I bought my MGF VVC from new, it was at the time Rover were having diffs in 2000 so I saved a pretty packet on the car. At the same time I looked around at the alternatives even going £10k more than the F.
What put me off the SLK is the automatic box, a new manual box at the time was £800 but only available on special order, not to mention the extra £££ when it comes to servicing. About £400 for a standard oil change
Wasnt fussed on the on the styling of MR2 or MX5 The only thing that came close to the F was the elise at £28k back in 2000. But thats a lot of money for what is essentiallly a go kart and it came with no stereo or carpets, so glad I went with the F even though I am not too keen on the hydragas setup.