MG F

My wife and I have had our MG F for 5 years and it's a smashing little car. Unfortunately, the build quality isn't up to much.

The drivers door virtually fell to bits, one of the hood brackets fell off while we were driving it and the engine overheat warning lamp comes on when the engine is stone cold.Even the main dealer has no idea why.

Added to the reputation for blowing head gaskets and a replacement cam belt service after 20,000 miles (£500) it's a bit of a liability.

Depreciation is also pretty poor.

I have had my MGF for 5 years it has been totally reliable (114,000 miles on clock ) it is fast handles very well returnes 35 - 38 to the gallon all the time - I always service my own cars as I restore classic sports cars and the MGF is quite easy to look after and parts are easy to get.

This MG F is a great value for money sports car that is easy to drive and has sufficient boot space for two to tour in. Top down the wind in the hair effect is almost tame and a blast round the lanes with top and windows down will leave you relatively unruffled. My wife who was not formerly a keen motorist loves it for its style, performance and the fact that it is seen as classy but not flashy. I like the rather uncompromising basic nature of the car. It is a genuine sport scar, low on frills and high on what a fun car should be. Fun to drive and cheap to buy.

I have had my MGF for 8 months and am trying to sell it. They are great cars for town but not for long distance drives as they are unsafe!! Really would consider a different make.

Since the old days {1998} I have made one or two improvements he he! I will just list to cut out the boring bits....

Changed suspension Knuckle joints. Spax shocks 17 inch alloys {hard ride tho}

305 big brakes, stainless steel brake hose units {a must} changed Steering rack to MG-TF unit better turns ratio. Slik shift gear assembly {shorter gear throw} fitted uprated suspension bushes. Removed CAT pipe { +12 hp ish}

Emerald ECU fitted inc Supercharger unit with own water cooled heat exchanger, 13 row oil cooler, uprated Std 16 v 1.8 engine, hardened crank , forged pistons slightly shorter stroke con rods {Kent fast road cams, light weight fly wheel, ported and gas flow head, kent verneers on cams etc} {I am thinking on big valve head as std valves are still current unit}

52m throttle body {this does makes a difference} K@N air filter {panel} standard airbox.

And in the process of fitting 4 into 2 into 1 stainless steel manifold and MGZR160 close ratio PG1 gear box with Lotus Elises clutch plate assembly. This is pretty close to the Elise sport190 box {only two of the gears are slightly lower} due to QUITE A BIT EXTRA bhp which I'll leave for your imaginations. I do suffer a little clutch slip / spin on hot days when full power is applied in first gear a LS Diff may help but not fitted yet............... trust me she is..........very Very QUICK he he!

My MG F was a pressie from my husband. I thought it was a great car. It looked fantastic (with roof up and down), and with good fuel consumption as I drive a lot. The car had 17,000 miles on it, which I thought was great. I always made sure the car was serviced, and had oil and water. After 2 years the gear stick cable broke costing £200, apparently because these are really difficult to change. At 35,000 miles (V reg) the head gasket blew costing £800. This happened just as Rover went bankrupt, and garages had a fine excuse to up the price of parts due to them being "in short supply", and the car was in the garage for 2 1/2 weeks!

After I had got the car I found out that head gasket problems are well known in Rover cars, although they have done little to rectify this. MG Rover franchises in the area (2) were extremely unhelpful, as were MG Rover themselves.

If you do decide to buy one of these, make sure there is a full service history for the car. Try to check if the head gasket has already been changed too, as this will save you a lot of headache. Get Membership with the AA, as they were invaluable for the time I had this car. I still smile when I see a silver one on the road, as they do look great.