Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

I bought this from a dear friend of mine; it was his daughter's car, and prior to that was owned by a collector and stored with his collection to show at concours events.

I paid a pittance for it, polished it, cleaned it, and had the rear window replaced at a whopping cost of £120.00 (joke). It now looks and drives like a brand new car. I also had the hydro suspension re-gassed by a specialist for fifty quid and now it rides and handles beautifully.

Well, it has to be said, for a 17 year old car, that cost less than a reasonable telly, I am pretty pleased. It's fun, pretty, reliable (!) Yep (head gasket has been done prior to my ownership) and such a wonderful piece of future classic British motoring.

I have a soft spot for old British cars, having owned an MG Metro, Jag XJ-S, Jag XJR, 3 Rover 75s (love them, so underrated), TVR, 1963 Ford Zephyr 6, military Land Rover and a few more modern ones.

The MG is a fun little car, but if you find a good one, it will serve you very well. As with any vehicle there are rough ones about. Mine is cherished and driven, but not like a Granddad; it needs a good thrashing now and again, which is what it's for.

Find a good independent garage to look after it, and have some fun. If you get insulted by a tattooed moron in a Subaru, then that's all part of the fun, especially if your GF is next to you.

Faults:

Indicator lens, roof leak, heater fan speed on 1 & 2, carpet coming loose, oil filler bracket snapped, accelerator cable loose, oh and a small electrical fault behind the dashboard, resulting in the whole car becoming a fireball.

General Comments:

I bought the car for a fun runabout in the summer. The looks of the MGF are probably one of the best for a small sports car in this price bracket. The handling and ride were good, and it looked resplendent in metallic black.

There were quite a few niggles, like the fan speed and leaking roof, but with these sorts of cars you have to expect to get your hands dirty a bit. I really liked the car, the way it drove and the acceleration for a little 1.6 was pretty good. I fixed the minor niggles and fitted a glass rear screen - highly recommended as it is way quieter with the roof up, and visibility was improved dramatically.

Unfortunately the car decided to spontaneously combust. A small electrical fire behind the dashboard resulted in the whole car bursting into flames when I opened the door to get in. I guess this can happen to any car, but maybe it's more frequent in convertibles, as the damp can effect the wiring more???

Overall, a really nice car apart from the little niggles and fireball incident. I'd recommend one if you like tinkering with your car (but get a fire extinguisher). If you want a car that you'll never need to fix anything - get an MX5.

Faults:

New front light bulb, 2 new tyres, rear exhaust. Standard stuff for an 8 year old car, nothing else.

General Comments:

This version of MGF is loads of fun. It has grip and performance.

Don't let other people's bad experiences put you off, they tend not to take into account things like previous owners who have probably abused the car and not looked after it, and the age of it.

They are a much better looking car than the MX5. They're a true British mid engined sports car. The build quality on an MX5 may well be that bit better, but for the price difference I didn't find it warrants it, and the money you save, you will have to hand if you need to buy anything for your car.

Get in a Trophy 160 or TF160 and have a go yourself. Don't be put off by people ranting, get out there, have a go and enjoy yourself.