Buying advice

[Armando Loni]

Hello, chaps, and thanks for letting me in! Here's how my interest was fired up......

We've been looking for a newer car to replace my 3.0i Supra (Turbo) - we need an estate, due to increase family size and associated gubbins. I considered German, for a while, then decided I wanted to buy British (I've also got a 1968 Reliant GT Coupe - forerunner to the Scimitar). I've always liked the 75 model and found a local non-franchise dealer selling an MG75 ZT 190, which I took out. Very nice indeed but having looked into the various engine-related foibles on the MG-Rover forums, I'm thinking it may be better to go for the V8 version. I found some postings on Youtube and once I heard that V8 sound I was hooked - it has to be this model (despite impending road fund increases).

I'm used to 20mpg from the Supra, and only do about 3000miles per year, so fuel consumption isn't really a worry. I've found what appears to be a very nice 2004 (53-plate) 260 with 25K on the clock, and 4 previous owners, retailing at another garage for £5 under £10K. It's been sitting on the forecourt for 6 months (last MOT'd Oct07), and I'm yet to decide on viewing (it's 400 miles away!).

A few questions......

Aside from the obvious of having it fully serviced, and replacing anything suspect (eg pads & disks), what should I look out for/haggle on? They say a 3month warranty will be isued, but this, I think, is the statutory minimum for a car of this age/price? I was thinking along the lines of an Xpart service and 1 year full warranty. I've seen a few postings related to having heater hoses changed, diff oil, and petrol pump clips, etc - why and what else should I insist on? Are the central locking problems of the 190 similar on the 260? I've seen higher-mileage 260's at around £6K-£7K - what would be a good offer price to make?

Many thanks!

Armando.

[Tim]

Hello Armando & welcome

The hose, clip, diff oil etc are things we have picked up as owners but as life goes on you will find that these have been done on cars that are re-sold on. If you find a car with these done invariably it has been owned by an enthusiast. Ask the dealer if these have been done. If he is able to verify this then they also know about our cars. If you are concerned get them to sent you a picture of the engine bay and post it here. We will have a look.

Where is the car being sold? If someone is close they could take a look for you.

There are no reports relating to the central locking, flat batteries, wet carpets, yes.

[grx548]

I think the ZTT you are referring to is at Hardies in Larbert.

Its the one with no service history, & suggestions of having had some panel damage ................! Beware!

[cherrybusa]

A 2004 facelift ZTT non SE (but with power windows all round) said to be mint condition with 44000 miles sold for £7600 last night on ebay. Warranty was £400 extra plus £180 for Service.
If you believe the auction block to be a reasonable barometer of current value then this gives a good indication what you should be offering (+for lower mileage/SE etc)
Stuart

[Armando Loni]

Hardie Cars, Falkirk - the same?! I contacted them last week and asked for details of the service history, which they didn't do. I asked also asked them about bodywork - they said it was fine!

Is the car known to the Forum? Has anyone inspected it?

What are the issues Tim mentioned about flat batteries (Sat Nav?) and water ingress?

[colintf]

Hi and welcone and good luck!

find out the last 3 digits of the VIN number and post it here - see if it's a known car.

[BigA]

Armando,
Don't rush in if it's the one mentioned.They come up for sale reasonably often and it's worth the wait for a good one!
A

[Tim]

Hardie Cars, Falkirk - the same?! I contacted them last week and asked for details of the service history, which they didn't do. I asked also asked them about bodywork - they said it was fine!

Is the car known to the Forum? Has anyone inspected it?

What are the issues Tim mentioned about flat batteries (Sat Nav?) and water ingress?

Sat nav can be a problem by staying on draining the battery, also reports of water getting in through either the rear window, boot seal or sunroof but these are not V8 related more 75/ZT generally.

[SH4RKY]

The ebay one is discussed here:
http://forums.xpowerforums.com/showthread.php?t=41872

470.

[martin-reyland]

The ebay one is discussed here:
http://forums.xpowerforums.com/showthread.php?t=41872

470.

My first post on here so hi guys

I am just about to collect VIN no 470, I have bought it for my wife. I noticed the topic after I had agreed to buy the car and was worried to say the least even though it was HPI clear Anyhow after much digging I have got to the bottom of the matter, I will post the whole story some time but this is the short version..

DeanoUK (xpower topic starter) paid a deposit on VIN 470 and because it had less than 6 months MOT left to run the Car Supermarket who were selling decided to re MOT it but during the test the tester was not happy with the power steering on full lock and thought there was a problem with the pump.

The Car Supermarket did not own the car, they were simply selling for the owner. To cover themselves they told the owner that it needed a rack and pump and that the bill would be £900. The owner said he would send it to auction rather than spend that amount.

So left with no car to sell the car SuperMarket told deanouk that during the MOT they found the steering issue and also said it had sustained a heavy front impact, this was done so that he would walk away rather than insisting that the power steering repairs were carried out.

It then appears on ebay and everyone left it alone, probably because of the x power thread. My gain as I bought it very cheaply, this leaves me more cash for modifications

So to sum this up, there is nothing wrong with VIN 470!!!