MGF USA - frequently asked questions (FAQ's)
01.JUN.24 |
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| Why is the steering wheel on the "wrong" side? |
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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. Here is a testimonial from one of our customers:
Judy really enjoys driving the car. She caught on to driving from the RHS quicker than I did and is better at shifting the car than I am as well. She does prefer her [other LBC] over the MGF but that is not because there is something wrong about the F, just prefers the [other LBC]. She has taken the F to work on several occasions and enjoys driving it in the big city of Sarnia.
From around 1997 onwards the MGF was produced with left hand steering (LHD) for the European & other markets so these too are now eligible for US import. However, they were produced in relatively small numbers, command higher prices and often have considerably more kilometres on the 'clock' than cars from Britain.
For American MGF enthusiasts who are not comfortable with right hand steering (RHD) 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. Whilst we no longer offer this service, we do have one parts kit still available. Please visit our left hand drive (LHD) conversion page one or left hand drive (LHD) conversion page two for details of what is involved. |
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| Are these cars safe? |
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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). |
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| Are these cars legal in the USA? |
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Yes. If they are over twenty-five (25) years old, they are exempt from meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) New tires that have DOT markings might also be required, although we have observed that tyres from England already have DOT markings. In practice these cars met the vast majority of FMVSS when they were produced and the reason they have not been imported until now had more to do with politics & protectionism than safety. |
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| Where can I get parts & service? Will they be expensive? |
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No, MGF parts prices are comparable to other cars in their class since several parts are common to many other UK domestic market cars. There are numerous online sources for MGF parts and small parts from England can be here in a couple of days. One can find tyres, batteries and wiper blades locally. 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/USB drive. |
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| What about insurance? I have heard that RHD cars are hard to insure? |
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The answer depends what type of use is envisaged:
- Daily Use: Unlike Canada, we have not found this to be an issue in the USA so far.
- Occasional Use: This is much easier. For MGF owners 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 Hagerty.
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| Why are there no prices shown for some cars? |
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We try to keep our cars comparable in price to MGB's but we firmly believe that the MGF provides much more car for the money. |
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| Your cars are expensive! I can buy one on Ebay for £1000. Why can't I just import one myself? |
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You can import one yourself and going forward we do not plan to acquire more inventory unless the business model becomes (drastically) more favourable. The price for USA based MGF's will never be lower than at present (Summer 2024). These are rising classics! Figure on UK price plus shipping as a starting point. |
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| Are you a registered dealer? |
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No. We were a registered dealer in Canada but the business model (and other factors - see our story page) made it impractical to continue. Remaining cars are personally registered to myself. |
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