Where now for the MGF?

[Misterb_57]

OK, so this is probably not the most non-partisan forum to ask this question but here goes anyway....

In its 15th anniversary year - where now for the MGF?

bandit rightly says that they are in the 'banger' price bracket now, so which way from here?

Will the F's well documented woes mean eventual obscurity, as frustrated owners give up trying to keep maintain them, or will the status of the last of the breed (British mass produced sportscar) be enough to ensure the F eventually joins it MG stablemates in the classic arena (with enough parts available to keep them on the road)?

On paper you would have to say that the odds point towards obscurity, particularly with issues like Hydragas suspension spheres and the dreaded HGF, still to be resolved.

Please debate....

[Rob Bell]

Interesting conversation topic - and certainly one I've considered before!

We are now at where I remember MG Metros, Maestros and Montegos being at around the millenium - and when was the last time you saw one of these on the road? They've become incredibly rare haven't they?

Is this the fate of the MGF?

Yes, we're firmly into banger territory where values for the early cars are concerned. A lot of cars are being scrapped or broken (I've saved one car from the breakers - but I can't manage a crusade to save all MGFs on my own! )

That said, I think that the values are now rock bottom. The question is how long will they stay that way? Too long and a lot of cars will be scrapped...

I think that in the long term, classic status awaits the MGF, which will be perceived kindly by enthusiasts as the last truely all-British mass-manufactured sports car (in fact, it could be argued that it is Rover's last all British mass-manufactured car period).

Parts supply will almost certainly be assured into the long term - and in fact, it appears that British Motor Heritage (they who manufacture MGB, Midget, Mini, and TR6 body shells) have bought up body panel equipment for the MGF... MGs have always enjoyed brilliant parts availability. I would not be surprised if, in the UK, that parts availability for the MGF/TF will remain better than for any other roadster of the same vintage for many, many years to come.

[Mark L]

On paper you would have to say that the odds point towards obscurity, particularly with issues like Hydragas suspension spheres and the dreaded HGF, still to be resolved.

Please debate....

MGB's had bodywork that rotted in a time scale that could be measured in hours - not years, yet you can now buy brand new bodyshells 'off the shelf' making a simple HGF look a minor problem.

Stags and Dolly Sprints had engines that make the K series look bomb proof, yet they are now a popular 'classic' and even the cooling problems can now be sorted making the original Triumph engined cars now worth more than the RV8 conversions that used to be a 'must' for these cars due to the overheating problems with the original Triumph lump.

As with any cars though, the performance versions will always be more desirable when it comes to classic status so if you've got a nice original Trophy then stick it in the garage for the next 10 years and it'll be worth a small fortune.

It's interesting how the passage of time and a set of rose tinted goggles can change peoples perceptions about old British cars, the E-Type for EG is now considered one of the most desirable classics yet even in their day they were classed as unreliable and poorly made. I often laugh when people get all nostalgic about the classic British Mini and say they'd love to buy one, I wonder if they'd say the same if they'd actually owned an original one of these mobile 'tin worm farms' spending hours every sunday changing yet another set of ball joints or wheel bearings in a vain attempt to keep the dam thing going for another week of work - all the time hoping it wouldn't be damp or raining in the morning otherwise it's comedy electrics would mean you'd be dragging the Mr's out of bed to push you down the road to bump start the hatefull bleeding thing ...

Lest we forget....

[vexis]

Made me laugh at Marks comments and brought back a flood of memories,
Spending hours under the BMCs,BLs offerings.
Some how tho, I seem to have had a warped fasination at spending hours n hours doing the exact same thing, Brakes,Ball joints etc just to keep them going ,or was it that I was just a born "pratter" and enjoyed it?
Dont really know which way the Fs/TFs will go surley there not really in the same league as there countrparts of earlier time?.
Would hope that time and technology would have made some progress, but in the realms of history with Rover, BL and BMC as their fore fathers then who knows.
I guess I for one still have an instinct to look underneath things and round the back and explore possibilities.There fun too.
So think I will be trying to preserve mine for a while yet.
Interesting thread here
TA
Vex

[Art]

I think I am in a ' till death do us do part ' situation with my car, I enjoy driving it so much that it will only be my inability to get in or out that will make me part with it.

[Chris Tideswell]

I think all but a few cars go through that "banger" stage, I remember restoring my MG Midget and that had obviously gone through a banger stage due to the abount of bodgy MoT welding that had been done, but in the end it came out the other end as a classic.

[Misterb_57]

We are now at where I remember MG Metros, Maestros and Montegos being at around the millenium - and when was the last time you saw one of these on the road? They've become incredibly rare haven't they?

Is this the fate of the MGF?

Hi Rob,

I cant quite see your comparison with 'badge engineered' saloon cars, surely the F ranks higher than this? I tend to prefer a comparison with the MGA Twin Cam, which was derided as wholly unreliable during its day but now revered as a classic. My hope is that, as in case of the 'Twink', advances in technology will overcome the the issues/frailties of the F and that eventually it will sit alongside it's MG stablemates.

I didnt know that John Yeo and his team at BMH have the bought the body tooling - clearly they see the F has a future beyond the banger status.
Whats needed now is someone to restart Hydragas sphere production and we're halfway there (any news on that front?).

Chris.

[Andrew Regens]

I think it will be in the Banger area for a few more years, but as more people discover that they are an easy car to maintain, are a little bit more rust resistant than the BL models, have mod cons like a roof that is easy to erect, some have ABS, dual air bags, so are a safe car they will become collectable.
Over here the people who said 'those bloody plastic MG's ' the old T and A serries owners are now amongst the biggest drivers of early F's, due to the fact they have joined touring groups which go away for a week or two, so a boot, comfortable seats, mod cons needed for a few hundred KM driving a day and once the headgasket has been done are a lot more reliable than 1930/40/50's cars.
The only real problem is the rear spheres, but given time there will be a soloution for them and I think sooner than later. I have started to use mine less just as a club car so weekend events and whilst the engine holds together about a dozen speed events a year, that still equates to 10000km a year instead of the 250000 I was doing.
There is a slogan over here " a puppy is not just for Christmas but for life " I think it applies to MG F/TF's as well

[Rob Bell]

Hi Chris - I am not really making the link that the MGF will follow the M-cars - but rather illustrating that not all MGs survive the banger phase unscathed.in

The MGF will be different. Roadster versions of any car always proportionately do better than their tin-top counter parts. And the MGF is a dedicated, purpose built MG roadster - the last of the truely British MG roadsters.

Yes, the MGF will be a classic. The question in my mind is how many will survive before full classic status and value is achieved...

Interesting how some MGs never become bangers. Despite nearly being a complete commercial failure, the MG RV8 still commands values over 12k and has never sunk below this level. A question of supply and demand of course - and the idea of modern engineering in an MGB body shell obviously appeals to many MG enthusiasts

[Misterb_57]

Hi Rob,

Hmmm... the supply and demand effect!

So we must hope that as many F's are scrapped as possible then!

Giving the owners of the remainder the dual benefit of good spares supply and increasing value .

Possibly not a view the MGF register would support, I suspect.

One point regarding the RV8 - it was always targeted at 50+ male market (hence the high level of walnut and leather in the interior), typically business men who'd owned B's in their youth . This could also explain why values have never dropped below the £12k mark.

[Rob Bell]

So we must hope that as many F's are scrapped as possible then!

Giving the owners of the remainder the dual benefit of good spares supply and increasing value .

Possibly not a view the MGF register would support, I suspect.

You're right - it wouldn't!

Reason: a short term gain in second hand spares supply to loss of long term trader support (if there is an inadequate market to continue supporting parts supply)

One point regarding the RV8 - it was always targeted at 50+ male market (hence the high level of walnut and leather in the interior), typically business men who'd owned B's in their youth . This could also explain why values have never dropped below the £12k mark.

I think that this has hit the nail squarely on the head. This was absolutely the target audience: people who fancied buying an MGB, but equipped with modern (ish) technology and reliability, with the added attraction of the lovely Rover V8! It's a lovely nostalgia car. I think had I been presented the choice at the time, I'd have bought the TVR for similar money. But the MG has turned out to be a far better financial prospect - both in terms of residuals and maintenance costs...