1999 Rover - Austin 200 216 SLi from UK and Ireland - Comments

Heater control jammed.

Central locking stopped working.

Rear door would not open.

New gearbox.

Front end of the exhaust needed to be replaced.

New engine.

Indicator light fell off.

Seal on the driver's window replaced.

I imported this car from Holland and I have never had a months peace.

Rover UK operate a system of fobbing off owners who have imported cars and hence saved money. I have been told to go back to Holland, that Rover are not here to be polite or pleasant to anyone and that they are deliberately controlling our conversations in order to bring them to an end.

I have had to fight with Rover when my engine was faulty and they only replaced it after I had an AA inspection which is very strange as Rover sent a technician out to examine my car and he said it was fine. Even now it is noisy but what do Rover care.

Anyone from Rover reading this must hang their head in shame.

And they wonder why people don't buy Rovers when they get treated like this!!

To say that treating people properly and, very importantly, POLITELY, is not what they're there for is naive to say the least.

This is one future Rover sale you won't be getting - I would suggest that anyone who reads this review will think likewise.

ANYONE FROM ROVER GOT THE BALLS (OR DECENCY) TO COMMENT?

I, as a Rover owner, am appalled to hear this. I personally have had no trouble dealing with Rover, but I use a small family run garage. They are very helpful and polite.

The only major problems I have had with My L reg 216SLi is that it needed a new exhaust, (a very common fault on this range of Rover) and a new clutch. There are annoying little problems like the light behind my clock not working and the drivers door window does not work anymore due to a clip which holds the glass in place failing. This unfortunately has also broken the alarm, but it is a small job.

The cars made in this range are actually predominantly Hondas with Rover interiors. The engine has been superb. Quick but economical. Rovers from this era are good cars because they are very cheap to buy. Just don't expect it to last for ever. I would heartily recommend them as a comfortable family run around for those on a budget.

Tim 20 Amersham.

To the comment above:

In the mk2 200 series the only model that had a Honda engine was the 1.6. All the rest are Rover K series lumps. Later Rover scrapped the Honda 1.6, made their own K1.6. Not sure if it was used in the mk2, but I know all mk3s have Rover 1.6's.

Honda & Rover in late 80's <when 800 was launched> did some deal to do with funding I guess, but the condition was Honda would be allowed to use the Rover designs.

All Rovers are Rovers and Honda used their designs as part of the deal. Centre console and switch gear is mostly from Honda though.

To be honest if my dealer was treating me poorly I'd go to another Rover dealer and tell them the other one was being an ass. There seems to be a few people who think the K series is noisy, I'm wondering if it's cos it's not completely silent?

If your MK2 200 (1989-1995) is a 1.4 then it's a Rover K-series, the 1.6 was Honda, 2.0 Rover, and the diesels were Peugeot engines.

MK3 200 and the Rover 25: all use Rover K-series, the diesel is Rover L-series.

I have just bought an S reg rover 1998. And it has a Knocking coming from the engine. Is this the same noise that people are mentioning above. If so what is it and can it be fixed cheaply. As I bought my car from a Toyota dealer they are very reluctant to help even though it has a 1 year full warranty.

If someone out there has similar problems with there vehicle I would love to here from you.

Gary.ward13@btopenworld.com.

I own both the 216SLi and 214Si and think they are both superb (apart from the clock light and the cigar lighter - but I don't use either)

However, the 216 suddenly kicks in with more power at around 3000rpm, especially noticeable in 3rd. Does anyone know why?

Spike.