Scary reliability stories!!???

[martinos]

Hey all,
i've had my heart set on buying an MGF for ages, but now i finally have the money to buy one i keep hearing scary stories about build quality etc. Now, as a classic mini enthusiast i'm no stranger to mechanical failure, but mini's are so cheap and easy to fix that it's never really been a problem. One of the worst things i keep reading (esp in Parkers guide, owners reviews) is the MGF VVC head gasket going all the time.

Can anyone tell me, is it true and how much is it likely to cost to repair? I'm looking to buy this/next week and don't really want to buy one thats about to blow up. How can i tell?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Cheers

[nick]

Obviously you cant say its never going to happen, but as long as you look after your car reasonably well you should avoid anything terrible. For example, i knew mine was losing water but didnt bother sorting it out so the head gasket blew. It was my own fault and if i'd have sorted it out in time it would have cost me 30 odd quid for a new bit of pipe.. instead it cost me more like £600.

They've got a bad reputation but, other than the £600 on the head gasket, i think i've only ever had to put tyres on my F, and a brake caliper for the MOT last year. Great little car in my opinion... although having said that, the potential for wasting money on bigger alloys/louder exhausts/shiney bits/new seats etc etc etc is limitless!!!

[patrick]

Well the bad news is that any MGF is now not going to be in the first flush of youth and there is therefore some risk that you are merely taking over someone else’s problems. This would be true of any car of this age. The HGF is the scary downside and this might cost £600 to £900 to fix. Taking out a mechanical warranty is an option taken by some to cover this risk. Getting the car inspected by a mechanic before purchase might minimise the chances of buying a duff car but the head gasket could be OK this week and blow next…..

Looking on the brighter side we have had 5 K series engined cars over the last 10 year (2 x MGF, Elise, Rover 200 and 75). Only 1 has had an HGF and that one had the good manners to blow right outside the house and whilst the car was still under warranty. I have also been on lots of major European driving holidays (6?) with other MGFs covering at least 2,000 miles in 10 days of “spirited” driving. The worst breakdown was a burst hose.

I am embarrassed to admit that one of my sons has a Boxter and this needed to be transported to the body shop after a dog dashed out when travelling through some “Social housing” estate over the weekend. The transport driver arrived a bit late has he had been called out to an Audi R8 that had broken down the day after the owner took delivery – not great for a car costing £90k. The flat bed was also covered with oil and the driver said that this was caused by a one week old Audi softroader. I said the owner must had been “gutted” to crash is new car after only a week and he said no the engine just blew up. If you are wondering why this guy was exposed to so many broken down VWs, the RAC offer a special service to the likes of Porsche, Audi etc to offer and exclusive pickup service. It appears they need it!

I think you can be pretty sure that any MGF will be more reliable than a vastly more expensive VW. Who remembers the old advertising slogan “if only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen”…….

[martinos]

I guess i'll just have to keep my fingers crossed with the head gasket thing. £600 is a lot of money but it's still less than the £1800 i heard it could cost from a dealer! I have my eye on a nice 57i induction kit too...

[martinos]

;D 'spirited driving' haha ;D

Well i know you can spend a lot more on one but i have around £3000 so i'm hoping that will get me something i can rely on. I've been driving a massive e-class mercedes for the last 2 years and while i've almost forgotten the meaning of 'fun' i can't complain that it has ever let me down (until a police car twisted the chassis into a sort of horseshoe shape while i was parked up a few weeks ago!)

[colintf]

come to MG Fest, and have a good look round talk to owners - bound to be some for sale, and plenty people there in the know to give advice!

[andrew]

I had HGF just two weeks after I picked my car up it had traveled just 82000km, since then I have had the clutch replaced and just routine maintenance and traveled some 75000km over the past 4 years. The car is has had many track days plus lots of city driving. Conclusion it has been a very cheap car to run over the past 4 and a bit years.


PS- You also meet some of the nicest people through your F.

[helsbymgtf]

hi hope u do get an F. one thing to look for on a car of an age yours will be is the colant pipes which run under the car, no colant =no head gasket

[martinos]

I just had the pleasure of being able to cruise behind a gorgeous red MGF along the motorway on my way home from work. The weather was beautiful, their roof was down and i was JEALOUS.

I'll keep an eye out for those coolant pipes- cheers for that!

There are some wheels i have seen that i really like but i'm not sure if they were only fitted to limited edition MGF's. They're 6 spoke but with a rather squared off profile. Does anybody know what i mean?

[markleonard]

martinos said:

There are some wheels i have seen that i really like but i'm not sure if they were only fitted to limited edition MGF's. They're 6 spoke but with a rather squared off profile. Does anybody know what i mean?

The MGF was fitted with a wheel called the 'Square Spoke'..

Check out the North-West section of this board, there are a few owners from the Wirral who come up to our monthly meets.. perhaps you could join them and get a little more info about the cars, and whats good and whats not with the F/TF