In an earlier post about a Sterling, a reader commented "British build quality and the soul of a Japanese appliance. The Worst of both Worlds."
While that's not too far from the truth, it's not 100% fair. The Honda V6 is not the most exciting engine ever built, but it was one of the best engines to come out of Japan in the 1980s. The British bits, while not put together all that well, gave the car a luxurious feel that Honda, or any Japanese manufacturer at the time, couldn't match.
The Sterling sold well at first, moving over 15,000 cars in 1988. By 1992, as word got out about the build quality problems, sales dropped to less than 2000. Rover pulled the plug on Sterling in 1992. This Sterling is an Oxford Edition. Only 350 were made. They all came painted "Nordic Metallic Blue". Inside they had every luxury bell, whistle and gadget known to man in 1990. (And yes, being a Sterling, that means there are a lot of things with the potential to ooze smoke, shoot sparks, or just quit with no warning at all). The interior has more leather than the standard Sterling and a few other "luxury" touches. It also has the 2.7 liter version of the Honda / Acura engine. It has a bit more horsepower and torque than the 2.5 liter version that came in the earlier Sterlings. It made the car very competitive with (or better than) many of the sports sedans coming from Europe at the time.
The seller describes this car as being in very good condition. The body needs a good buffing and there's one small rust spot. The interior looks to be in very nice shape. In almost every ad you see for a Sterling, the seller mentions how easy it is to get mechanical parts at your local Honda / Acura dealer. That's true, but since those aren't the parts that break, that's a moot point. (If you do go to a Honda or Acura dealer looking for parts, go in knowing the part number. Honda / Acura dealers don't know - and don't want to know - anything about Sterlings.) It's everything else that breaks and many parts are very tough to come by. Fortunately, on this car, everything seems to be there and is said to be in working order.
The Sterling is not a car for everyone. But if you like driving something unique and don't mind some extra work and time involved in hunting down parts, the Sterling is a car worth looking into.
Personally, I like the hatchback Sterling 827SLi, but of you prefer a trunk to a hatch, this 827SL might be a good choice.
Located in Ocean City, MD, click here to see the eBay listing.