Can an MG F ever be a good idea??? even if its free???

[deanogtv]

It wouldnt be my first choice of roof down 2 seater fun however a friend needs rid of his and is offering me it for a days work helping him move.

I'd do it for nothing anyway but having the MG in the sum of things adds a bit of fun to it.

So the MG, its roof down, rear engined, small ............... and thats about it lol

But can a little bit of fun be had with it. OK K-Series engine I believe, so could ba an issue. Would a bit of tweaking to shocks, decent set of wheels and a little tune to the engine offer some cheap fun or would it be more trouble than its worth????

[mini1380cc]

Had an MG-TF and it was the most horrendous thing I've ever parted money for. If its free take it and see what you think. Worst case you just weigh it in.

[Alx323]

The engines are great if you look after them (all those Lotus and Caterham guys can't be wrong) And they do handle pretty well, I'm sure the hydragas can be tweaked to make it even more rewarding. As a free car, I'd bite his hand off.

[fatboy69]

If it is free take it - if you dont then want to keep it i'll give you a fiver for it & everyone is happy!

[C.A.R.]

I'd normally suggest flogging it but it's hard selling a convertible in Autumn... I wouldn't recommend keeping it...

[Krikkit]

For a day's work lifting boxes and furniture, do it. You just can't lose.

[FD3Si]

Take it, keep it over the winter, then sell it in the summer if you don't like it.
I'm relieved that I'm not the only one in this thread that shudders at the mention. I drove a TF for a good while and it may have been the best drive in the world ever, but the whole experience was ruined by the driving position, which just overshadowed everything else.

Lots of people seem to love them though, perhaps I'm just too indoctrinated into the MX5 world.

[Fantuzzi]

FD3Si said:

Take it, keep it over the winter, then sell it in the summer if you don't like it.
I'm relieved that I'm not the only one in this thread that shudders at the mention. I drove a TF for a good while and it may have been the best drive in the world ever, but the whole experience was ruined by the driving position, which just overshadowed everything else.

Lots of people seem to love them though, perhaps I'm just too indoctrinated into the MX5 world.

Have sell it when it will make the most, buy something good.

[Bluebarge]

It's mid-engined not rear. K series only an issue if coolant loss is undetected. You can fit a low coolant alarm for about £60-70 and even if you do get HGF, that's a £400 fix. I wouldn't bother fitting silly shocks - it works well enough with hydragas. If you do want to tweak it, get some MGF specific stuff from someone who knows what they're doing like Mike Satur. Parts are cheap.

They're great fun and an F will be old enough to qualify for classic car insurance on a ltd mileage policy (usually up to 5k miles).

[METHS]

As much as I hated it for the constant niggles, leaking coolant and boot that wouldn't open.


It was mighty good fun, plenty of character and decently quick too. Certainly a different experience to a big Audi. I'd give it a go.


I'm known to be tiny and even I found it cramped

[SlimRick]

Funnily enough, I've just acquired one from a friend too. Most fun - I've hardly driven my regular car since I picked it up. Loads of miles to the gallon, and lots of sideways action on just about every corner.

[Rich1973]

Your title shows that the anti british propoganda worked well on you..
I am sure its a much better idea than many 'premium' offerings but its made by MG Rover so abviously it needs to be derided..
Dont bother OP, its clearly not the car for you.

[heebeegeetee]

Why not use the car for a bit of motorsport, such as this: http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgccsc/

It's a healthy speed championship with good support. Motorsport could not possibly get cheaper.

[kambites]

I quite like the MGF - sure the driving position is woeful, the engine eats head gaskets and the build quality is questionable at best but they're really quite nice to drive if the geometry is set up properly. I actually rate it above the all-conquering MX5 as a driver's car.

[mini1380cc]

Rich1973 said:

I am sure its a much better idea than many 'premium' offerings but its made by MG Rover so obviously it needs to be derided..
Dont bother OP, its clearly not the car for you.

Thats not true really. A car can have a crap reputation simply because it is actually crap. I held on to mine for one summer and was glad to be rid of it. It was slow, the bodywork was unbelievably easy to dent, like you could dent it with a press of your thumb. The gear stick was plastic instead of metal so would flex when pushing it home. The whole thing was just an insult and I'm no rover hater, I quite liked my 214si.

[Rovinghawk]

Get a 56mm throttle body (mine came from the MG Montego, I kid you not) & add a suitably big cone filter. The result is surprisingly good.

I also had the MG TF radiators & uprated electrics to suit. If driven decently it was quite a capable car.

[ally_f]

We ran one for a couple of years and it was quite a fun little car with a great engine. It's not an out and out racer but it's comfortable enough to make little country lanes fun without being painful. And what else RWD and open top can be had for the money? Ours didn't break down, combust or fall apart like everyone seems to think they do either... we only chopped it in for an MR2 Roadster when it launched itselt at a piece of armco it obviously took a disliking to (I wasn't driving it at the time!).

It's no MX5 / MR2 / S2000 / Boxster... but most of the people who say it's crap are toddling round in diesel golfs and probably miss the point of a little british drop top.

[carinaman]

I've helped friends move for nothing.

[jamieduff1981]

mini1380cc said:

Rich1973 said:

I am sure its a much better idea than many 'premium' offerings but its made by MG Rover so obviously it needs to be derided..
Dont bother OP, its clearly not the car for you.

Thats not true really. A car can have a crap reputation simply because it is actually crap. I held on to mine for one summer and was glad to be rid of it. It was slow, the bodywork was unbelievably easy to dent, like you could dent it with a press of your thumb. The gear stick was plastic instead of metal so would flex when pushing it home. The whole thing was just an insult and I'm no rover hater, I quite liked my 214si.

And yet one could justifiably level all those criticisms at any generic French hothatch yet in general people accept them for what they are.

There are plenty German "premium" cars which are actually crap despite the media assurances of quality yet British people are unwavering in their support to them.

[Electric Beaver]

mini1380cc said:

The gear stick was plastic instead of metal so would flex when pushing it home.

Its made of steel, some of the mechanism is plastic and can make the change a bit rubbish but a slick shift kit is £140 and transforms the gear change.

Also don't fit a 56mm TB, its too big. Use the 52mm alloy version from a TF / Trophy model which is just right.

Had my Trophy 5 years and its cost me a fortune, but put over 65k on it in that time and only once have I had to use the breakdown service (because a rod end on the aforementioned upgraded slick shift snapped when chasing a MINI Cooper...)