Topic

Hi all new member here. I'm about to purchase a TF on a 05 plate with 91k on the clock. The car looks very solid no rust that I can see and has only had 2 owners. The service records aren't great and this vehicle will be my daily drive. Should I replace head gasket,timing belt and water pump as a matter of course. It has a hard top for winter use and is costing 4k it's coming from a garage with 6 months warranty and 12 months MOT. So the question is should I take a punt or look around for one with less miles and better service record.
Thanks in advance
Kieran

Hi Kieran,
Personally, I would look at this like any other used car purchase, i.e. ask yourself if you really want this particular car. If you do, then have those jobs done as soon as you can, for peace of mind. You'll be spending quite a bit, and I would guess that you don't want to gamble on it being okay. But, whichever way you decide to go, i hope you have a great time with a great little car! I love my TF!!

You haven’t mentioned the mileage of the car.
Not having seen the car in question, I couldn’t say if you’re better off looking for another car.
But regardless of service history I would err on the cautious side and replace the cam belt etc, unless you know for sure when it was last changed. However unless the are signs of head gasket failure, I’d leave well enough alone, unlike the cam belt etc. the head gasket is not a routine service item………….no point fixing something that isn’t broken.
You would be better to spend the money on a low coolant alarm, the one I use and recommend is the Brown & Gammons low coolant alarm, but there are alternatives available.
These cars can run seriously low on coolant very quickly if they spring a leak, resulting in head gasket failure before you realise there is a problem.
A low coolant alarm is essential for our cars….. no ifs or buts and no cheapskating on not wanting to spend the money to buy one.
Fitting one is much cheaper than the alternative……which is a buggered engine……it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, which will be inevitable if a low coolant alarm is not fitted.
Consider yourself told!

Apart from Cobb’s missing the mileage you can’t fault that assessment although I guess that by an 05 plate car the low coolant warning device would be fitted as standard.
But for all that I have an itch around the 4k price tag. You could buy four for that price or at least two worth considering, especially if you’re handy with a socket set.
I appreciate you will be using it as a daily driver & a six month warranty is comfortable & warm to snuggle into over the bleak midwinter, but in spring when the roof comes down? Your on your own.
There’s a couple of chaps on here that have bought recently, both of who have had MGf/tf experience & it would be interesting for them to review your situation, neither spent anything like 4k, in fact one of the lads spent more like £600 then spent £4k on it & that’s the car I would jump at in a trice.
I can’t remember who it was, maybe they would like to contribute.
Keep an open mind but if the trap snaps shut & you find it on your drive & it hasn’t had the cam belt etc done, do it or get it done; I’d be insisting the supplying garage did it as part of the deal (make sure the old bits are in the passenger footwell in the original replacements boxes.
Seeing the old parts, for an old cynic like me is an old fashioned way of signalling to the mechanics that you’re keeping them in your sights.
M

Hi Keiron. £ 4k is quite top end money for a TF at present as our cars are currently in the goldilocks zone for buyers.

F/ TF prices have bottomed out in terms of being modern second hand cars but not yet started to rise appreciably as a classic. Its therefore a buyers market and there are bargains to be had. That has resulted in a lot of the cars at the lower end such as MOT failures, cars with engine problems changing hands cheaply- some being broken for spares and luckily others falling into the hands of enthusiasts wanting to restore them. Some jobs can be tricky but with a very affordable and ready supply of 2nd hand parts available there are very few jobs on these cars that could be considered expensive. All tasks can be achieved on them affordably with basic tools and enthusiasm.

What spec of TF are you looking at ? As a 2005 car is it one of the last from the Longbridge factory ? What part of the country are you in ?

Thanks for the input I live up in Cumbria right on the boarders

Sorry should have said the vehicle has 91k on it but the garage also has another TF with 57k on it on an 03 plate again a very solid looking car for the same price

Lets work through this to see what advice will help:

What spec are both cars E.g

Is the engine a 1.6 (known as a 115) or if it is a 1.8 is this a 120 (Stepspeed/auto) a 135 (the most plentiful) or a 160 (VVC engine) ?

Special / limited edition ? (there were quite a few types)

Sports pack ? (chiefly optional 16" wheels and 4 pot uprated front brakes)

Soft ride suspension option ?

What is the rationale of buying from the particular garage ? Have you checked their pricing is competitive ? Are they a specialist in MG F / TF s that someone on the forum may have heard of ?


Mileage difference between the 2 shouldnt be much of a factor so long as the cars have been looked after. Look for what maintenance has been done.

I'll back up Notanumber here, don't get hung up on mileage, theses are all 20+ years old and even 100K is only 5k per year. Of far more importance is the actual condition; check the front and rear subframes and sills for tinworm. I bought my TF 160 just over a year ago for £2500 but made sure I had another £1500 handy to get a new battery, both belts, oil, coolant and transmission all re-done so I had a start point for my maintenance. As it turned out, the bill came to about half what I had in reserve so some I spent on addressing some small cosmetic issues. I use mine as a daily and it had 93k on it when acquired. It hasn't missed a beat at all and is huge fun. As said earlier, fit the low coolant alarm to whatever you get. It's a buyers market at the moment, the prices have bottomed out and these can be picked up much cheaper if you are prepared to get stuff done to your satisfaction (or to spanner it yourself).

For me, £4000 is strong money but there can still be pitfalls for the unwary, make sure you give it a very thorough going over as for that, I'd be expecting 'good' to 'excellent' rather that just okay condition. Anything amiss, just walk away unless you can negotiate some discount to address anything.

Hi thanks for the reply.
One vehicle is a 1'8 spark the other is a 1.8 sport, both cars are situated at LCC car sales in Baildon Shipley. I'm looking at part X my current drive which is a Fiat 500cc convertible. I've been offered the right mony for it so would have abou 2k on top of the price of the car to put things right if needed. The plan is to get the right car as I'm under taking a 2 month tour of Spain ,France ,Italy the end of April , followed by a month tour to Greece in September. Any work needing doing on the car would probably go to a specialist,I was thinking of Rough luck racing. They have a mobile service plus their facilities are on route to my daughter's house.

Do you remember Crackerjack, all the audience shouted hurrah when crackerjack was mentioned, Rough Luck Racing has a similar effect on here.
There can’t be many members who haven’t heard of Jon & Claire & I bet there will be a goodly number who have waited for their car to be healed by their laying on of hands.
They did the head on my tf when I was banned from doing jobs after a spell of unwell.
They really are great & deserve the five stars they have been voted.
M

To me even given its a dealer it is very strong money for a 135 with 91k on it I'm pretty sure you could do better, I'm also a little bit concerned about driving all over Europe in what will be even by then be a relatively new to you 19 yr old car. Given the probably scarce availability of spare parts in rural Europe by the time you've packed the justin case kit you'll be reduced to a spare pair of speedos and flip flops for yourself. They are great "little" cars but that's the point they are little, OK my Walther PPK will go in the glovebox but what about my DJ?