Midlife crisis or sensible man maths?
Discussion
:43)
Hi all
Maybe I'm crazy..
I used to have to commute 90ish miles a day so I have for the last 15+ years driven fairly boring diesels, a couple of focus's a VW Jetta for example.
My current car is a 2013 Volvo V40 which is actually a really nice place to be, comfortable and has some creature comforts like auto wipers etc. But it's an adequate but thoroughly boring d2 engine or a 1.6 turbo...
Anyway why and I posting my life story here...
Well I find that I'm not working from home all the time. Brilliant stuff. So I am thinking of swapping the v40 for an mx5.
What should I be looking for to not fall too harshly? And based on my car being worth anything between 5-6k what generation of mx5 should I look for? The rust issue seems prevalent, but I think I should look for heated seats do they fail? What should I be aware of?
Hi all
Maybe I'm crazy..
I used to have to commute 90ish miles a day so I have for the last 15+ years driven fairly boring diesels, a couple of focus's a VW Jetta for example.
My current car is a 2013 Volvo V40 which is actually a really nice place to be, comfortable and has some creature comforts like auto wipers etc. But it's an adequate but thoroughly boring d2 engine or a 1.6 turbo...
Anyway why and I posting my life story here...
Well I find that I'm not working from home all the time. Brilliant stuff. So I am thinking of swapping the v40 for an mx5.
What should I be looking for to not fall too harshly? And based on my car being worth anything between 5-6k what generation of mx5 should I look for? The rust issue seems prevalent, but I think I should look for heated seats do they fail? What should I be aware of?
MX-5's are brilliant cars, I have owned a Mk2 preciously and it was rust that killed it in the end and that is the issue, look for rust everywhere! around all panels, behind side skirts if fitted, beware of underseal, bottoms of doors and anywhere else you can get to. Mechanically they are usually bullet proof but they rust a lot.
I'm 6ft4 and I could be relatively comfortable in a Mk2 but If I was to buy another (Which I may well do) I would go for the Mk3 as they have so much more space inside but some will say the handling isn't as sharp, it would be a Mk3 2 litre at your budget if I was buying.
I'm 6ft4 and I could be relatively comfortable in a Mk2 but If I was to buy another (Which I may well do) I would go for the Mk3 as they have so much more space inside but some will say the handling isn't as sharp, it would be a Mk3 2 litre at your budget if I was buying.
I second the above - go for it - you only live once.
We get used to what we do as normal and for you, 15 years of economical cars that you maybe renewed every 3 years was the done thing. My advice would be to seek out the best condition mx-5 you can. Forget about registration plates and look for the best condition, well loved car you can find for your budget. Love it as much as the previous owner(s) and you'll easily sell it on. My point here is the buyer of a mx-5 or similar sports cars will more than likely be buying it for enthusiast reasons that hum-drum daily driver so tick the right boxes on purchase and you'll have an easy life.
We get used to what we do as normal and for you, 15 years of economical cars that you maybe renewed every 3 years was the done thing. My advice would be to seek out the best condition mx-5 you can. Forget about registration plates and look for the best condition, well loved car you can find for your budget. Love it as much as the previous owner(s) and you'll easily sell it on. My point here is the buyer of a mx-5 or similar sports cars will more than likely be buying it for enthusiast reasons that hum-drum daily driver so tick the right boxes on purchase and you'll have an easy life.
re: rust proofing - I'm a prolific old car buyer and protector. There are a few options and also note japanese import cars may have less protection than a UK car BUT uk cars were not as well protected as their european peers so are likely to suffer from rot.
I'd like to think a low mileage mx5 that has been used a summer car would be nice option to buy to limit the orange peril. Another option might be to buy a car from an mx-5 specialist for piece of mind.
Once you have the car you've got a few options available to keep it solid
1. Dinitrol wax and underseal treatment. You can do this yourself easily on axle stands or pay someone around £500 on a mx-5 sized car. I've done this on my cars to good effect.
2. Lanoguard. It's very easy to apply and is a clear waxy type product. I use this product to top up my existing treatment (1) on an annual basis
3. Other products - Bilt Hamber have similar products to (1) and get very good reviews. Waxoyl is another tried and tested but seems to leave a sticky mess under the car.
I'd like to think a low mileage mx5 that has been used a summer car would be nice option to buy to limit the orange peril. Another option might be to buy a car from an mx-5 specialist for piece of mind.
Once you have the car you've got a few options available to keep it solid
1. Dinitrol wax and underseal treatment. You can do this yourself easily on axle stands or pay someone around £500 on a mx-5 sized car. I've done this on my cars to good effect.
2. Lanoguard. It's very easy to apply and is a clear waxy type product. I use this product to top up my existing treatment (1) on an annual basis
3. Other products - Bilt Hamber have similar products to (1) and get very good reviews. Waxoyl is another tried and tested but seems to leave a sticky mess under the car.
Do it!
As a former mk2 (NB) owner, I have a massive soft spot for those, but I'd only get an older one if you can keep in it in a garage and you don't need to drive into a clean air zone as their engines are not compliant. If that's the case, then go for this one - this is the third time I have posted this example, it's a really nice, rust free one:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106023...
Otherwise, a nice mk3 NC model with the 2.0 engine should be easy to obtain with your budget. Check the MOT history for rust.
Here's a good one, it's the lowest mileage one I could find from a reputable dealer, with no rust issues, straight bodywork and an unmarked interior. Also worth checking out this dealer in any case as they are an MX-5 specialist.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107034...
As a former mk2 (NB) owner, I have a massive soft spot for those, but I'd only get an older one if you can keep in it in a garage and you don't need to drive into a clean air zone as their engines are not compliant. If that's the case, then go for this one - this is the third time I have posted this example, it's a really nice, rust free one:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106023...
Otherwise, a nice mk3 NC model with the 2.0 engine should be easy to obtain with your budget. Check the MOT history for rust.
Here's a good one, it's the lowest mileage one I could find from a reputable dealer, with no rust issues, straight bodywork and an unmarked interior. Also worth checking out this dealer in any case as they are an MX-5 specialist.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107034...
There are some lovely examples there. I'm in the Midlands so if I wanted to drive into Birmingham I'd have to pay I think on almost anything. But that's not really a concern.
Sadly I don't have a garage, should that be a concern? Clearly I need to take the rust proofing seriously more so than I've really had to worry on the commuters I've had. A yearly/6 month protection?
Sounds like I need to get my current car on sale!
Sadly I don't have a garage, should that be a concern? Clearly I need to take the rust proofing seriously more so than I've really had to worry on the commuters I've had. A yearly/6 month protection?
Sounds like I need to get my current car on sale!
The0perator said:
I'm in the Midlands so if I wanted to drive into Birmingham I'd have to pay I think on almost anything. But that's not really a concern.
I'm pretty sure all NC MX-5s will be Euro 4 compliant petrols, and as such won't have to pay the Brum clean air zone charge.Add that they're less rusty, a better engine and a bit more space behind the wheel and seems like a good bet.
I'm a little over 6' and was comfortable driving an NC MX-5.
If you've got time to kill I recommend the savagegeese documentary on the MX-5 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr-mTF1DFa-... quite a bit of info about the differences between the generations.
samoht said:
The0perator said:
I'm in the Midlands so if I wanted to drive into Birmingham I'd have to pay I think on almost anything. But that's not really a concern.
I'm pretty sure all NC MX-5s will be Euro 4 compliant petrols, and as such won't have to pay the Brum clean air zone charge.Add that they're less rusty, a better engine and a bit more space behind the wheel and seems like a good bet.
I'm a little over 6' and was comfortable driving an NC MX-5.
If you've got time to kill I recommend the savagegeese documentary on the MX-5 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr-mTF1DFa-... quite a bit of info about the differences between the generations.
I guess I was thinking that my zero road tax Volvo is £8 a time in Brum. Ha ha.
The0perator said:
I guess I was thinking that my zero road tax Volvo is £8 a time in Brum. Ha ha.
Yeah, the govt made road tax cheaper for low CO2 vehicles, so everyone bought diesels with their lean hot combustion which maximises fuel efficiency... and also chucks out loads of NOx. This then gave all the city kids asthma, hence daily charges for cars with high NOx, mostly diesels. Petrols have been NOx-compliant for min 15 years, so you trade one tax for another.jason61c said:
Get an s2000.
I've always found mx5's dull. An S2000 has one of the best engines ever.
Obviously many ppl share your liking for S2ks, which is presumably why they're now mostly double the OP's £5-6k budget for older cars. So unless the OP can stretch the budget, probably not in consideration here.I've always found mx5's dull. An S2000 has one of the best engines ever.
Mr Tidy said:
If you didn't mind something slightly older you could get a BMW Z4 with a 6 cylinder engine that may cost a bit more to run, or a Boxster that would cost a bit more to run!
But this is PH so MX5 is never a wrong answer.
Funny you say that, I passed a boxer for sale at 6k yesterday... I figured it would either be a total bargain or more likely a total money pitBut this is PH so MX5 is never a wrong answer.
The0perator said:
Funny you say that, I passed a boxer for sale at 6k yesterday... I figured it would either be a total bargain or more likely a total money pit
The 986s are just cheap, because they sold soooo many when they were new, and between IMS, RMS and bore score concerns, plus general Porsche maintenance costs, there's not as much demand now they're 20 years old, I think. Plenty for under £7k on AT.I think you're buying into 20 year old performance car maintenance costs with any Porsche, in a way that you're not so much with the MX-5. The specific failure modes are perhaps somewhat overblown and seem to affect the smaller engines less, however there are likely to be suspension bushes, radiators etc that fail and cost a bit more to fix than the Mazda. But then it's a six cylinder engine, mid-engined and the Porsche badge. I reckon they look fair value to buy and run, for what they are, but that is at a higher price/performance level than an MR-2 or MX-5.
I've had about 2 NA mx5s and 4 NB mx5s. They are mechanically sound but they rust like nothing on earth. The NAs suffer from inner and outer sills and arches going. The NBs suffer from the same plus the front chassis rails rusting inside out, which is often terminal. I've also seen inner arches and strut towers that turn to powder as soon as you touch them and the boot floors fall out of them. Honestly, they have an incredible ability to rust and from what I've seen the NC (mk3) isn't any better.
I had a soft spot for them as they were drop top summer fun with reasonable handling and at the time you could pick them up for buttons so it didn't really matter if I got a year or 6 months then scraped them. I do however think they are very overrated. Handling is ok if the suspension is healthy, engines are all a bit wheezy sounding and lacking power, gear change is better than average but nothing remarkable.
I had a 3l Z4 and while it wasn't really sports car sharp the engine really made it more of an experience and I never worried about it crumbling to bits on the drive. I also had a 986 2.7 Boxster which was head and shoulders above any MX5 and the Z4 but just be aware that when they do need things it can get expensive.
Probably need to hand in my PistonHeads passport for saying this but given a clear stretch of B road I'd rather be in a £5-6k Renault sport product or fiesta ST (if available for that) than an MX5.
I had a soft spot for them as they were drop top summer fun with reasonable handling and at the time you could pick them up for buttons so it didn't really matter if I got a year or 6 months then scraped them. I do however think they are very overrated. Handling is ok if the suspension is healthy, engines are all a bit wheezy sounding and lacking power, gear change is better than average but nothing remarkable.
I had a 3l Z4 and while it wasn't really sports car sharp the engine really made it more of an experience and I never worried about it crumbling to bits on the drive. I also had a 986 2.7 Boxster which was head and shoulders above any MX5 and the Z4 but just be aware that when they do need things it can get expensive.
Probably need to hand in my PistonHeads passport for saying this but given a clear stretch of B road I'd rather be in a £5-6k Renault sport product or fiesta ST (if available for that) than an MX5.
Did this about 12 months ago after selling my gen 2 Boxster as i had spotted a 92 Mk1 MX5 SE on ebay like we had 20 years ago.
Once the initial novelty wore off, you find they are quite slow, relatively noisy and basic - fun in small doses but can be tiring on longer runs. The raspy exhaust note makes you smile, the single skin roof makes you freeze.
As others have said, rust is the biggest issue, mine had rust in both sills which was sorted to MOT standard for £600, the bottom of the front wing had a hole but was a simple swap for a replacement in the same colour for £40. Other than that it was normal maintenance items for a 20yr old car - all for reasonable prices. A new rocker cover gasket was needed as it was leaking, £13 from the local Mazda dealer and fitted myself in 10mins - they are easy to work on if thats what you fancy
There are loads of spares around and an active community for support.
The mk1 is the most iconic, but a good mk3 is probably a good all rounder of comfort and speed at your budget. I had mine over winter which wasn't ideal, got it all sorted ready for the summer and someone made me an offer i couldn't refuse.
Do it anyway - have fun while you can - lots of options for a small 2 seater convertible
Once the initial novelty wore off, you find they are quite slow, relatively noisy and basic - fun in small doses but can be tiring on longer runs. The raspy exhaust note makes you smile, the single skin roof makes you freeze.
As others have said, rust is the biggest issue, mine had rust in both sills which was sorted to MOT standard for £600, the bottom of the front wing had a hole but was a simple swap for a replacement in the same colour for £40. Other than that it was normal maintenance items for a 20yr old car - all for reasonable prices. A new rocker cover gasket was needed as it was leaking, £13 from the local Mazda dealer and fitted myself in 10mins - they are easy to work on if thats what you fancy
There are loads of spares around and an active community for support.
The mk1 is the most iconic, but a good mk3 is probably a good all rounder of comfort and speed at your budget. I had mine over winter which wasn't ideal, got it all sorted ready for the summer and someone made me an offer i couldn't refuse.
Do it anyway - have fun while you can - lots of options for a small 2 seater convertible
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