My take on the MGF

[bennyboy]

I bought a p reg MK1 MGF VVC on Saturday, i had never driven one before and i love it. This is a personal opinion so feel free to disagree.
They are super value now. You can get them rust proofed for £250- £300 and once the H/G, water pump,belts and hoses have been done, you have a depreciation proof car, that's modern enough but not too modern. So you get a MGF, for £800 to £1000, rust proof it, do the necessary h/g, hoses etc, and have one of the most fun cars around for less than £1500. Superb i say!

[Androlyn]

That's a nice and positive view, cannot argue with it. Getting spares may get harder but not impossible just yet.
Something you missed off your list that I would have added is to get the Suspension sorted, mine needed a good pump up and so far has stayed up, not sure what I would do if it went down too quickly.

[Mykel]

I think in the long run the hydragas suspension will be the Achilles’ heel for MGF owners. There are almost no new (or rather old stock) units left, especially Trophy drivers have to rely on used spheres. Some of them have lasted well for 20 years now, but one has to bear in mind that the stress put on them is probably more than it was on a Mini or Princess. And the system is a bit different as well.

The alternatives presently available are both pricey and not really up to the job from what I hear. So my idea would be to get hold of a couple of TF subframes to replace the hydragas system with something that has been proven and is fully road legal. After all, both the MGFs and at least the early TFs share the same type approval number, so parts are interchangeable. Also, there are many third party refinements available to fine tune the TF suspension.

Apart from that, Benny is obviously spot on, not any other car offers that much bang for the buck. And that’s why we’re all here.

[Rob Bell]

At current values, there is very little to compare them too. Mk1 MX-5s are generally piles ferrous oxide held together by paint at this price point.