tend to crack. Easy to fix.
 
A nice Coupe must be worth £1k+ and a very nice one substantially more
Think of all that leather ...............
 
Yep - even tax and fully mot'd example struggles to fetch £400 - a couple £700-800... If there's a time to have one now has to be it.

Just parts availability to think about!
 
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