Crap with Craig - Rover 25 GTi

Welcome to Crap with Craig.

The idea is every now and then, I’ll write about an ad for a car I have seen for sale which I think is great value, but most will think is utter crap. I’ll then say why it’s great, but ultimately make a shoddy excuse not to buy it myself. To kick it off, we have the best of the best, a Rover 25. GTi Nonetheless!

This is especially ropey being a cat N write off. It’s a good old rope though. The type that has been used for years and is totally not hanging by a thread. Anyway, I think these cars are a tidy wee sleeper. Well worth what the current bid is.

The 25 GTi followed the 200 Vi, and was a pre-curser to the MG ZR that followed. It’s quite a rare old car, as the rebrand from Rover 200, to Rover 25 was only around for a couple of years before the re-release of the MG brand. Not many manufacturers had made a car so great they decided to use it three times. It’s essentially a plain old 25, with a few chassis and interior tweaks. However, the main selling point is that lovely VVC unit which has been slotted in. At this age they were only 143bhp but these cars are light at around 1150kg, and it dispatches 60mph in a credible 8 seconds. The main plus point of these engines is they are revvy in their nature. Exactly the type of engine which eggs you on for a bit of a laugh.

And, to get it out of the way now. blahblahblahHeAdGaSkEtblahblahblah.

They were never hailed in that much acclaim. The slightly older 200 BRM was a much better example of the chassis with it’s fancy torsen diff and a close ratio box, not to mention that gorgeous red leather interior, but try and find one of them for under £2k nowadays. The GTi won’t set your pants on fire, or even give them a slight scalding for that matter, but for this kind of money it surely has to at least give you a bit of warmth?

Think of it as more of a comfy hot water bottle hatch. Firm enough for a giggle down a country road if you hit it hard, but soft and squidgy enough, all while being warm, to keep you comfy during normal driving.

This one, at the time of writing, is sitting at £175. Technically, it is a cat N write-off, however it looks to have been written off for the smallest of scrapes in the rear bumper. As it stands now, i’d happily drive it. Sure it has a few scrapes, but it is a 20 year old car after all! It also has remarkably low mileage at 35,000. Looking up the MOT history reveals that the mileage is genuine and even better, it still has a current MOT! The add says it runs and drives too… I really am having to hold myself back.

What’s worse for my urge is there is not one sign of rust on this thing. Usually the rear arches are as flaky as a croissant on 25’s by this point but these look as crisp as good bag of McCoys. There is not one mention of rust on the MOT history either. Also noted is the shop name and details on the rear and side window. A collectors shop you say? More than likely an old person? You could take this in two ways. But more often that not, it usually means maintenance has been done regularly.

The MOT history also shows it passed with no advisories, after a couple of repairs, and has only done around 1500 miles since. This would suggest that consumables such as the tyres and brakes are not needing imminent replacement. It has an ugly oval tipped exhaust but that’s a cheap sort if you really care. The worst thing for me is the really rather vulgar interior. I don’t know who thought black leather with red cloth inserts was a good idea but they should’ve been stopped. The worst thing is for once they even done a bloody good job as 20 years later it still looks fresh. This would not give me an excuse to rip it out for a bit of weight reduction.

One of the main things stopping me buying it is I would have to register for Copart, which costs £50. So I could register, not win the car and be £50 down. To most people this is probably a risk worth taking. I however, am a tight git. I do not want to lose £50. I am also not a gambling man. So this really does not appeal to me. I also have no place to keep the car off the road. This becomes an issue if the car does not pass another MOT straight off the bat. But for someone who has the space to keep it how can you lose? You could easily sell the engine in that car for £250.

Whoever ends up with is getting a bargain, regardless if the car works or not.

Link to the ad - https://www.copart.co.uk/lot/24114329