RE: Sheds of the Week: Mazda MX-5 (Mk1
Discussion
Jam12321 said:
Most cheap e46s are rot boxes as well. Viewed a few 330is with a friend recently, manual gearboxes were slack and awful to use. Comically wobbling away on idle.
Paid £1300 for my 330d. Done 4k in it with no issues, ragged it round Scotland, driven it daily, no problems. Mine's the auto, didn't want a manual 330d, gearbox is fine, leave it in SD and it suits the car perfectly. Steering is brilliant, chassis is perfect, engine is an absolute peach. Arches have slight rust on them, no holes just some slight corrosion, it's 16 years old and £1300. Wouldn't have an auto 330i, found the manual box to be fine. It had an awful oil leak which I had fixed, drivers door handle doesn't work either, but again it was £1300. Ive owned a lot of cheap cars, every sports car I've owned has been bottom of the market, the 330 is 3rd to the ST170 and Leon 225. For the money, I can't think of anything I'd prefer, can't find a 2000 Turbo for the money anymore, and the 2 cheap ones I had weren't as good as the 330. I'll never own another though, it's a horrible car to sell, or more specifically, the people who come to view a cheap 330 are horrible to deal with. As I always say, if you want a new car, work harder and buy one. greenarrow said:
rust. .... It really does put you off owning these, which is a shame as the mechanicals are pretty bombproof and the electrics wont give you any bother.
thing is, after nearly 30 years there are a lot on the road still. on balance something works. and you state it yourself, they're indestructible apart from the rust. I have a lot of affection for the other track favourite, the 1x2, but they consume more ££ in other areas. BMWs have whole rears that fall off and then other bits that cost. There aren't too many cars that cost nothing to run after 10 years. it is incredible the abuse these things can take and still keep going and keep starting first time.aaron_2000 said:
Jam12321 said:
Most cheap e46s are rot boxes as well. Viewed a few 330is with a friend recently, manual gearboxes were slack and awful to use. Comically wobbling away on idle.
Paid £1300 for my 330d. Done 4k in it with no issues, ragged it round Scotland, driven it daily, no problems. Mine's the auto, didn't want a manual 330d, gearbox is fine, leave it in SD and it suits the car perfectly. Steering is brilliant, chassis is perfect, engine is an absolute peach. Arches have slight rust on them, no holes just some slight corrosion, it's 16 years old and £1300. Wouldn't have an auto 330i, found the manual box to be fine. It had an awful oil leak which I had fixed, drivers door handle doesn't work either, but again it was £1300. Ive owned a lot of cheap cars, every sports car I've owned has been bottom of the market, the 330 is 3rd to the ST170 and Leon 225. For the money, I can't think of anything I'd prefer, can't find a 2000 Turbo for the money anymore, and the 2 cheap ones I had weren't as good as the 330. I'll never own another though, it's a horrible car to sell, or more specifically, the people who come to view a cheap 330 are horrible to deal with. As I always say, if you want a new car, work harder and buy one. kellyt said:
aaron_2000 said:
Jam12321 said:
Most cheap e46s are rot boxes as well. Viewed a few 330is with a friend recently, manual gearboxes were slack and awful to use. Comically wobbling away on idle.
Paid £1300 for my 330d. Done 4k in it with no issues, ragged it round Scotland, driven it daily, no problems. Mine's the auto, didn't want a manual 330d, gearbox is fine, leave it in SD and it suits the car perfectly. Steering is brilliant, chassis is perfect, engine is an absolute peach. Arches have slight rust on them, no holes just some slight corrosion, it's 16 years old and £1300. Wouldn't have an auto 330i, found the manual box to be fine. It had an awful oil leak which I had fixed, drivers door handle doesn't work either, but again it was £1300. Ive owned a lot of cheap cars, every sports car I've owned has been bottom of the market, the 330 is 3rd to the ST170 and Leon 225. For the money, I can't think of anything I'd prefer, can't find a 2000 Turbo for the money anymore, and the 2 cheap ones I had weren't as good as the 330. I'll never own another though, it's a horrible car to sell, or more specifically, the people who come to view a cheap 330 are horrible to deal with. As I always say, if you want a new car, work harder and buy one. 
I liked that too, it is right up there with the recant Alfa and, "could think of nothing finer than being taken up the Grand Canal by a big gondolier"What sort of intelligence replaces the oblong front number plate with an ugly square one? About as ugly as the standard square rear plate on the cheapos-eunos.
A Japanese Master Class in lightweight sports cars for the masses & huge SPM (Smiles Per Mile) value, making certain Germanic efforts look mere badge snobbery.
A Japanese Master Class in lightweight sports cars for the masses & huge SPM (Smiles Per Mile) value, making certain Germanic efforts look mere badge snobbery.
ballans said:
I really want to like MX5's but I cannot get comfortable in them. I'm not overly tall at 6ft but have long arms and legs which seems to be the perfect recipe for not finding a good driving position. Mrs Ballans has a 2003 MX5 and I take it for an occasional spin but it frustrates me as I just do not fit.??
Is a discussion on faceache mk1 mx5 bit ref tall fellas in Mx5s, I'm positively a shorty on there at just 6ft 3 are 6ft 5 6ft 7 & 6ft 8 guys on there.Need a dished wheel, some foam out seat base bingo.
kellyt said:
Hello rust my old friend
I've come to weep on your many holes again
Because a brown stain softly weeping
Left it's seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Shouldn't that beI've come to weep on your many holes again
Because a brown stain softly weeping
Left it's seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
"And the vision that was planted in my brain - sill remains - "
?
Edited by defblade on Sunday 4th November 09:49
I bought a cheap mk2.5 from a friend with the intention of adding a turbo. It ended up needing so much work to fix the rust (chassis railes, sills, all wings and the boot) that I sold it for parts. I was impressed with the gearbox and the way that it started on a jump pack first time after 3 years static. It just felt it needed FI to wake it up and less rust!
Jam12321 said:
Most cheap e46s are rot boxes as well. Viewed a few 330is with a friend recently, manual gearboxes were slack and awful to use. Comically wobbling away on idle.
Those two mx5s do look like s
t boxes though.
Those two mx5s do look like s
t boxes though.Rot on an e46 will just be cosmetic though and most of it would probably be sorted with a new pair of front wings, not the major galloping structural rot that affects MX5s. Agree on the manual gearbox point, both the manual BMWs I've had reminded me of changing gear in a Peugeot.
Edited by njw1 on Saturday 3rd November 20:15
Cars i looked at were 04 and 05 plate cars. Both rear arches were full of rust, the underside was showing surface rust and the rear subframe and brake lines were just... rust. That was just what i could see while on the side of the road before i started to dig around on a ramp or axle stands. Both cars looked like they were ready for the scrapyard in my opinion, one had received a lot of money on electrics over the previous year as well.
The rotten MX5 i looked at on behalf of my mother was in similar condition but ten years older than the BMW's.
The rotten MX5 i looked at on behalf of my mother was in similar condition but ten years older than the BMW's.
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