Why my Rover SD1 is better than my Saab 9-3, #1

[tdskip]

In what threatens to become a series of posts, here are some random thoughts for my fellow Triumph owners (see the tie in to the Triumph forum, tenuous I know) on my the 1980 Rover 3500 (SD1 fits better on the title line) is better than my 1999 Saab 9-3 SE.

1) After 135,493 miles the Rover 5 speed is much more crisp than my Saab with only 43,000 miles.

2) While they both crunch in going 2nd gear, at least the Rover stops doing that once it is warmed up.

3) Despite only having 1/4 of its door panels installed the Rover is actually quieter than the Saab on the highway

4) The Rover has a V8, and sounds like it.

5) Even if the Rover disappeared tomorrow, which could happen seeing that the door locks don't work, it would still only represent 1/14 of what I lost on the Saab in depreciation

6) The Rover has real live tempature control levers so I can set the tempature as I see fit rather than the car thinking it knows more than I do about what would make me happy.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Nice ride, that! Glad you're enjoying it.

Mickey

 

[Brosky]

Kind of like my "it never ends analogy" in the aluminum valve cover thread.

The sad thing is we're both right...

 

[tdskip]

I should point out here that I'm really not trying to bash my Saab - which I sold recently by the way.

It just really struck me today, as I was fervently hoping that the Rover would make it the tire dealer before the prehistoric tires gave way, that it was actually a pretty decent car.

 

[tr8todd]

My dad had three diffent ones during the 90's. I loved the way they rode. Those self leveling rear shocks made the car feel smaller than it was. Each time he found a nicer one, I got some more spare parts for the TR8s. On the last one he had, we installed a four barrel and a cam. The biggest complaint I have was that people were always asking "what kind of Alfa is that?". personally I think they look like a big Chevy Citation. The only Saab I have ever owned to compare it to was a Sonett. Not a fair comparison.

 

[tdskip]

I've been surprised at how quick the Rover is once she is rolling, if you really leg into it she goes. Much fun.

Todd - where your Dad's Rovers mechanically reliable?

I'm facing the very real prospect of dumping a bunch of money into a car that will probably never be worth more than the $1,000 I paid for her.

But oh the potential....

Kind of brings the whole thread back around to Paul's point on valve covers!

 

[tr8todd]

They were fairly reliable in that the cars never left him stranded. He is not a car guy, so guess who the upkeep on the car fell to. After 10 years worth of tinkering with the Rovers, I broke down and bought him a used Toyota Celica, and parted out the last of the Rovers. It was looking at some body work anyway. The big issues with the cars were the interior, and the climate controls. The interiors are garbage, and fall apart. The climate controls have vacuum switches and Luas electrics. Finding things like ball joints can become a challenge.