Please, please - somebody bring me the head of whoever designed the lighting rig on the 75.
Who the hell thought that having to work inside the wheel arch, out of sight, single handed was the best way to change the bulbs for the dip beam?
It's a piece of complete insanity, in addition to making it almost impossible to install the bulbs without touching them and thus shortening their lives.
Also, why the hell are H1 bulbs twice as expensive as every other type?
P.
At least you can change the bulb without removing the entire headlamp assembly, or dismantling lots of adjacent bits. It takes a couple of hours to change the bulb on a late-model Golf, for example. I'm not saying it's good, just not a problem unique to Rover.
Worse than that, if you touch them the oils will evaporate off and corrode the reflector.
???
H1 is about the same as H4 and most other types. If you mean the newer H7, that's different - the bulb is made to much tighter tolerences, as filament positioning is critical in 'free form' headlight designs, which have clear glass and a complex, computer designed reflector to shape the beam. New designs of bulb are coming with even more exact specifications, H8 and upwards. Bet these won't be cheap either.
The 75 uses H7s for Dip and H1s for the Main. Shopping around yesterday I discovered that both of these bulbs were typically twice as expensive as anything else on the shelves of Halfords or a couple of local parts factors.
I honestly can't see a reason why - I eneded up paying £16 each for the damn things with any name on them let alone a decent name.
P.
The ones at Halfords and other 'cheaper' places are not manufactured to the same specifications. A while ago there was a thread here about premature bulb blowing on 75's, and the usual cause was cheap replacement bulbs.
I had a n/s dipped headlamp bulb blow on my 75 at about 14K miles, replaced it with a Halfords one which blew within a week. The original equipment replacement is still going strong - along with all the other bulbs on the car, at 86K.
My dealer told me that they had lots of complaints of early bulb failure when non-standard bulbs were used - but those complaints went away when proper spec bulbs were re-installed.
Steve.
While we're on the subject of gripes why are Rover wheel nuts £126.90 a set? Why are *most* the spare parts I buy for my 214 2 to 3 times more expensive than buying equivalent VW parts (eg clutch cable £31 as opposed to £14) even though most are build in the UK??
--Steve
Well, I can't say I agree with you too much - I've done almost 90K miles in my 2.5 auto 75 Conn SE, and it has cost me less per service and mile than any other car I have owned in the last 10 years - my last car was a 216GTi and that was more expensive to run than the 75, but not as expensive as Peugeots, VWs, BMWs, Mercedes, and have you seen the running costs of Jaguars???
Just a couple of things to add - I can't see why H1 bulbs should be expensive either, unless you go for a 'premium' bulb, it's a simple halogen bulb, the only unusual thing being the filament aligned across the bulb instead of fore-aft which is used in almost all other types. As I mentioned, the H7 is a different matter altogether, as it is a modern 'premium' bulb by specification - very tight tolerence for filament position, high light output etc. Many manufacturers took the technology introduced with the H7 and used it with their older designs to produce 'premium' versions. While there is little chance of getting a cheap H7, there isn't much point in going for a top price version either as the basic spec. is very good. As to Rover's prices for spares - they vary from very reasonable to ludicrous, so it pays to be selective when buying your spares. I have had bad experience with poor fitting oil seals from motor factors, so tend to stick with the Rover dealer for seals, gaskets and so on, but most parts are quite reasonable from a motor factor - comparable with prices for VW bits from the specialist suppliers. As to wheel nuts - quite easily obtained for £2.50 each from a 3rd party supplier, Rover OEM design. That's £30 for a dozen, and maybe another £30 for a set of four locking nuts. Under half the Rover price.
Hehe, let me get this straight - your Rover dealer told you that his products were better than items that were bought elsewhere.
And you don't see a problem with that ? :)
-- Lordy
In the case of buying an auxiliary belt for a diesel, it most definately is.
Little story. Back in the mists of time when I bought my first diesel I decided that after a certain period, as I was keeping the car for a long time and was racking up the miles to London and back, I would do my own servicing work. No big deal you would say, until the day I noticed that the auxiliary belt was going on its grooved side. I know, I thought, I'll just nip into Halfraulds and see if they have a replacement.
After much checking, they did, I bought it, got it home, and found the width of the belt was not wide enought. After taking it back it was ascertained that whoever said the belt was suitable had cocked up and I ended up with a full refund. This mistake is still on show today, five years down the road, look at the counter charts and then look at the belt.
Went to a Rover dealer, the correct belt was £25 compared to a tenner from Halfraulds but at least the bloody thing fitted first time. If any of you have worked on a Rover diesel you'll know the belt is held in place by a spring loaded tensioner and it can be a pig holding that tensioner slack against the spring while jiggiling the new belt over the pully with your hand holding the spanner sandwiched up against the bulkhead whilst bent through 90 degrees through the wheel arch. Nasty job, but a lot easier than changing the alternator on a mid series 214.
I agree, some Rover prices are exorbitant, whilst others are cheap as chips. Over the last few years I have found the following.
Rover axuliary belt £25 (expensive) Rover Diesel Timing Belt £65 (outrageous) Rover collapsing oil sump washers 15p per washer (good value) Rover replacement rear wiper arm and blades £8 (average) Rover dash switch micro bulbs £4 each bulb (outrageous) Rover oem rear box and silencer £25 (good value) Rover/Bosch replacement fuel injector pump £1500 (bloody gold plated, but didn't need it in the end, thank god) Rover spare full size wheel £15 (I replaced the space saver, why must manufacturers fit bloody space savers?)
All I can say is that its a game of swings and roundabouts when getting the bits. You may be lucky on some items and get a bargain, and get fleeced to death on others. As a rule I found that mechanical based parts are cheap unless specialised (like a timing belt) but electrical spared, being specialised to Rover, can be an arm and a leg.
PDH
Forgot to add to that list.
Rover OEM radio £600 (it's made by Philips for f's sake, why so pricy?)
PDH
No I don't, because my OWN experience confirmed what they said. Halfords and other cheap bulbs are NOT made to the same specification as the ones supplied by the manufacturer. Of course they SAY they are - don't YOU have a problem with that?
Halfords are hardly cheap. I tend to use Partco when I can, and Bosch which is the premium brand Halfords carry tends to be made to the same tolerances as OEM parts.
P.
And other people's experience will confirm the opposite. Two items that are exactly the same from the same place can have completely different lifespans.
No, they're probably better, for the most part. OEM parts are predominantly the cheapest possible mass produced items, especially on non premium marques.
Just like your dealer said...
No, I have an ounce of commone sense :)
Btw, did you know that most of Halford's stuff is Unipart ? Guess who supplies Rover with OEM products...
It was an absolute b'stard to do on my 620ti as well, tensioner was stupidly tight. Couldn't be done alone.
-- Lordy
OEManufacturer parts are subject to stringent QA tests, which means the reject rate is higher. In most mass production lines, especially in eletrical items, the QA procedure has a number of 'acceptable' levels, only the very highest one of which is usually OEM. Because of this, many components are sold as replacements because they are deemed 'fit', although not as 'fit' as manufacturer's original parts. Many of the manufacturer 'rejects' are therefore sold as cheap-brand parts - often with no problems, because they passed slightly less stringent QA testing and meet the standards on the box.
I know that in car parts this is fact. It is also true in blank CD and DVD manufacture and computer memory manufacture.
As do I, which is why I use my own EXPERIENCE in addition to what I am told, and don't just argue for the sake of it.
Guess who supplies Rover with SOME OEM products... The bulbs supplied on my
75 at new were Bosch, hardly Unipart. MG-Rover have been using suppliers other than, as well as, Unipart for the past 9 years. Unipart lost the parts distribution contract (where they excel) for MG-Rover a few years ago, to the detriment of the MG-Rover dealer network.Yes indeed.
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