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MG MGA - Looking to purchase first MG

Apologies for asking, but I have been trying to find some information on MGA's on the web regarding values and the demand for these cars. I have recently been looking at an MGA 1600 convertible LHD for sale in California, year of manufacture is 1960. In the pictures the car looks very original and rust free and the speedo has 88,000 miles, the paintwork is dull as it is Black, it may require a respray, or it might be better left original. The price of the car is 16,000 dollars which converts to approximately £10,500.

I have looked at various cars for sale in the UK and the price variance is huge, ranging from about £8,000 up to £55,000 for nut and bolt restorations and as such I am finding it difficult to know if this car represents good value for money as total cost including shipping etc. will be around £12,500. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you Roger


R O Seymour

It may well be a good buy Roger but you really do need to have someone have a look at it before you pay out any money.

You could ask if anyone in the MGA community lives near enough to where the car is for sale is willing to take a look at it for you.
You could also try posting on the USA MG Experience forum to see if anyone over there can help.

Best of luck

Colyn
c firth

Hi Roger,

The car doesn't look to bad but you won't really know until you get it back home.

With Californian cars the chassis and most of the bodywork is usually in quite good condition as they don't appear to use salt on the roads in the same way that we in the UK do.

You may find that the tops of the wings and interior are past there best especially if the car has been left out in the sun.

The decision really will be how far do you wish to go with any restoration or do you want to leave it as it is.

Once the restoration starts its very easy to get carried away and end up with a full restoration. One of the reasons for this is that nearly everything you need from a simple nut to a complete interior is available new. The problem is you also then have a car that is to good (or valuable) to use.

In my view the car (based on one picture) and shipping costs both represent good value in the current climate.

It will be interesting to hear other views

Regards...John
John Bray

Welcome to the forum Roger. I hope you get some useful thoughts.

Roger contacted me through my website and I suggested he asked for advice on this forum. It turns out we are only a mile or so apart down here in Fleet.

In the initial query to me, Roger attached a link to some more photos of the car. I have just clicked on it and it seems they and the advert have been deleted. Have you bought the car already?

Cheers

Steve
Steve Gyles

Hi all,

Thank you all for replying and for your views, it is very much appreciated. As Steve has indicated the advert has now been withdrawn, just waiting to hear back from the seller to see if the car has now been sold.

I first contacted the seller earlier in the week, but I wasn't prepared to rush into a purchase without seeking advice or without someone seeing the car first, but that's the disadvantage of finding a car overseas, but I will keep looking. Thanks again everyone. Kind regards Roj
R O Seymour

R O Seymour.send me your E mail as I may be interested in selling my MGA MKii Bill
Bill Mason

Be very careful especially if this person comes back with the story ‘Oh the car was taken off sale as I had a good offer for it, however the guy changed his mind so it’s still for sale’ Typical snare scam.
Don’t transfer any money until someone in the US checks it out.
J Hughes

Good luck in your search Roger - the car in your original post is the same as mine ( except mine is RHD). You are better looking for a car in UK so that you can inspect it yourself - they all look great in photos! - and as it has been pointed out a full resto can be horrendously expensive - better to find one that has been done - once again good luck - and take someone with you so that the rose tinted specs don't take over.
Cam Cunningham

Roger, there is a very nice, recently restored MGA for sale in Malta. It is an ex South africa car, year 1956, 1500 cc engine, right hand drive. Definately no rust. The cost of shipping from Malta to UK will be much lower than from the USA. Send me your email address and I will send you more details and some pics.

Frank
F. Camilleri

Roger,

After over 30 years of ownership I will be selling my car in the spring.

Let me know if you are ever in the Bedfordshire area, you are most welcome to have a look.

Regards...John
John Bray

Thank you John,

Do you have any pictures and details of your car, and a guide price?

My email is:

roger_seymour@hotmail.com

Regards

Roger
R O Seymour

This thread was discussed between 13/02/2015 and 15/02/2015

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