Just saying "Hello"

Notanumber said:

Well done for buying a TF.

Dont worry about it having been a Cat N write off. Cars are hit, damaged and repaired all the time. A proportion of them may be written off by their insurer but its a completely arbitrary thing that depends on the value of the car at the time and the particular insurance company's approach far more than the actual level of damage. A new car could be hit very badly but will be repaired by the insurance company leaving no history wheras a 15 year old car could be written off in a 5mph parking accident suffering a cracked bumper, broken taillight and a small dent in the boot lid.

In fact its certain that the very people who make a point of declaring they would not consider a previously written off car have at one time unknowingly bought something that had very serious damage in its first few years and was successfully repaired with no ill effects and nothing to show it had every happened. Buying a written off car that has been equally well repaired is every bit as good as that.

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deepfat said:

The first thing is to pull the current stereo out to check you still have the standard ISO connectors on the car as a PO (previous owner) may have "modified" it.
Normally there is a thin trim panel around the outside of the stereo that clips off (sometimes missing already), then if your good with thin bladed knives etc you can get it out by sliding them down the sides. If your not confident with that take the make/model number of the stereo and google/ebay/Halfords etc and you should be able to cheaply buy the security keys for it. Once out you can look and check it has the standard connectors, google MGTF ISO stereo connectors if your not sure and you will get plenty of pictures to compare, or you can unplug the old stereo and take it with you to the shop to compare with the new one. Alternatively you can just take some pictures of the plugs to compare and put the stereo back then you will still have music until you get the new one (knowing it will fit).
By rights you should either pull the fuse for the radio or disconnect the battery but I never bother, if you do disconnect the battery you may have to resync the fobs but I'm not sure as I have the Lucas system and yours I think is pektron.
It sounds complicated but assuming you still have the standard connectors it is just common sense and will be plug and play, I'm just trying to avoid you buying a stereo and then appealing on here "help the plugs are different"

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Notanumber said:

Well done for buying a TF.

Dont worry about it having been a Cat N write off. Cars are hit, damaged and repaired all the time. A proportion of them may be written off by their insurer but its a completely arbitrary thing that depends on the value of the car at the time and the particular insurance company's approach far more than the actual level of damage. A new car could be hit very badly but will be repaired by the insurance company leaving no history wheras a 15 year old car could be written off in a 5mph parking accident suffering a cracked bumper, broken taillight and a small dent in the boot lid.

In fact its certain that the very people who make a point of declaring they would not consider a previously written off car have at one time unknowingly bought something that had very serious damage in its first few years and was successfully repaired with no ill effects and nothing to show it had every happened. Buying a written off car that has been equally well repaired is every bit as good as that.

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Julian Foulger said:

Depends on your budget but the ideal is all singing all dancing, stereo, satnav, blue tooth (so handles mobile phones through the car speakers) et al, something like a Pioneer AVH-Z7200DAB + AVIC 160 (the Satnav bit) but of course, you can buy something a lot more modest and be perfectly OK. Remember it has to be something that is 1 DIN (one slot high).

If you have the original radio, keep it stored away if and when you come to sell the car, some buyers like the car as OEM as possible.

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Notanumber said:

When folding the soft top put one hand on the inside of the middle of the roof and gently lift there whilst pulling the hood back with the other hand. It should then move effortlessly. Most of us have had that occasional glitch with the hood geometry. It doesnt tend to happen when the hood is dropped and lifted regularly but if it does it takes no effort to work around.

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deepfat said:

Is the problem with the hood when you first unclip it and start to fold it back and it appears to lock? if so it's a common fault, the link below will explain it all and the fix.
(22) Anti-lock hood straps fitted | MG-Rover.org Forums

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