Sub £1000 MX5. Good/Bad Idea?

[Negative Creep]

I really have a craving for one of these now. Anyone want a Punto?

[Morgan84]

It's 'comforting' to know they may be considered a 'safe' engine in the event of a timing belt breaking,but the unsafe element is you don't know when it's going to break,or where you will be when it breaks. They don't always convieniently break once you have parked up at home; sods law says its in the fast lane,or when pulling out of a junction in front of something !

[Tartan58]

Good idea definitely. You'll be able to pick up a fairly decent one no bother for under £1k especially at this time of year and you'll not loose much on it unless you wreck it of course.

I've had a 2001 all singing all dancing (relatively speaking!) Sport version (with the 146bhp VVT engine) for almost a year now and it's great fun to drive and plenty quick enough but have also driven an early (1990) base 1.6 on track and it's a hoot - ok I was passed by everything but was still the most fun I've had on 4 wheels. I keep being tempted to sell mine and buy a cheap early one and spend the extra on doing it up as a dedicated track car.

 

There's good forums to - MX5Nutz if you're into modding and track days (but still with fairly low tolerance of OMGDRIFTLOLS although there are a few) or the official owners club forum if you're into chrome boot racks and tartan picnic rugs (I currently sit somewhere in the middle!)

 

As for the image, I say don't knock it until you've tried it and anyway since when has other's perception of what you drive been an issue on Autoshite!

[face]

I had a 1990 1.6 Eunos back in about 1998 when they still commanded strong re-sale values.

 

It was bloody excellent fun and tough as old boots.

 

As previously said - not fast, not slow, but ultimately ACE to drive.

[Spiny Norman]

One of our neighbours had an old L reg Mk1 car, in a fetching combination of BRG and rust. It seemd to go well enough for him to have traded it for a Mk2 on a 54 plate, which I see today he's brought back with a huge dent in the rear wing, presumably having had some OMGRWDSNOES action.

[Pete-M]

I used to regularly use a G plate 1.6 Eunos. Loved the thing. It was ace. Not hugely fast, but great fun. It had an LSD, so being a 1.6 it didn't have enough grunt to kick the arse end out most of the time, but it was quick enough to still be amusing even if it wasn't any quicker than a lot of modern turbodiseasels.

 

Didn't matter. Every trip in the thing was amusing, it sounded pretty good (early Eunos jobbies like this had a full stainless pipe from the factory that was deleted for being 'too rorty'), would sit happily at 70+ on the motorway without being annoying and it was dead reliable. In three years nothing went wrong with it. At all.

 

Driving position is ace, roof is simple and fast to use and they're cheap to run. A bloody good laugh.

 

Other than Herr Watanabe and those who consider it a 'hairdressers car', I don't know anyone who's driven one that didn't like it. I'd happily have one, but it'd have to be a Mk2 1.8 with AC and LSD.

[Clevtrev]

I'm on my 2nd mk1 at the moment. A '96 1.8 Merlot. I've had it for 4 1/2 years and its factory standard except for a different radio head unit. Had a '91 H beforehand but got written off by some bint who didn't see me. I just find it a really nice car to drive. I love the driving position and just the way it goes. It's a long way from being the fastest car on the road but as said before, that's not the point. On the right road and in the right weather though its magic!

[pandarus]

Great idea, they are cheap as chips at the moment.

 

I sold my 92 Eunos Roadster last week for 820 rubs...it was a great example in blue. I have bought a very tidy mk2 in gold - the insurance was also very cheap - a classic car policy was just stg 158 for the Roadster and the MX5 was not much more.

 

True, you wont get the roof down much this time of year but they are great to drive and even better when you can get the hood down. Fabulous

[cobblers]

They have a bloody good heater, enough to keep you fairly warm even when it's pretty cold out. I felt like a twat with the top down in traffic etc, so I only ever used to put the top down at night when driving like a cock on A roads and even in february I was warm enough just in a jumper.

I got a hardtop for £30 but if I was going back to an MX5 I'd happily spend the usual £300 on another, they transform the car.

[dollywobbler]

A good compromise is to just drop the rear window. You get a fair dose of fresh air but don't ruffle your barnet too much. You also don't get wet if it rains (to be honest, you don't with the roof right back as long as you don't slow down...)

[warren t claim]

Not too many negative comments so far. I can see myself going Xmas car shopping soon, need to shift one of my fleet to make space shortly though.

 

Can you get those gauze wind deflectors that go behind the headrests for them and are they any good?

[dollywobbler]

Not too many negative comments so far. I can see myself going Xmas car shopping soon, need to shift one of my fleet to make space shortly though.

 

Can you get those gauze wind deflectors that go behind the headrests for them and are they any good?

 

Yes, and from what I've heard, yes.

[Morgan84]

You realise once you have one,you won't want to part with it if you get a good one ! All the MX5 owners I know love them,and haven't had much trouble with them at all,but rust is the common issue,but assuming the sills are good,the rest should be pretty sound

[Fat_Pirate]

I've had my mk1 for more than 5 years now, the longest I've ever owned a car and I intend to keep it indefinitely. I've gone down the POWAH route with a turbo and while nearly 200BHP is fun, it's not quite worth all the bother (wrecked clutch/diffs, turbo working loose, etc, plus additional insurance bother).

 

As already mentioned, a standard car is virtually unbreakable, there's a bloke in Swansea who'll fit a new mohair hood for about £200, and they're simple to work on. Only issue is rust; if it's not gone at the back of the sills, it should be fine. And it's become a bit of a drift-tosser favourite, but that phase will pass.

 

[barefoot]

There's an MX5 / Porsche specialist just a couple of miles from me.

He breaks dozens & is a good source of spares.

I've been taking my 944 there for a hundred years & often get an MX5 as a courtesy car.

They are as much fun as everyone says above.

 

http://www.phsportscars.co.uk

[pandarus]

Check rear sills and rear arches but this time of year you will get a bargain.

 

A plentiful supply too...dont be put off by Eunos imports as these have all the extras and better rust proofing. Check leccy windows too as they tend to slow up/fail.

 

Wind deflectors are awesome and do a great job, my new MX has chrome hoops and a pop up deflector. Nice.

[warren t claim]

An update to my thoughts.

 

What I'd really like is a Green Eunos with beige leather and a Nardi three spoke steering wheel but I can't add grey imports on my traders policy. Are they old enough to go on a separate classic policy? Are they any less resistant to corrosion than UK examples and do they have the same handling and power? What wheel choice do they have? I would prefer steels to OZ ENKI HENTI JAP SCHOOLGIRL PORN rims that many seem to be fitted with. Is the Aircon R12? What's the latest model I could get without PAS and is the 1600 engine any better than the 1800 for parts supply and general revviness?

[HillmanImp]

You feel low in one of these? Try a GT6, being towed on the North Circular at night. The only time I have been able to inspect the top of artic wheelarches whilst on the move. Very, very, very scary.

 

I was once towed in my old GT6 by a lunatic in a Pajero at 60MPH in a 30 zone using a very short tow rope when he was towing me to my mates worshop to sort out a seized caliper. if he had braked hard I would have probably died giving a blow job to his exhaust.

 

So to speak.

[Cavcraft]

An update to my thoughts.

 

What I'd really like is a Green Eunos with beige leather and a Nardi three spoke steering wheel but I can't add grey imports on my traders policy. Are they old enough to go on a separate classic policy? Are they any less resistant to corrosion than UK examples and do they have the same handling and power? What wheel choice do they have? I would prefer steels to OZ ENKI HENTI JAP SCHOOLGIRL PORN rims that many seem to be fitted with. Is the Aircon R12? What's the latest model I could get without PAS and is the 1600 engine any better than the 1800 for parts supply and general revviness?

 

 

There's a place in Neston that specialise in then mate.

 

http://supercarclassics.co.uk/

 

Not the cheapest (as you can see) but might be worth tapping him to see if he gets any cheap ones in.

[cobblers]

What's the latest model I could get without PAS and is the 1600 engine any better than the 1800 for parts supply and general revviness?

 

 

PAS generally comes mostly on imports, my old 1.8 is a 1997 ish and it didn't have PAS, although I got the tackle and fitted it on for my mum cos of her quadraspazzed back. Quite easy to swap over either way round.

Never had any problems getting parts for the 1800 apart from the very last of the MK1 1800 exhausts being weird and having a different system to every other MX5/Eunos ever. Swapped the downpipe off an earlier one and it now runs a "normal" system. Other than that there were plenty of both made so the rest of stuff is pretty easy to source, and the vast majority of bits will fit either engine.

 

The 1800 doesn't mind being revved and will pull pretty well up to the redline if you want to drive it that way, but you don't absolutely have to scream it's head off when driving about normally so it's fairly well mannered.

It doesn't really go all that quickly even with 130bhp (they're not that light of a car) so I would deffo stick with a 1.8, I bet the late UK 1.6s after they detuned them to 88bhp (so people would buy the 1.8!) are absolutely dire so best off avoided unless you want to lob a turbo on them (ideal for it due to lower compression IIRC).

 

If you get a Eunos all the 1.6s are 115brake.

[dollywobbler]

The MX-5 is one of those odd cars that might well qualify for classic insurance without being that old. I think Footman James seem happy to cover MGs and Jags that are barely out of the dealership, so well worth a try.

 

As has been mentioned, don't go getting a detuned 1.6. When the 1.8 became available, they made sure there was a bigger gap in power outputs by simply reducing that of the 1.6.

 

I've no idea whether a Eunos is better rust protected. I suspect not, the only advantage being that they've generally seen less UK winters than a genuine UK car.

[HMC]

On the eunos rustproofing front Ive heard various opinions from people with it variously described as better, worse or, as they were on the same assembly line, the same. They've possibly seen less british winters but my 93 1.6 was imported in 99 so probably makes less difference all these years on.

 

Re engines; 1.6s are supposed to be the rev happier unit, certainly mine zings allong and has a great unburstable feel to it. around 94 with the 1.6 they dropped the 1.6 from 115 to 90bhp to accomodate enough of a difference to the 1.8 I love the gearchange too, it has a great mechanical snick when shifting between cogs.

 

Mine has non PAS and manual windows as i wanted a back to basics feel, but having read more, it doesnt sound as though much is lost if at all in having PAS. I think the rack is quicker with factory PAS.

 

I was eyeing up a hard top but they seem pricey to a man who only spent 500 on the whole car!

[warren t claim]

Here's a couple on the NO list.

[Guest]

Get a one eight. The one six is a screaming shitbag of a lump with inverted torque figures.

[purplebargeken]

Has anyone got an MX5 near to Enfield, Borehamwood/St. Albans anywhere else nearby? Reason I ask is it would be interesting to see if I could actually get in and out of one without snapping my spine in half first. I can get into an MGF without any hassle but I suspect the Mazda is a wee bit teenier.

[binboy]

Had two of them in the last year, the first was a 1990 silver Eunos it was loaded with extra like AC, chrome bits, power steering etc. The second was a 1996 UK car in flat green with no extras, for me the basic one was a better drive with no power steering. They were both cheap I think the Eunos was £450 and the UK one was about £350. I am in the car trade so I do get cars a bit cheaper. Some of the parts can be a bit pricey I had to put a pair of hand brake cables on the UK one and they cost nearly £200 trade.

[cobblers]

Some of the parts can be a bit pricey I had to put a pair of hand brake cables on the UK one and they cost nearly £200 trade.

 

Ouch, I bought a pair for £45 brand new last year for an identical vehicle, that wasn't even at trade.

 

I haven't found any parts to be expensive at all, bar hardtop stuff, EG:

 

Clutch kit £80

HT leads £15

Refurbed rear caliper £60

Clutch master and slave £60

[warren t claim]

OK chaps, this has popped up for sale locally and at the right time financially.....

 

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-moto ... 1008447786

 

Any thoughts? Is this the slowest version?

 

£495

[pompei]

16 or 18, looks like good value at that price.

[RedSparrow]

Private plate 'PURE' worth £21,000!