How much might it be worth? Decision on what to do needs making!

[idge2003]

Right so going on from a previous thread of mine regarding the 180 burning out a couple of coilpacks I've decided I don't have the time for it to be looked into to find the cause so I need to decide whether to sell as is or break it which I really can't be bothered to do again but feel financially is the best option!

The 180 in question is a 2002 '52' plate in Le Mans green with bodywork in what I'd call good condition as too is the interior with rear electric windows, MGF wheel and TF LE500 gearknob!

But the problems are as follows:

The problem with the coilpacks? ECU? Loom?
Power VIS doesn't work
The thermostat is leaking (was only done 15 months ago)
Rear door handles can stick sometimes
Noisy wiper motor
And needs 4 new tyres as they are all starting to crack on sidewalls

So as you can see its gonna cost a bit to sort everything out but my question would be is it worth anything as it is? Or have I got to break it really?

Cheers Brett

[Tomoose]

Do an honest ad on ebay and see where it goes I suppose? Got to be worth £300 or so.

Breaking it will yield £600+ but will take forever and a lot of hassle.

[mattyprice4004]

Would be a real shame to break it, although that may be your best option. What a shame. :(

Coil packs are cheap, are they the individual 'pencil' style packs?
VIS is a cheap fix, just needs soldering up inside usually - the switches suffer from dry joints.
Wiper motors are cheap, there's about 10 at my local scrappy.
Cheap tyres will see it sellable, perhaps part worn of a decent brand.
'Stat is a £48 job, annoying it's gone so soon though.

Tugs at my heartstrings as I had a Le Mans Green TD and loved it. :(

I'd have it but would have a hard time getting it back here due to your location - I'm in Southport (NW England)

[petet16]

Would be a real shame to break it, although that may be your best option. What a shame. :(

Coil packs are cheap, are they the individual 'pencil' style packs?
VIS is a cheap fix, just needs soldering up inside usually - the switches suffer from dry joints.
Wiper motors are cheap, there's about 10 at my local scrappy.
Cheap tyres will see it sellable, perhaps part worn of a decent brand.
'Stat is a £48 job, annoying it's gone so soon though.

Tugs at my heartstrings as I had a Le Mans Green TD and loved it. :(

I'd have it but would have a hard time getting it back here due to your location - I'm in Southport (NW England)

The burnt out coil pack was replaced, and it burnt out again within a few miles.

[idge2003]

Thanks Pete was just gonna reply with that! It would be a shame to break it as its generally not a bad car when working properly!

As I need a car for work I've borrowed a M reg Nissan Sunny estate from a friend and my god it makes the MG feel like the best car in the world compared to that! The MG is at the moment just sitting outside looking sorry for itself but serving a great purpose of stopping my neighbour parking his bloody great van outside so can stay there if needed til the insurance runs out mid August!

Brett

[Tomoose]

I'm in a similar boat Brett. Mine needs a few bits but when looking at things rationally its just not worth it.

[Steven11]

How do you know if you have VIS issues, what symptoms does the car develop ?

[idge2003]

How do you know if you have VIS issues, what symptoms does the car develop ?

I wasn't getting that kick at 3k revs and also tested it with the VIS tester availble on here Kev G's I think!

Brett

[ZS]

How do you know if you have VIS issues, what symptoms does the car develop ?

There are various symptoms, but the main ones are: (IIRC)

Down on Power or Torque (depending where it fails)
A nice rattle from the motors
loss of the two surges as you go through the rev range
Higher fuel consumption than normal

And various other symptoms...

[Steven11]

Hmmm, that get me thinking, i only get about 260 - 300 mles out a full tank. There are no rattles though and i wouldnt say the car feels down on power. You said two surges of power ? i only have one at about 3000 rpm. Might be time to have it checked. This may also sound daft but what does VIS stand for ?

[Tomoose]

Variable intake system. It effectively changes the volumetric properties of the inlet manifold at different rpms, throttle positions etc to maximise power, torque and mpg through the rev range. How it works is delightfully simple, and its genuinely effective, if only the manifold and vis motors weren't so fragile!

Probably best to get this this thread back on topic though ;)

[mattyprice4004]

The burnt out coil pack was replaced, and it burnt out again within a few miles.

I know it sounds daft, but are you sure it couldn't be co-incidence? Seems odd it'd chew straight through another.

[talkingcars]

Mileage, length of MOT and tax all effect the value.

It will be worth more obviously with the coil pack working.

[Dan1971]

Buy another - make the best you can out them and break the one that's left. Chances are you'll break (pardon the pun) even ....

[petet16]

I know it sounds daft, but are you sure it couldn't be co-incidence? Seems odd it'd chew straight through another.

It's certainly a possibility, T series CTS and rotor arms are notorious for brand new items being faulty, and the same could be the case here.

[Tomoose]

I agree that's not a bad idea. However it's difficult to justify spending a large amount of time on something worth so little... A £500 parts spend would see my 180 as one of the best, but there is easily 40 hrs work to do so! If it would be worth even £2k after it'd be worth doing.

[Dan1971]

I agree that's not a bad idea. However it's difficult to justify spending a large amount of time on something worth so little... A £500 parts spend would see my 180 as one of the best, but there is easily 40 hrs work to do so! If it would be worth even £2k after it'd be worth doing.

If your motivation is financial - maybe. Some may think that £500s not a lot of money. To others £500 may be a huge investment. If good money has been thrown at a car you can either keep going, or throw in the towel.

All depends on what you think it's worth both financially and if you actually like the car or not.

[talkingcars]

I could throw £500 at my yellow one and it'd be a stunning car but it's not worth it, the same money on the black one and it would be.

[dean0]

It is shocking what these cars are worth - I have mine up for sale, 52 plate with 75K, taxed and MOT till Aug, good condition all around (not quite perfect) good tyres. only couple of issues to note are aircon not working and slight oil leak from NS driveshaft. (I am a site supporter so not breaking the rules or trying to add a sneaky advert)

Got mine up for £695, an absolute bargain I think but so far just 1 phone call in a week!

[Tomoose]

It's madness! I paid £565 for my 180 with its niggles. I wanted a project but I'vs realised that with 4 kids etc I just can't spend the time I want to on it. I've sorted a few bits, put a years mot on it. If I can't get £600 before the tax runs out at the end of the month then I will break it.

My 120 on the other hand was £575 and after a few bits including a new interior, is about as good as they get, absolutely faultless.

I'd love to try a diesel ZS but they are a bit pricier.

I bought my 120 in January, some of the ones I saw for sale at £895 are still for sale!

Fantastic for us enthusiasts, up until the point you want to sell.

I did a glasses valuation for my 120, in excellent condition with 100k it books at £185 trade in, basically scrap value!!

[bowthruster]

The trouble is Deano,that most people want everything for nothing,and i suppose i could include myself in that sentence.Everyone wants a bargain at the end of the day.Even though you are getting a great motor for the money.

[dean0]

The trouble is Deano,that most people want everything for nothing,and i suppose i could include myself in that sentence.Everyone wants a bargain at the end of the day.Even though you are getting a great motor for the money.

I agree - and I very much believe something is only worth what someone is willing to pay! the money is not a huge importance to me, if there was any possibility of me keeping the car as a weekender then I would however my daily commute is going to increase from being able to walk to work to about 75 miles per day and the ZS is just not going to be practical.

I'll probably end up part exchanging, the on-line system most dealers seem to use these days values it at £320, I'm not really bitter about this as I've loved every second of ownership and I've still lost less money in 18 months than if I'd owned almost anything else

[bowthruster]

£380 christ that is low-but then its a dealers bottom p/x price.Shame really mg's are a good car for the money just a shame prices are low.Hope you get it sorted whatever you decide.

[Dan1971]

£380 christ that is low-but then its a dealers bottom p/x price.Shame really mg's are a good car for the money just a shame prices are low.Hope you get it sorted whatever you decide.

If you px in at one of these minimum px stealerships you may feel as though you get a better deal - Bristol St here are offering 1300 minimum against their used motors.

But back on track - is it worth it as it stands - no.

[Captain Peanut]

Interesting to stumble across this thread as am in exactly the same situation, mine needs at least £500 to bring it up to decent condition but at today's rates that's more than it's market value.

I have looked at trading it in but in all honesty I would simply end up with another potential money pit as don't have a huge budget. My current plan is to just keep the zed running and give up worrying about the dents and scratches, plough as much money into a savings account as possible and then re-evaluate my situation in 12-18 months time.

[pb25]

Ive just spent £800 on my 53 plate td zed which is basically what its worth! Is it perfect?.....no but its a car I don't want to be without. It still needs a fair bit doing to it but it won't be leaving me for a while yet. I bought a non-running Peugeot Partner hdi MPV for £100 fixed that for £50 and use that for the daily commute.

I think it would be a real shame to break it

[mattyprice4004]

Part of the reason I started my Shop was the amount of Rovers / MGs being broken due to parts prices, for example HGF or V6 cambelts.

I had to break my old ZS TD due to a bent con rod, was a shame as I love Zeds.

[Dan1971]

The real issue here is not tarting it up though - it's getting it running and reliable.

I bought mine for 500 with 10 months tax and a full tank of fuel - so the metal cost me what 250 ish .... but it was running.

Since then I've spent too much money on her, but now it runs really well, is decent to be in, and looks better.

But - it's till only worth a few hundred quid. The issue on this thread though, is spending money on it just to get it running.