Montego advice

[Maria]

I've received the following email:

A garage near me has a M reg Montego 2 litre petrol Countryman estate for sale.

I have a couple of questions:
1) How long lasting the 2 litre petrol engine is with correct servicing ? It has done 105 000 miles already.
2) What the official fuel consumption is and how it compares to the 1.6 petrol?
3) Are there any price guides for this model? The current guides I see for sale, do not have the Montego in them any more. It is for sale for £1,300 which I think seems high, even with no visible exterior rust. The rear bumper and tail gate both have a minor dent.

Any help gratefully received :)

[MGTurbo]

Originally posted by Maria
I've received the following email:

A garage near me has a M reg Montego 2 litre petrol Countryman estate for sale.

I have a couple of questions:
1) How long lasting the 2 litre petrol engine is with correct servicing ? It has done 105 000 miles already.
2) What the official fuel consumption is and how it compares to the 1.6 petrol?
3) Are there any price guides for this model? The current guides I see for sale, do not have the Montego in them any more. It is for sale for £1,300 which I think seems high, even with no visible exterior rust. The rear bumper and tail gate both have a minor dent.

Any help gratefully received :)


The O series is well known for lasting very well IF serviced regulary. They are un-stressed, even in the Estate body, and don't tend to be driven hard because the character of the engine promotes early gear changes. Because of this, an engine thats done 105k may only just be worn in... But like i say, service history must prove regular oil changes.

The fuel consumption can be quite good, i acheived 40mpg from my Efi Maestro with ease, and its quite easy to see 33-35mpg on average. An M reg car will be fitted with a CAT which reduces power output to 103bhp, and economy will also be affected slightly.

Prices are still quite high for very good condition car's, they are still in demand now! I had someone ask to buy my Monty last week, and he put his name down on the list if i were to sell it.

A ideal price, if full service history can be proven, 12 Months Tax and MOT, and repairs to the bumper and tailgate, would be about a grand, IMO.

Personally, if fuel costs are an issue, hold out for a TD. It really suits the personality of the car. Despite me having a reputation of a boy racer:rolleyes:, i love driving my Montego and can often be seen doing 60mph in the slow lane:cool:, trying to get even better MPG than my last tankful (record is 68mpg in the summer). I haven't been able to get close since the colder weather has arrived, but 50mpg everyday is reality. There's no other car that would serve my needs as well as this one, it's the most useful car i've ever had!

Gareth

[Quality]

Make sure that rust-proofing is maintaied otherwise the car will lose vale liike a new one.

[FlyingAnt]

I have a Montego Countryman Petrol K-reg just coming up to 292,000. Had a new cylinder head gasket at around 200k and had the head skimmed & valves ground in & guides renewed while I was at it. Converted to LPG about 70k miles ago with no problems. Get 30mpg mainly long journeys. Parts are dirt cheap so maybe not as economic as other cars, but cheap to maintain. Definitely keep an eye on the bodywork and check the underseal is well maintained. Body panels are cheap so if rust is bad on the wheel arches get some new ones welded on (£10 for the arches).