1997 MG F VVC from UK and Ireland - Comments

Head Gasket Blew at 48000 miles.

Starter Motor Replaced.

Oxygen Sensor Replaced.

Fault on VVC system prevented Revving past 5000RPM (expensively fixed by dealer, finally after 3 attempts)

Complete Failure of VVC unit causing shearing of Valves. Complete new cylinder head required.

Numerous Hydragas Suspension Problems, the car was often lopsided.

Coolant pipe leaks.

Assorted rattles and squeaks from dash area.

This car looks quite appealing at first glance. Nice styling especially with the half leather interior. That I'm afraid is really all it has going for it.

Performance is adequate, but by no means quick. Handling is OK, but not sharp, my old Mk1 Mr2 was superior.

The main problem with this car is the ABSOLUTELY DREADFUL reliability and build quality. Buy one of these and expect to spend a lot of time and money trying to keep the heap of junk on the road. Its not just me, do your research (I didn't!!) they are renowned for their awful track record. The head Gasket is an accident waiting to happen, it WILL go (if it hasn't already, and even if it has already been replaced it will probably go again).

My MGF was without doubt the worst car I have ever owned (and i, ve owned a Metro! Why I went back to Rover I will never know).Don't let the pretty looks fool you, after you've owned it for 12 months you will come to despise the sight of the thing.

I'm afraid this person is spot-on - I had an MGF for a while and while I admit it was great in the summer (not difficult for a convertible!!) and though I didn't have head gasket problems the amount of small things that went wrong quickly are frankly too long to list here - from leaks to brakes to build to everything. Whether the TF was better (possibly as cars improve toward the end of their production line) I don't know, but this heap of rubbish is, for me, the worst of Rover. Cheaply put together (the 'spang!' of the doors closing still makes me wince), and just...awful. Totally unreliable. I needed all of my dozen years' sales experience to flog it to someone to get my money back. A lucky, lucky escape and a lesson: if you buy cheap you'll pay more in the end. Get an MX5 instead - it's on a different planet in every way, and is one of the most reliable cars ever built.

Hmmm..was going to buy a P reg from a dealer.

Now I am having second thoughts.

The car looks pretty and I would probably only

used it as a weekend toy.

I guess if you want reliability then buy a japanese-mobile.

Absolutely my friend - don't get an MGF - they are utterly, utterly, UTTERLY ****! It's your cash though - and as in all things in life one takes advice, but you have to experience these things for yourself. Test drive a P plate and you'll see. Sure, it'll look pretty, but when the door closes with that 'spang!' noise you'll know what I mean. For the same money (£5k?) you can get a beautiful MX5 that will just not go wrong. You see dozens of 10-year old MX5s on the street that are immaculate. I know someone who bought a P plate MX5 recently and in 10 years all that's been needed was a new battery!! :) Good luck to you :)

It looks like I'm going to buck this trend. I bought a 'P' plate MG MGF almost 2 years ago and the only issue that I've had with it so far was a damp weather start problem, this was soon rectified by fitting a new set of HT leads.

Help! I've read too many articles on the fact that the MGF is not very good in the reliabilty stakes... but somehow I still want one. Can someone please reassure me that I am doing the right thing! alainsmerle@yahoo.co.uk. I don't have much money and am seeing a couple of examples in the next few days.

If you don't have a lot of money then don't get one of these. They're cheap second hand for a reason... they are crap. If you are on a budget then you will probably be looking at an old model 96-98, I can assure you without question it will cost you a fortune in repairs and make your life a misery. Paying a little more up front for something that's built properly (I haven't owned one, but the MX5 is a likely candidate) will save you £££'s in the long run and be a pleasurable experience which, after all, is what owning a soft top is supposed to be about. Don't do it...

I have an MGTF purchased from new. It does everything I expected it to do. I changed the hood for an X-power hood with a heated glass rear window, because it is so much easier to lower and also clearer to see through, but apart from that the car is perfect. I use it everyday, summer and winter. It's just sailed through it's first MOT. Apart from new tyres it's cost me nothing; looks really good and goes really well.

I used to own an MGF (VVC). What attracted me to the car was, I must admit, its looks - however, as soon as I bought one (second hand) - the problems began to flow in, starting with an engine surging problem that even left the brilliant mechanics at rover stumped - their solution was trial and error - costing me money everytime I drove in and out of the place. The problem (after a year of faffing around), was the fuel pump. In addition to this, I have had the car lock me out occasionally for no apparent reason. I got rid of it after 2 years and it was the best thing I did. I would give it 0.5 out of 10 for reliability, and 2/10 for overall mark.

I bought a MG ZR 160 recently and it developed a knocking in the top end, apparently they all do - so I flushed the engine with flushing oil for 1 hour changed the oil and filter for 10/30 oil - noise still there, stripped the top end and cleaned / replaced the hydraulic tappets / blew out the oilways... noise still there - it is the V V C unit itself in the head (£460 to buy).

Apparently you have to FILL the engine up with thinners (about a gallon added to the oil) and start it up - let it run for a good while and this flushes out the poorly designed engine oilways to stop the knocking. These engines as said before need a head gasket / head skim at 50,000 miles and they just fall to bits... They really are utter CR*P - I have no idea why people buy these things??

I'm sorry but the above comment is not true! The VVC mechs CAN develop a noise similar to what a diesel engine sounds like, pouring a gallon (4.5l) of thinners in to an engine will do no good whatsoever, the engine takes 4.5l of oil, so I have no idea why you think that.

The noise develops when the mechs wear away at each other, perhaps if the engine oil levels aren't kept right or the wrong type of oil is used. It is just a noise and doesn't affect the performance of the engine at all, it's just a noise, and it's up to you if you want to spend over £400 to reduce the engine noise!

These engines are perfectly reliable provided they are maintained exactly to the service schedules, i.e. oil change every 6000 miles using 10w40 semi-synthetic oil. These engines are highly complex. Never ever ever take a VVC engined car to a garage that don't know exactly what they are doing, as otherwise it'll result in a huge repair bill, and possibly irreparable damage. I have heard so many stories of garages trying to fix these engines and making matters even worse.

The original head gasket is rubbish, they can last indefinitely if the engine is looked after, but will fail at some point in all likeliness due to its poor design. Some HG's go at relatively low mileages, others go well after hitting the 100,000 mile mark. Keeping the engine well maintained will help keep everything running nicely.

It's quite crucial to spot symptoms before the head gasket goes bang, such as a mayonnaise like sludge on the oil dipstick, in the oil filler cap and in the coolant expansion tank, this is a sign that the oil and coolant are mixing. If it's spotted and repaired early enough, the damage done will be minimal and you can usually get away with a simple gasket swap, and repair the cause of the head gasket failure (i.e. knackered thermostat, water pump etc).

When the head gasket is replaced, make sure to get it replaced with a Landrover Freelander 1.8 head gasket, this is a much more advanced head gasket of a completely different design that will last indefinitely. I have done 30,000 miles in my Rover Coupe since replacing the head gasket with a Land Rover gasket, and everything is running perfectly fine.

As for build quality, I've got to say that the build quality in every MG-R I've ever driven/repaired has been pretty good, as have the materials used in them. Things rattle and break usually when they've been tampered with in my experience, for example the windows in my Coupe weren't aligned properly when I bought it because some joker had played around with them before my ownership, and managed to break all of the clips holding the door card on creating rattles.

I would strongly recommend an MG F/TF to anyone looking for a small 2 seater convertible, but the key is to check the whole car over thoroughly, as said checking for any mayonnaise like residue in the engine, as well as any rattles or any loose trim on the rest of the car.

On a side note, the mentioned engine "rattle", which sounds like a diesel engine, only affects the 1.8VVC engine, the 1.6 and non-VVC 1.8 engines are solid cam and don't suffer from this problem.

Well said that man. My wife has an 04 MGZR 160 and it's perfect in every way. The build quality is superb, it goes like stink and looks fab!

If I have a problem it's the ride, which I find just a tad too stiff, but she doesn't complain. My 620ti isn't quite as harsh and suits me better.

I get a little miffed at all of the negativity about these cars: people rave about Hondas, Peugeots and Renaults, but some of these in my experience a plain dire. And many of the problems are hushed up: witness Renault's head-in-the-sand attitude about the Clios bonnet flipping trick, and the fires which occur in the doors because of bad wiring, Honda Civic coupe's leak like a sieve, and have done for years. I've got a service memo from them from 1997, giving details of remedial works required to all Civic coupes from 1992 on.

Not all Rovers or MG's are perfect... and neither are the other makes.

My girlfriend's MG F had its head gasket replaced and the head skimmed. A couple of months later it overheated again, and inspecting the expansion tank I found the dreaded white gunk. Used some kind of Radweld stuff to form a temporary seal and it was OK for a few months, but we got rid of it as soon as was feasible.

Pretty car, decent grip, but being mid-engined, when you lose the rear, it's quite a handful! The engine never felt free revving either. And you can't work on the engines yourself, the engine being crammed where it is.

In the end I persuaded the Mrs to buy an MX5 instead. It's 17 years old, has 123,000 miles on the clock yet sailed through its last MOT. Easy to work on, and so far, in over a year of ownership have spent a total of £50 in maintenance... all which I did myself. I thrash it regularly too and it just seems to love it. Handling is far in excess of the MG F and I regularly show up far more expensive cars on the twisties - my tally so far being a Jag S-Type, VX 220, Audi S3 and Audi TT, all of which were actually trying.

The VX220 must have been parked. Put both cars on ANY track and the VX220 will have disappeared by the first bend or after the first straight, whichever comes first.