Bargain Hunter: Car of the week - End of an era for the Rover 800

THIRTEEN IS unlucky for some, and so it is for the 13-year-old Rover 800, which dies this year, to be replaced by the new Rover 75, which also replaces the 600, so Rover dealers are keen to shift old stock at low prices.

The 800 is an outdated but comfortable fossil. A top of the range 825I Sterling costs pounds 27,000 new, but at All Electric Garages, in Birmingham (0121-427 5252), prices start at pounds 20,895. They also had the competent and more contemporary 600. Entry level 618s are pounds 12,495, previously pounds 15,675. Shop around the Rover dealer network, mainly in the Midlands.