UK 1.6 MX-5 - worth having?

[ctid]

I'm on the lookout for a new car to use daily while my G40 comes off the road for some restoration work. I've been looking around at MX-5s and have been offered a J reg UK 1.6 with hardtop. 147k miles, MOT until March, 6 months tax.

It looks to be in decent condition, and has had the sills replaced at some point. The rear arches are bubbling though, so these will need to be replaced at some point in the near future.

It's pretty much standard barring some Borbet A wheels with Kumho tyres, lowered suspension, and a hardtop.

Do we reckon it's worth a punt at 1k?

[crofty1984]

J Reg. What year is that? After about 94, UK 1.6 cars had a wheezy 88bhp engine.

[ctid]

Sorry, it's a 1991 model

[Graebob]

£1k is way too much. I bought a slightly knackered H plate 1.6 with similar tax/test for £500. My sister got a much nicer G plate for £600.

[MX7]

It might be worth considering that hardtops rise in value in the winter, and go for about £400.

[SSCooperS]

As everyone else has said. With that sort of mileage it's worth about £600, tops.

[Pistachio]

crofty1984 said:

J Reg. What year is that? After about 94, UK 1.6 cars had a wheezy 88bhp engine.

I think you will find it had 115bhp and was not wheezy at all and J is 1991

[RV8]

Mine was an early 1.6, UK car. Perfectly OK in terms of poke, not going to set the world on fire but perfectly adequate, mine even had speakers in the headrests. Look at the rear arches and where they meet the sills on the early ones for signs of rot. £1k for a Mk1 with no rust is very acceptable in my experience.

[Risotto]

Pistachio said:

crofty1984 said:

J Reg. What year is that? After about 94, UK 1.6 cars had a wheezy 88bhp engine.

I think you will find it had 115bhp and was not wheezy at all and J is 1991

The UK 1.6 went down to 88bhp from April 95. The JDM 1.6 retained the original output throughout production.

As far as I'm aware, VINs marked 'B2' were 114bhp and those marked 'C2' were 88bhp.

The VIN formats were different for each market though - the ones above will only appear on a UK car.

Edited by Risotto on Thursday 13th October 10:09

[ctid]

Cheers for the advice guys. I'm probably best leaving it then! To be honest, I was only tempted because it's 5 minutes from me and comes with a hardtop. I've got 2-3k to spend but thought getting something cheaper would give me more to spend on the Beetle and Polo

I prefer the popup headlights of the mk1 to the mk2, is the mk2 that much of a better car?

[Risotto]

ctid said:

I prefer the popup headlights of the mk1 to the mk2, is the mk2 that much of a better car?

Not really. They aren't radically different under the skin and they still rust alarmingly if the sills aren't treated.

The Mk 2.5 can be had with a bit more power but as someone else said, you can't go far wrong with a good Mk1 import.

[ctid]

Food for thought then, I'll have a look round and see what I can find.

OT: Hora, you're spitting distance from my work if that's your postcode! Work at media city, live in Northenden

[bicycleshorts]

ctid said:

Food for thought then, I'll have a look round and see what I can find.

Check insurance. Depending on your age, car age and uk/import you could end up paying £1k for insurance each year.

[ctid]

Hora: I do like that one, might have to go and have a look at it!

Insurance shouldn't be an issue, I'm on a bhp limited policy with the Polo and I'll just swap the car on the policy over. I'm no stranger to high premiums, with me paying £2300 at the minute.

[RZ1]

I am selling a mates 1999 Mk2 1.6 120k for around £1300, drop me a pm if interested.

[Risotto]

Does it have to be a 1.6? I just had a quick look on trader and happened to notice a 10th Anniversary special edition Mk2. They have Bilstein suspension, a Torsen diff and a 6 speed gearbox (and nasty wheels, unfortunately). They have the advantages of the JDM cars (better spec) but without the corresponding insurance premiums (because they were available to buy in the UK).

I've lost touch with MX-5 prices but an asking price of £1500 seems quite cheap on the face of it.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

More info here:

http://www.mx5-mazda.co.uk/10thanniversary.htm