MGF for £2500

MGF for £2500

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Discussion

Timmy2TARs

Original Poster:

656 posts

217 months

Tuesday 24th April 2007
quotequote all
The gf is looking for an MGF in the region of £2500. What sort of quality car could she expect for that kind of money? Is it likely that additional work will be required and should she try to up the budget? I see some cars report head gasket failures but once replaced they seem OK?

I know it's a bit of a 'how long's a piece of string' question, but any pointers much appreciated.

mgsteve

197 posts

245 months

Wednesday 25th April 2007
quotequote all
Obviously with that budget your going to be looking at quite an early F, probably 9+ years old.
Personally I would budget for replacing the rad with a later TF item (which is alloy) and for replacing the under-body coolant pipes (which rot) with stainless aftermarket replacements.
You may find this worth a read too.

venom

1,858 posts

266 months

Wednesday 25th April 2007
quotequote all
What MGSteve said mostly. The corroded pipes to and fro the rad can be the cause of the dreaded head gasket failure. Coolant link from the header tank is also something to look out for, and relatively easy to fix.

Also worth noting that the earlier cars had hydragas (sp?) suspension, rather than the conventional setup. This has been known to fail.

Other things to look out for are windows that go up and down properly. Sounds a little obvious, but MG make the regulator motors using nylon parts which wear and then the windows won't go up.

Check the rear screen too, for creasing/cracking - might be an obvious thing to say about a soft-top but always worth keeping an eye out for signs of neglect.

Timmy2TARs

Original Poster:

656 posts

217 months

Thursday 26th April 2007
quotequote all
Thanks folks - really useful information there - much appreciated. Looking forward to some top-down motoring