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MG MGF Technical - High servicing costs

Hi all MGF fans.
In Farnham Surrey, My local MG dealer needs mega-bucks
for a 48K service. In the past, I have found bad service: Gross overfilling of oil. The steering wheel
30 degrees off the straight-ahead position when asked
to fix a "clonking" noise. This is just a sample of many problems.
Where do I go for a good reliable and quality service
at a fair price in my area?
Please help me.
Chris
Chris

Chris,

I used to use S&J and never had any problems with them, but since having the suspension done by Techspeed have been using them okay it is a 200+ mile round trip but they are cheaper know what they are doing and do what you ask.

The main downside with main dealers are the service cost thus the joys of the specialist, specially if the car no longer has manufacturer warranty.

Tom
Tom Randell

Hi Tom,
I find 200 miles too far to go. Can somebody else find
my dream MGF servicing near Farnham, Surrey?
Chris
chris

I do the same as Tom - believe me, a 200 mile trip isn't too far in this case!
Rob Bell

S & J are well spoken of reasonably often, have you checked out the dealer guide ? (somebody will be along with the URL in just a mo)
David S

Hi Tom,
I will consider Techspeed for future servicing. Could you please give me their address, phone no. and if possible their e-mail address. Many thanks to all who replied.
Chris
Chris

Chris,

First, I too do a round trip of 160 miles to use Tech-Speed's first class services. However, you need to understand that they are not a 'normal' garage. Their first business is race-car preparation and their availability for other work is always dependant upon their racing obligations i.e. seasonal. Don't let this put you off. Their knowledge of the MGF is first class as is their approach to customers.

It's best to call Marvin or Roy on 01926 632066. Right now is a good time as they are quiet. They are not geared up to email, so my advice is not to use it :-)

They are at

The Mill
Eathorpe
Nr Leamington Spa
CV33 9DE
Dave Livingstone

There must be other places apart from Techspeed,B&G and MGF Centre!

I'm southampton based and would much appreciate a closer recommended specialist. Please?
Russell Parslow

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/garages/garuk.html
JohnP

>> There must be other places apart from Techspeed, B&G and MGF Centre! <<

Yes, Mike Satur in Rotherham! Unfortunately for you, he's even further away for you Russell. But these four places offer the most consistently good service of all the MGF specialists that we've heard of.

If there are others I too would like to hear about them :o)
Rob Bell

Tech-Speed are not a cheap option - but they do provide the highest quality of work for the MGF. I've not found any independent MGF specialists anywhere around this area
Steve

>>Tech-Speed are not a cheap option

Their labour rates are a lot cheaper than an MGR dealer!
Dave Livingstone

For Chris in Farnham, you should seriously try Brown & Gammons. For me (from Tun Wells ish) it is a 180 mile round trip so it should be less from where you are. It it well worth it, with an A service at £130 and B service at £160 and the confidence of knowing that the job will be done correctly.

Chaz
Chaz

Chris,

There is a independant Rover specialist McAllister & Brown Ltd in farnborough who could be cheaper but have never used them for servicing, ButI know they do MGF servicing.

Tom
Tom Randell @ Work


Quality: Bully S&J. They are capable of doing it right. As I said in the dealer guide... not 100% perfect, but admit (to me at least!) when/if they get it wrong.

Price: Can't help you there. A main dealer price is a mail dealer price. Negotiate?

Have used Techspeed for more specialist work. Can't fault them really. Could be cheaper in some respects... but they make up for it in other ways.
Do as I did and take a friend up in the morning, dump the car off and take the train for a shopping trip to the Bull Ring. :-)

P.
Paul Nothard

I use Trident Ottershaw
I know the Guys fairly well and I have to say that they have been always very fair and have never ripped me off!
Neil

Chris, Have to agree re: S & J Farnham. Also arrogant and unhelpful.

Chatted to the guys at Trident Ottershaw and they are very helpful. Going to take my car there to get steering sorted and if happy will let them do the 60k service.

Rob

Rob...talk about mystery Shopper!

Jeez if they muck you about every F enthusiast in UK will hear about it!!

so Ask for Chris Banton to set it up and make sure he knows what/who he's dealing with!

; )
Neil

Re: McAllister & Brown in Farnborough - I took my F to them shortly after purchase, as the suspension needed pumping up. Having left it with them for an hour they phoned me up to tell me suspension was fine and didn't need anything doing to it. Took the car home, checked the ride height again - no, definitely still 30 mm down. Got it sorted at my local MOT place who set it to exactly 368 mm with no prompting from me.

Unfair to pick on a firm from a single example, but if they can't check the height with a tape measure properly, I'm not too inclined to let them service it. Seems like a potentially expensive experiment!

Mark
Mark Roper

Hello Rob,Surrey
Thanks so much for your input to this topic. We both agree that Swain and Jones fail at the first hurdle. Please note to all that read this, that my original
start to this debate did not mention them by name.
Others came up with it.
Would you give your 60K (cam belt job) to them? I have many other failings (not so far mentioned) with servicing. I actually wrote in person to Stuart L. Jones (M.D). What came back was no reply from him. Only from the service manager Keith Hardy.
SAYS IT ALL
Thanks Rob
Thanks everybody for getting involved you keep MGF alive.
Chris

Hi,

You could always give Thomas Day in Fleet a try
at least they have a body shop if you need it.

I've also tried rowse rover in Basingstoke who
are pretty good for warranty fixes that I've had
done.

Paul;
Paul Waine

Mark some people prefer the suspension at a lower setting ...me included, isnt the correct ride height suggested at a parameter of heights and not a fixed one?
Neil

Neil - as I understand it, the 'correct' height for a standard MGF - as given in various threads on this board in the past and a number of websites - is 368mm +/- 10 mm. I think the 10 mm is usually seen as an allowance for the effect of temperature.

Over 30mm down is a long way out - it is after all the sort of reduction you get with lowering knuckles, and if you could get that sort of change just by letting out some hydragas fluid without affecting the car's suspension I think most people would do it that way. In my own case it definitely affected the ride comfort - approach a speed bump a bit sharply and the car felt like it pitched until it hit the stops - much improved now it's pumped up again.

I think it's reasonable to assume that if someone comes in asking for the suspension to be pumped up as it's low, a garage should set it to the standard figure unless specifically asked otherwise by the client. Or they could ask me what height I wanted. New to the vehicle and unsure of my facts, I didn't question their statement at the time. However, as I said earlier, unfair to judge solely on what I see a single lapse - we can all have an off day!

I'm still half tempted to get them to do the 60,000 mile service - especially as they quoted £394, against the £537 from Trident's website!

Mark
Mark Roper

>> In my own case it definitely affected the ride comfort - approach a speed bump a bit sharply and the car felt like it pitched until it hit the stops - much improved now it's pumped up again. <<

That's exactly right: the ride seriously deteriorates, as does handling, when the hydragas pressure drops significantly below 300psi. The spring and damper rates both soften resulting in reduced suspension control (hence the pitch), and frequent collision with the bump stops (hence the percieved hard ride).

Installing lowering knuckles is a far more sensible approach to lowering. Take it from me as someone who has been their and didn't like the T-shirt... ;o)
Rob Bell

Yup when I first had the F I had it seriousy lowered, and then riased a tad and now we are just up to the low end of the factory settings. At the lowest settings it was just a pose the car had NO handling capability. At the inbetween hight Bump steer ie when the car hit the bumop stops particlurly on heavy braking from speed resulted in the suspension bottoming out and the nose darting around unpredictably...not good.

Yes the car could do with an inch or so taken out of its ride height, I would suggest that knuckles are a cheap way of properly acheiving this.
Neil

This thread was discussed between 11/01/2004 and 15/01/2004

MG MGF Technical index

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