20th Jan 2012, 18:25
Bought Feb 2011, 04 plate with 26k on clock.
£2000 bargain?
Drove home after buying - engine management light came on; speed sensor - changed £40.00.
Fuel gauge not working - shows 3/4 full when full, not worth repairing.
Temp gauge not working; new thermostat needed and coolant change £60.
Reverse lights not working; new switch £40.
6 months later - clutch goes - £380.
Rear electric window crunches - £40
Drivers window crunches - £40
Plug to coil unit comes off - roadside repair - £50
New plug to coil - £80
5 more breakdowns; new coil unit - £130
More breakdowns - part ex the bloody thing.
AVOID!
4th Mar 2012, 08:16
I have had my City Rover for three and a half years now. When I bought it, there was 4500-ish miles on the clock and it was a good little runner.
At 9000 miles, the alternator packed up and it took me a whole day to source a new one. As you would expect, everything to do with this car is hard to find, except spark plugs; even HT leads have to be ordered off the Internet, but all things aside, I think it is a fairly nice car with a bit of poke. Only I wouldn't like to have an accident in it, as it is a bit of a tin can.
22nd Jun 2012, 16:22
If you're getting sparks from the distributor, it's a wonder the car is running at all. Get a new distributor cap, and that should solve the poor running problem, and the engine light should go out. Hope this helps.
2nd Aug 2012, 06:40
My car is in the garage for the fourth time, having had a new clutch and cable fitted. First and second gears were impossible to use, and after the new clutch was fitted, the problem remained, but car then got stuck in reverse. Having another clutch fitted as we speak, but have no faith that this will cure the problem. Does anyone have any ideas on how to cure this?
4th Sep 2012, 17:47
I've just been looking at a 2004 CityRover 1.4 Sprite with 80,000 miles on the clock. I'm only 20 and have recently (and suddenly) had to scrap my usual car. I am in pretty desperate need of a new car for work, and was taken in by the Sprite's cheap price. After reading the comments on this page, I'm seriously reconsidering my initial interest, however I noticed a lot of the comments are mainly from 2009 back. I was wondering if anyone had recently purchased one of these, and wouldn't mind telling me what they thought?
Thanks.
14th Sep 2012, 15:06
Hi, I have just had the same problem as you had, and I was wondering what happened to yours?
22nd Sep 2012, 02:25
I acquired an '04' reg CityRover Sprite in April 05, and have had no problems other than those expected from an aging car (I still have the car and use it every day - about seven and a half years now). The cars were made by TaTa of India on behalf of Rover (and this should be of interest to the originator of comment of '4th Sep 2012, 17:47'), until Rover went belly-up in 2005.
As a general observation: people who have a complaint are usually vocal about it, whereas satisfied individuals rarely spout about it, since, I suppose, they've got what they expected, and it doesn't grab them as a remarkable event.
23rd Sep 2012, 11:07
CityRover Solo 1.4 2004.
So far so good, only had it a week, 37k miles, smells like petrol, but I think that's just now, and that will get better.
Drives perfect, even in freezing weather first time. No problems apart from the cigarette lighter not working...
I hope it stays good!
7th Nov 2012, 08:25
I bought an 04 plate City Rover select with 38K on the clock as a spur of the moment purchase when my very unreliable Fiat Punto let me down one too many times... I paid £875 for it, with a new MOT. So far, I have little concern with it, bar odd things that need replacing.
The rear electric switches don't work, but they are cheap enough to replace.
The thermostat needs replacing, but again, a very cheap part to replace.
The rear driver's side door wouldn't open from the inside, but that just turned out to be a rod had fallen out of place and now works fine.
Other than that, it's a great spacious car, and very nippy.
Same issue with the 3/4 tank of petrol when it's actually full though, which is confusing, but that seems to be a very common problem.
Starts great in the morning. Would recommend so long as it proves reliable for a good while.
12th Feb 2013, 07:46
Hi, my car wouldn't start today. Had a quick look under the hood, and found a little square blue cable loose, very close to the starter motor?? Not sure where to plug it into?
17th Feb 2013, 12:12
That sounds like the distributor cap is failing; replace it and you might find light will go out, as it's not running on four cylinders, but should when the cap is replaced. Hope that helps.
19th Feb 2013, 17:55
I have a City Rover 04 plate; unfortunately the key fob isn't working. I replaced the battery, but still have the problem. Unfortunately I didn't get a handbook with the car, so I have no code to reprogram it. I did get some info off Google on how to reprogram it; this worked, but the next time I used the car it alarmed again. Does anyone know the cheapest way to fix this problem?
15th Mar 2013, 08:25
I've just purchased an 05 CityRover. It keeps coughing, then conks out on me. I thought it was the immobiliser, but they are both working. The padlock light stays on the dashboard, even when the light stops flashing for the immobiliser. Can anyone help?
26th Mar 2013, 09:42
I bought my Rover Solo 1.4 in December 2012, £850. OK, up to now, starts 1st time every morning. Only problem I have is the fuel gauge and the temp gauge; they're always moving up and down?
14th Apr 2013, 06:01
We bought a City Rover last June, but have had an ongoing problem. Some days it runs like a dream, but other days you'll be travelling along and it starts to splutter and cuts out. Any ideas on this problem?
17th Apr 2013, 15:04
Hi, have just replaced the fuel filler neck on a City Rover (year 04) as it was corroded so badly from road salt, that when you refueled, petrol would run out over the rear wheel. This could be where the smell of petrol is coming from, and could also be a cause of fuel contamination, as dirt and rust could enter the fuel tank from here. You have to buy a kit to do it though (approx £40+ available from Rimmer Bros). The fuel tank has to be dropped to do this as you need to replace a rubber hose with a longer one supplied in the kit. So it's really best to be done with the car on a ramp, as it will be very awkward to do otherwise.
8th Jan 2012, 05:52
It is a lovely little car. I had a few problems with it over Christmas, it was losing power, coughing a lot and the check engine light kept coming on; I guessed it was electrical, and was right. New plugs and leads, and the car is running beautifully again.