Mg wannabe owner

Hello everyone. As yet I do not own an mg but am looking for a MGTF. Other than private sales, does anyone know of Specialists in the Greater Manchester or surrounding areas.? I have been looking at Trophy Cars down South but wondered if there was any similar dealers nearer to home. I'm looking forward to having a good nosey round the forum to learn plenty.

I don't know of any but if I was looking I would look on ebay and auto trader
Do you want one to play with as I know of a TF for £425 but the head gasket is on the way out

Thanks for the suggestions, ideally we would be looking for a TF with the work already done but we do have a nearby mechanic specialising in MG cars.

Hi and welcome to the forum

Have you asked your mechanic?

James

Thanks for the welcome, I've asked the mechanic to keep his eyes open for us and he will also go with us to look over any car that we are going to view. We had hoped there was a dealership up this way where we could go and have a look at a few mg cars just to get an idea as to what we would like.

I'd check local ones for sale on Gumtree and the Bay of E... in all honesty if your mechanic is willing to view with you it's going to save you a lot compared to garage prices. Getting one with head gasket failure is not an issue as long as it has not really boiled a lot, as your mechanic can pop a new gasket on and you know it's done.

Hi Drongo and :welcome: to the forum.

I've had my TF now for 3 years and looked at a few beforehand. I viewed a lot of cars which had very Good history but were in rough condition. In the end and after much research I found a TF that ticked all my boxes. Although she had no service history I broke all the rules and bought it at a very good price.

I'm no expert but if you take a few for a test drive you can tell the good from bad and you might just find a bargain.
Happy hunting.


:beer: :beer: Steve.

Welcome from me too.

While I've no experience of the following 2 dealers, they are well established so if you are prepared to travel a bit they are worth considering. It's certainly a way to see several cars in one go which could save travel time compared to visiting the same number individually.

http://pauldeppermgs.com/car-sales.html

http://www.churchsquareautos.com/

I bought mine through a Car & Classic advert. http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/list/32/mg+tf/ Rather like the specialist dealers you won't find 'TF projects' on the site but there may be a decent car there at a fair price.

Richard

You

stevew wrote: Hi Drongo and :welcome: to the forum.

I've had my TF now for 3 years and looked at a few beforehand. I viewed a lot of cars which had very Good history but were in rough condition. In the end and after much research I found a TF that ticked all my boxes. Although she had no service history I broke all the rules and bought it at a very good price.

I'm no expert but if you take a few for a test drive you can tell the good from bad and you might just find a bargain.
Happy hunting.


:beer: :beer: Steve.

Totally agree - service history doesn't always mean a good car. My Felix cost me £200 (nothing once I'd sold the roll hoops hidden in the boot!) and had a failed head gasket. Several years on, and for a car most would walk past as it was at the time a 'heap', he has passed every MOT without any major issue. The thing with the TF (and F) is that despite a car looking very shiny and lovely on top, they can hide a horror story of issues underneath. Far better to get an 'honest' car that has had the mechanicals looked after, and then fettle it. As long as the main shell is sound, things like front wings and bumpers are easy to replace, as are the interiors and hood. Usually cheaply too.

Hello again. Yesterday. We went to look at a tf that had a fantastic write up and so we expected it to be in mint condition. Nothing was further from the truth. It wasn't as if it was a cheap mg either. Thank you for all the links, I will take a look. Could i ask you all a question that is bugging me. I dont have a garage so I'm worrying that even though I will be looking after an mg that I may buy would being outside in winter cause major rust problems? Thanks again everyone.

The F/TF is no more susceptible to rusting than most modern cars so can stand outside the same as they do. Salt of course is a problem for all cars eventually so you need to wash the underside thoroughly in the winter and take care of stone chips to prevent rust but that is not a F/TF specific issue. Most of us use black waxoyl or something similar on the subframes and front wishbones and pump something in to the cills/sills and clean out behind the front wing liners where dirt can accumulate. You also need to make sure that the removable cover in the right rear wheel arch is in place (they are easy to obtain if missing) otherwise the alternator will suffer.

Richard

:welcome2: