19th Jul 2005, 07:42
Funny having a 3-series owner mock the Rover 400 for poor build - the last 3-series (E36 318) I drove was a horrible shed of a thing with poor body control, creaky dashboard, faded paint and rust everywhere. You get good and bad examples of every car, and BMW is definitely not exempt from that.
14th Jan 2007, 10:56
Well, I can't help, but agree with the last comment, I own a BMW 528 as well as I rover 400. The BMW has just done 32,000 miles and the Rover 92,000 miles. So far the wooden trim has come away on the rear door on BMW, the interior panels on the rear doors is also coming off. The BMW clatters now on start up. As for the sound system in the BMW, the front speakers now don't work! And the Rover... absolutely no problems what so ever! And its done three times the mileage and of the BMW. The most annoying thing is, I swapped my Rover 620 Turbo for the BMW and the T-series engine in that was just as reliable as the K-series in the Rover 400!
19th Jan 2008, 12:21
Hi, I own a 416 tourer and an 1985 3500 Vitesse, with a real V8, and I can assure you that the sound of the 416 DOES NOT sound anything at all like the V-8 of my Vitesse, which has just a standard exhaust and no engine modifications to make it sound more brutal. World apart! I do like the sound of my Tourer though, but I LOVE the sound of my Vitesse (especially when it's thundering down the motorways)
12th Dec 2003, 05:16
Its interesting to see a 400 compared to a 3 series, especially as I have owned several examples of each. The wood in the Rover is fake plastic and will often fall off or discolour in sunlight. Not many 3s have wood, but those that do are of a far higher quality and actaully began life as part of a tree, which is a good start! Ditto the leather. And the engine. And the paint. And the fit and finish of the panels. And the badly finished trim and brackets on the body and under the bonnet. And the nasty Philips radios in the Rover. And the blancmange like chassis in the brit car, compared to the nicely balanced RWD arrangement in the bimmers. And the BMW won't rattle like a box of broken crockery after 50k miles, unlike a K or T series engined Rover.
The Rovers certainly 'talk the talk' in terms of specification, but they don't 'walk the walk' in terms of quality of assembly and finish, durability or residual value. bit like comparing a zircon to a diamond - they both sparkle, but the real thing does it better and longer.