Swap coupe for MG?

I am seriously considering trading in my (vis) coupe for this: ebay
What do you think?[b][/b]

I don’t particularly like the TF, but I have a friend who loves theirs. Any chance you could try a passenger ride in one locally?

Do not do it. MG TF are so un-reliable. The wife had 2. Lemon after Lemon...say no more.

Had a Rover 45 with the same 1.8 K series lump of shite. Would never let that engine darken my door again. 3 HG failures before total failure of engine. Was in class action with MG/Rover then they declared bankruptcy. Ford did a better job with the LandRover Discovery HG but it was never a refined design. Shame as it had potential.

Go home Annie you're drunk!

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo............don't do it.

Drive one first, Annie.
One of my mates bought a Tf. I drove it twice round the block and thought 'why did he buy this'?
The cabin felt cramped, the gear change was vague, and the engine note dull.
The one you like has had seven owners but I couldn't see the mileage.
Take one for a long drive before you take the plunge.

One of my technicians at work had one which he was given for free by a customer because it needed a headgasket. We did the headgasket and he hated it so much he sent it to the scrapyard. They are truly horrible cars.

Go to https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ and type in Y805 JFT and MG and you'll see it has no current MOT, last MOT was at 79,409 miles. Quite a few issues in the past, worth printing the list out and studying before going to look, it's a long way to go (over 2 hours away)

Given the choice between a free MG TF and doing naked push-ups in a field of nettles, I'd start stripping without hesitation.

Me too. In fact, I'm there already just in case. Nettles? Pah. MG TF,..... One letter missing. WTF.....

Ha ha ha ha! You are all so witty! Thank you for making me see sense. I wondered why they were so cheap. I just was fed up because of a local garage messing me around. They didn't know how to mend a coupe but they wouldn't admit it. I thought I might be better off with a car that idiots can fix. In the 80s I travelled all around Europe for 3 months with my boyfriend in his 1973 MG midget, and I have always wanted one, but they are classics now and cost too much. I thought a TF would be the next best thing. Evidently not!

You must be mad to want that.

Unless I am missing something the ebay link gives an MGF for circa £1500 not a MG TF? The seller is well known for MGF/TF sales and if it has the uprated gasket fitted should not suffer HGF. The gold colour is disgusting though imo.

I have an MGF and I quite like it, it's done 42K miles from new and it is the MKII; it is worth pennies (just like many of our Fiat Coupe's). I have had it for 12 years and it has wanted for nothing bar oil and filter every year and a fan sensor, do about 1200 miles a year. The K series engine which also powers early Elise's is a great engine which loves to be revved.

When the evening sun is out and I fancy a blat around the lanes of Kent it puts a smile on my face. Would I swop it for my Coupe, no but as an occasional driver that costs me £100 to insure a year it is great fun.

Car Magazine circa 1996

Unerringly stable, despite a cornering attitude you can adjust on the throttle, the little MG was one of the few cars able to take Church flat-out without scaring its driver witless. part of the stability is down to the way it soaks up bumps without being jerked off line; there's oversteer, but it's amazingly gradual for a mid-engined car. There's a touch of understeer, too, but the front wheels will still bite if you need to turn harder. As long as you keep on the power, the MG points in the right direction. It's fluid, safe, and much more manageable in the wet than the Elise..........no mid engined car inspires more confidence across all conditions. The MG offers all the larks a small mid-engined car ought to bring without the worries.

Yes things have moved ahead in the twenty years since that was written and the MGF can be quite easily judged as a POS but that would be missing out on a bit of rag top fun for beer money. Those who buy cars purely to make a statement that they are escaping their mundane reality or have issues with their perceived image or feel the only driving pleasure they can achieve is theoretical 0-60 times, the bonnet badge or how much 'power' their engine has, steer well clear.

Sorry - I meant MGF.

i've always wanted one though. If you get the cooland pipes changed to stainless steel ones and get an uprated gasket job , then maybe worth a punt. Have to agree they are nice looking cars, would get one off a mg club member if you did decide to get one. There is a place that changes all the crap original parts and turns them into a decent car. Do rust though.

Years ago I was unfortunate enough to have a Rover 216. Pretty horrible except the 1.6 K-series engine which had good throttle response, nice delivery and revved to 7k. No head gasket issues and never had any other reliability issues despite abusing this £400 car which I intended to bin once it died. Never spent a penny on it.

Also drove a mates mgf back in 98. The amount of traction available off the line astonished me. They're not all bad.

i had three rovers with a 1.6 k series engine, a tomcat and two 416's. Had problems with them all, but the rover 623 gsi was a cracking car with the honda engine !

I had a MK2 MX5 before I bought my most recent coupe and it was brilliant, I actually miss it quite a lot. It was also reliable and cheap to maintain.

This week I've been using my mother-in-law's MK3 MX5, while she is away on holiday. This is also a cracking car. So nice to drive on country roads and having the roof down is great fun.

So if you are looking for a 2 door soft top I'd go and test drive an MX5!

seconded

I second the seconding. I have a mate who works for McLaren flying around the world fixing rich people's 12Cs for them. Needless to say McLaren taught him to drive properly. Going in an MX5 with him is mental - sliding it through turns with precision to the inch!

I would go and try one if mid engined convertible cars are for you then you will know if not then go with the crowd and get a mx5. I have a mg tf 160 very different to a mgf it replaced a citroen c5 everybody told me to keep the citroen with 5 times the mileage of the tf they might be right but the tf has been a lot more fun, but wouldn't want one as a every day driver. Tipped as being a future classic a mid engined British sports car what was they thinking?

Between me, my dad and brother we've had 5 k series engined cars.
1.4 cab. Hg failure
216sli met a wall at speed
216sli Hg failure within 3 months of purchase
MG ZR 1.4 broke engine mounts, car made from cheese. Hit a wall.
Freelander 1.8 - Hg failure, engine replaced, Hg failure after fitting remote stat.

K series pros - revvy, light weight and powerful for their time.

K series cons - sound shit, a few design flaws making them prone to death.

MGF - dogs to work on if they do go wrong, just look where the engine sits.

I'd have one along with a coupe, not instead of.

I had a Rover 25 1.4 and it was a great car, very reliable and surprisingly poky.

They're not a bad car at all, Annie. I personally like the K series engine, but they do require a large degree of mechanical sympathy, and unless you're handy with the tools that can lead to bills. The other thing I'd mention is that the F had hydro-elastic suspension (no springs or dampers). To my best knowledge you cannot buy the spheres anymore, so what you'll find is a number of cars that have been 'pumped' to hide the fact that the spheres are leaking.

If you do want one I'd go for the later TF that had conventional springs, or budget to convert the F.

Would I swap a coupe? No chance.

I will agree we the big muzzie on pretty much every point, but include the revvy engine as a pain in the bum.
The k always felt stressed at revs higher th 3k. Revvy and noisy. Got rid of my k series tomcat because of it.

Big Muzzies comments on the K series are spot on. The most reliable were the 1.1s fitted to late Metros and Rover 100s. The bigger they got the worse thy sounded and felt.

I only think about swapping my Coupe when it breaks down. Sometimes seems like a bit of a money pit. Especially when idiot non-specialist garages mess things up and take weeks over it. I like the idea of a soft top because even quite old ones seem to have very low miles. I have been browsing at MR2s. I'm not keen on the bulbous headlights on the newer ones but older ones are cool. I do like the MX5 and Richard Hammond seems to love them. I also would quite like an old Porsche, a 924 or 944. I expect one of those would be a money pit too though!

944 turbo would be a good investment I suspect.

The later 944 Turbos (250bhp models) are fetching the most and appreciating the most. I know, I made a killing on one last year

I agree, I made horrible losses on my much-loved Turbo a few years ago that somebody else later enjoyed huge profit on.

Sold it for £2,500. Watched it move from dealer to dealer with a higher price each time. Eventually sold to a private owner for £10,500.

Someone made a killing. Just not me.

You can get the hydro suspension refurbed and the spheres recharged/re-valved.

One of the criticisms of the TF is it's 'awful' suspension, retrofitting that to an F has been undertaken but some of the kits have caused chassis/suspension mount damage as the F is not made to take the TF type suspension.

There is a chap Russ who will redo the HG for £325 on your drive, he is very well regarded.

Someone has said that the 216 is a K series engine as far as I am aware it is not it is a Honda, I had it in a 200 series SLi fantastic bombproof engine. Oh and a well cared for F does not suffer badly from tinworm. Poster before stated all are lemons because of two of his own bad purchases...like any secondhand buy...be wary; but they are obviously not all lemons.

Just like the 'marmite' nature of the Coupe and it's status as a modern classic, the MGF (not the TF) is on many of the future classic lists.

I think with any old car your going to have to expect a bill at some point or refresh of suspension etc

I have owned two MGF's back when they were relatively new. Both were the VVC which is the 145bhp model. I sold my first 16v Turbo Coupe and bought a MGF VVC. Was great fun specially with the top down and they do handle well. Maybe not as good as the Mazda. But I preferred the looks of the MG plus its mid engined. Its easy to get the back out and easy to control.

I had no trouble with the head gasket with either of them. The first VVC was around 4 years old with 70kish when I bought it. I got a high mileage as I had heard stories of the head gasket issue effecting the low mileage cars. Lack of use etc.

The second one was a year old exdemo and had no issues either.

Like the Fiat they are underrated. If you've never owned a 2 door sports convertible I'd get the MGF. Not in that colour though!

Actually the 216 used 3 different engines. K series and Honda D16A6 and A8.

How do they refurb them? It's the nitrogen leaking from the membrane that causes the sag. What usually happens is that people add more fluid to compensate.

Does the damage occur with the kits, or retrofitting the TF suspension?

Apologies for the off topic.

Perhaps before as the 200 series used the Honda manufactured 1.6 only in the Honda Concerto/Rover era.

I love my TF 160 (and the wife even more so)

It only comes out on a sunny day, but I wouldn't want it as a daily driver.

A full belt change,service and head gasket change (to one that won't fail again) can be done on your drive by a specialist for £450. So the HGF issue so commonly talked about is no big deal!

The HGF issue is a bit like the belt change on the coupe, everyone ill-informed makes more of it than they should.

Again like a coupe, a badly maintained one can have issues, but a well looked after one is very reliable.
Rust is an issue for the daily drivers, but as these cars are often second cars for summer use only for many, getting a good one is important.
Mine is a one owner from new garaged every night and is in surprisingly good condition.

Future classic - I don't think so they made 60,000 of them and that is not including all of the Chinese made ones from 2007 onwards.

Good website here for buying guide with lots of useful info MG buying guide

My daughter has an MG TF which she bought off my Dad. It is only the 1.6 so not particularly fast but a nice, fun car to drive. It had a head gasket failure last year which turned out not to be the first time, it went again a couple of months ago so I swapped the engine for one bought off eBay for £200 - goes much better now and the car is probably a keeper. I'd be very happy with a VVC 160 for myself.

Blimey, if you are in Porsche territory and you would like a convertible you could do a lot worse than a TT roadster, which would be newer and which are also tipped as future classics.

Mrs BB said she wanted a soft top after her Grande Punto, she has always loved the Barchetta but LHD and the rust horror stories sadly ruled them out

We looked at the MX5 as everyone says how great they are. A colleague, who recently sold his MX5, which he had owned from new, did tell us that whilst his MX5 was brilliant in the summer it quickly became tiresome in bad weather and especially winter.

After looking at many convertibles Trish chose a 2010 TT roadster. I honestly preferred the look of the Mercedes SLK's but she liked the TT more, and the MK2 over the MK1, which again I preferred Whilst I'm not a soft top fan, and tried to steer her towards a hard top convertible, the top on the TT is of much better fit and quality than almost all the other cars we looked at. Trish absolutely loves it and it has grown on me too

So if you do want a soft top, and a car that almost anyone can work on, then take a look and go for a spin in a Mk1 TT roadster.

Are you sure? They all had a Rover k series in them as far as I ever experienced (bubble shape) with a Honda derived bottom end and a Rover designed head, free flow equal length manifold and a crap headgasket with poor cooling resulting in the death of many. Great engine until it decides it wants an early retirement.

If you're thinking porsche then grab a bargain boxter while they're still cheap. Now porsche are all turbo and putting 4 pots in cars the na 6's will soon be very desirable.

Earlier 216 had Hondas also.
One of my 216 tomcats had a 1.6 litre Honda engine installed.
Also a 216 gti. By the bubble 200/216 I believe the Honda engines had been phased out leaving just a k series in its place

I was referring to the 89 to 94 cars.

Ah, the rover wedge... I was only thinking bubble onwards as the wedge is long dead!

Did you ever test drive an Mgf Annie?
I only ask as there's lots around and despite what I wrote above, I'd like to take one on a long drive to see what they are really like to drive

No Huw, I decided to keep my coupe after I got over the shock of paying £250 for a new fuel pump that probably wasn't needed.

.................................................................bugger, should have listened to my own advice ! 2003 mgtf 135, 71000 miles, new ss coolant pipes, uprated head gasket, water pump, clutch , brakes, excellant bodywork, roof no leaks, 12 months MOT, FSH !!! 1200 QUID.

Thought you were making a large hardstanding area for more Coupes?!
Can't say I blame you though. They are a bargain at the mo.
You going to jazz it up with a fruity exhaust?

The new garage can only be 29ft long without planning permission, so 2 coupes would be pushing it ! But luckily one coupe and one mgtf will fit in nicely . Putting garage up monday [ finally] ,then drive will be tarmacced tues or wed hopefully, so plenty of room for the other coupe on there !

it has a new ss exhaust, so probably not .

What colour is your MG? I like the light blue ones.

x power grey apparently' fancied brg one, but this one has had all the main jobs doneand its getting stored in the garage anyway til next summer . [ when its finally built ! Roll on monday.]

Let us know how it drives, I still have a yen to get one!

being delivered up here on saturday 20th, will let you know Annie ........hopefully !

looks a nice one for sale in essex for $975, not too far from you !

Been away did I miss something? Are you buying one, from the start of this thread I thought you were talking the OP out of a prospective purchase?

.........always wanted one, the heart is ruling the head on this one........time will tell !

mgtf delivered today , nice and snug in the new garage . The 16v coop has been left at the garage for a full respray [ 1500 quid ] , got to wait 2 weeks before i see it again

does this mean i have to grow a beard, wear a cap and put leather patches on my jumpers ? [ mg owners club ]

Probably not think those type stick there noses up at the TF well the mid engine ones

I had an MGTF. Bought it from new and got rid of it 6 months later after fairly significant but unsuccessful legal wrangles with the garage I bought it from.

Biggest issue was rust (on a brand new car). Poor spot welding set up in the factory and insufficient paint coverage (from an independent engineer report) led to rust appearing around the boot seam, on several of the underfloor seams, and top of the A posts (jagged metal edges with no paint adhering).

I didn't have it long enough to appreciate any of the finer points, except to say that it was kind of fun to drive and roof down was nice as you sit very deep in the car (which to my mind was better than the couple of MX5s I owned although they were great fun to drive).

On the K series engine itself, as I mentioned in my recent Freelander post, appreciating there are several design flaws, I love the engine and if you wave spanners around yourself, it is a real gem to work on. I would forgive it its head gasket issues in the Freelander because a head gasket is so damned easy to change!!!

The 1.8 basic unit in the Freelander is a little buzzy and harsher at high revs, but its a very easy engine to drive around country lanes with, with a good amount of torque to haul the bodywork around.

......................have you been tempted yet, come over to the darkside !



want a dog ? Only joking , he likes the new garden.[ car park ]



lighting is in too, makes a bloody difference ! [ bonnet not really that colour lol.

Now either your planters are on wheels or your dog is about 6 feet tall?

I can't see from that picture how you get the cars from the garage to the road?

Did you park the cars away and then build the planters, or is there a secret exit like in the Wallace and Grommit movie

Your glasses aren't working Tony - there's a gate on the rhs of the picture?!

They are working when we look at the PL table though

could do with a secret exit, tis a tad tight getting one of them out, but the longer garage makes up for it .Got to paint the left hand fence tomorrow, praying for rain !!