So let’s just go through a few things, before I attempt a long range diagnosis ( always fraught with danger trying to do diagnostics from afar )
1. When you attempt to start the engine, exactly what happens? Does s the starter attempt to crank over the engine or is it showing absolutely no signs of enthusiasm?
2. What is the stage of the battery ( load test) are the connections clean and tight, this includes the connection to the starter and ground connections.
3. Will the engine wind over by hand with the spark plugs removed? Whilst the plugs are out, take some good close up pix of them and post the pix on here so we can read them. ( we need individual pix of the electrodes…. The business end.
4. You say that you’ve owned the car for 25 years, when did it last run? And when was it last serviced?
5. Remove the timing belt cover and inspect the timing belt (Thame pix and post them here)
If the engine won’t crank over, I wonder how they managed a compression test.
I hope that you’re not suffering a timing belt failure.
Although I hold the document in utter contempt due to the fact that like all manuals these days in is written by idiotsI I suggest you buy a copy of the MGF workshop manual. It will be better than nothing. And will help mechanics not familiar with our cars understand what they need to know. And in the future maybe you should invest in a Pscan OBD diagnostic unit (the only one worth a damn for our cars)
Yes it may seem an additional expense, but it will prove to be a wise investment as much time and money will be saved as a result of having these items at hand when needed…..and you will need them!
When you turn the car over to the mechanic you hand him the manual and explain that it belongs to the car and must stay with the car, when he hands the car back to you.
The Pscan stays with you, you can take your laptop in with you when you go to the mechanic and you can do the diagnostic for him so as he can see the results but the Pscan will only work on a computer that it’s registered to, so it won’t work on his computer.
"Keep calm, relax, focus on the problem & PULL THE BLOODY TRIGGER"