Today I test drove the 2004 MG-ZR at a used car dealer's lot, and I felt like sharing.
It only has 12,000 KM on it, so it's practically brand new.
http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/cars/mg_zr.asp

I must say I fell in love with it from the second I pushed the pedal to the metal.

Steering is precise and enjoyable, not to mention the car looks like it was taken out of Need for Speed Underground.

The price the dealer is asking for is outstanding - 24,400$ or 20,000 Euro (taking into account that car taxes in Israel are 95%).

The car comes with the standard 16" rims, leather sport seats and sunroof. A cute bonus from the previous owner is an in-dash MP3 CD changer. The car is so new, the trunk is still covered with nylons, as is the spare tire.

What are your thoughts/experiences with the ZR?
Do you own a Rover/MG?
Should I buy it?

sounds good to me, but find out who was killed in the backseat first...

Oh.. so that's why the leather is red!

Do you have that much in cash? If so, there's a trick you might want to try. Most dealers assume that you're going to pay for it with credit and/or with a payment plan where they can make more money off of you through interest fees. What you do is bargain for a price and get it as low as you can, as the dealer would assume that it is no problem since the money will be made up in the long run. As soon as you nail a price, pay it up with cash that you should bring ready with you in a breefcase, with some style, I might add. It will piss the dealer off and save you lots of money.

My recommendation would be for you to buy the car.

and give him the briefcase as well. reputation is everything these days :P

This car is looking very similar to the Rover 25. Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a rover instead of a MG ? Or are they distributing the same cars in different brands, like vauxhall/opel...
Guess the MG has a MG motor...

Unfortunately I can't bargain the price lower than it already is.
The loophole you mentioned, TFS, was removed by the dealer simply by stating that the current price is the one you get for paying the full amount at once.
Thanks for the advice though.

The MG-ZR is the Rover 25 all dressed up for battle, Pulp. It would originally be cheaper to buy a Rover 25, but the price the dealer is giving me is no different than the price on an R25. The only difference between the two models is the leather interior, the 16" rims, the sunroof, the sport suspension and the metallic paint.

Just for the sake of comparison, a new Peugeot 206 1.4XLINE would cost 20,000$ and performs 0-100 (0-62) in 13 seconds, no rims, no leather, no sunroof, no stereo... cars are a killer here in Israel... if the taxes were dropped we would all be driving BMWs class 7.

are the import taxes really high there or something?

I like older cars better not that muscle cars though, simply because way to many [IMAGE]s drive those.

Car taxes are 95%, CB...

I have a passion for older cars as well, but that doesn't interfere with my love for affordable performance cars. I love cars, they are the greatest invention simply because no other invention can get you from point A to point B while sitting on your ass.

Airplane, train, bicycle, also horse and wagon.

I almost smiled.

Airplane - unless you're a pilot, you're not controlling the craft
Train - even if you are controlling the train, you are moving along rails set beforehand
Horse - since it's a living being, it won't necessarily do as you wish, not to mention it's slow. Putting a wagon on it won't make it go faster either.

I didn't know Jesus was a comedian... oh he wasn't? Well, neither are you...