1989 Rover - Austin Montego LX from UK and Ireland - Comments

We Bought this car in 1997 and have had some major work done.

Head Gasket has now blown 5 times, although luckily we can fix that for around Eighty Pounds each time.

Have had 2 Starter Motors, 4 alternators, 3 clutches. Complete rear bushings and both set wheel bearings.

Engine mounts twice, new radiator. That is all we have spent for nearly 200k miles of motoring.

I did back it into a loaded skip one evening so the back end is two feet shorter then it should be.

The boot is now held shut with 3 bungee cords.

Because of the accident we have to keep gaffer taping the rear lenses in place each week or two.

As this accident happened over three years ago the caved inwards back end of the car is now a complete rust colour.

Luckily our local graffiti artists have decided to put about 15 tags on it, so it is almost a work of art.

It may look like a complete wreck on wheels and make you feel like complete trailor trash, but it sure does make for dirt cheap motoring.

I have mini cabbed it to death, delivered pizzas in it also and still it starts and runs.

It gets its fair share of police attention because of the bodywork.

I have recently sold this to my Brother for twenty pounds, who has decided to make it a Montego Turbo lookalike.

The suspension has never been replaced so it is like a boat trip each time we drive this wreck.

The look on peoples faces when they first hear then see this aging smoking pile of rust being thrashed mercilessly past their newer unpaid for cars makes it all worthwile.

In short if you are an extreme tightwad, as I am then take the plunge and buy one. You will never be short of Beer Money when you have no car loan.

So you actually drive that heap man?

Update on my original review. We have now sledge hammered out the back end. The body work was slightly crinkled after this treatment, so we decided to paint Black Roofing Tar all over the back end, and also the wheel wells. Amazingly it looks much better.

Am I correct in assuming that you might reside in a Mobile Home?

I don't believe any of this stuff.

It's like a McLaren F1 review, in reverse.

Update on my Original Comment. The Montego has now been crashed, it was rear ended by an Artic at 20mph.We will miss our faithful old Monty. We got this car to 298,000 Miles. Is this a record for a Montego? It is now parked outside my Mobile Home. I now plan to Ebay out the Engine and Electronics.

I am glad you have decided to put this pile of junk out of its misery.

It sounds as if it has been in a dangerously unsafe condition for many, many miles, putting both your lives and the lives of other road users at risk.

Just because my vehicle had so many miles on the clock does not mean that we did not maintain it. The only reason it was scrapped was because it had a second accident on the Rear End. The first accident was only minor, I reversed it out of a Parking Space and straight into a fully loaded skip one evening. Granted it did make the back end a foot shorter then before. We soon Sledge Hammered that out though. I am a competent D.I.Y Mechanic who agrees with yourself that safety is very important.The frame was not bent from the First Accident so we just decided to carry on Driving the thing.

Repairing major bodywork damage by sledgehammering it out is not an acceptable method of repair. The metal will be stretched and fatigued and the welds (especially spot welds) will be weakened or cracked.

Ever considered panel beating as a full time occupation?

It is like I said in my prior comment. The car was not unsafe or unroadworthy. It just had very High Miles on the Clock. I am not a Full Time Panelbeater, however I can put down a Driveway inside of one day. Even after the first accident my faithful old Rover Montego was still able to tow our Trailer complete with my Steel Petrol Roller and some extremely heavy Tools. For added safety we did insert some Rubber Spring Height Blocks into the Rear Coil Springers. The Front of the Car was higher when towing all that weight. We just put 5 bags of Cement in the Passenger Front Footwell to bring the front end down a bit. That worked for a bit until my Mate decided to Weld in some extra weights under the Bulkhead. These Montegos can certainly pull some weight.

It's not a question of whether the vehicle will still go after being crashed or abused.

It is a question of road safety, and major bodywork damage is not something for the DIY'er because of the equipment and skills involved.

It all depends on how competent a DIY Mechanic you are. It was very easy to hammer out the Back End and to repair the damage.

Two cars - 330,000 miles in ten years - where have you been going!!

We have been going to Europe a fair bit on our old Montego. Especially France for cheap Booze.

There's no way a vehicle in this state could hit 330k.

Most British cars struggle to get beyond 100k even if they are looked after.

I notice he says he went to France "on his Montego". Presumably he just has the chassis, drivetrain and seats, as the rest of the car has fallen off or been knocked off.