Thinking of selling

[biffa75]

Just my thoughts but, If you can I'd keep the tf for now.. enjoy it till you do.find a MK1 Capri your happy with, as a capri.owner.already, I'm sure you'll.know.theres plenty of polished rot boxes out there and it would be a Shame to sell a good tf and end up with a poor MK1 Capri that needs tons of welding etc ( my brother owns two mk3s a 2.8 special and a 2.0 laser. My grandad owns rgj603p.the MK2 white jps. If you end up with some restoration work the tf might just be the car to bring your mood back up. I've got to that low point with my MK1 fiesta van at the minute..) so I bought a 75 and will go back to the fiesta after Christmas.

Also, I noticed you mentioned about mot'ing and taxing all the cars, not sure if you know but mk1s and MK2 capris are now mot and tax exempt (being tax exempt lowers the insurance slightly I've found too).

Just my thoughts,
Rob

[Dallas]

Originally Posted by biffa75

Just my thoughts but, If you can I'd keep the tf for now.. enjoy it till you do.find a MK1 Capri your happy with, as a capri.owner.already, I'm sure you'll.know.theres plenty of polished rot boxes out there and it would be a Shame to sell a good tf and end up with a poor MK1 Capri that needs tons of welding etc ( my brother owns two mk3s a 2.8 special and a 2.0 laser. My grandad owns rgj603p.the MK2 white jps. If you end up with some restoration work the tf might just be the car to bring your mood back up. I've got to that low point with my MK1 fiesta van at the minute..) so I bought a 75 and will go back to the fiesta after Christmas.

Also, I noticed you mentioned about mot'ing and taxing all the cars, not sure if you know but mk1s and MK2 capris are now mot and tax exempt (being tax exempt lowers the insurance slightly I've found too).

Just my thoughts,
Rob

Hi Rob, you certainly have some nice cars being kept in your family, very nice indeed.

I think a small part of me has fallen out of love with the F/TF's, all the things I love about these special little cars are also the things I hate about them. The engine being at the rear is great, you really get a sense of driving a proper two seater sports car, but trying to work on one of these cars is a blooming nightmare. I quickly get fed up of taking the hardtop off, then pulling up the soft top, then unclip and lift up the rear of the soft top and it's glass window keeping it steady. Then lift out the rear shelf carpet and soundproofing, undo twelve bolts and then lift off the metal engine cover, this leaves you knackered before you even start any work.

These cars are great in the summer, but keeping them dry through the winter also becomes an ordeal, she is too good to keep outside in the cold damp winter weather. Ideally cars such as these need to be kept in a garage, they easily get cold and damp inside which leads to mould growth if not used daily. I get paranoid about the new green mohair softtop, trying to keep it in pristine condition becomes a right headache. I hate it when it gets wet, and then if I cover it, it then becomes mouldy inside, I just cant seem to win. lol

Oh! and another thing, these cars are lethal, proper little go-karts, it's very easy to lose your licence driving one of these, and so easy to lose the back end when it's wet. It sure is a difficult decision to make, I know I will most probably regret selling, I will never find another one as good as this one, I will ponder on it for a while and see how I feel...

As for a 60's 70's or 80's classic, yes a MK1, 2 or 3 Capri would be tax and mot exempt. I missed out on a 1979 MK3 Capri a few weeks ago, that would have been great. There are quite a few nice old 30/40+ year old classics around, I may even buy another MGB, I'm in no hurry, so will see what pops up.

[biffa75]

I know exactly what your saying in regards to working on the engine in f/tf. My dad bought a 1997 mgf with low miles for only a few hundred pound about two years ago.. it hasn't passed another mot since it ran out.. needs a fair amount of work, havi g already had the spheres replaced and pumped back up and exhaust and a snapped manifold stud sorted etc and still needs a fair amount more work.. oh and the sills have been sorted too while we were at it. Took two weeks before we were able to prize the petrol tank free! Madness.

But when it was on the road and I did drive it a few times.. I can see why people like them but can see the positives could easily become a pain too.

Again as for the roof situation, I can sympathize a few years ago I had a real soft spot for the 306 cabriolet and no matter how much I cherished it, lack of garage the roof was real hard work to keep on top of and fitting the hard top, leaving the roof in the stowage bin area didn't help either.. no amount of fabsil or nikwax helped, just slowed any mould growth etc down.

I sold my low mileage 306 cabriolet having sorted the small niggles it had and spent a lot of time correcting minor imperfections in the paint work etc only to sell it due to listening to the wrong person and was lucky enough to find it for sale local two years later which by this point had been messed around with so much the car was fundamentally ruined.. ultra low profile tyres fitted on 19" alloys and horrible white dial kit fitted and having had dogs lose inside the car at some point, ruined the interior.. I bought the car back in the hope I could out the car back to how I owned it but.. it just felt tired despite still being low mileage sadly.

Once it's gone, you may find buying another in the future difficult and you may find yourself chasing what you once had. I wouldn't want someone else to make the mistake I made.. I was so annoyed with myself for a long time about it.

Rob

[Dallas]

Originally Posted by biffa75

I know exactly what your saying in regards to working on the engine in f/tf. My dad bought a 1997 mgf with low miles for only a few hundred pound about two years ago.. it hasn't passed another mot since it ran out.. needs a fair amount of work, havi g already had the spheres replaced and pumped back up and exhaust and a snapped manifold stud sorted etc and still needs a fair amount more work.. oh and the sills have been sorted too while we were at it. Took two weeks before we were able to prize the petrol tank free! Madness.

But when it was on the road and I did drive it a few times.. I can see why people like them but can see the positives could easily become a pain too.

Again as for the roof situation, I can sympathize a few years ago I had a real soft spot for the 306 cabriolet and no matter how much I cherished it, lack of garage the roof was real hard work to keep on top of and fitting the hard top, leaving the roof in the stowage bin area didn't help either.. no amount of fabsil or nikwax helped, just slowed any mould growth etc down.

I sold my low mileage 306 cabriolet having sorted the small niggles it had and spent a lot of time correcting minor imperfections in the paint work etc only to sell it due to listening to the wrong person and was lucky enough to find it for sale local two years later which by this point had been messed around with so much the car was fundamentally ruined.. ultra low profile tyres fitted on 19" alloys and horrible white dial kit fitted and having had dogs lose inside the car at some point, ruined the interior.. I bought the car back in the hope I could out the car back to how I owned it but.. it just felt tired despite still being low mileage sadly.

Once it's gone, you may find buying another in the future difficult and you may find yourself chasing what you once had. I wouldn't want someone else to make the mistake I made.. I was so annoyed with myself for a long time about it.

Rob

Hi Rob, Yes I agree, I hear what you say, I've done the same before myself.

It's certainly a difficult decision, I believe if I can find something that will take her place, then I wont regret selling.

[sworks]

Originally Posted by Dallas

It's certainly a difficult decision, I believe if I can find something that will take her place, then I wont regret selling.

I sold my gorgeous TF and replaced it with a Rover coupe ‘tomcat’. I’d had a few coupes and thought this was my last chance to own one. I’d found what was probably one of the best couples available in the country and the TF went to fund it. I’d driven the TF through winter and had no plans to do that again as it was my daily driver. Bought the coupe ran it and missed the TF every sunny day. Sold the coupe early this year back to the previous owner and bought another TF. The TF was bought after being advertised as a ‘show car’ from a high end dealer specialising in Bentley, Porsche and Ferrari, I took a chance buying unseen but based on their reputation. Their idea of show car and mine were different! Drove it less than 300 yards and put it back up for sale but advertised correctly. Any car you decide to sell has to be seen as the last you will own as if you’ve got a good one finding another will be almost impossible as it will always be compared to the last one. I don’t regret selling the coupe but I do regret selling the first TF.

[Dallas]

Originally Posted by sworks

I sold my gorgeous TF and replaced it with a Rover coupe ‘tomcat’. I’d had a few coupes and thought this was my last chance to own one. I’d found what was probably one of the best couples available in the country and the TF went to fund it. I’d driven the TF through winter and had no plans to do that again as it was my daily driver. Bought the coupe ran it and missed the TF every sunny day. Sold the coupe early this year back to the previous owner and bought another TF. The TF was bought after being advertised as a ‘show car’ from a high end dealer specialising in Bentley, Porsche and Ferrari, I took a chance buying unseen but based on their reputation. Their idea of show car and mine were different! Drove it less than 300 yards and put it back up for sale but advertised correctly. Any car you decide to sell has to be seen as the last you will own as if you’ve got a good one finding another will be almost impossible as it will always be compared to the last one. I don’t regret selling the coupe but I do regret selling the first TF.

I totally agree Mark, I done something similar which is why I ended up with the BRG TF I have now.

I first bought a red MGF which needed quite a bit of body/rust work, I had the work done and then fell out of love with it and put her up for sale. The moment the new owner drove her away I knew I had done the wrong thing, I literally went straight indoors and searched the web for a TF and found the one that I have now, I bought it over the phone just by viewing the photos online and had it delivered on a transporter. The owners were a lovely couple who had kept it garaged, they were members of the MG Owners club and like you it was a show car, they were true to their word. When it arrived it was even better than how they described it to be, I couldn't thank them enough.

It came with a heritage hardtop that was in the same BRG pearlescent HFF paint, plus black leather lining. It also came with a Mike Satur fitted soft top cover and leather tonneau, the hardtop even came with the leather case/bag. It was clearly evident that they had spoilt the car, they had just purchased a brand new soft top in green mohair with the rear glass screen, I couldn't believe my luck, and the couple were so helpful and accommodating in allowing me to have the car collected, it was the best buying experience I've had in buying a car.

I guess this is why I am treading carefully in making sure I make the right decision in selling. Like you I find these cars a nuisance to maintain through the winter months, and if I do sell, I will for sure regret it when the summer arrives. These cars are so enjoyable through the summer weather, the best experience is driving through the winding country roads with the top down, it's the best driving experience ever.

The downside to these cars is when you have to work on them, and not having the ability to flip the hood and view the engine when needed. Why the hell Rover encased the engine to the point that you have to undo fort-knox to gain access is beyond me. I believe the better two seater sports car design seem to have the traditional two trunk/bonnet sections at the rear, trunk is in front of the engine hood, such as the MR2 and Ferrari, a much better design to gain access to the engine. The design of the F and TF means you are sitting in the cabin with the engine, the engine is actually in the cabin with you.

It makes me laugh and cry all at the same time when lifting out the engine cover, first by un-clipping the soft top at the rear and lifting it up while being careful of the rear glass screen, and then taking out the carpet to gain access to 12x bolts which seem to take forever to undo, just so you can then lift the engine cover out making sure you don't damage the T-bar speaker casing in the process, this then leaves you scraping your hands and fingers as you still don't have enough room around the engine bay to work. lol

Have I put anyone off from buying a TF yet?

Oh! and after all this, I will most probably keep the beautiful sexy stunning thing.

[stocktake]

Would it be acceptable to say I didn't think you'd have the balls to sell it Wes?

[Dallas]

Originally Posted by stocktake

Would it be acceptable to say I didn't think you'd have the balls to sell it Wes?

Hilarious, made me laugh so much I nearly burst my stitches.

[Dallas]

The other major player in not wanting to sell I guess is the sound the TF makes. She has a Supersports exhausts fitted which gives an incredible deep burble purr, those beep tones gives you the shivers.

Tracey took the TF for it's MOT on Friday, I was sat in the house and I heard the TF start up, blooming heck I thought. The deep burble was felt all through the house vibrating through the concrete floor, it sounded better than the 190 ZT.

[Dallas]

Update! The TF now sold...

I wasn't going to sell her until the new year, but thought I would test the water a bit, so I advertised her on Saturday and her lovely new owner collected her today, sold for the full asking price.

We sure are going to miss the old girl, I just hope I don't regret it, we sure had some fun times.

I think Tracey and I had fallen out of love with the TF ever since our little doggy died. Pips came everywhere with us, she really enjoyed the car as much as we did, it's just not the same without our little Pips out and about with us.

RIP Pippit, and a big thanks to the TF for bringing us some fun times. We hope your new owner will love and cherish you as much as we have.