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Especially the original MK1.
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Seriously thinking about an MX-5. We have a budget of £4.5k and I think I should be able to get a MK2 40-60k for that kind of money, which seems pretty good value for a 140bhp sports car. We have had a Mini cab cooper S and a Boxster S 2003 so we know what a premium cab should feel like, but the MX-5 seems to offer great value for money at this price, you are not going to lose more than £2k over 2 years surely.
We had a MGF with an expired head gasket and they are not great by any means, felt nicely balanced but thats about it.
If anyone knows of a decent MX-5 MK2 give me a shout cjstephenson at gmail.com
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Micky,If prescription drugs are a requirement for owning an MX5,then surely there must be a need for some very serious recreational drug abuse to believe that the MGF is in anyway a better car.
Anyone care to guess how long the new Chinese factory will be in business making New MGF/TF?18 months is my guess before they pull the plug.
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She'd be unwise to do it.
The MGF is a poor car in many ways, reliability and egonomics have been covered. However I'd like to talk about the drive- I think it's a poor handling car on it's hydragas suspension compared to an MX5 at least.
The TF is better as it has a more conventional design but it's nowhere near as compliant as an MX-5 in poor quality British B roads and I know I'd be faster in the Mazda than the MG merely because I'd have more confidence in it.
That's before we even think about them as an ownership prospect. I see only one direction for MG values and that's a steep drop. A well sorted MX5 is always going to retain a base value.
If she has any sense what she'd do is chop the MX5 in for a a newer example with more bells and whistles.
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Mickey -- I have asked my wife to ask her friend the same question, 'why worry about the cambelt change' afer all this is nomore than a regular service item and once done you know it shouldn't bust.
When I said another friend bought an 03 MGF for £6k, this was a couple of years ago so it was only 2 years old ------ so was very cheap. Surprisingly I don't think he's had too many problems apart from head gasket. Lucky then.
I would concede that to some eyes the MGF can 'look' good purely in a cosmetic way only.
Dare I say it seems to be a 'lady' thing about wanting to change something for the sake of it rather than for a specific reason. As my wife says sometimes 'isn't it about time you got rid of those old jeans/deck shoes/etc ------ I always say, Why? there's nothing wrong with 'em. And to be truthful there isn't, just been around a while. Bit like me I suppose.
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I had difficulty sourcing the MX-5 I wanted new in 97 - and bought a new MGF VVC instead.
I've always regretted it. The MG cost a fortune to own.
If she's serious about the MGF, then drive several examples - you'll find that they vary significantly.
There are some good ones out there - but look very, very carefully indeed. The TF is probably better than the MGF
I wanted an MX-5 because I think it's one of the best built cars on the market - regardless of price.
the MGF isn't.
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...none of this is new, Honda bought out the CB750 in 1969, ikt was everything that the Triumph 750 wasn't. Triumph went bust, Honda didn't - go figure as they say.
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...none of this is new Honda bought out the CB750 in 1969 ikt was everything that the Triumph 750 wasn't. Triumph went bust Honda didn't - go figure as they say.
I figure that the Triumph twin was designed for the 1930s, the CB750 four was designed for the 1970s, Triumph went bust because - as with the rest of Brit bike manufacturing - there was minimal investment from 1939 onwards. In the late 1940s and through the 1950s the world couldn't get enough of Brit bikes, and that is the time when investment should have occurred. The twin could not match the CB750 and the triple was just a stop gap until ..... nothing.
Any example of the extreme head-in-the-sands approach is amply demonstrated by BSA-Triumph's refusal to manufacture triples with Rob North frames in the early 1970s, nothing could have caught it on the production racing circuit until the arrival of the Jota, and then only due to the power advantage, although Tridents/Rocket 3s could be bored out to 1000cc. The thought of a CB750 rider trying to keep up with a well-ridden Rob North triple on any road with corners brings a smile to my usually surly countenance. The unbeatable image of a Rob North triple would have been worth untold sums for the advertising dimbos. But it didn't happen. And I want a Rob North triple.
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">I have asked my wife to ask her friend the same question, 'why worry about the cambelt change' afer all this is nomore than a regular service item and once done you know it shouldn't bust. <"
In balance, unless she has an enthusiast's bent, she should probably stay with MX5s, if only to prevent the tedium of endlessly repeated "I told you so" from other backroomers should any problems arise with an MG.
I have been quite close to buying a GTM as my everyday car on a couple of occasions:
www.gtmcars.com/images/homepage.jpg
I would attempt to justify the purchase to her on green grounds "It's recycling dear"
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">I think it's a poor handling car on it's hydragas suspension compared to an MX5 at least. <"
The handling of a mid-engined car does require some skill and a few miles, so initial impressions are not always favourable.
">I know I'd be faster in the Mazda than the MG <"
Have you considered driving tuition?
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The handling of a mid-engined car does require some skill and a few miles so initial impressions are not always favourable.
Have you considered driving tuition?
I've owned an Elise and a Honda NSX so I'm aware of the sudden brake away characteristics and tendency to swap ends of a mid engined car.
Also I have considered driving tuition, indeed I've participated in many interesting courses including training from Don Palmer, Rob Gravett, Cadence and Fahrer training on the Nurburgring and Spa. I take my continued development as a driver very seriously, do you?
The reason I know I'd go faster in an MX-5 is that I'd have more confidence in it than an MGF.
All irrelevant to this thread I suppose. What is relevant is that the MGF would be a very, very poor choice to replace an MX-5 for reasons we've already covered.
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Neither the Elise nor the NSX are particularly likely to "brake" away, it's a potentially dangerous characteristic that's been engineered out in most modern production mid-engined cars. It's the "twitchiness" that's probably draining your confidence, you need to go past the "twitchiness" to explore the instability inherent in a mid-engined car at the limits of cornering adhesion, on a track obviously. Try karting, that can help.
The Nürburgring and Spa are hardly tracks designed to ultimately test the handling dynamics of a car or bike, the 'ring is primarily about speed and circuit knowledge, Spa is primarily about speed. Cadwell is much more interesting.
">I take my continued development as a driver very seriously, do you?<"
Always learning.
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My MK1 MR2 certainly had the tendency to 'break away' and so did the Elise although to a lesser extent. Of course that's part of what makes both of them agille and give them that mid engined feel. I'm too old for karting now, it's a lad's game.
The ring is certainly a test of the handling characteristics of car which is perhaps part of the reason so many manufacturers test there rather than Cadwell Park. I believe it's a great circuit and haven't been there yet although it's certainly somewhere I'd like to drive.
The reason I'd have more confidence in an MX5 is that I felt the hydragas MGF I drove which was a few years old felt baggy and imprecise and the steering lacked feel. I feel this would be the case with any other MGF unless it had been converted to TF spec suspension. These cars aren't exactly bullet proof..............
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The Ring is a must do, avoid the mad Hun bikers though. Circuit knowledge is very important at the Ring, thus young whatsername can post epic times in a van; the fastest lap must still be Belhoff in 6.15ish, 20 years ago (?) in Group C car (Porsche I assume), but of course the track layout changes over the years. My guess is that the Spa lap record is held by an F1 car.
The Cadwell lap record is held by a ....... 250cc kart. The circuit is probably too extreme and short for testing a production car, with insufficient surface changes etc.
You'll enjoy karting, try it again. Perhaps a quiet day during term time to avoid the crazy school children.
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">then surely there must be a need for some very serious recreational drug abuse to believe that the MGF is in anyway a better car.<"
I know nothing about "serious recreational drug abuse", although you clearly do. If the objective is Mogadon motoring then the MX5 is the soft top of choice, I would prefer something a bit more interesting though. Granted, mid-engine is not everyone's cup of tea, but if I wanted an MGB I would buy an MGB, not an Oriental copy.
MGF with 6R4 power would be interesting, even more so with AWD, might bite a few of the careless though.
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">felt nicely balanced but thats about it.<"
The balance is the big plus, by definition it can never be matched by a front-engined car.
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">holes in the MG for where the battery mounts in a metro etc etc & if you look underneath at the front hubs you will still see the driveshaft pot joints from the metro with no drive shafts in them! talk about bad build quality<"
How is that bad build quality? Do you have any concept of production line techniques?
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Do you have any concept of production line techniques? Yep I do but it just looks hidious & cheap. I also think that the reliability showed up once they came of the production line.
The whole car should of been designed afresh or not bothered with at all,If the truth be knowm they would of had a better result relaunching the MGB!. I know it was done to save production cost but look where it ended up! & I think the post's speak for themselves.
lets hope the japanesse get it right & turn it around, if anyone can they will
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