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MG MGF Technical - Going to buy one but...

I'm giving serious consideration to buying a W(2000) MGF 1.8 at the moment. Only got 5000 on and in good condition. However, I've been running Golf and more recently Audi A3 till now and whilst a bit dull they are dependable! My concerns are;
Head Gasket - friend bought 42000 mile P reg VVC. head gasket went straight away. Seems to be a known fault but has it been cured on later cars?
Corrosion - I was suprised to see the W reg car has no arch liners and not much by way of underseal either. Are the panels galvanised? I saw a P reg white MGF with rust along the underside seams just in front of the rear wheels and Rover only offer six year anti corrosion warranty. Has anyone any experience of problems in these areas or any other general advice?
Robert Smith

Robert,
Rust on the cars is often only cosmetic, as a result of large stone chips combined with no treatment. However, many early MGFs have suffered accident damage over the years and this can lead to corrosion - perhaps this is what you saw on the white car.
Providing you look after the F it will look immaculate, rust is of no concern.

On the theme of head gasget, this is problem with the cars, the later models have uprated heads so the problem is less likely to occur, but it still does. However, since the car you are considering is low mileage then such a problem is unlikely. I would advise buying a warranty for the car if you have any reliability worries. This will cover the cost of head gasget failure and gives worry free motoring.

I believe that since the car returns 40mpg, has cheap servicing £approx 200/ year and since the MPI is very cheap to insure (in most cases).
These savings clealy make up / cover the cost of head gasget worries in the future.
Moreover MGFs have come down in value and are looking excellent value for money. Reliability worries about headgaskets are factored into the secondhand value of the car. Just think how much more a similar z3 costs!

In sum, although i may be biased, since i own one, it is a very good car. Economical, swift, safe handling which enspires fast driving, quiet on the motorway with many performance modification opportunities.

Ian
R925 BWU
Ian

i agree with Ian, couldn't have put it better myself.Dave T6 DCM.
david morris

Robert,

Note that the major change in head gasket design was in early 2001, so the car you mention will have the old type.

As for HGF, check the coolant level every day when you sling your stuff in the boot, don't flog it from cold or switch off from very high revs. And if steam starts to come out of the back, stop IMMEDIATELY. The cost of an HGF can be argued to be covered by Ian's calculations below - indeed I worked out something similar before I bought. However, if you keep going after the HGF, you're more likely to do other more expensive damage!

DO get one. They're great. Mid-engined makes a big difference, and get some good tyres and a cheap air filter and the hood down and you've got a monster on your hands! I've got a VVC, but the MPi 1.8 is fine. Perversely, I think that the supposedly less powerful MPi pulls away quicker because of the gearing! Many things about the F are perverse. Such as the more powerful VVC often using less fuel. Er, how that works I couldn't tell you. (correct me if any of that's wrong, guys)
David Bainbridge

>Such as the more powerful VVC often using less fuel. Er, how that works I couldn't tell you.
>(correct me if any of that's wrong, guys)

I hadn't heard that, in fact I heard that it used more fuel because you tend to keep it planted up to the red line more often!

What is true is it is better on emisions, so cheaper on car tax (if your car tax is worked out like that)

And some warrentys don't cover dammage from overheating, so if you pop a gasket they will pay the £400 to fix it, but if you didn't stop imediatly they will not pay the potentialy as much as £3k for a new engine. Look in the archives for details on warrienty co's

Will
Will Munns

>>'m giving serious consideration to buying a W(2000) MGF 1.8 at the moment. Only got 5000 on and in good condition. <<

I reckon this is a sound choice. IMO the MY2000 MGF is the model of choice. Most of the niggles had been sorted by the introduction of the the 2000 model year car.

>>My concerns are; Head Gasket - friend bought 42000 mile P reg VVC. head gasket went straight away. Seems to be a known fault but has it been cured on later cars?<<

Valid concern. We know from the stats collected from the http://www.smae.4mg.com site that 1997 is statistically THE worse model year for HGF. Since then the problem has been effectively cured (with a number of detail improvements to the gasket and head location that Will rightly mentions).
From 2000 on, the engine is pretty much bullet proof.

>>Corrosion - I was suprised to see the W reg car has no arch liners and not much by way of underseal either. Are the panels galvanised? I saw a P reg white MGF with rust along the underside seams just in front of the rear wheels and Rover only offer six year anti corrosion warranty<<

I completely agree with Ian's assessment here - this is likely to be bodged accident repair. I have an original 95/96 1.8i - never garaged - and absolutely no evidence of rust on the body work.

The corrosion warranty, IIRC, is an anti-perforation warranty, reliant on regular check ups by your servicing garage. Make sure yours has the stamps in the service book - but to be honest, it's not worth the paper its printed on - its simply not an issue!

A buying guide can be found on http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/MGF_buying.htm

HTH

(PS I owned Golf GTis in the past, then had a Pug 205GTI. After that, my first impression of the MG was that it felt like a soft top Golf in terms of solidity - and more fun, thanks to the canvass roof! Still have that same MGF, 6.5 years later, so that must say something - because I'm not known for keeping cars for the sake of it!)
Rob Bell

Well that appears to have done it for me - sold! Took the car out again today with roof up to see what it's like and still enjoyed it! I appreciate your comments and advice as it has helped me make up my mind. I'll stick the A3 in Auto Trader next week and hope to enjoy the MGF while there's still some sun! The car is very clean and has only done 5400 miles in 27 months so should have plenty of life in it yet!
Could you pass on any details of owners clubs etc? I would be grateful.
Robert Smith

Robert, Welcome aboard.
JohnP

For clubs check out the green banner at the top of his board, or go to http://www.mgcars.org.uk/clubs/clubuk.html

Personally I'm in the MGOC.

Cheers,

Steve

Steve

This thread was discussed between 20/08/2002 and 22/08/2002

MG MGF Technical index

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