Buying an MG ZR 1.8+

mambo69

I have been looking at one of these, but of course being a Rover was concerned about the HGF so asked what had been done. Dealer has come back with

an invoice from May, 2010. The invoice is for a head gasket set, timing belt, head skim & oil and filter which was a bill for £380

Now should this be a complete kibosh on even looking at it, or should the fact that its had the work done provide peice of mind???

newbie007_2

Yes its good HGF has been done, but its not a great car to drive. If you can stretch your budget a bit get the mazda mx5 instead, so much better car.

LandyAndy

mambo69 wrote: »

I have been looking at one of these, but of course being a Rover was concerned about the HGF so asked what had been done. Dealer has come back with

an invoice from May, 2010. The invoice is for a head gasket set, timing belt, head skim & oil and filter which was a bill for £380

Now should this be a complete kibosh on even looking at it, or should the fact that its had the work done provide peice of mind???

In general the advice would be not to buy an MG regardless of what work had been done.

You must be able to find something better than this old tat, surely?

LandyAndy

newbie007 wrote: »

Yes its good HGF has been done, but its not a great car to drive. If you can stretch your budget a bit get the mazda mx5 instead, so much better car.

He's looking at a ZR not an MGF or TF.

The mx5 is a good car but probably not what the OP needs.

Inactive

MG/Rover, avoid.;)

mambo69

Thanks all for confirming my suspicions, I am now going back to my original search for a 2003 5 door ST170.

The MG was just at a local dealers and looked interesting, but after reading about HGF put me right off!! Now if it had been the ZS in a 2.5 v6 I am sure I would have been going for a test drive about now!

motorguy

mambo69 wrote: »

Thanks all for confirming my suspicions, I am now going back to my original search for a 2003 5 door ST170.

The MG was just at a local dealers and looked interesting, but after reading about HGF put me right off!! Now if it had been the ZS in a 2.5 v6 I am sure I would have been going for a test drive about now!

The 1.8 in the MG ZR / ZS is the worst of the range. If you've a 1.4 and have serious engine problems its quite easy to source another engine / head. The 1.8 is just as prone to HGF as the 1.4 but there is a real scarcity of second hand engine bits.

Avoid this specific car.

But for the record, i'd have no issues with a lot of other MG's / Rovers. A lot of people who diss them havent got a clue.

mambo69

Thank you Paul for the informative opinion! i know 2 people with an MG, one has the 1.8 and had the issue the other has a 1.4 and no issues


switching back to the Ford for security :-)

pwllbwdr

mambo69 wrote: »

Thanks all for confirming my suspicions, I am now going back to my original search for a 2003 5 door ST170.

The MG was just at a local dealers and looked interesting, but after reading about HGF put me right off!! Now if it had been the ZS in a 2.5 v6 I am sure I would have been going for a test drive about now!

But the KV6s in the ZS and ZT and the Rovers had their own problems too. Thermostats and inlet manifolds being the main two.

[Deleted User]

We use to have an MG ZR 1.8 .. we sold it after the head gasket went - once it goes, it keeps breaking..

Wouldn't touch one with a bargepole now.. nice car to drive, will cost you a lot in repairs in the long run

cyclonebri1

The head gasket will fail again, period. Take one look at the engine, if you can find where they hid it and it will confirm it's a maintenance nightmare.

My older daughter bought one, without my "consent", she is still disinherited, ;)