So, what would you do "When MG's go bad"

Hi folks

So here is the score.

I bought a lovely MGB GT last Saturday. Nice condition, wallnut bits and shiney chrome, just passed the MOT etc
I paid the guy cash and drove back to my house no probs.
Later in the day (the same day) I go for a spin and the slave cylinder pops on me leading to a trip home behind the recovery wagon. I am not a happy bunny at this point but glad I joined the AA all the same !!!

I tell the guy, making sure I explain that I was a bit hacked off but s##t happens and don't worry.
I explain that I think that there may be wear in the cylinder ( before getting advice from here. pin was really worn) and that I have bought a brand new lockheed slave and push pin. This duely arrives and I fit it along with the new pin... Pop again!!!!!!

A bit of tooing and froing on this forum and collectively we come to the dicission that the clutch needs replacing along with it's associated parts.

I managed a little fix / repair, you may remember the clutch woes post. But although I have stopped the cylinder popping out it still ain't right and it needs sorting quickly.

Now this is going to cost me a few quid and no mistake !! I bought the car without guarantee and to be fair to the bloke i don't suppose it's his fault.

So what would you do ?

Bite the bullet, get it fixed at my own expense and put it down to s###t happens.... or
Chase the guy for half the repair cost. I'm so hacked off, i think I've driven the car 5-6 times. The best drive being the one coming back after buying it

It's a tough one, I know what I would do but what about you ?

Rant over :-)

Carl

With a car this age almost anything can fail at anytime and I don't think any PO can know when some things are going to go bad. I would bite the bullet and chalk it up to normal evolution of a 30+ year old vehicle and bad timing.

Kevin

It really depends on the mood of the seller. Legally I doubt you have standing. Morally and ethically perhaps. Ranting isn't the best way to get things sorted in your favor. If he'd be willing to go half the cost of the clutch bits, I think you should consider it a victory. From his prospective, he saw you drive off with no problems. He has no way of knowing what you did after he bid you adieu...or "cheers" perhaps...
:)-D

I'm with you in chalking it up to one of those things.
The chap is a really nice guy and I certainly would not be taking any legal action, I bought it without warrantee after all.

I think I probably worded it wrongly in my original post. I'm not going to chase him for any cash, I was merely venting my spleen :-)

If I were the seller I would would cough up half the cost because I would be feeling bad for the buyer.
I wasn't expecting trouble free motoring but I would have at least liked to get maybe a week out of the old girl before any expensive fixes ! :-)

Anyone want to buy a DRZ 400 ? I need cash :-)

Carl

You bought the vehicle "as is" and there's no way of knowing if the PO new the clutch was bad. Even if he did, you test drove the vehicle and I assume it seemed fine then. I agree with Kevin that with a car that old there's no telling what can go bad at any time. If it were me I would just chalk it up to my bad and fix the car. I'm sure there will be many more things that will pop up that need fixing. Too bad this had to happen to you right out of the gate though!!


Cheers!

I think it depends on what you bought. If you bought what was described as a full blown restored car for top money, yes, he should make you whole, not half. If you bought just a 35+ year old used MGB GT driver for what you thought at the time was a nice car at a reasonable price, how are you any different from the rest of us? Two months into owning my B and I'm into it for almost $700 in new parts and also need to replace the 30 year old Uniroyal tires before I'm done but I still feel like I stole the car from the PO.

These are old cars and anything can happen, and it usually does. Be prepared for a life of constant maintainance and repairs. That wny we all have the MG Experience. As they say in Russian "toughski shitski"

Let the buyer beware.....it would be different if you saw evidence of intentional "tampering" or hiding a known problem.

Maybe those shiny parts dazzled your eyes!

I think so Wayne :-)

I still think it's a good car, just the shine taken off the experience a bit.
One it's fixed up I'm sure I will forget all about it and start to enjoy it (tu)

Cheers all

My rule of thumb for a used car is that I will probably have to spend about $1000 (about 650 GBP) in the first year fixing things. Used cars almost always need something unless a full off the body restore has been done. It is too bad that it needed something so soon but these things happen. When I have sold a used car, I try to tell the buyer that it is a used car and might need some repair. Some people are under the impression that a used car is like a new car. When I have bought used cars, I am always nervous that maybe I overlooked a fatal flaw in the car. So far it has only happened once, but that happens with used cars. Overall, I have been fairly happy with my used cars. I just do not expect a perfect one.

My car got 5 miles before engine overheated
was a long 50 miles home but 2 years in I have spent a grand total of $500 including 250 for tires... I have no complaints.

I wouldn't worry,even if you buy a car 5 years old you still have to spend money on it getting the way you want it,well I do.

A clutch no probs if the car is good just repair it and enjoy,could have been worse much worse.

Before you mess with changing the clutch, change the clutch hose. No fault with the clutch is going to cause a clutch slave to "pop". But, a hose that has collapsed internally that does not allow fluid to flow back to the master could eventually damage both the slave and the clutch itself.

i bought a b from someone up north-when i was looking it over checking stuff-asked the PO,"lights ok?", and he said "you know, i've never used them"...it was his daily drive for the last year-he was a postman up at 5am-and his brother was the guy who mot'd it!... driving back 250 miles...starting to get dark after the first 10..did they work? did they f***!!!!

ive bought worse since....

i would ask him to take the car back until he offers a discount-that would be the only decent thing to do-if he knew about the clutch problem or not...get an estimate for the work and let him know-its not something you calculated into the purchase price right-otherwise you couldve spent more money on another....

Collapsed clutch hose can play havoc with your mental well being. Last year my tranny got progressively worse until the point that the car would not move in reverse. I could move forward but nothing in reverse. Pulled the lump... checked the tranny and OD... couldn't find a thing wrong. Reinstalled. THEN changed out the clutch hose and bingo; problem solved.

If he's a good guy, invite him to help remove the lump and change out the clutch. He might even bring beer and make everyone happy!!

Cheers chaps but it's defo the clutch internals, I have rumblings, whirring and grinding noises. And that's just my guts with worry :-)

It's going in the garage soon