I Bought a Car SO EMBARRASSINGLY BAD, I Hid it From You for A YEAR! This is it...

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LOL James thanks for the mention and I do apologise for putting us both through that!! It certainly was the worst challenge I've ever taken on with the 75ZT's I specialise in. One reason it was here for a year is that every job on it took twice as long as normal because of the previous bodge monkeys, so it ended up being worked on between all the other projects here and inbetween the day jobs owners travel here for which I do while they wait. I suspect I saw it through rose tinted specs initially and the MOT items didn’t seem that bad. A lot of things had been bodged like for example a brand new ABS sensor on the rear had been fitted. Great I thought and then began to waste another hour or so tracing a ABS line fault according to T4 diagnostics. I then decided to remove said new sensor only to find the new sensor bit in the hub had been hacksawn off because the bodger couldn't get the old piece out he though it would cure the fault just by sticking the lead through the hole ........I kid you not 😅 What a racket on the way to the MOT. 3 wheel bearings were very loud ⚠️ But we got it through with a clean sheet except for an orange bulb which wasn't orange enough (a pet hate of my tester 🙄) Then because we were 30% into the project it was kind of a point of no return then and I would then send 5 jobs a week to James which needed attention (prices given) and Jayem kept saying Go Ahead !! And the list got longer & longer until I ran out of steam ! I said to Jayem just come and fetch it, use it and see if you want phase 2 next year. Entertaining vid and channel BTW keep up the good work. Jules

Congratulations James if your wearing that shirt for a bet ,you've won mate.

Sorry to hear abour your experience James. It is rather unfortunate this sort of people ruin the Facebook owner groups hopefully the car proves to be better thereafter.

75 owner checking in - thanks for saving another one. So many of these get scrapped for apparently small issues. Jules is a legend in the 75/ZT world, so you are fortunate to have him fixing it.

Embarrassed by the car yet not by that shirt? James, you're a true enigma! Love your channel - keep up the great work.

Definitely a punishment from God; one cannot have this many MG Rover products!

Bad story, but I had worse. I had a BMW Z4 "J4 UKP" (private plate too). Let a "friend" of mine look after it. I went away on holiday. Came back to find the car had been put in a garage in Hull, sold to somebody. He said he knew nothing about it. I reported to police and DVLA. They said they can't help. Tried to trace the location of the car. Nobody could do anything as the V5 was left in the glove box by me. To this day I have never been able to resolve the issue. Lost 10,000 quid. Pissed off is not even close.

Your registration plate says it all😬

The line "I have saved this car from being scrapped" is used quite liberally among automotive YouTubers, but James has genuinely saved this car. From the photos and damage, someone has been absolutely ragging on this thing, basically beating it to death and then conning someone out of some money for it. Most people would have just cut their losses and scrapped it, so James has actually saved it and kept it on the road. It was never my favourite MG, but it is such a rare sight today. Presumably James if now looking for a TF in the classified to get the MG Full House... I initially thought this was going to be an update on the ZS, it's been a very long time since it was even mentioned.

Sorry Facebook marketplace lived up to it's reputation for you, it's truly awful what scams and dishonesty people try to get away with. But with that being said I am absolutely delighted that you've bought a 75/ZT to complete your collection and have pulled one back from the brink! These are such good cars, criminally underrated and overlooked! I'm living my dream of owning and restoring Rovers vicariously through you. The exotica is great, but it's this side of the channel that I truly adore and look forward to the most. I hope your bond for this car continues to grow and the old hector gets some more love to really make it shine like the flagship it is. Thanks James, this made my day.

Just wanted to mention: there was one step you missed which could have saved you some of the surprises which you encountered: I also bought a car a few years back sight unseen, whilst sitting on a beach in Dubai. Home is London for me and the car was in Wales. The car was a MK3 Golf GTI 16v Anniversary edition, the rare of the rare of UK supplied Mk3 golf’s, and this one was purportedly fully restored and in amazing condition. The step you missed was to arrange a mobile vehicle PPI, which I got done for little over £150, and I got a full report sent to me via email the next day. It wasn’t as comprehensive as taking to a specialist for a complete review, but it did take a few hours and included a test drive and photos. They confirmed to me that this was the best Mk3 golf they had ever seen and the seller was being honest with his description. In your case they would have mentioned the battery situation, possibly the rust, and many other items which were a bit iffy. So there is that little step which is the next best thing to viewing the car yourself, get a mobile pre purchase inspection done! Hope this helps

Embarrassing story? Probably. But embarrassing car? Absolutely not! I love the ZT and I think it's a great car regardless of the price. It looks superb, both as a saloon and estate, and as mk1 and mk2. It's a shame that they were treated so badly for so long, that there's very few truly good examples left on the roads now, but I'm happy this one was saved from certain death.

We had a Fiesta ST150 where the former keeper has filled the space over the error lights with black silicone. This was over the EML and ABS lights, what fun it was correcting all that...

Usually not a fan of JayEmm, but this piece on his MG really changed my opinion on his channel. Great subject, well delivered and concise.

This mirrors my experience with my £1,200 Rover 75 Tourer CDTI purchase. Trip to Jules for a look over resulting in about another £1,200 in essential repairs. Last summer put another £2.5k or so into it and fully rebuilt the suspension, sill rust repair, new brake pipes and a load of other parts replacements at home on the driveway. People will wince but a German car of similar vintage (these are almost literally FWD E46) will likely be just as near death and won’t provide the driving experience that these almost uniquely offer. Keep up the MG Rover content, it’s great to get these cars some exposure and unravel the pub bore myths!

Anyone else finding the number plate hilarious given the context? 🤣

There’s a lot to be said for owning a car that you can happily lend to anyone and not worry about it….. I used to own a Hyundai Lantra estate which was my tip car, dog wagon, hay bale carrier and I never had to worry about it….. it cost me £250, I used it for three years, it sailed through its MOT each year and I sold it again for £250 👍

Love your attitude focusing on the fact that you brought this nice little motor back from the brink of scrapdom, well done JayEmm.

Lesson learned there James. In my experience when a seller says they’ve been offered such and such scrap value, it generally means the cars scrap.