Frequent or infrequent use?

[Paiceybaby]

So, winter is soon upon us it seems so I ask a question, a lot of us by the F/Tf for weekend use but some buy for everyday use. Which is better for our cars? What do you use yours for? Do our cars prefer frequent use to keep everything ticking along or do we keep them longer lasting by not using them so much??


Sent from my iPaicey using Tapatalk

[c13amb]

mines been bought for weekend use...but lately its only done mileage to and from the garage for some small repairs and parts.only done approx 60-70 milrs sonce coming back from Silverstone to watch the btcc.i do turn the car over regulary though and keep ckecking water levels etc...

[Helsbyman]

MY TF did 40mls a day when i worked but now i have retied so has the TF. So 6 mls a day now, with a 20-25 ml pleasure run once a week

[David Dixon]

I think a factor is where you live, I am in a remote upland area of North Wales = wet, muddy, animal farm sh1t, often salted roads = very quick deterioration in vehicle condition (and I am lucky that I can wash my Honda off on a daily basis). Add in local nutters in 4 x 4 pick ups, poorly lit tractors, hedge cutters spraying splinters far and wide then good enough reason to use MG only on the best of days, and also a significant reason why my house is for sale!

[Barred]

Infrequent to damn infrequent.

[talkingcars]

When it's running a lot but it spends more time broken

[Paiceybaby]

I bought mine with the intention of it being a weekend runner but it's to much fun lol also my daily driver has needed a few bits doing so that's been off the road so it's been a good excuse to use it daily lol I do wonder if more use keeps things going longer? I know these are a little fragile but I wonder if maybe the kid gloves approach leads to more issues than running it every day.
I am so enjoying mine as it's running pretty well apart from I think my exhaust is blowing a tad (good excuse to buy a whole system) lol


Sent from my iPaicey using Tapatalk

[Green Squirrel]

For the first nine years of ownership it was our only car so very much daily use BUT for the next nine years it became our ''baby'' and only used on trips, Treffens and rallies - mostly overseas - and is tucked up in its garage when not in use, with a battery minder to keep it ready for sunny day excursions

[robbie1003]

at my house at the moment we have three cars and two motorbikes so were never short of transport or vehicle tax reminders and insurance renewal reminders, they consist of step daughters shitxo that thankfully darkens the pavement and not the drive, grand Cherokee that otherhalf seems to have claimed as her own and mg comfortably in garage along with the two bikes. the mg was bought as spares repair project but has become much more, my toy, sunny sunday drives and as a backup if somethings wrong with Cherokee ( otherhalf is community nurse and works nights). the bikes, one for commuting 200cc scooter as im sick of queuing for 40 mins for a 3 mile trip and uses £8 of fuel per 2 weeks, the other toy is sports bike iv had for 11 years and to be fair has been used allot less this year due to the mg but even so the original battery has lasted 10 years so low use isn't having effect on that vehicle. the mg is only a weekend toy but I will use it during winter if road is frozen so cant get out with bike and otherhalfs not home with jeep so it doesn't do much but wasn't ever intended to be a everyday car. when it does come out of garage I do try to take it far enough to get fully warm to avoid condensation etc., its something im use to as the sports bike is used for the same leisure type stuff, as long as the vehicle is well maintained and a few other small precautions are made there's no problem with not using a car much compared to doing 15000 miles a year. as with all low use vehicles the secret is look after battery so its going to start, good idea to run up to temperature with the odd run to avoid damp and condensation problems, try and avoid putting away wet.

[Martin_Bmth]

I got my silver F as a bit of a toy but its such a laugh to drive it goes out most days... mrs Bmth has taken a shine to it and uses it most of the time instead of her own car. Like Robbie I find a motorbike much easier for commuting to work.

[Mykel]

The F is my daily driver all year round, and she has proved to be perfectly reliable. When you use a car on a daily basis, small niggles are easily recognised before they become serious issues. Also I think, a machine designed for moving people is best kept just doing that - driving her around.

As a real estate valuation surveyor working for a bank, I have to cover a quite large, mostly rural area, sometimes driving over 100 miles a day. Before becoming bored in a very sensible Golf or Astra, I rather have some fun on the way to the appointments, so without question the MG is the car to use. Which means I don't need any other. My wife has the family car (now a Rover 45), and for the summer there's the TF for both of us to play with.

I got the F almost exactly three years ago from a nice pensioner in Surrey, who used her on the weekends only. She had just covered 33 kmls in almost 11 years, and there were some problems in the first year I had her. No cambelt change done, a sticky (and ultimately snapped) gear change cable, and a deteriorated engine wiring loom. Three years down the road I have now added 55,000 to that mileage, and had it not been for getting the TF for this summer, the 60,000 in three years would have been completed. I suspect I'm one of the very few on here having to change the cambelts due to mileage rather than age And mind you, I have no garage, so she is kept outside all the time. Rust starts to be a very slight issue, but generally these cars stand up surprisingly well to the elements, the F's probably even better than the TFs.

Rain or shine, she's almost never let me down, always starts first time every time in the morning, and it's still the cheapo Halfrauds battery fitted I got her with. She is great fun to drive in Summer and Winter alike, so it's out of question to get a different car. Well, maybe another F at some point, also my 11-year-old daughter has made a claim for her own one for her 17th birthday ...

[stuart]

Frequent. In my experience, gremlins creep in when the car isn't used.

[Geoff.F]

I guess that our "F" has lived thru all the Scenarios.
Bought 13 years ago when living in Basel, it was winter garaged in the warm underground garage of the adjacent apartment block. Without winter tyres, it was illegal to use it so it was confined to short Sunday Drives with a Tyred Opel Vectra 2.2 as a Company Car.
On retiring the following year, I brought it back to UK and wintered it on axle stands in a dry, off cold garage and gave it a two/three weekly engine run until it was hot enough to dry the water out of the exhaust.. The battery was maintained with a float charger. Leaving the weight on the tyres causes flat spots although you can buy radiused blocks. The Astra 1.8 was fitted with tyres for Ski trips to Switzerland and the Clio used for a second family car.
Fed up with the DVLA and Sorn, the MG became a Sunday Car during winter until the Register run to Geneve when 4 alloy 15inch wheels were bought and fitted with winter tyres. With £350 worth of tyres which I may never wear out, it is now in regular winter use and will go to Switzerland again in March. We do not carry ski gear these days.
An essential "Tool" is the Karcher pressure wash for the Spring underbody/wheel arch wash. There is no rust and is in fact in better condition than many cars left the showroom.
Geoff F.

[alanrt]

My F was bought as a weekend car. It is not used much in the winter months but is kept taxed and insured as a back up to my daily driver Rover 25. I don't have a garage so put the hardtop on it for security. As my drive faces down hill water collects in few places it shouldn't so this winter it will be covered with the Stormforce cover I have just bought. As I have a battery drain issue the battery will be charged each weekend and the engine run for a few minutes.

Sent from my PMP5101C_QUAD using Tapatalk 2

[TimM]

The F will be Sorned this year for the first time in 13 years of ownership but prior to that spent the early years as a daily driver and then as a third car in the last few years but still with regular use. After 113,000 miles it's time JayPeG had a winter off!. The TF will be the daily driver throughout the winter though not that its that much younger !

[Steffi]

My TF is my daily drive car all year round. I bought him 8/2010 with 19.000 mls and at the moment we have 72.000 mls done.
It´s such a great car, never had bigger problems. I haven´t got a garage so he has to stay outside all year and it´s great fun driving him through the snow.
In January he will get a service with some things done on the suspension and bearing at Austin Garages. Than we will be ready to get the first 100.000 mls done

[Rob Bell]

Ours gets frequent use: my wife often takes it to work, but the annual mileage isn't high: after 17 years (18 in January!!!) it's only done 110,000 miles. The main victim of lower mileage is the battery unfortunately - but otherwise starts first time on the key everytime.

I love these cars