Now, first: Don't get angry about what I'm about to say...but: BUY A MIATA!!
Now, my long rant:
My 'old' MG engines are just as reliable if not more so than newer engines - when properly maintained per published maintenance schedules! ...&, that's no different from any other car...how about 100,000 miles on a bone stock completely original MG engine? Yep, I've got one - never turned a wrench on it other than normal maintenance...&, I'm the only owner & driver so I know about which I speak!....&, all I expect to do in the near future is more maintenance!....How about engines that were personally built in my garage for way less than $2000 getting more than 100,000 miles before needing anything other than maintenance? Come on down & I'll walk you through such a collection!
Those who fall prey to the 'lousy' British engineering, Lucas Prince of Darkness or British unreliability philosophies shouldn't be caring for an LBC - sure, LBC's have the same type problems as any other car but all those urban legends about Lucas unreliability or terrible engineering are a result of DFPO's (dumb f%*%ing previous owners)who should've never owned one in the first place...once those of us who are drivers bring one of their LBC's under our wing, we are immediately forced to reverse all their unique American engineering modifications! (Have you ever wondered why Volkswagen advertises for 'drivers' not owners?)
You see, when these little cars hit our shores, they were something different than the big land yachts Detroit was pushing on Americans...they required the driver (notice I didn't say owner) to be attuned to his steed...&, they shouted out that the driver must be able to hear what that steeed was telling him/her....both at a time when Detroit was telling car owners to just enjoy the ride & stop by their dealer often!
Now, don't get me wrong...I'm an advocate of wringing the most power possible out of my MG's - heck, I'm even a transplant kinda guy (Rover V8 underway, Chevy V6 in planning stages) but I do it for a different reason: individuality & speed! NOT RELIABILITY!....&, my everyday drivers remain the plain old 4-cylinder, primarily stock MG-engined cars! (& the mods are mainly modernization items!)...&, I'm not adverse to taking off across country in an MG - with no trunk full of repair parts! Heck, I once even took my bride on a long trip from east-central Kansas to San Antonio, Texas expecting my MG to perform as flawlessly as any other vehicle which it did! &, when my daughter's BMW required major repair while she was in law school that put it in the shop for a couple of weeks, I took her an MG to drive - & she was several hours away from me..do you think I would've given her an 'unreliable' car - her being a single young female law student alone in a big city?
So, having said all that - & stopping to save Basil bandwidth, I'll repeat: if you aren't comfortable jumping in an MG & driving it anywhere: BUY A MIATA!