Are MGFs actually that bad?

[Somnophore]

MGF/TF - 160VVC engine takes it to 60 in sub 7 seconds and 137 top speed (parkers figures) just wondering if these were worth a look at for the GF if she decides she doesn't want another puma etc when hers has turned into rust.

Edited by Somnophore on Thursday 22 July 17:14

[Somnophore]

I mean compared to a Puma, the MG will be faster probably
less practical tho, she hates the looks of
an MX-5 so wouldn't have one

[nottyash]

They are cheap, but they are cheap for a reason. i couldnt recommend one, with my experiance of Rover.
They do look good figures on paper, but when its in a garage being fixed all the time you will wish you bought, an MX5, or an MR2 or a ...... I stopped short of saying Elise S1 as it has the same engine!

[clanger]

I'd take the standard TF over a standard MX, they are not a bad car in my opinion, VVC is a super engine.

[tuffer]

I couldn't with authority say whether it is a "good" car or a "bad" one. What I can say is "I had one (brand new)" and that it was "the biggest piece of st" I ever owned.

[kambites]

The good:

• They handle pretty well - decent steering feel; fairly neutral chassis, albeit tending to under-steer at extremes.
• They have a surprisingly large boot for a mid engined car
• They're cheap
• They're fast enough in a straight line to be entertaining
• They ride very well
• They're very easy to drive

The bad:

• The driving position is woeful
• The trim tends to fall apart
• Most of them seem to leak
• The engine needs care if it's not going to suffer from head gasket problems, and many have been abused

The TF was sharper but had a harsher ride (it ditched the hydrogas suspension in favour of more conventional springs and dampers).




Get a good one and you'll love it, but good ones seem to be in the minority rather than the majority.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 22 July 17:36

[TVR Sagaris]

My dad had one for a while and I was never impressed with it. The interior was crap - looked cheap, felt cheap. It under-steered if you pushed it and it never felt particularly fast. In fact, most of the time it just felt like a cheap hatchback.

It was only around for a couple of months so I can't comment on reliability but I really wouldn't have wanted to try and do anything on the engine. Everything would have been so awkward.

[ExPat2B]

Somnophore said:

I mean compared to a Puma, the MG will be faster probably
less practical tho, she hates the looks of
an MX-5 so wouldn't have one

I was in the same boat. I tried to persuade the missues to have an Mx5 as I had owned one before and knew it to be a good car. But she didn't like the looks and after months she found an MGF the right price, right service history, color etc.

The bloody car has been the bane of my life. Not only is unrealiable, when anything fails I always find it is a common problem, ie piss poor design, and I find that access to said part is incrediably difficult.

So far it has needed,

Handbrake adjust every 15,00 miles, and the adjustments a pain. ( you need to remove trim piece, and then use two spanners in a tiny space so that it happens 1mm at a time....by contrast my Mx5 had a single nut on the handbreak accessiable with a socket set, 10x easier )

Brake pedal signal unit brake so brake lights were on all the time, what an epic struggle that was, I spent about 2 hours upsidedown in the car trying to refit it correctly.

Headgasket failed. Covered to death everywhere else.

Clutch needed bleeding. I only mention this because on the MGF you need to take off 15 bolts for the rear engine access panel, then the airbox, or take out the cpu, then the sirbox from a letterbox, took me 1 hour/ Mx5 was single bleed nipple directly accessiable, 10 minute job.

The gear selection cable broke.......cue a new cable at 115 quid and 6 hours of my life undoing the rear subframe and interior to get access.

Front wishbones rotted from the inside out. Common problem, alomst all MGF I saw in scrapyards had same problem. And to refit front wishbones ? Epic struggle, front subframe has to be dropped, steering linkage shifted, took me 4 hours to that job, In contrast it took me an hour to upgrade the Mx5 to bilsteins.

Alternator seized, its in a crap position, cue more hours struggling underneath the car.

Front wiper motor is failing, makes horrible noise. Easy to fix this one, but crap design to fail after only 50,000 miles !

Heater stopped blowing cold air, again piss poor design and common problem on MGF forums, a real heath robinson affair, spent over an hour fiddling with it to fix it.

Edited by ExPat2B on Thursday 22 July 17:45

[kambites]

The mk3 MR2 is a better car unless you need luggage space.

In fact the mk3 MR2 is also a better car than the MX5, but I don't think I'm allowed to say that on here.

[Somnophore]

Sod that then, i'd forgottn about the rover head gasket fiasco, i'm just trying to think of cars she might like but can't think of
anything suitable really.

[petethechemist]

Probably doesn't help much, but I like mine!

Yes it is a bit creaky
Yes the design is as modern as that 'new' henge they've just dug up
Yes they have a reputation for eating head gaskets
Yes it probably isn't as good as an MX5

BUT for a £1K car (can't believe they are still trying to flog new ones at £16K) it doesn't half put a smile on my face driving home from work with the top down.

[GTIR]

Main thing I disliked about my thankfully brief encounter with one was the awful scuttle shake, or body flex. It was just crap.
I drove an MX5 and was impressed.

[CDP]

My TF135 is a good little car. With the exception of the head gasket. I had the thermostat and Landrover upgrade fitted by the MGOC workshop, it cost about £1K with the belt service at the same time (which would have been about £400). But it's so cheap compared with the Mazda or BMW it didn't really matter too much. I do watch my oil is up to temperature before revving the engine hard but that's good advice in any car.

Otherwise far more reliable than my old Toyota, handles far better too but engine access is even worse. The TF has quite a hard ride but no worse than an Audi A3. The 'F is very fluid in comparison but lacks the TF's fast steering rack and is a little softer in response. The TF's got far better brakes too; at least on my car with the sports pack they're fantastic and really progressive.

They are extremely sensitive to tyre choice and pressures. When I bought mine it had a couple of unknown Japanese rear tyres which meant oversteer anywhere. The correct Goodyears GR03s fixed this, whatever you do make sure the rear tyres have re-enforced plies or things can get unpredictable. Same goes for MR2s as well for that matter. The natural balance seems neutral to oversteer in slow corners. It doesn't seem to do understeer.

If you're looking at MX5s be very careful checking for rust around the rear of the sills. The only rusty 'Fs I found were accident damaged though both cars get stone chipped. On the subject of chips check the mirrors and screen surround, the nose could well have been repainted and loads of chips indicates a more aggressive tailgating driver.

I don't know which model you're looking at but the TF managed a 4* NCAP rating which is amazing for an open car without side airbags. My brother walked away after rolling his 'F at 60mph (oversteered into a kerb, flipped it and slid along for about 100'); the windscreen surround didn't even move 1mm. He immediately bought an identical replacement. In fact a few months latter he received a call to ask if he'd still got the radio from the person who was repairing it! Conversely early Mazdas don't have the rollover protection in the screen surrounds, a former colleague was lucky to get away with a recoverable broken neck doing the same in his Mazda but at a far lower speed.

The MG isn't a drifter like the MX5 but it does reward neat, smooth driving. OK, you sit a couple of inches too high and some bits of trim are a little dated but it's still a used car bargain.

[Ozzie Osmond]

So are the Chinese selling any of their "new" ones out of Longbridge?

[CDP]

kambites said:

The mk3 MR2 is a better car unless you need luggage space.

In fact the mk3 MR2 is also a better car than the MX5, but I don't think I'm allowed to say that on here.

I've not driven the MK3 MR2 but the driving position is way better. Unfortunately it's less practical than an Elise so was off my shopping list as I was looking for an ever day car. I still don't understand what Toyota were thinking of when they designed a car without usable luggage space. Especially as (reliability issues aside) the MK2 was probably the ultimate daily use sports car.

[Colin 1985]

kambites said:

The mk3 MR2 is a better car unless you need luggage space.

In fact the mk3 MR2 is also a better car than the MX5, but I don't think I'm allowed to say that on here.

I don't think the MR2 has a boot or anywhere to put luggage, shame they never put the 190 engine in it though.

[S3_Graham]

I tried to pursuade the GF into an MX5 but she would only have an MG. Managed to get her a Late 2004 TF 160 and she loves it. Its done fairly high miles (87K) and its been very reliable. In our ownership its needed new coil packs, 2 coolant pipes and servicing.

Its an ok car, the interior isnt great build wise and you can see screws poking out, but it does the job and looks pretty good from the outside!

[Rouleur]

Ozzie Osmond said:

So are the Chinese selling any of their "new" ones out of Longbridge?

I saw one recently being driven by an old couple. Each to their own etc but I just can't imagine why anyone would blow their money on something so old and crap.

My parents have had a 1996 MGF from new and have had next to no problems with it. Miracles can happen.

[Ferg]

kambites said:

• The engine needs care if it's not going to suffer from head gasket problems, and many have been abused had their heads skimmed unnecessarily by 'experts'.

[CDP]

Rouleur said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

So are the Chinese selling any of their "new" ones out of Longbridge?

I saw one recently being driven by an old couple. Each to their own etc but I just can't imagine why anyone would blow their money on something so old and crap.

My parents have had a 1996 MGF from new and have had next to no problems with it. Miracles can happen.

I've seen a couple about. Remember the stick price is already pretty low (£13500) and the dealers will haggle. IIRC somebody managed to break the £10K barrier with the scrappage scheme at which point it's a very cheap car.