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MG MGF Technical - writting off nightmare

Hi there,
Feel like another night of deep thought in front of me...
My second love just broke on me yesterday.
It all started like a HGF.
I bought the car a F from 1998 (1800) about 4 month ago and it the second time that it goes to garage for serious
problem, the first was a wrong clutch pedal that needed bleeding and new cylinder.
Anyway,now garage man talked to me about eventual writing off option.
But I love her so much, need help.
richard

If you scrap it you lose your money.

The warm Summer months are just around the corner, so get the F repaired and enjoy it. If it goes wrong again then sell it on, because someone will want to buy it.

Chris
Chris

Things can and do break on cars - fortunately on an MG these things are broadly pretty cheap to fix.

Fingers crossed you haven't got a HGF - what were the problems? Start with the cheap end of things, and replace the expansion tank pressure cap if it is just a question of loosing coolant...

What's your car's mileage?
Rob Bell

Well tx for advice chris.

The car is 80000 miles.
Problem is it does not start!
Two days ago, car showed red battery signal and could not start at the next red traffic.
I started it by hitting on acceleration by i guess this was not the best idea!
Anyway, then I had red oil signal,check dipstick had a brownish color all over.
Two garage included a mg specialist diagnosed a HGF.
Guys told me cost around 800 but common problem means no promise its going to be sorted ultimately!!
They do not seem to see the cheap side of it I am afraid rob...

Richard

Profuse mayo on dipstick and everywhere else = HGF. 800 quid is about right for the amount of work cleaning out all that gunk. Nasty business. :o(

What's your thoughts on the car? It won't be worth much with a blown gasket, and you won't get your money back on selling the car following repair... tricky.
Rob Bell

The problem with re-starting, that's not a 'usual' symptom of HGF... a side issue, or does that suggest that the engine got seriously overheated I wonder...

If the original gasket has lasted nine years, then it would be fair to expect at least as much again from a replacement. No guarantees obviously, but if you'd like to keep the car for a few years then it's well worth doing so you can enjoy it properly. Why sell it for nominal parts value when whatever you bought to replace it would undoubtedly have its own issues and problems? The perfectly reliable car is still a pipedream, and probably always will be, and don't let any manufacturer's marketing guff persuade you otherwise ;o)
Mike Hankin

Well thank you all mates,

My thoughts on car...?
I love it but at the same time the impression given is that its more like a money hole.
Half the price I paid for the car is gone in repair!
I avoided the small ones yet.
Anyway,I think I am going to give it a chance!
I have not gone through the stage of personalizing it yet.Bodywork is great but I want to work on the interior and correct a few details to really enjoy.

Thanks again for all.
richard

How about fixing the head gasket yourself, it's not difficult if you are reasonably proficent mechanically. I did mine including gasket, bolts, head skim, cam belt, tensioner for about £175. It took me a day to do (including getting the head skimmed). You can now buy the gaskets and bolts on e-bay (Payen which is the same make as I bought from my local motor factor) for about £50.

I must be honest that lots of people talk about garages charging £800 to do the head gasket, I completely fail to see how any garage can justify this level of cost (unless that have use main dealer rates). If I can do one in 9hours (and I am not a professional so don't work at the same speed they should), at £40 per hour this is only £320 labour. My local garage charge £300-400 to do a K-series headgasket including flushing the cooling system and/or oil system in the front of a car and having the engine in the back doesn't make that much difference.

Give it a go!

Regards


Andrew Smith
A D Smith

The news are not good to a sensitive ear...
This evening an MG mechanic saw the car and diagnose me a dead engine!
The HGF would have occurred two days earlier and I would have kept on driving while the coolant went mixed up with the oil.I thought the water level was going to be part of my problem but it wasnt anyway...
The situation is now an approximate 1500 to 1700 pounds all included job with necessity for second hand engine.
The car cost me twice this price.
I guess I need more comfort than advise on this one but can anyone think for me because I cant I dont understand...how I succeeded in killing my love?
richard

It's been reported on here before but bears repeating. Rimmers are selling brand new VVC engines for 1700 quid. A lot of money - yes but a snip when you think what you're getting for your cash.

The car is worth it, believe me. I wouldn't swap mine for anything, so my wife tells me!
Kelvin Fay

This thread was discussed between 22/03/2007 and 12/04/2007

MG MGF Technical index

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