MGF Canada - frequently asked questions (FAQ's)
27.JUN.10 |
|
|
| Why is the steering wheel on the "wrong" side? |
|
|
|
MGF's were manufactured in England where they drive on the left side of the road. Whilst this is not an ideal situation in North America where one drives on the right, in reality the navigational challenges that it presents (such as extra caution required when overtaking on a two lane road) are not major. From around 1997 onwards the MGF was produced with left hand steering (LHD) but under current Canadian laws we cannot import these cars until 2012. Fortunately, for customers who are not comfortable with right hand steering (RHD), in the meantime there is an alternative: The MGF was designed so that production of RHD or LHD variants required minimal changes in parts so it is possible to convert a car from RHD to LHD subject to parts availability, and this service will be available to our customers at extra cost. Please inquire for details. |
|
|
| Are these cars safe? |
|
|
|
Yes. This is not your fathers MGB. The MGF incorporates numerous modern safety features. Standard on all cars is a drivers airbag, seat belt pretensioners, side impact beams, steel reinforcement tubes in the windscreen pillars (for extra safety rollbars are available) and "the MGF has passed the 55 km/h 'offset' barrier (collision) test, which is closer to real life situations than the standard EC head-on crash test". Additional safety features, optional on early cars and standard later on include: passenger airbags and antilock brakes (ABS). |
|
|
| Are these cars legal in Canada? |
|
|
|
Yes. If they are over fifteen (15) years old, they are exempt from meeting Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) with the exception of lighting. To comply with CMVSS: the headlights must be replaced or adjusted to be compatible with right hand traffic, a third brake light installed (if not already equiped) and side marker lights installed. In addition most provincial inspections will require new tires that have DOT markings. All cars we provide will have these modifications incorporated. In practice these cars met the vast majority of CMVSS when they were produced and the reason they have not been imported until now had more to do with politics & protectionism than safety. |
|
|
| Where can I get parts & service? Will they be expensive? |
|
|
|
No, MGF parts prices are comparable to other cars in their class since several parts are common to many other UK domestic market cars. MGFCars.ca will stock all fast moving maintenance & repair parts, initially at our Nashville facility, and later at an Ontario facility as demand dictates. Any competent service establishment with knowledge of import cars should be able to service these vehicles without difficulty and there is a wealth of repair information readily available on the Internet and on CD-ROM. |
|
|
| What about insurance? I have heard that RHD cars are hard to insure? |
|
|
|
This can be an issue. For customers who do not plan to drive their MGF's on a daily basis their best option might be to seek coverage from a specialty company such as Lant Insurance Brokers.
For everyday use, drivers with clean records and a good medium to long term relationship with their agent or broker should not encounter too much difficulty although most companies will charge extra for a RHD car and this should be taken into account when considering the cost of a LHD conversion. |
|
|
| Why are there no prices shown for each car? |
|
|
|
Until the car has arrived at our Ontario warehouse, we do not have an accurate account of all purchase, shipping & reconditioning costs with which to compute a selling price. As a rough guideline: higher mileage, Ontario certified examples will start at around CAN$5000. |
|
|
| That sounds expensive. I can buy one on Ebay for £1000. Why can't I just import one myself? |
|
|
|
You can, but be aware that the cost of shipping one car is vastly more expensive than a bulk shipment of three or more and do you really want all the hassles of paperwork & dealing with Customs? Furthermore we have relationships with parts & service suppliers in the UK that give us favourable rates based on the volume of business we do with them. All our cars will be checked over prior to leaving England and the necessary repairs made by qualified MG technicans to ensure that they pass Canadian provincial inspections and will be reliable. |
|
|
| Can I buy one of these cars if I live in the States? |
|
|
|
It is not our intent to use Canada as a means to circumvent the 25 year rule in the USA. Therefore, our cars are only officially for sale to Canadian citizens or those with residential ties to Canada. We fully appreciate that there will be huge demand for this car south of the border and we urge prospective American customers to visit our US web site then write (traditional mail is much better) and/or call their Federal congress person to make their views known! |
|
|