1993 Rover - Austin 200 214 Si 1.4 16v

Summary:

Nice to drive, but a nightmare if the cylinder head gasket blows!

Faults:

At 64,000 miles, halfway up the A1 on a dark night with a wife,and two children under 5 years in the car, the cylinder head gasket went, steam burst out from under the bonnet and we coasted onto the hard shoulder.

Result. Two valves had melted and the engine never worked again due to the intense heat caused.

It worked out too expensive to repair ( replace engine ) and the car was sold for £250 scrap rather than its book value of about £1,800.

Garage told me that the cylinder head gaskets are more prone to go on this model and this was not the first unrepiarable engine he had seen.....

Result. A very bad week and a not very happy Rover 214si owner.

General Comments:

Have gone back to buying Nissan cars, they have yet to let me down.

Sorry Rover !

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 8th September, 2000

31st Jul 2001, 07:17

Our Rover's engine seized on our first longish trip (30 miles), we had to replace the engine - not very happy.

2nd Mar 2002, 06:10

My 214 had its water pump and thermostat changed by the previous owner due to overheating, but the engine survived. A weakness to check on a prospective purchase?

11th Aug 2004, 14:04

My 1996 rover 214i has blown 3 cylinder head gaskets. Anyone heard anything about models since 2002 being modified.

21st Feb 2007, 04:13

I purchased my 1993 Rover 16v last week. Because it had a new head gasket and thermostat fitted four months before I thought it was a good buy. On my first trip to the local village it started to smoke a lot from the exhaust and the temperature gauge rose to 3/4. I got it towed back to the house with my three young children in the vehicle. Upon contacting the seller he informed me that the work had been done. After a lot of wrangling he told me that the parts were under warranty and it would be fixed. But I would have to pay for the labour. I am very disappointed and cannot fathom why if this work was done that the head gasket went so soon. Depending on how much it costs to fix the work may or may not get done. The scrap man might get a call. I will never buy another Rover!

1993 Rover - Austin 200 Coupe 2.0 turbo

Summary:

Underestimated super coupe

Faults:

Timing belt snapped.

Faulty water pump.

Clutch.

Clutch cable.

Coil.

Exhaust.

Suspension.

Manifold.

Alarm.

2 radiators.

New head gasket.

Driver's door window shakes, when you drive over rough ground.

General Comments:

For all that has gone wrong with the car, I've still got the thing. You see, when you get a nice clear bit of road, and you want to make quick ground, there is almost nothing to touch it. You forget all the cons of the car. Power delivery is so smooth, it can be very deceiving.

Reliability has been better lately, but the cost of parts is almost a joke. You would think with the car being British in origin it would be better to own. My cousin has a French car and gets parts cheaper from his local main dealer.

The looks of the car are not as common as Calibra's or Corrado's, and I feel it is a well proportioned car and has better looks than the cars mentioned.

I've had the car for over 2 years and the performance still takes my breath away. I feel to get something to go a lot faster, you would have to spend a lot of money. I feel with a chip, reboost and general upgrade in all aspects of the car, you could live with much more powerful Impreza's and Cossie's. I've been to a quarter mile day and beaten a Cossie, Turbo'd Calibra and VR6's.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 19th August, 2000