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MG MGF Technical - Another HGF !!!

Hi all,

about 3 months ago i changed jobs no more company cars (No more Vetras etc) and for the first time in years i got to choose a car to get me to work.
I thought long and hard and took advise from everyone. Father get a ford. Wife get a golf so i got an MGF i wanted to have a bit of fun as it would probebly be the only time i get a nice little 2 seater that i could afford. I spent £3200 for my MGF r reg but in really good condition visually Blue with Cream leather.
Anyway as i am sure all new MFG owners do i looked on the net to learn all about my new baby..
I looked on this board and saw all the HGF problems and thought oh please don't let that happen to me i can't afford all that expense.

Well tuesday last week on my way to work i noticed smoke coming out the back anyway to cut a long story short i have a HGF !!!

I am gutted and really worried.

It couldn't have come at a worst time finance wise i am absolutely broke,
the garage who i really don't know but are local to us have sent something away to see if it's cracked and am waiting for the outcome they tell me it needs a new radiator again i don't know how much a new radiator will cost..

Anyway iv'e got my father saying told you so you should never have bought it and my wife saying just the same. you both think i should get rid

i can honestly say i am torn as to what to do i haven't even had the chance to drive it with the top down.. All i wanted to do was take my 5 year old son out in the summer in the car with the top down he is nearly as gutted as i am.

Do i get ride and get a sensible car as everyone keeps telling me?

How much is it going to cost me?

How do you know you can trust the garage?

So many questions, anyway sorry for going on but needed to find a way of getting this off my chest.

Your's Gutted,Broke and Pi***d O**

Jeff


Jeff Wilson

gutted.

I guess the PO saw the warning signs and sold it on regardless.

i would fix it, but with the Rad and HGF you are looking at 1K, obviously you will lose a lot more than this if you sell unfixed, but there is little else major that fails in these cars.

A friend of mine spent over 3k on a just under 3 years old for Ka. in the first service they needed to fix a load of stuff including the power stearing pump, it cost her 1.5k in all as the car was brought UK spec on the internet and didn't have a warrenty.

Picking a boring car doesn't make sure you don't get stung on the secondhand market
will

It's always after the event someone has just told me about warrenty's you can buy for the car, "oh iv'e got mine under warrenty cost me £200 for the year for my MG".
Wish i'd have know it may have been worth it.
Jeff Wilson

Jeff

It's easy for me to state but things will get better if you stay with it. If you sell now, you face a double wammy because demand is low in Winter and no-one wants to buy a crock.

My advice is to get it fixed by a reputable and cheapish firm - Mike Satur is local to you - then enjoy it until prices pick up around Easter when you can decide again whether to sell. If you decide to get it fixed, think about having the cam belts replaced while the engine is in pieces, because this will save on the cost of the 5-year service next year.

Good luck.

Chris

chris

Jeff, bogus news fella.

Get in touch with MG Car Club North Yorkshire Centre, via MGCC website- there is a chap there in glorious Skipton who has a good mechanic closer to you than Mike S. Would really recommend you contact him/ the centre for help and advice.

If all else fails, come and take your lad out in my TF- don't blow mi HG though!

Keep posting and let us all know how it pans out.

Timmeh

chris, I would have thought that any garage would replace a £20 cam belt without a thought if doing other work?

will - there are signs?!
Leigh Reid

Leigh

My experience of MG main dealers has been they go by the book and if the cambelts are not scheduled for replacement, then they don't get done. False economy I call it,but possibly good business sense for a dealer.

Chris
Chris

Geoff ,It may not be £1k it depends on where you go i,m lucky as my local garage are very reasonable but also very busy with up to 3 weeks wait.
They will be sending the head off to get it pressure tested (no cracks etc for a gas tight seal) when they do the hg .
This is good news and they will skim it if needed so the surface is flat and again this will make a gas tight seal.
A cheap repair could be as little as £500.00 plus say £200.00 for the rad inc fitting.
You should also get the cam belt done , pre tensioner and water pump while the car is in bits as these parts are cheap and it is then all correct.
I got the above done minus the rad for approx £520.00.
They are good cars imho apart from the HG issue.
Once fixed you should have years of trouble free motoring,a lot do.
LEIGH...>there are signs< with a inner gasket leak in my experience you get a small water loss which i just topped up.
I do a very low milage of 3,000 a year and i,m convinced the hg was going on the car when i bought it 3 years ago.
It always lost a bit of water..say 1" a month.
No mayo and ran fine.No rad leak .
Since i got the hg done (car ended up loseing all it,s coolent very quickly and oil went like ice cream)
It,s not lost a drop and no pipes etc were changed when the head was done.
I think some sellars know the hg is on it,s way out and get rid.
Not something i could do .
Good luck Mate
Mel.
m e johnson

Hi All,

Thanks to all of you its good to know your not alone. I was pretty upset when i originally posted, i have calmed down a little since then.
The garage have told me that the head has no cracks which is good and they will start to put her together again. they are changing the Cam Belt.
Don't know the final cost yet and still don't know if i should sell her!!
Jeff Wilson

Jeff, when you get the car back, park your son securely in the passenger seat, take the top down and go for a potter round. When you get back ask him if you sell it :-)
Ken Waring

LOL,
bobble hat on,
hot water on the rear screen to soften it.

Hood down, snow out, no better way to drive
Will Munns

Ken,

nice one i know what his answer will be but i am just worried as money is really tight and i am really worried about more problems with the car nearly everywhere i turn on the net it keeps telling me to sell at the mo i think i will keep her until after easter beginning of may then sell..
Jeff Wilson

Hi Jeff, sorry to hear about your problems, see my post on this thread....

http://www2.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=mgbbs&mode=thread&access=&subject=69&source=T&thread=2007021020334620148

Andy
Andy

Jeff,
One thing i have learned from posting on here and other web sites is that people only come on or post when a problem comes up eg HG failure.
I posted (more than a few times) when things have gone t*ts up ,but in reallity i,ve had more grief with the wife,s car and my works van.
The head gasket is a problem, the rest of the car is no worse than any other car on average (IMHO )enjoy and relax .
If you keep your mgf (hope you do) are you going to post on here what a trouble free 12 months you,ve had!!!
I won,t incase it blows up in my face ,and something goes wrong.
Give the car a chance ,they are as relable as most other,s (not the head gasket!!)
My works van (similar age and milage ) has cost more to maintain over a ten year period than the mgf.
Search the archives and a few members have posted how reliable they have been.
Mel
m e johnson

Just a quick update for those that are interseted.

The car has had a new HG, Cam belt, Radiator they have also changed the brake disks on the rear and pads all round, the price is around £800 should get the car back tomm or tues.

Still not sure what to do i have looked at a few other cars in the meantime in case i sell and i have even had 2 garages say they wouldn't take the MGF as part exchange.

Drove a BMW Z3 yesterday but it felt really heavy and unresponsive, I don't know what i would get instead of the MGF but i am worried about getting another HGF i can't afford £800 bills.there are so many HGF's does anyone think that Winter makes it worse.

I have advertised the car for sale just incase..

My final thought is there isn't a better looking 2 seater than the MGF around. If it wasn't for the HGF it would be great....

Jeff
Jeff Wilson

Jeff, Thanks for the update but the bills you have spent don't add financial value to the resale value of your car. Hang on and drive it sensibly for a bit. If you trust the garage get them to re bleed the various bleed points in a week or two(agree it when you collect - it is in their interest too).
If you can never trust it again, it wouldn't be worth keeping, but you will not find a huge flock of eager purchasers in february - private or trade.
Thousands of Fs work reliably and you don't know how it was treated before you acquired it. If you warmed it up sensibly and avoided thrashing it for the first few months that you have had it, you could have been concealing a previous defect. This could be why a previous owner disposed of it - you don't know that. But you do know the resale value is low right now. The sun will come out in due course and NAC may raise residuals when 'N series' production starts.
Hang in there!
Charles

This thread was discussed between 04/02/2007 and 18/02/2007

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