MGF? Help?

Fix the MGF. Forget the Jag.

The MGF was certainly not one of 'Britain's Best'.
As pointed out Cooling and Head gasket problems were trade marks of the 'K' series engine.
There were cooling system mods and a modified head gasket available.....Make sure you buy the correct one if you choose to re-build.

The MGF is famous for head gasket problems.
The K series had issues.
See https://www.dmgrs.co.uk/pages/choosing-the-correct-k-series-head-gasket-kit
Most should have been fixed by now.
Get it done by an MG specialist.
There are also cooling upgrades for the car.
Filling with coolant is a specialist job as well.
These cars need care from an MG specialist.

Common problem with those cars, probably due to cooling issues with the mid engine.

But it's the sort of car you buy because you want a toy, not for it's practicality. And that means you have to expect it to cost some $$. In the overall scheme of things, a $1500 repair is basically nothing. If it's in otherwise good condition, and YOU love it, then fix it. Do the maths on the repair, vs how much you will loose selling it broken, and making payments on another car. Easy to blow $10,000 there, and not get a car that's any more reliable, especially if you buy a Jaguar...

Buy the Haynes manual and do the work yourself. If you have the tools and the aptitude it's a simple job. You need to keep the components in the order they were removed to avoid re-bedding in.

Hi so sounds like a very wise lady to me. to be honest the jaguar would be at least a move in the right direction if it was a classic mark 2 or even a daimler sp250.