Tell me about the MG ZS

CaptainUnlikely

CaptainUnlikely

CaptainUnlikely

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Hi guys, first time posting in Motors so be gentle.
I currently have an X plate 306 HDi, 113k. Looking to buy something a little bigger, a little quicker, but still fairly economical, reliable, and not too expensive to insure (I'm 20 with 1 year NCB, 2 years driving experience, my 306 costs around £850 for a year).
Went to look at an MG ZS 120 + today, 51 plate, 46k. Seemed to drive well although the pedals were very light, not sure if that's normal. Cosmetically great condition, has 6 months MOT. I was warned about rust on the radiator and doors, checked and found none. Anything else major to look out for?
It's going for £795, insurance is just a little more than I pay now so definitely affordable considering my 306 can be sold for nearly twice as much though the MG does need taxing so that's another £210.
The ZS seems to return around 45mpg if driven carefully which I can do, I get 52-56mpg from my 306 but that's a drop I can live with.
What does everyone think? Good deal, bad deal, totally the wrong car? Anything I need to be really wary of with these?

I was also looking at Saab 9-3s, either the 2.2 turbo diesel or 2 litre turbo petrol, but it's difficult to find a petrol in my budget, which is around £2k, with decently low mileage or a diesel in my budget at all.
 
The ZS is incredible value, and while you may not find the reliability you're after with a K-series, it meets the rest of your criteria and should be a fair bit more fun to drive than your 306.
 
Thanks for the heads up mglover, not sure if the smaller engines are the same design but I will do some research and check on that. I'd love a 2.5, from what I've read they're very fun to drive, just really can't afford the running costs and insurance.

Thanks for the feedback Mike, I plan on getting the car checked over by a mechanic friend of the family after purchase anyway to make sure there's nothing about to go wrong, and hopefully avoid issues in the near future. Reliability is pretty key as I work alternating 5/6 day weeks, getting to a garage to get the car fixed isn't that easy unless I miss work, which then means the guy I give a lift to can't get there either. How bad are they in general for reliability? My 306 has been great (touch wood) only needing new tyres and an exhaust bracket in the 14 months and 30000 miles I've owned it. My older 306 was a disaster, needed a new radiator, heater matrix, backbox and had numerous electrical faults in the 8 months or so I owned it, that thing was a money pit and I really don't want to go down the same route.
Conversely though I don't mind spending a bit on repairs and such if it will last me, I'll have some spare cash from the same of my present car so if I need to spend 6-700 on the ZS but it will last, I'm ok with that.
 
The main issue with the K-series is head gasket failure, and it's common for all sorts of reasons too.

It's a ~£500 bill at an indy, so not the end of the world. It is however worth fitting a coolant level sensor into the header tank, just for that little extra notice of any problems.
 
I'd heard of HGF issues, my friend knows a guy who does K-series head gasket replacements for ~£200, so that's not too big of an issue. Thanks for the tip on fitting a sensor though, that does make sense.
 
HGF is caused by overheating engines, and poor gasket design. They did release a fix in the way of a multi material gasket, which pretty much cures it. Allowing the engine to warm up before giving it some serious beans prolongs the life of the gasket, which is sensible anyway! Seen plenty of videos out there with people saying "hear the engine noise!" and then reving up to 5-6K on a cold start. Hardly surprising the gasket goes pop tbh! Keeping an eye on the coolant level (again, obvious really!) helps prevent overheating.
 
mglover070588 said:
A friend had one of these (2.5 v6) and due to the crap design a cambelt change is £500 as the engine has to come out! Not sure if this applies to yours but do check it out :).
Click to expand...

The engine absolutely does not have to come out of the V6 to change the belts. It's a fairly involved job, but the engine stays well and truly in place. Cam belt change on the 4 pot K series is a piece of cake. People seem to love these kind of scare stories for some reason.

OP, check the door handles are still securely fastened to the doors. They were quite poorly designed and the threaded brass inserts in the plastic mouldings come out and you end up with a handle in your hand when you go to open the door.
 
Remap your HDI and keep that, makes quite a big difference having driven a friends before and after, from 90 to 110bhp iirc.
 
PhillyDee said:
HGF is caused by overheating engines, and poor gasket design. They did release a fix in the way of a multi material gasket, which pretty much cures it. Allowing the engine to warm up before giving it some serious beans prolongs the life of the gasket, which is sensible anyway! Seen plenty of videos out there with people saying "hear the engine noise!" and then reving up to 5-6K on a cold start. Hardly surprising the gasket goes pop tbh! Keeping an eye on the coolant level (again, obvious really!) helps prevent overheating.
Click to expand...

I am led to believe that the biggest issue, which is one of many contributing factors is that the liner heights were never checked and are often wrong.

The Klinger gasket with the new oil ladder is rumoured to help a lot, too.
 
I love my 1.6 ZS. Interior is naff but does the job. The engine revs up nicely and pulls well for its size. Handling is great, you can push pretty hard on corners, in the wet though lift off oversteer can catch you unprepared (I managed to spin on a roundabout due to sillyness). Not very comfortable over bumps is the main bad point, oh and I had to have the head gasket replaced!

Edit: Also economy is good if you restrain yourself, high revs in 3rd makes the fuel gauge have a fit!
 
I have a ZS 180 and it's a great car for the price. Nice performance from the V6 but it is a heavy car so isn't blisteringly quick from standstill. 45 mpg is pushing it I'd say but I run an LPG conversion which makes it quite cheap to run. The interior isn't pretty but it's comfortable. A with any Rover/MG check for rust and service histroy for cam belt and gaskets changes too.
 
From reading around some do manage 45-50mpg from the 120, the 180 not so much as it's obviously a fair bit thirstier.
I quite liked the interior to be honest, besides I spend more time looking at the road than my interior heh. The seats were nice and comfy.
As far as rust goes it seemed pretty clear, bodywork was sound with no scratches or dents too.
Service history is something I'll check up on, if none is available should I just walk away? Or for the price is it worth just getting the cam belt done regardless?

Also, Berger, remapping my HDi would be great, I contacted mrwhippy to get it mapped a while ago but was never able to work out a date, slow/no responses from emails. Other remaps seem to start at around £300 which is more than I really want to spend on this car. The main thing is that I'm looking for something bigger, though, faster would be nice but it's not an absolute necessity. I wanted something bigger when I bought my HDi but couldn't afford the insurance on most things.

Dogbreath, thanks for the tip on the door handles, they seemed pretty secure but if/when I go again I'll check all four, definitely don't want a handle coming off in my hand haha. If the engine doesn't have to come out to change the cam belt that's good, any ideas on a rough price for cam belt change?
 
Callym, I had a 120 bhp one, had it for around a year. Ok car cheap to service etc,

I van give you a company who will insure you for half of what the compare sites do under classic insurance
 
Ace Modder said:
Callym, I had a 120 bhp one, had it for around a year. Ok car cheap to service etc,

I van give you a company who will insure you for half of what the compare sites do under classic insurance
Click to expand...

I remember you having the MG, couldn't remember if it was a ZS or ZT, or what engine it was. Good to hear the positive comments again, would be nice to get much cheaper insurance too although a lot of the classic insurance deals won't insure me due to my age which is annoying. What's the company?

I have the rest of the weekend to make up my mind anyway, if I decide to go for it I'll put a deposit down on Monday and will then have to wait for a cheque to clear before I can buy it anyway.
 
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Thanks for the link, that's helpful.
Doing a little research I see a guy in Dudley, a mobile mechanic, who seems to be highly recommended by MG/Rover owners, he does head gasket replacements with the better gasket kit from £350 and cam belt change from £150, with a discount if you mention where you got the recommendation from. So, even if I had to have both of those done for, say, £500, adding that to the £795 purchase price, plus tax, plus changing over my insurance, minus any discount the company Ace knows can do, minus anything I can negotiate off the price of the car, still comes in at or under what I'd get for my 306, making it a straight swap or with some money left over.
Sounds pretty good to me, any final thoughts? If not I'll probably go and put down my deposit today subject to a few more checks.
 
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