2000 mgf vvc head gasket

I have found a very nice looking 2000 f for sale with 57k miles. However, owner has no evidence of head gasket change. Is it sensible to buy on condition and driving?

In my humble opinion if it drives well with no signs of overheating then if the rest of the car is sound then I would say yes.
Check the oil for any signs of mayonaise!
Not every car needs the HG replaced despite the Internet rumours of dire consequences of buying an F or TF.

+1 for that.

But be sure to do these things:

1. Install a low coolant alarm. They are only about £ 30 and will save the number 1 reason that head gaskets fail - loss of coolant. due to leaks . details available of a suitable source.

2. Change the reservoir cap. They should be changed every few years without fail. There is only 1 type which is known to be good and that is made by Febi. They are no more expensive than the others. Do not buy another brand or an unbranded; although they look similar most of the 'clone' copies are far weaker and will vent at lower pressures.

and most importantly welcome to the forum !

Id not touch it personally. I've done it TWICE in the past and been stung on both occasions. You could easily be buying someone else's poor maintenance money pit. One is sure to come along already done providing peace of mind for you. I bided my time and got a belter. Learn from my mistake mate 

Much of the extent of the risk is down to whether you are happy to get your hands dirty working on your own car like many of the regulars or would send it to a garage for any faults.They dont hold much fear for me as Ive tackled a variety of jobs on these cars from head gasket change to suspension spheres as ive bought 3 cheaply with known faults, sold 2 at a profit and kept the 3rd which was then a free car.
Affordable convertible classic car motoring on a shoestring. They arent that fragile and they arent difficult to fix if you put the effort in, buy with your eyes open and have your wits about you.

All this obsession about changing bloody head gaskets is absolute utter bollocks!
"If it ain't broke...don't fix it" or "Don't mess with success"
In other words unless there is a problem leave the damned thing well enough alone!
Unnecessary fiddle bumming about can only lead to trouble, so precautionary head gasket changing is of no advantage!

The question you should be asking is: "Is there anything wrong with the car here and now?"
You answer this by checking out the car properly!
In the past 25 odd years it has probably been done, but unless it was just done very recently, that means little, as to the current state of affairs.
Indeed, it's of more importance how has the car been treated between now and when it was done! No documentation can tell you if the owner is a dickhead who never bothered to check the coolant level, or paid attention to the coolant gauge!
Even if it has been done recently, unless it was done by a few of the recoginsed and trusted specialists in our cars, how would you know it was done properly?

A highly unlikely scenario but, It may well even be a case of: It never needed doing, which might explain why there is no paper trail to follow.

Great bundles of ancient paper work tell you absolutely nothing about the car as it stands before you right here and now.
I see little practical real world advantage in having enough documentation to choke a horse, unless of course you particularly want to choke a horse.....what did the poor bloody horse do to you?
After all our cars are of little monetary value, (although they may be priceless to us in other ways) It's no like it's some priceless vintage racing Bugatti or some such, where it's full history and provenance is closely tied to it's value.....in the case of our more modest, cars the world only sees them as old cars.
 

I have to be honest and admit I lean towards the "if it aint broke don't fix it" camp.
I see a lot of cars being taken apart to "prevent future problems" only to create them in the present.
When I got my car I did a decent job of rustproofing it and some brake upgrades but apart from that I just want to drive it and I'll fix it when it breaks!
We take our chances...

So true.

Go for it!

If in the future the head gasket needs to be replaced, then replace it then, its far from a difficult. I've carried out 5 head gasket changes, one on my F and four on friends' F/TFs, all still going strong. If I can do it, so can you.

Good luck!