Buying a cheap MGF?

[AndyH]

In 2018 I bought a cheap MGF with a full MOT off ebay for £700.

Bargain or so I thought. I knew the car wasn't perfect but it had a waterpump and cam belt just a few thousand miles ago.

On the second day steam came out the back and I thought it was the head gasket. Thankfully it was only a hose. An idiot previous owner had replaced one and not the rest. Old hoses on an MGF is madness. If one hoses looks old or has to be changed then change the lot. Any coolant problem on an MGF is very very bad.

The brakes were lousy and I really have to ask myself exactly how this car passed an MOT. I needed new discs on the back and new pads on the front and back. Now you can get these parts on the internet fairly cheaply but I also had to have the brake fluid replaced and the handbrake adjusted too. Thankfully I have a clever friend to help me and with all the parts I think it was about 50 quid. If I'd had to use a proper garage that would probably have been another £150.

The waterpumps on MGFs only last about 4 years so although the car hadn't done that many miles it had been done 4 and a half years ago and it soon started leaking. Anything to do with the engine is going to get expensive as it takes time to get to. The cam belt should be done at the same time so that was a £500 bill. IN addition to cambelt and waterpump ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS put on a brand new auxillary belt on at the same time. Any job you can get done at the same time you need to do. Even if it looks fine change it.

There was a lot of filler on the nearside rear mudguard and I decide to get this sorted..When the rust was cut out oh dear...

You can see the before and after photos here:

I think you have to agree AD Panelcraft of Milton Keynes did a fab job repairing the inner and outer wing but that was knocking on for £500. I've no complaints with their pricing but my £700 car doesn't look quite so good value anymore.

The fact that MGFs are ridiculously cheap means that a lot of the cars get neglected. It wasn't long before the car had problems starting in the wet. The rotor arm and distributor cap had had it so these were replaced with new spark plugs and HT leads.

There are some really good forum posts about MAGNATEC HT leads being the best and exactly what gap to set the plugs too. NOT HIGH seems to be the message to ease damp starting.

In addition I've had to fork out for new tyres and the tracking doing too. Another couple of hundred quid.

A second hand exhaust back box was found on ebay for £40 with a catalytic converter attached and the all important exhaust band

I'm really hoping I've got a solid good MGF now and I aim to keep the car for a long time but I warn you:

If you buy a cheap MGF you may soon be spending cash at an alarming rate.

Look for a car that has been regularly maintained.
* Ignore all the "it was only done 10,000 miles ago" waffle. If the car has been standing or little used it disguises the fact it needs doing again.
* Any water leak is bad. If it hasn't been fixed assume it's expensive.
* A stainless steel exhaust is a massive bonus and will not rust
* Remember bodywork can get expensive quickly

AND NEVER FORGET
* Yeah MGFs can be a right pain but they're also one of the best fun cars ever made for not a lot of money!!!!!
* A lot of MGFs are being broken for spares or scrapped and soon what remains will go up in value

[Barbour]

Yep, if you buy a cheap old car, no matter what car really, be prepared to spend quite a lot on neglect and long overdue servicing.

But then, as a rule, older (British) cars are a good way to get rid of your money period

Hope yours will be fine after this.

[mowog73]

Wow, I've never seen pictures of that amount of rust around the rear wheel arch. But the repair looks great and amaranth is such a great colour.

[MrNatural]

Excellent repairs

[AndyH]

Salt on British roads is a great thing - just a shame car manufacturers don't do more rust proofing AND yes it was a truly excellent repair by AD panelcraft of Milton Keynes. I would love to have the rest of the car resprayed.

[ErikB]

Great write-up

Can I add to be cautious with the brake lines. They could start to corrode and are quite expensive (labour-wise) to tackle.
State of the headlight reflectors, way too often tried to resolve the issue with brighter bulbs or even Xenon.

[Rob Bell]

Nice write up Andy

I'd agree with what you're saying. Buy a cheap project car by all means, but only do it if you're prepared to invest and preferably do all the jobs yourself. For much of these tasks, the labour is the single largest outlay. In general the parts are cheap.

I'd always, on an unknown car, budget to do the following:

• Full engine service - cam belt, cam belt tensioner, water pump, alternator belt. Fresh oil and oil filter and change the coolant. OAT is preferable, owing to a longer service life, so you'll not be changing it so frequently
• Inspect the brake and clutch lines - original ones are steel and rot; if replacing, use copper - and of course, change the brake fluid and clutch fluid (good chance the clutch fluid has never been changed!)
• Check the operation of the clutch release arm - and externally lubricate with old engine oil (that you've just drained as part of the engine service)
• Check all hoses and pay special attention to the underbody coolant pipes - the originals are steel, and rot. s/s, aluminium and even copper replacement pipes are available
• If an MGF, check the radiator. The original steel items rot in a frightening way. Replace with the alloy specification version found on the TF; cheap and a direct swap.
• Check the front lower wishbones - they rot from the inside-out.
• Lubricate (grease gun!) the inner fulcrums of the lower wishbones. Grease nipples on all four corners on an MGF - just on the front of the TF
• Inspect the bodywork and subframes for rot - not all of it is immediately obvious from an external inspection.

That is not, by any means, a comprehensive list, but should see anyone through the key mechanical problems!

[CubMG]

I paid £400 for my MGF just got a new MOT 3 advisories ,rear tyres are getting low and some slight corrosion on the front subframe . Now I know I have it for another year I will spend some money on it .Euro carparts supplied 4 discs and pads for £60 I will fit stainless hoses when I change them .
The thing is there are cheap cars out there I have a ZS so when I looked at this one I spotted the new cap on the expansion tank with nice orange liquid in it and at the other end of the engine bay a new fuel filter so some one had looked after it.

[Db09]

Swapped my old Volvo estate for my volcano orange f .
Volvo worth about £200.
Had it 4 years
Spent about £1200 on it to me £300 runing costs per yr on a 24yr old car is not bad as it’s used everyday lives outside .
Does not really matter how much it costs ill never sell it .

[Dallas]

Great job you've done, well done.

My first F was a cheap one, turned out it needed lots of money spent to get it how I wanted it.

In the end I went out and bought an expensive TF with everything already done, far less stressful. lol

Good luck with yours.