11th Dec 2007, 12:25
With all due respect lots of car companies make cars in the uk, such as Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Vauxhall etc, so the UK argument is pretty thin.
The Rover 200 was a good car when launched, however, by the time it got facelifted to the 25 it was well over the hill, and there were far better cars in the class to choose from.
Incidentally, I've owned x2 Renault Lagunas and x2 Citroen BX's, and all were far more reliable than my above 200 Vi, and as indicated on the write up, I know of more people who've suffered at the hands of Rover 200's and their "reliability".
Personally, I think when Rover did the dirty on Honda and sold out to BMW that's when all their troubles started.
11th Dec 2007, 13:40
They went bust because the car market is no place for small companies any more. That and a product range that consisted of a Honda Civic from a decade ago, a tarted up Indian cheapie, and an engine that was most notable for head gasket problems.
12th Dec 2007, 08:33
This isn't the last commenter, but the Rover 400/45 was a collaboration between Honda and Rover and was launched in '95 as the Rover 400 (and as the Civic with Honda). Apart from the auto version, I think Honda and Rover used differant engines.
The Rover 200/25 used some parts from the previous Rover 200 which was also the Honda Concerto. Maybe that's why they struggled to sell many in its later years!
26th Dec 2007, 16:14
Did 15,000 miles in a 214 SEi with no problems at all. The only money I spent on it was for petrol.
I have done 5,000 miles so far in a Rover 214 iS and have only had to buy four new spark plugs, and of course petrol.
I'll buy another Rover when I decide to change my car.
27th Feb 2008, 12:58
The rovers couldn't have been that bad, the sheer amount of them I see on the roads everyday, and not even newer ones, there are quite a few older ones as well, more old rovers than old Peugeots/Citroens, which have all fallen apart by now. Boils down to bad marketing by Rover and a lack of funds due to being a small company; pity they didn't stop with Honda and develop that diesel engine some more (the L-series) as I had heard promising things about the G series which was being developed when they went bust.
1st Dec 2007, 09:19
I'm sorry, but why do you think Rover had such a dodgy rep for reliability anyway and people "bad mouth" them??
It's because it's true!!
Having worked in the motor trade for 10 years, I can confirm that Rovers have more than their fair share of engine probs and electrical gremlins, the Rover 75 being by far the best of the last Rovers produced (this was the one developed with BMW strangely enough).
If anyone watched Top Gear's thing on BL last Sunday, then it should all be clear.