60 replies to this topic

[TZ_86]

My view in a nutshell :

Get an MX5

Definitely no, not only it doesnt look good, it's also very gay like

For women maybe but not for me!

[Garry.L]

That post was awesome and really helpful, thanks for the time writing a long post like that Garry,

The mg forum is very good full of enthusiasts, who, although their TF's gives them much grief, still love them to bits.
How much did you pay for yours and what year was it, cuz I'm looking at the advertisements and they go around for 2500-3500
which is really cheap, considering my budget is 7000

If I was to buy one like yours how much would I be looking at today ($$$$$) Do you believe there was also luck involved when you bought that fault free TF or do you reckon it is the result of exactly knowing what to look for.

Any other advice would be hugely appreciated.

Beautiful color, is that ferrari's little brother

£2.5K is pretty much bottom end, I'd be looking more £3.5K upwards, but again it's all down to how well the previous owner/s treated the car, if you could stretch your top end budjet a little I've seen 1 year old models of the latest TF (NAC) for circa £10K with 2 years warrenty left.

Another option would be one of the last MG-R TF's which had just had a facelift before Rover went bump, these had the glass screen as standard and much better dampers along with a few other cosmetic changes - they also had the later Multi layer HG fitted along with a low coolant alarm/warning as standard. MY05 models sell for circa £5K+, worth noting though if the cars not got the glass screen then it'll be the older model even though it may be an 05/55 plate.

IMHO try and get the 160 as they're better spec and performance, 0-60 in circa 6.9 seconds is pretty decent for this type of car and they also have the Red AP calipers as standard.


Perhaps try a post over on MG-R.org saying you're looking for a TF as you'll have a better chance of getting a decent one which someone will have already sorted the common faults on..

Edited by Garry.L, 18 February 2010 - 06:46 PM.

[Mike9009]

My view in a nutshell :

Get an MX5

Definitely no, not only it doesnt look good, it's also very gay like

For women maybe but not for me!

Constructive argument against the better car.... I ve owned an MGF (many years ago) - did not have many problems with it, but did not find the drive that engaging (basic model never had the 160!). Also two friends have had them. One had a brand new 'T' reg and within three and a half years the head gasket needed replacing - after which he sold. Have another mate, recently bought an '03 MGTF which had had its HG replaced before purchasing (he thought this was a good sign!) - now (twelve months on) it has failed again.

I now drive a relatively faultless 1991 1.6 MX5 (partly for cheap motoring after we've had our first child, in case there was any doubt about my sexuality!! he he) It is fairly reliable (had a few small low cost items to replace to make perfect - window cable, top gearbox gaskets etc.)). More importantly the driving experience is far superior to the MG. I would describe the MGF as dull and snappy - either it offered nothing or it offered too much and was a handful. The MX5 is balanced, controllable and fun.

Also I only paid £1300 for the rust free MX5 (in fact its an Eunos!)

Have fun looking though....


Mike

[TZ_86]

Constructive argument against the better car.... I ve owned an MGF (many years ago) - did not have many problems with it, but did not find the drive that engaging (basic model never had the 160!). Also two friends have had them. One had a brand new 'T' reg and within three and a half years the head gasket needed replacing - after which he sold. Have another mate, recently bought an '03 MGTF which had had its HG replaced before purchasing (he thought this was a good sign!) - now (twelve months on) it has failed again.

I now drive a relatively faultless 1991 1.6 MX5 (partly for cheap motoring after we've had our first child, in case there was any doubt about my sexuality!! he he) It is fairly reliable (had a few small low cost items to replace to make perfect - window cable, top gearbox gaskets etc.)). More importantly the driving experience is far superior to the MG. I would describe the MGF as dull and snappy - either it offered nothing or it offered too much and was a handful. The MX5 is balanced, controllable and fun.

Also I only paid £1300 for the rust free MX5 (in fact its an Eunos!)

Have fun looking though....


Mike

Nicely put and I agree completely, but although MX is a very very reliable and cheap runner I would never be happy with it as it doesn't look good in my eyes. That gay comment earlier was more of a joke than a fact

Ummmmm... if only mg made TF's as reliable as MX they would have been hugely popular and much more expensive.

Ohh Gary yes I know the MG forum is definitely the place to search for the car, in fact I would only buy it from a forum member as they are often very loved and cared for, but more importantly the owners are more or less very honest in my opinion.

But 10k$ is too much I would rather have a VX without even blinking with my eye, my only worry is that I would have to give all my money for the car and the paper work plus the servicing and insurance, god forbid that anything else happens (like an accident), in that case I'd be dead.

It's just the case that I would be happier with a "fault free"(i know almost impossible) TF and still have like 5000$ on my account

Thank you for the very useful information

Edited by TZ_86, 18 February 2010 - 09:30 PM.

[Garry.L]

What about this one?.. http://www.mgtfr.webs.com/ All the looks - but the reliabilty and performance of a CTR lump...

[TZ_86]

What about this one?.. http://www.mgtfr.webs.com/

All the looks - but the reliabilty and performance of a CTR lump...

OMG that really is impressive, what specs beautiful, the price is also right but I would rather stretch my budget up to 7500 or 8000 and get a very beautiful, cool looking, extremly reliable VX220 N/A.

Because it's like this, either I get a good example of TF for 3500 or I'm getting a vx for 7 or 8 k$. But as I've said it would be better to go with tf and still have a nice sum of money on me. than to go with vx and give it all (although IMHO VX is absolutely worth it)


But again the looks of that TF is awesome a perfect example, I like your sense of high standard sir

LOL would you help me get a perfect TF, I'll pay you. How much did you sell yours for??

Edited by TZ_86, 18 February 2010 - 11:11 PM.

[Mangham54]

But the MGF and the MGTF were fundamentally different to drive.... MGF: Hydragas suspension - as fitted to the Metro. MGTF: Coilover Shocks - as fitted to just about everyother car made. If you read up about what changes they went through to go from the MGF to the MGTF the list is quite sizeable - especially given the talk that MG/Rover in its later days just facelifted dying models. I have not had an F or TF myself, but have had two MG ZRs and reliability on both these has been excellent.

[Craig S]

But the MGF and the MGTF were fundamentally different to drive....

MGF: Hydragas suspension - as fitted to the Metro.

MGTF: Coilover Shocks - as fitted to just about everyother car made.

If you read up about what changes they went through to go from the MGF to the MGTF the list is quite sizeable - especially given the talk that MG/Rover in its later days just facelifted dying models. I have not had an F or TF myself, but have had two MG ZRs and reliability on both these has been excellent.

My dad has owned a ZS from new 03 plate (I think) with 1 HG fail last year, I think it was about £500 to fix, so not that much in the grand scheme of things (less than the cost to replace my VX's blown radiator).

[TheRealVXed]

I replaced the head gasket on my neighbours TF. I have too say, having been all around the car, bearing in mind it was a 2004 car, the amount of rust everywhere was worse than my dad's 1972 MG Midget! After replacing the gasket I was reluctant to take the car too far as i really had no confidence in the parts i couldn't see! That said, it handled pretty well and went nicely, the right amount of power for a good mess around. And for mid engined fun is much less of a compromise then the VX. It really depends what you want from your car. Both have occasional expense...

[andy bid]

I had an MG TF for 2 years before i bought the vx. ...buy the vx! only had the 1.6 115bhp model, but my mate had a 160, so i have driven both. To be honest although the vx is a bit basic inside, the mg does not have and greater creature comforts, and i'd even say the ride is harder in the tf. Had mine for over 2 years, was only just over 2 years old when i bought it, had done 12k miles... head gasket went 6 months later at 16-17k miles, got it back from the garage, and then the next week the alternator went! Great looking car though, i had the gun metal grey colour with the roll bars, great car at the time when i was 20, but trust me go for the vx.

[ender]

So, I have a couple of friends who owned MGFs, and I test drove a number of them... Before buying a Mk3 MR2 (Roadster). They are nice cars, but the right one to buy in my opinion was the Trophy. Unlike all the other they were hand built I believe, they were very similar to the Fs but they had the non-air suspension. But everyone who drove one seemed to prefer them to both the TF and the original F. They only came with the 160 engine, but people tuned them, tweaked them and fettled them based on Lotus' lead with the Mk 1 Elise, and managed to get 190 out of them fairly reliably. Regarding the K-Series, there was a lot of stuff going around about the head gasket - they were troublesome if you didn't look after them, and tweaked them too hard. But if you left them alone they were usually okay. Of course, there are always a few friday afternoon cars, but that's not limited to Rovers, the guy who sold his and moved on to a TT had no issue with the F but the TT was cursed from the day he sat in it. You can never tell. Personally, I loved the MR2 for it's handling, feel, and that I could fit in it. The TF isn't great for those over 5'10, but the Toyota fit me perfectly. Now if they'd just fitted a boot, it would have been perfect :-)

[Tail-end Charlie]

I had an MG TF for 2 years before i bought the vx. ...buy the vx! only had the 1.6 115bhp model, but my mate had a 160, so i have driven both. To be honest although the vx is a bit basic inside, the mg does not have and greater creature comforts, and i'd even say the ride is harder in the tf. Had mine for over 2 years, was only just over 2 years old when i bought it, had done 12k miles... head gasket went 6 months later at 16-17k miles, got it back from the garage, and then the next week the alternator went! Great looking car though, i had the gun metal grey colour with the roll bars, great car at the time when i was 20, but trust me go for the vx.

Hi, I've owned both a TF 115 and a VX220 Turbo. Can I just say that the cars are in a completely different price bracket? For a TF you are talking between £2-5k (Don't even consider buying one of the Chinese one's, typical chinese simply copy an already age-ing design making no new innovation whatsoever), a VX is £7-17k.

All VX's are faster than any MG TF. The VX is better to drive. The MG is more comfortable and more of an everyday car. Getting in/out is no issue and there is quite a bit more space (in terms of boot and cab). The MG doesn't really have the wow factor of the VX but it is generally regarded as nice to look at. The drive-ability is by no means bad on a TF. It is a mid-engined RWD car, the steering is ok if not a little bit light. The clutch is heavier than a VX.

There is also a nice online community of MG TF driver at mg-rover.org who also hold regular meets and give loads of advice etc.

There is a known issue with the headgaskets, especially on pre-2003 models/more powerful models (135/160bhp). I don't think this is as much of an issue as people make out. A headgasket will generally give you certain clues before it goes and assuming you catch it before it does go fully, it is relatively inexpensive to replace. If you're a bit of a doughnut and wait for the oil and water to mix then it can be quite expensive. See that the timing belt is replaced on time too.

Be aware the TF 160 uses a Variable Valve Conversion (VVC) system which will be expensive to repair should it go wrong.

They are nice cars, but the right one to buy in my opinion was the Trophy. Unlike all the other they were hand built I believe, they were very similar to the Fs but they had the non-air suspension. But everyone who drove one seemed to prefer them to both the TF and the original F. They only came with the 160 engine, but people tuned them, tweaked them and fettled them based on Lotus' lead with the Mk 1 Elise, and managed to get 190 out of them fairly reliably.

All TF's use spring suspension (and yes it is quite hard).

Sprint and Anniversary models were slightly more higly regarded than the others for some reason if I remember correctly. However the differences were purely cosmetic. Nothing to do with the actual engineering at all. (Some came with hardtops as standard, body coloured mirrors, colour coded hoods and alcantara seats etc).

Edited by Tail-end Charlie, 24 March 2010 - 10:26 PM.

[Rapid 17]

I test drove one about 7 years ago and wasn't impressed. My car at the time was a Civic Type R (EP3) and I was glad to get back in it after test driving the MG. After that I went on to test drive both a Mazda MX5 and a Toyota MR2 (roadster) and thought both were considerably better than the MG. I eventually bought a Honda S2000. Geoff.

[Baron Von Scubadaddy]

we love an mgf on here don't we......

1 member 3 guest reading this!

[Nev]

we love an mgf on here don't we...... 1 member 3 guest reading this!

I guess it must be the hidden shame of VX220 owners

[mbes2]

Nothing wrong with a MGF... I own two now...

 

[Nev]

How much will your tracking one weigh Mark ?

[mbes2]

How much will your tracking one weigh Mark ?

 

std its 1060kg..... so still removing bits and planning on cutting panels out.... so hopefully under 1000kg

 

120bhp....so wont be too bad for some cheap fun

[Nev]

Let me know if you ever come over to Castle Coombe in it, I only live about 15 miles away.

[davemate]

Why would anyone buy one of these when there are plenty of mx5s around?