Roadsters

Yes, from what I have read the 2 litre is best avoided - after all a straight 6 engine is one of the Z4s unique features!

But I'm also biased as I've had two 3 litres and currently an M Coupe.

If E85s are too old would an E89 work? Although by all accounts they are a bit more GT than sports car.

£10k on a mk3 is comical, I hope nobody is stupid enough to pay that sort of cash for one these days, the bubble has burst these are £5-6k cars.

You can certainly get a mk3 for £5-6k. But you won't get a 3.75 with lowish miles and in good nick for that money. I think condition is everything with these.

Update on this.

I've left a small deposit on a 2.0 RF sport nav+ which I'm test driving tomorrow.

Very excited as I'm hoping thus is the one!

I'll report back tomorrow evening to let you know how it all goes.

It did go well thanks.

Lovely car which I'm 99.9% certain I will buy. The only sticking point is they don't really want my Fiesta in part ex, or at least they'll take it for a very low price. They actually suggested WBAC which comes out almost a grand more than their offer. But there's a catch to that too. My ST has less than a months MOT so that needs doing really. I'm on holiday next week and have it booked on 3rd of June. Just need to decide if it goes to WBAC or to try private sale which I'm not sure I can cope with to be honest. I'd really need to get it serviced too which is cutting down on any gains.

Is WBAC really as simple as it sounds?

In terms of the mx5 I have it on hold until tomorrow when I'll give them a decision.

Great car though. I'm only 5'8 and found it to be very comfy in the cabin. Drove at 60mph with the roof down and didn't notice the buffeting I'd read about, perhaps it only affects taller folk. Roof up refinement perfectly acceptable on the dual carriageway and I was surprised at how good the ride was. Better than the Fiesta. It was quite nice to rev it out and whilst the 4 pot doesnt sound particularly special it's quite zingy and raspy at the top end. Steering feel and gear shift are fantastic.

Will they offer you more if you put an MOT on it? Or do you think it won't pass an MOT, if so just get shot of it at WBAC and move on with MX5 purchase.

Bit of development this afternoon. After telling them I needed to go and think about it the dealer has offered a fair discount on the mx5 to bring the cost to change more in line with what I had in mind. I think they're keen to do a deal before the end of the month, perhaps it's been a bit slow.

I know I could get more money selling privately. But for what it is I'm going to go part ex and hopefully get it sorted before the weekend when I go away. An MOT and service would be at least £200-300 and that's assuming the Fiesta doesn't need anything doing. I'm sure it wouldn't fail but you just never know.

Obviously the budget has been blown! It wasn't really fixed anyway, and I feel this particular car is worth paying for. Especially as I'm after something I can keep for as long as possible.

Cheers for the advice and hopefully I can post pics soon enough!

BTW. What's the best mx5 forum to join? I did sign up to Nutz about 10 years ago when I almost bought one. Doesn't seem too busy though.

Great news, well done. No point going through all the hassle of MOT and trying to sell if there is little to be gained financially.

Nutz was the place back in the day for anybody who wanted to modify.

The owners club was apparently more people and slippers brigade

Thanks guys.

No idea if the deal was good as I'm not really the best at negotiating. That's why I don't do it very often. But it felt okay and the dealer seemed to be doing his best to get the cost to change down to where I wanted it by discounting the mx5. They were keen to get it away before the end of May. With my holiday next week I said if I had to get an MOT the earliest was 3rd June so I wouldn't be able to take delivery until after that. At the end of the day the deal is what it is. I'm planning to keep it for a good 10 years or so this time hopefully.

So, the car.

It's not a sport nav+, it's actually a sport tech (2020) not that I'm aware of any differences. Car play and Android auto maybe, not sure. It's in my favourite colour, machine grey which I think looks a bit less feminine! My local Mazda dealer sold it new and it's been maintained there too. Was owned by a serial mx5 owner who has had 4 now and just bought a 2024 ND3. My car has a massive 3800 miles haha! Feels like a brand new car really and as my mileage is low it'll have less than 50k on it in 10 years time.

Here's a pic from the AT ad...



Looking forward to picking it up on Friday. But I'll miss my Fiesta I'm sure. Ideally I'd have them both but it just isn't possible. I'm just hoping the mx5 will work out as my daily but I can't see why it wouldn't.