Hmmmm, much advice needed...

[vrykyl]

Ok, so my Rover 620 is coming up for MOT......and if I had to hazard a guess, its not going to pass.

Let me state openly right now, that I know offically NOTHING about cars By that I mean that whilst I know what cars I like, and bit about basic performance/specs, when it comes to technical things with cars I'm the same as handing my mum a screwdriver and asking her to open up a PC - I have no idea what anything does, how it does it, what to look out/care for, or what costs what to fix.

So, its advice time from you clever car savvy folks.

Let me give you a little background first -
this Rover was my first car, and Iv had it for years - its a known quantity, I know all the quirks and rattles. In the last 5-6 years its 'broken down' twice - once when the battery died and the car wouldnt even jump start, and once when it needed a new cam belt (apparently). Its a 96 plate, and has literally just ticked over the 75k mile mark.

Right then, the 'issues'.

Cost is a major factor for me at the mo.
Due to this the car hasnt had anything other than an MOT and a new battery in the last 2 years. No service, nothing.

Things that are wrong with the car -
1 - it desperately needs a service, im guessing oild and air filters (is that even right?) - its a state anyways.
2 - both front tyres are pretty worn - iv no idea how to check for adequate tyre depth, it wouldnt suprise me to find I'm rolling about in a death trap...... They have NO grip in the wet at all. When it rains I get a lift to work. In the dry theyre pretty poor to. The rears arent amazing either....ideally all 4 need replaced.
3 - Iv got a lovely dual front squeek that is both very loud and extremely annoying. Always there regardless of speed, but gets louder as speed increases, from loud when slow to head turningly bad when going fast. SOMETIMES stops when I brake.....so suggests to me brake discs&pads need changed? someone at work mentioned wheel bearing? Iv no idea.
4. At the last MOT 'handbrake travel' was flagged, so on this MOT i think I may need a new what? cable?


soooo, with all that lot in mind I suspect Im getting into the 'as much as the cars worth' territory. HOWEVER, I might just about be able to scrape together the cash to get it all done, if someone could give me an idea of what all thats likely to cost..... as to buy a 'new' car I will only be able to raise the same kind of cash (maybe £5-600), which will get me an equally big pile of bolts, but I wont know anything about it.

So I think its time to total up, get some advice from you kind folks and bite the bullet and invest some cash into keeping the old girl afloat.

My questions therefore are -

Do you agree on me keeping the vehicle as a known quantity and getting it fixed?
Do you have any advice on checking the tyres?
Do you have any idea wtf is up with the squeeking?
How much will everything roughly going to cost to get done (that iv listed - mot, handbrake thingy, 2 or 4 tyres, service, brakes)? a price break down would be nice, iv no idea what a service for a rover 620 should cost now....

and finally, what tyres should I be getting for my car? Im prepared to invest a little in some that will last. My tyre size is - 195/65V15. Could some kind soul take a look through tese two sites and recommend me something good? Id like good grip in weight and dry, with a good wear rate and ride comfort. Everyone seems to mention Eagle F1's, but unless Im being stupid I dont think I can get them for my car?
From kwikfit - Tyre Search
from etyres - Etyres for car tyres in the UK - search by tyre size, width, & profile


Many, many thanks to everyone that can help!

[Webby]

Well I can help on the tyres issue at least!

Take a 10p piece on the on each face the is a circle of dots, if your tread is less than that depth anywhere on the tyre then it is illegal and if stopped by the police you could be looking at 3 points and a fine per wheel (all 4 wheels are bad bye bye licence!)

Hope that at least answers one of your questions.

Oh ideally you would have more tread than this minimum amount.

[Fatboy40]

and finally, what tyres should I be getting for my car? Im prepared to invest a little in some that will last. My tyre size is - 195/65V15. Could some kind soul take a look through tese two sites and recommend me something good? Id like good grip in weight and dry, with a good wear rate and ride comfort. Everyone seems to mention Eagle F1's, but unless Im being stupid I dont think I can get them for my car?

Brilliant tyres, however, unless you enjoy throwing your car around country roads or your 620 is a 'ti' I wouldn't bother.

I used to use Eagle F1's all the time but I'm a family man now so have to watch the pennies and the F1's just made me want to push my car to the limit all the time

[SilentDeath]

Take it to a good garage and ask to check if it will pass an mot. Usually doesnt cost much. Old cars usually fail on rust, worn suspension, cv joints/bearings or brakes.

Then get a full service.. brake fluid, coolant, oil and filters...

The squeak is likely the drivebelt or brakes. Also get suspension checked.. Might help the dangerous grip problem

A measuing device... ruler... works for measuing tyre depth... 1.6mm is the minimum. Tyres also have mouldings that show the minumum depth, but these also wear so they are not much good. They showed 0.8mm on my last set ( 1.2mm tread total) yet they still passed.


Aviod kwikfit.. national garages etc.. Incompetent idiots that done my exhaust a few weeks ago broke the new one in the process, not to mention I could have done it QUICKER and to a higher standard myself. And I would rather be underneath my car lying in cold dirt, rather than their waiting room.... They want me to wait a few weeks to see if it stops blowing.. before they will replace it.. My experience with nationwide a few years ago was not good either.. </rant>


Tyres.. just get the cheapest korean/eastern ones you can find.. they are a lot better than the cheap european stuff..
I have toyo CF1's in the same size. Very good considering this car weighs twice my old fiesta and can go round corners just as fast

Generally the better the tread looks, better it is in the wet. Dry grip depends on how soft the rubber is. Aviod expensive european premium tyres.. they are hard compound with less grip than a meduim, but they cost twice as much..

[Fatboy40]

I used to use Eagle F1's all the time but I'm a family man now so have to watch the pennies...

Just checked on my way in to work and I'm now running Goodyear Hydragrip's.

Spent a while working out the best choice for me and went with these. They're hardwearing + directional + have decent grip

[Fatboy40]

Also from the sounds of it you don't know anyone who knows much about cars in general ?.

What may be a good idea is to have word with some of your friends as one of them is bound to have a Dad who's in the know. You can't beat a Dad for giving you advice on cars, they've got the experiance (years of experiance putting cars through MOT's, and stickign to a budget etc.)

[Howard]

Tyres.. just get the cheapest korean/eastern ones you can find.. they are a lot better than the cheap european stuff..

Absolutely DO NOT do this. At least get some made by a recognised brand. All the reasonably priced Goodyear, Continental, Michelin, Pirellis (Except ditchfinders ) etc will be fine, you don't have to spend hundreds per corner to get adequate performance, but don't skimp. It could, no, it WILL be the difference when slamming on the anchors between stopping, and hitting the car infront / child that just ran out infront of you. I can't stress this enough. Cheap no-name tyres are crap.

The Eagle F1s won't be available in your size probably but you don't need to spend any more than about &#163;50-&#163;60 a corner at a guess (that size is similar to mine, my Goodyear NCT5s were about &#163;60)

If the car is in generally reasonable condition and it's only these things that need looking at then I'd probably say go for it. Better the devil you know and all that.

If the brakes are worn badly then they'll only squeal when you apply them. I doubt it's the wheel bearing either as that's usually a humming/droning noise, so it's probably just a belt

[kalniel]

I don't know much either, but first of all, yes I'd stick with the car you know. While repairs might seem a lot, you have to incur them an awful lot to make it to the value of a replacement car.

Tyres.. absolutely get these done - forget the rest of the car, tyres and brakes should be the two things that you *never* skimp on. They're not that expensive compared to other fixes - you can easily get the whole lot replaced with a good brand for around 220 quid. There are three makes that get especially good reviews in the non-sporty bracket - Vredestein, Continental and Bridgestone. Go for wet weather performance as the priority as that's when tyres earn their pay.

Oil and filter changes are pretty cheap. Handbrake travel is probably just a simple adjustment that'll be included as part of a service.

Squeeking is probably fan belt - I don't know anything about these but would guess it's probably adjustment rather than replacement.

All in all I'd guess you are realistically looking at about 140 quid all in for a decent service, plus 220 quid for all tyres.

[J4MES]

The squeeking is almost certainly the brakes - when they're not applied the pads can 'rattle' (albeit at an extremely high frequency) which goes away on braking... but might be alternator/fan belt..

If it needs a service, it shouldn't cost more than &#163;150 all in (oil, oil filter, air filter, plugs/fuel filter if needs be, fluids (top ups) and other checks)...

New tyres - NCTs shouldn't cost too much in your size

Handbrake just needs adjusting - 10 min job at the garage..

[vrykyl]

Sweet, cheers guys. Got a mate at work that really knows his cars (he drives an amazingly nice subaru imprezza - hence why I get a lift to work) who's given me pretty much the same advice as you

Will drop the cash for full service and MOT, get them to investigate the squeeking, check the tracking and, as long as it doesnt fail MOT on the tryes, get a full set of 4 new tyres when my next pay cheque comes in - il carry on getting a lift to work and driving the mrs' polo in the mean while.

Ok, for the tyres can someone take a quick look at the etyres selection for my tyre size and pick out one or two specific makes and models for me? Im wondering about something Goodyear flavoured simply because I'v heard of them....


All I need to do now to get my car in tip top shape is fix the winter rust thats appeared in the rear wheel arches again, paint a scrape on the rear bumper that someone kindly left me in a carpark, and find a replacement bonnet in my cars colour, as my current bonnet got vandalised where I used to live

[kalniel]

For your 195/65/r15 V,

First choice would be Vredestein Sportrac 3 &#163;54.00 inc each
review: Vredestein Tyres - TYREMEN, Hull, East Yorkshire UK
(click on the auto express mag, this tyre came 1st place)

Second would be Continental Premium Contact 2 - &#163;61.20 each inc.
(2nd place in above review I think)

[Howard]

I'd pretty much echo the above, and well done for doing it properly You can do worse for a comfy barge than a 620 as long as it's not totally falling apart, which it doesn't sound like it is

[SilentDeath]

For your 195/65/r15 V,

First choice would be Vredestein Sportrac 3 &#163;54.00 inc each
review: Vredestein Tyres - TYREMEN, Hull, East Yorkshire UK
(click on the auto express mag, this tyre came 1st place)

Second would be Continental Premium Contact 2 - &#163;61.20 each inc.
(2nd place in above review I think)

So you prefer tyres designed by an italian clothes stylist?

Howard:
lies. Anyway I didnt say no name tyres... just becuase you havent heard of them doesnt make them such
Kumho, Toyo, Yokohama, and Nexen are the 4 eastern manufacturers that come to mind. I have yet to try Nexen as they have slightly less grip than the preciding three.
The cheapest pirelli on blackcircles, for example, is &#163;65 and then its the well known ditchfinder, although Im sure that name and the resulting accidents were more due to the type of driver that buys them...
I remember a thread a while ago about an exploded continental....

Also to be pointed out, that all tyres sold in the UK meet a decent standard, and I would expect a tyre designed for wet grip, to far outperform those long life taxi/salesman tyres at the most expensive and of the price lists...

[Howard]

As long as you stick to tyres with decent reviews/ratings you'll be fine.

[vrykyl]

My current tyres are Yokohama.....theyve been quite frankly shocking.

I just want something that will cope in wet and dry, be a nice smooth ride on motorway cruises, and provide me with good handling at motorway 65mph+ speeds

None of which the Yokohama's iv got have ever provided, even from new.

Lets face it, the car was only 129bhp when new (Rover 600 - 620 Si 4d - Equipment & Options - Parker's) , so going by Jeremy Clarkson's theory of age vs horsepower loss.....im probably lucky if iv got 80bhp after 12 years....so Im not gonna go ragging about town in it
I do still manage 34 mpg on a long run tho....

[kalniel]

So you prefer tyres designed by an italian clothes stylist?

If that's what causes the sportrac to have such measurably better performance then cool But I don't think they are.

Kumho, Toyo, Yokohama, and Nexen are the 4 eastern manufacturers that come to mind. I have yet to try Nexen as they have slightly less grip than the preciding three.

Kumho marshal came out well in the review I linked, Toyo and Yokohama not so.