Hello everyone.

[vain]

Hiya, I'm new to the forum and will hopefully be new to MG TF ownership over the next few days
I was persuaded by my wife and son to give up motorcycling as a couple of friends have had serious accidents over the last few years and they were worried every time the bike was out of the garage. I did this a couple of years ago but miss the open air feel and driving with the windows down didn't cut it, so this year I decided on a convertible
Now I'm not made of money, so I cant afford a TT, and dont really like the look of BMW Z3's and I think MX5's are a bit plain looking so I started looking at MGF's and was stumped to find they only seemed to go up to 02 reg, "I could have sworn they were made after that" I thought. then I noticed the TF tab in autotrader, clicked it and found the nicest looking cars I'd seen in ages and for what seem to be the right money too.

So after looking through a few different models I decided that I fancied a 2003 MG TF 1.8 VVC 160 in a lovely light blue metallic colour. I was going to look at it this morning but the guy is away all weekend, so I can only go on Monday.

Anyway, The ad reads "56,000 miles and Fully Documented MG Service History with Stacks of Bills and Invoices, Upgraded 18 Inch Multispoke Alloy Wheels,and had a new Cylinder Head and Timing Belt at 37,000 Completed by an MG Specialist" among other stuff.

Can anyone offer any buying advice on these cars, as I have read a few reviews of people having hoardes of problems, but I know most people go on forums to get help, so my view is that for every owner on a forum with a problem there is possibly another 100 who dont need any help with their car as its fine. There seem to be a lot of owners with the same head gasket issue though, but as this has been done by an "MG Specialist" maybe they will have cured the problem as to why the problem occurred in the first place.
I have never driven one either so I really have no idea what to expect in the area of noise and comfort so would like some owners opinions please. Also are they are prone to leaking? And if so are they easily put right? I don't fancy getting wet every time it rains
I don't mind doing a bit of work or maintenence myself as I always have done in the past, but I don't want to be at it every weekend and it has to be relatively reliable as it will be my only mode of transport for commuting because my wife needs our zafira for school runs etc.

I am determined to get one, but I need it to be an informed choice as possible to which one as I was once bitten by a VW Scirocco GTX in the early 90s that had been bodged and ended up rebuilding the whole engine
I also look forward to going to some get togethers to meet other owners too.

Sorry if its a long winded "hello" and thanks in advance for any replies and help.

Martin.

[colintf]

hello and welcome Martin

[MG Ant]

Hello Martin,

The description of the car you're going to view looks like a good one so i hope it works out for you if you get to view it.

The head gasket of the K-Series engine was an out and out example of poor design and engineering, which means that anyone who has an MGF is going to have their's go at some point and once replaced with an MLS gasket, the problem goes away. However if you're going for an '03 TF, i think a majority of the issues were corrected by then so you should be at less of a risk but someone with more knowledge than me (which isn't hard to find!) could advise better here.

Other than that, i wouldn't say that the overall reliability is worse than any other car. It's true that MX-5's have a rep for being ultra reliable but it is because of this that i thing the MGF/TF gets a disproportionatly hard time.

I'm on my second MGF and absolutely love it, espiecially after the weather this weekend!

good luck!

[MartinW]

Welcome from another Martin. I have been a life-long fan of MG with a number of classics and also a long love affair with my MG ZT. As you will note in a recent survey by AutoExpress, the ZT/75 still ranks as one of the highest in terms of overall reliability, performance, handling, comfort etc etc. My experience with Rovers were the same, we have just sold my wife's Rover 214 after 11yrs and a HGF after 9 yrs of age.

So as said above, the cars do have the Achilles heel, namely the HGF. But because of this and the reputation of being unreliable, cheap cars are easy to buy but may hide numerous problems thanks to having had no routine maintenance done on them. The advise I was given was buy a car from an enthusiast that has been garaged, pampered and with a FSH.

That said, despite never having owned an F/TF, I bought an MX5 (mk3) in December last year and it wasn't reliable (airbag light that can cost a lot to repair if not under warranty - approx £450 I am told as you need a new module), and I know from forums that these cars can have problems, too. But what did it for me was that it was the most uncomfortable car ever. It was very poor ergonomically, and too hard and harsh a ride thanks to having been lowered. The standard cars ride better from a comfort perspective, but don't handle as well. In the end I traded it in on a brand new MG TF LE500 which if you shop around can be had for £12k pre-reg. It's very early days as I only got it last week and I have covered 950 miles but loving it! It's not a sophisticated car like a Z$ or new MX5, and it feels a little dated inside, but you forgive it all that because it has charm. IMHO, of course.

Go for it! But buy carefully. Take someone along with you if you can.

[adrianclifford]

Hi Martin, don't worry too much about scare story's, the head gasket is now as good as cured with the new multi-layer gasket (and a low water level alarm will help too).

One thing I would be concerned about though is the 18" wheels you state, I used to run my F on 17" with no problems but I believe that is the maximum size you can fit, I also don't know of any 18" wheels that will fit the stud pattern.

Contact our local rep, Simon Davies, I'm sure he can be of assistance, he's a great guy.

[sparky135]

Welcome to the MGF Register forums.

[vain]

Thanks for all the replies

I will be going to look at it after work tomorrow all being well and with any luck either coming home in it or picking it up Wednesday....fingers crossed its a good one. It apparently belonged to an MG enthusiast who traded it in for a Porsche and all the work has been done by an MG specialist so im hoping that he did a good job replacing the head. It looks a pampered one in the pictures, and its a metalic blue that i haven't seen much of either....a bit lighter than trophy, possibly Sonic blue but i dont really know.

MG TF 160 a.jpg (60 KiB) Viewed 639 times

If is a car anyone on here knows of I would be grateful for any info.

Cheers, Martin.

[adrianclifford]

Martin, good call, it's sonic blue.

Those wheels look like 17" to me, check the tyre sizes, they should be 195.45x17 front and 215.40x17 rear.

[vain]

Thanks, I'll let you know how it goes.

Work is going to drag tomorrow

[talkingcars]

Hi and welcome

The K series engine head gasket can be prone to failure as the volume of the coolant in the system is quite low, this was a deliberate bit of design to aid warm up, most are up to temp with in 3 miles, however as the is only a small volume of coolant it doesn't take much loss for the engine to overheat. Proper maintance and regular checking of your vitals is as important as it has always been.

James

[vain]

Martin, good call, it's sonic blue.

Those wheels look like 17" to me, check the tyre sizes, they should be 195.45x17 front and 215.40x17 rear.

They are 17s just as you said. I went to see it today and thought it was absolutely fantastic. It also has a full stainless exhaust too which gives a nice deep tone. The interior is spotless and the only thing i could fault was the passenger seat belt seemed to have lost some of its tension and had to be fed back in. Ive left a deposit and will go back for it hopefully later this week when he has had a cd player fitted and some tax on it

[adrianclifford]

Congratulations then Martin, I hope you enjoy your car. Will we see you at MGF15, MGLive or, nearer to you, where's the Wirral in September ?

By the way, if you have a 135 there were only 68 (out of a 104 car total production run) produced in sonic blue, quite rare in fact, good choice

[vain]

Congratulations then Martin, I hope you enjoy your car. Will we see you at MGF15, MGLive or, nearer to you, where's the Wirral in September ?

By the way, if you have a 135 there were only 68 (out of a 104 car total production run) produced in sonic blue, quite rare in fact, good choice

Mine is a 160 and it was the colour that really drew me into the car. I hope to be going to a few meets (work and family permitting) as everyone seems friendly. Im just hoping that he calls me to pick it up sooner rather than later though, I can't wait

[adrianclifford]

Oh, a 160 even better then, only 6 of these were made, an even better choice !

[sparky135]

I think you may have a Spark there as Sonic Blue (paint code: JHG) was introduced on this model in July 2004 and was exclusive to the Spark until it became an option in 2005. I believe the last TF off the production line before the demise of MGR was a Sonic Blue 135.

AP brakes, front fog lights and chrome door handles also point to it being a Spark.

That being the case I'm guessing it has had a new roof at some point at Sparks came with Charcoal Grey hoods - in your picture it looks black (although that may just be the photo).

Originally it would have come with 16" 11 spoke alloys.

Only 1000 Sparks were made.

Nice looking car and a great colour. Enjoy.

[Paula]

Hello and welcome!

[vain]

Thanks everyone.

I really cant wait to pick it up, It should either be tomorrow or Friday. Im waiting on the guy getting it taxed and having a CD player fitted as the last owner kept his head unit.

[adrianclifford]

Is there a Spark badge at the rear under the o/s tail light assembly (as per John's avatar without the Y).

No F's or TF's came standard with 17" alloys, so they will be replacements anyway. I think the black hood shows it not to be a Spark though, I doubt you would change from the lovely grey you have to black .

[sparky135]

The number plate (53) and the fact Sonic Blue was exclusive to the Spark in 2004 early 2005 leads me to think it is a Spark.

Even if the badge has long since been removed the interior should give some clues. Half leather seats with grey alcantara and the embroidered MG logo to name but one tell tale.

Agree about the hood. It may just be the photo making it look darker than it actually is.

[adrianclifford]

Interesting John, let's wait and see (you know how hard it is to get another Spark badge should it have been replaced or damaged ?) I still think the hood is black though and Martin says it's a 2003 car, although the 53 plate could mean late 2003 early 2004 ?