Tough choice, split car decision

Knubje

Knubje

Knubje

Soldato
Joined
5 Jun 2008
Posts
6,240
Location
Portsmouth/Fareham
Ok so, here is the situation.

I am currently the proud owner of a Rover 420i, R Reg, 60k miles. It's in reasonable nick I guess. It has cost a fair amount of money this year in repairs; new exhaust system, new clutch, 2 new tyres, MOT several bits were done. All in all I'd say about £600 so far this year. It also needs a service soon and probably a new cam belt fitted. It has a fair few mod cons, eleccy windows, CD changer, cruise control (<3), nice interior, etc.

The car itself is mainly my Mrs really as I ride a motorbike. She uses it to commute a round trip of 20 miles a day. We use it to go shopping once a week which is 5 minutes up the road and the odd 100 mile journey a few times a year to visit family.

Here in lies the issue, sadly my Granddad passed away recently and as a result his car is up for sale or to family members first if they want it (at a good price).

He owned a Nissan Micra S, 02 plate, 17k miles, 1100cc, full service history and was recently MOT'd and Taxed for the year. Nothing needed doing on MOT time. No real mod cons, all pretty standard stuff. Cheap to run in terms of petrol and insurance compared to the rover, this is a BIG draw for me personally.

My old man has put it to me that if I want the car, he will buy my Rover for a reasonable price considering the money I paid for it recently. I have to put the difference in and get the Micra. I don't know at the moment how much this would be, I might not have to buy it at all, but worst case is £500.

If you were in my position, which of these two awesome cars would you go with? It doesn't bother me too much as it is the Mrs car really although I do drive if we are together. The idea of the Micra and it's cost/age is a real selling point but we do love the Rover despite it costing us a fair amount of money this year. Brain says Micra, Heart says Rover.

Tough choice, I know...
 
If the Rover dosent have another big bill looming on the horizon keep it.

If it does get the Micra.
 
As a Micra owner...I'd say stick with the Rover. Despite being good mileage (I presume it's a K11 shape and not the newer K12 shape), it'll feel incredibly slow.
 
I can't believe I'm even saying this (let alone thinking about what I'd do in such a bizzare situation), but I'd keep the rover.

Well actually I'd be looking to buy something else entirely, but you might as well keep the rover for now.
 
malc30 said:
5-10 years of free motoring in that Micra you described.
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How do you mean free? Are you going to be paying my fuel/insurance? :D

DiamondMark said:
If the Rover dosent have another big bill looming on the horizon keep it.

If it does get the Micra.
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Not really sure. Other than the service/cam belt change which isn't a huge deal I don't honestly know. The brakes feel a bit shot so they will be on the next MOT at least. It's getting to the age where it's what, 12/13 years old and things seem to break on it every other month.

[TW]Fox;17003139 said:
Not a swap I would make.
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How come? Old Rover that's starting to want frequent repairs or a newer car with seemingly flawless history?
 
I'd keep the Rover because

- The Micra is a horrible thing (albeit ultimately cheap to run)
- The Rover is quicker and more comfortable
- You've just spent money on the Rover that you won't have to spend again for a long time
- The £500 extra you might have to pay for the Micra will more than cover a service and cam belt change for the Rover
 
Knubje said:
Not really sure. Other than the service/cam belt change which isn't a huge deal I don't honestly know. The brakes feel a bit shot so they will be on the next MOT at least. It's getting to the age where it's what, 12/13 years old and things seem to break on it every other month.
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Get the Micra then.

Try not to pay 500 quid to swap though :)
 
Tough choice there, if you do any reasonable miles as a single journey then for some sad reason I'd have to say keep the Rover. My wife used to have a old shape Micra years ago and it was sort of fun to drive to and from the local shops but I'd never consider it for longer journeys.
 
the micra ought to be easier to live with, but you have had a fair bit changed on the rover.

how does that age micra compare in terms of safety to the rover? thats another thing that would sway me
 
IAmATeaf said:
Tough choice there, if you do any reasonable miles as a single journey then for some sad reason I'd have to say keep the Rover. My wife used to have a old shape Micra years ago and it was sort of fun to drive to and from the local shops but I'd never consider it for longer journeys.
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It's 100 miles, it's not exactly London-Glasgow is it?

As someone who regularly does 200 mile trips in a 1.2 hatchback I'd say that it's perfectly fine for those trips, but the lack of power does drive you a bit bonkers at times.
 
Robbie G said:
I'd keep the Rover because

- The Micra is a horrible thing (albeit ultimately cheap to run)
- The Rover is quicker and more comfortable
- You've just spent money on the Rover that you won't have to spend again for a long time
- The £500 extra you might have to pay for the Micra will more than cover a service and cam belt change for the Rover
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Good, valid points there. Not entirely sure, the Micra MIGHT be very little cost or even free depending on my Grandma.

Disco Boy said:
Have you ever driven a car with so little power?
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My first ever car was a 1.1 J-reg Corsa. Bath tub on wheels. It was horrible.

IAmATeaf said:
Tough choice there, if you do any reasonable miles as a single journey then for some sad reason I'd have to say keep the Rover. My wife used to have a old shape Micra years ago and it was sort of fun to drive to and from the local shops but I'd never consider it for longer journeys.
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Literally it will do 20 miles a day, five days a week. The odd local shop on the weekend. Maybe 6 times a year max we have to do a 100 mile journey.

It's a tough choice, I want to go with the Micra for the cheap aspect of running a car. It doesn't matter about engine and power as the Mrs drives slow and safe anyway. I have a bike to rag around fast if I want.

I guess it will largely depend on how much I have to pay to make the switch.

Matt82 said:
the micra ought to be easier to live with, but you have had a fair bit changed on the rover.

how does that age micra compare in terms of safety to the rover? thats another thing that would sway me
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The rover although old was quite top of the range when it was new. In terms of saftey I'm not sure. It does have ABS but they aren't the best any more due to age and it has two front air bags.

The rover actually trumps the micra on the mod cons, such as; A/C, CD Changer, Leccy windows, cruise control, leather seats, interior, boot size, etc.
 
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Depends how skint you are. Driving a Micra of any era would really not be acceptable to me, there are so many cars, even for £500, that would be preferable. If you are desperate to save money, take the Micra.
 
Having owned a couple of 400s, I'd obviously be swaying that way.

The T series engine in your Rover 420i is massively reliable, I have the turbocharged version and it's on 140k with no issues. Someone has the exact same engine as your car with 303k on it now! :cool:

The cars themselves are pretty good too - good cruiser and with it being a 420 you have all the mod cons as you say.

Rear trailing arm bushes can perish (as with any other car) and will cost about £100 in total to replace, aside from that it's just oil change, brakes and things like exhausts that go, but you've just had all that done.

I'd put money on it that your Rover will probably cost bummer all to run for a good while now. And having driven a lot of mainstream cars too, I'd be keeping it :p

Edit: new clutch? Definitely keep it!
 
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