Cheap MGF good or bad idea ?

[Vince70]

I wonder if a there's a Rover K series or an MGF owner who could give me a few pointers on what to look for on Buying an MGF.

 

Knowing that the F is the shite connoisseur choice in the two seater open top world of motoring due the triple whammy of omg head gasket K series and rover I thought I may get one.

 

There's one local to me which I could most probably get for under the £500 mark which looks ok ish with 44k on the clock.

 

I asked the norm about the head gasket and the owner said it was done 6 weeks ago.

 

My problem with that is why would you pay out £600 on a head gasket only to sell your car a few weeks later for under £500.

Is there something I'm missing and should I be looking out for any other problems along the way.

[Rocket88]

have cambelt/water pump/ coolant pipes been done in living memory?

[xtriple]

Isn't this the same as all the other Rover 'K' series motors with all the same problems/virtues?  I know they go well but aren't they prone to liners sinking? So head gaskets can go as soon as you fix them? I know I'd have one for that sort of money (if it was auto and there was handy hoist system set up on the frame to get me in/out of it!) as they are supposed to be brilliant fun to drive. A mate of mine has just traded his in (for a bloody new Citroen!) and got peanuts for it as the trade don't love them.

 

I reckon in years to come, they will be sought after if nice/looked after/maintained properly.

 

Buy it with your eyes open to the possibility of big(ish) bills and a contingency fund and you shoul have fun motoring.

[Bobthebeard]

They are cheap because of the perceived K series OMG HGF. Mainly happened in the Freelander though, due to various things.....Worth a punt though surely. Keep an eye on the coolant level, if it starts to drop just fix the leak straight away! ( Inlet manifold usually ). The HGF mainly happens when the engine overheats due to low coolant. If you treat them right they will usually be fine! K series is a cracking engine if looked after. If it has signs of being run with a coolant leak then HGF may be looming. If not, just check coolant level every day until you have confidence in the thing. Great wee cars.

[HH-R]

There aren't really any expensive MGFs now, they're worth nowt.

 

HGF is obviously an issue, wheelbearings go frequently (think they're Metro items!), check for rust, especially the subframes.

[Station]

Mine is for sale for £400 with 12 months mot. It had a 'new' 2k engine in 2010. I did the MLS gasket/belt/pulleys when I got it just to be on the safe side, and also did the old engine so many times I got quite good at it (doing the head gasket change start to finish in 2 and a half hours).
They are good cars, obv perception has been spoilt by pistonheads/top gear arse holes because they're British and the mx5 is better (which it probably is), but most seem to have never driven one. They handle well, the engines are really torquey and blemished by the whole HGF thing.
Rust protection is first class on the body though, they don't rust.

 

edit: Once the engine has had HGF, it's pretty much scrap and will usually re-occur. I think it must warp the head AND the block and affect the seating of the damp liners.

[purplebargeken]

Buy Stations. No other advice needed. Good advice for all of the above.

 

All three of mine have been sub £400 buys and I have seemingly been lucky. Had the belts, adjuster, water pump, etc done a short while back and cost me around £300. I can let you have the details if you want.

 

Join the forum here for all of the additional advice you will ever need. 

 

http://www.mgfregister.org/forum/index.php 

 

They do rust on the body like any other car - usually around the rear air vents and around the front side indicators and a little on the sill joints but I have never had an issue, nor have most of the folk I know who own one.   Fab cars, easy to upgrade and bits really are cheap including leather, etc. TF's attract a premium but my VVC more than kept up on the track. 52mm throttle body upgrade is a must, just makes it a bit more fun.

 

Go for it. They are an absolute hoot to drive. They really do grow on you. There have been previous threads on here about what to look out for, maybe someone will point the way.

 

You can always log onto the forum and ask if anyone local can go with you to look at one but Stations one sounds good.

 

Station, whereabouts are you located?

 

Ken

[Bobthebeard]

Buy Stations. No other advice needed. Good advice for all of the above.

 

All three of mine have been sub £400 buys and I have seemingly been lucky. Had the belts, adjuster, water pump, etc done a short while back and cost me around £300. I can let you have the details if you want. Join the forum here for all of the additional advice you will ever need. They do rust on the body like any other car - usually around the rear air vents and around the front side indicators and a little on the sill joints but I have never had an issue, nor have most of the folk I know who own one.   

 

http://www.mgfregister.org/forum/index.php 

 

Fab cars, easy to upgrade and bits really are cheap including leather, etc. TF's attract a premium. 

 

Go for it. They are an absolute hoot to drive. 

 

Ken

+1.

Buy one and enjoy!

[Pillock]

I'll let you know in a few weeks....

[Bobthebeard]

I'll let you know in a few weeks....

Hahaha! Fence sitter..... Lol

[Vince70]

Thanks for all the advice the car was on eBay as a relisted item and last time it didn't make it's £500 start bid so it was dropped to £350 and was only a couple of miles away so that's why I was thinking about going for it.

 

I did ask the guy if I could have a look but he couldn't let me see it as he was working today and by the time he finished it was too late for me to go round as the auction only had half hour to go, so I didn't go for it in the end.

 

I may leave my car hunting till a couple of weeks time as I really should get my old Audi back up the shape (new discs pads and a service etc ) before the mot so I think I may leave it till that's out the way first, as I don't really want to start pulling apart two cars at the moment.

 

But I will go for a MG/Rover soon

[eddyramrod]

Keep an eye open, it might be relisted again, or did it sell this time?  At that price, even I'd buy it, and I have no need for it and nowhere for it to go!

[Vince70]

That's the reason I was going to buy it I just couldn't believe that you could get a low mileage two seater sports car for that kind of money.

It did sell this time round though for £529 which still seems like a bargain it also had a nice long ticket and a couple of months tax.

[purplebargeken]

Believe it, for it is true.

[Pillock]

Hahaha! Fence sitter..... Lol

 

So far, can't recommend it highly enough. 

I paid the same for a 2-seater convertible as some people will spend on a suit or a piece of IKEA furniture. It actually occurred to me that if it broke down on the way home, I'd just have a bottle of summat to cheer up and not worry too much - if my brand new floppytop straight out the dealer broke down I'd be crying.

 

It goes well, sounds nice, looks good and will be cheap to fix as hardly any sensor magic. I've already found three others breaking on ebay in the same colour. It does everything that a new foldy-roof car does but is much more charming.

 

What I can't comment on is likely faults, weak points, or running issues. I've had it for 25 hours

[PiperCub]

Although I'm an MX5 chap and don't want an F (5's are better in almost every way IMO), the MGF's day definately will come. In a couple of years when the dodgy crap has died off they will then be a rare car & no-one will believe running driving examples were so bloody cheap as they are now!

 

If an F is cheap and claims to have had a new HG then the question to ask is how well was it done? Was it done properly with the head checked for warping, new studs, proper M/L gasket? Or did it just have a new one banged in for the purposes of sale? Receipts for parts &/or work would be good.

 

As I said, I prefer 5's but a cosmetically good, running & driving F is a good prospect for the future even if you have to do some mechanic-ing on it yourself to bring it up to standard. They will never be cheaper than now.

[Pillock]

I could be confident and say my F has had the HG done. Actually according to to service book it's been done twice, 7000 miles apart so there's no guarantee.

 

The HG might be cheap. They might reuse bolts. Then head might have warped and not been checked. The root cause - overheating or poor maintenance or whatever - might never have been addressed.

 

I'd put more faith in having a car previously owned by a careful sensible owner than anything.

[lisbon_road]

I don't know anything about these cars though all the above posts are very informative.

 

From what I am reading above, if it is a really clean car and you really want one, the worst case surely is that you need to get another engine - which at that price isn't so serious if it doesn't concern you too much?

[Lacquer Peel]

If the 'K' goes you could use Rover 115D bits to fit a Peugeot TUD5 engine for economy and power.

[Pillock]

You'd get £100 scrap if the engine went all disinterested. If you have space to break it for bits, probably double that (especially if it has leather and a good hood). This minimises your risk....

[twosmoke300]

If the 'K' goes you could use Rover 115D bits to fit a Peugeot TUD5 engine for economy and power.

Now I'm interested ! Hmm metro subframes on the mgf too so it's a feasible swap. Hmm

[dave21478]

This is interesting - I have today spotted an ad for a cheap VVC one not too far away. It has some paperwork issues,but I think I can sort that out. However the chap says it wont start off the key due to an "alarm problem", but apparently it will start if you piss about with the fuse box and give a 12v feed direct to the starter motor.

 

Is this a known fault? Assuming the alarm/immob is kippered, is it feasible to DIY bypass/remove it? 

 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/697662110.htm?ca=16_s

 

My Spider Senses are tingling though as even with the faults, its still far too cheap for French standards.

[purplebargeken]

Ask on the MGF register forum, they should tell you asap.

 

Ken

[Noel Tidybeard]

one can't help but wonder if a T-series will fit....

[dave21478]

Signed up on the MG forum, cheers.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I think the lucas 5AS immobilisers on these knock out the sparks and possibly the fuel as well, so if you can actually get it running by fannying on with the starter motor theres probably not an issue with the alarm at all.

[Station]

Alarm/immobiliser/MEMS and ECU are all linked together. Getting a new ECU/alarm/key etc will cure it.

 

T-series are twice the weight of the k-series.