986 or mk3 mx5

[Loafers92]

ATM said:

Loafers92 said:

Almost bought a 986, I still think its almost perfect, but I cant find any without any need of some "tlc", at least where I come from.

Exactly

This is always a problem with these older Porsches. You could probably spend 3,4 or 5 grand on my 996 even though I think it's great. Where do you draw the line? Factor in for an engine rebuild and that's another 4 min or 17 if you go crazy. That's why I keep saying you really have to want one. Lots more cars make more sense. The Porsche may be the cream but the extra expense is disproportionate. In my view .. And I have 2....

Loafers92 said:

Someone I work with is selling a family members mx5 mk2.5 1.8 with an lsd, manifold, bc coilovers and big brake kit, with 45k miles and not a single spot of rust on it. Going to take a look this week and see what it feels like! I might buy it, sell it in the summer and get a 986 later in the year

I'm a sucker for buying cars with a good story. This sounds a screaming buy to me. I'm not too sure about the bad boy mods myself but if the car is sound and a good price then why not?

Loafers92 said:

Alternatively (I seriously need to stop adding cars to my list of candidates) I am also interested in a 130i. I've heard good things about it, and seems like it could be good fun *and* be used for long trips, since the added space is appealing.

No
Never stop adding cars to your list. I have recently been wanting all sorts. Latest craze for me has been a lupo gti. I like BMW. They're my go to brand if I want something or am recommending to less car crazed friends. Anything older than 10 years with a pokey engine should be good from them. The 130i gets lots of love but again for me attracts a premium price which elevates it into a territory price rise where it has a lot of competitors. The 330i seems a better choice if you want a bit if space and is probably cheaper IF you can find a manual. I'm a sucker for a BMW estate and would love an e39 or e36 but finding one which isn't tired is too complicated. For me a BMW is a more average car to sit alongside my Porsche. So for me auto etc are fine. If it was my fun car then maybe I'd be much more inclined to seek out a 130i but really if you want small and nimble a 130i is probably a bit chubby. Remember there are plenty of dads out there who need 4 seats and want nimble so they are willing to pay the 130i premium. In summary a great car but better than a z4 - or if you must have 4 seats there are various fwd cars like Renault sport clios ... And did I mention the ridiculously expensive Lupo gti already?

Well, you definitely have a point there. Everytime I look at a 986, I fall in love all over again, but then I have to remind myself " no you idiot, you want something mostly trouble free, and you want to spend your money either driving or on upgrade parts that are more fun " so for now, the 986 is out of the game.

As for my colleagues dads mk2.5 1.8 mx5: Drove it, liked it, even though the mods aren't my favorite and wanted to buy it right then and there. But the next day, my colleague's brother found out it was for sale and immediately jumped ahead of me and its now his. The brother also has a similar spec one, except it was modified with unpainted mazdazpeed add ons to the bumpers, which look naff unpainted, and would now be for sale. I figured I could test drive that too, maybe I'd like it, I thought: so it was avery nice sounding little thing (IL motorsports back box and cat? plus some sort of intake which made it sound like it was on ITB's and oh my God the sound it made). Bilstein dampers, which seemed still ok. But why do these mx5s have this high seating position? I'm a 1.67 and it felt like I was sitting on it, instead of in it.

I work in a garage that works on classic cars and race cars, and whilst im no mechanic expert (far from it) I managed to put it up on a lift and take a poke around- All sane, except for severe bubbling under the rear of the sill, between the door and wheel arch. Signs of filler. Dreams shot.

Told him I'd pay less than what his brother was asking for, because this was around 1 k of repairs. And that was that.


Which brings me to where I'm at today: Found a very tidy looking mk2 1.8 with 60 thousand miles, kw v1 coilovers, yokohama advan ad08 tires, and from the pictures the seller has sent, no rust (a summer car apparently). As I've said before, i'm in Lyon, France. This mx5 ive just mentioned is in Switzerland, so I'd have to import it, and whilst in theory its ok, it might be different once I'm actually importing it, which got me to consider, once again, other options available around here:

330/328/325 ci- Some lower mileage ones available, they look nice, and surely will sound great. Not the little b-road/light track toy I wanted, but I wonder if they can be tweaked easily to do both, in a fun way.

130i- found a couple with close to 120k miles- heard good things about them, but wonder the same as above.

944- Ah, of course I had to find my way back into a Porsche offering, didn't I? There is one very close to me, that I want to test drive before buying anything. Timing chain is a year old, but its stll on its original clutch at 100k miles. Tempted, because I hear it's fun to drive, like a bigger mx5, but 4 seats, an actual boot that I can use, and I like the looks of it, especially with a 944 turbo front.

mk3 2.0 mx5- I'd have to import this from Germany for it to be within budget, but Its still appealing. Tuneable, with manifolds, exhaust, freeing up some hp for not that much money.

Mk1 tt quattro 225- I know, I know. Why? Because I like the way it looks, and on paper it makes sense:225 hp, 4wd, small. But I heard it wouldnt be very suited to what I want out of a car. So I'm test driving one this week.

I'm even considering a flipping rx8 with a rebuild done less than 5k miles ago (192 version though)- They look good, 4 seats, light, handle great, and want revs. Bork factor is high though, and mpg (I commute around 7 miles to work and back) must be absolutely depressing.


ATM, I *love* the way the lupo GTI looks. And seriously tempted too by a 197 clio. Just want to make the jump to RWD (except for the tt), but maybe I should be considering the 197 after all? Will try to find one to test drive.

Phew, that was a long read, sorry. And a long,sad amount of posts in which I change my mind endlessly. I hope one day, this thread will help someone make up their mind on what to get!

[Loafers92]

Bobtherallyfan said:

Bit late to the party on this thread but have you considered a MK3 MR2? Prices seem stupidly low for a car that is such fun to drive without risking your licence.....I actually enjoy driving mine more than my 911 for short sharp blasts.

I drove a mk3 MR2 a couple of years ago, an old, 1k example. It was quite nice, like the mk2.5 mx5 I drove that had BC racing coilovers (the mr2 was stock). Liked it, just can't make sense of its luggage space- Itd be my only car, and whilst I have considered buying it as a toy and some sort of daily beater, I cant find anything within the budget Id have left after the mr2 unfortunately. Nice cars!

Edited by Loafers92 on Wednesday 6th February 21:15

[Loafers92]

DRH986 said:

A few years ago my son had an unmodified MX5 Mk 2.5 1.8 Sport with LSD and about 146 BHP IIRC. I had a 986 Boxster S at the time but as somebody earlier said, the MX5 was much more fun to go to the shops or for a local hoon. It felt much more alive and go-kart like and you could chuck it about in a way that just isn't possible in the Boxster at relatively sane speeds. That said, I'd take the Porsche every time for a Euro trip.

I looked at getting one myself but came to the conclusion that finding a truly rust free car was virtually impossible. My son's looked ok superficially but sills, rear arches and front suspension mounts were getting close to MOT failure point. I recall having a conversation about the rust issues with a work colleague whose wife owned a Mk 2.5 from new, garaged and under 30k miles. When he had a good look underneath, he was horrified to find the sills were well on the way and sold the car.

Christ, that's depressing. Shame, because these are nice little cars. Why can't Japan, an Island, build something that'll resist salt?

[V8RX7]

I'm pleasantly surprised that there are some balanced posts in this thread.

I'm a huge MX5 fan (of the MK1 particularly) but I've recently bought a MK3.5 and if you are a real driver you will have to get it remapped to sort out the throttle.

When doing so it's foolish not to change the manifold (removing the CAT) at the same time - that will cost approx £750-1000, you'll probably want to upgrade the suspension too but that can wait. You'll then have a 180bhp, RWD car with LSD that's fun to drive and you can thrash in the first 3 gears without exposing your licence too badly.

The Boxster does drive nicer and feels a more premium product but the bills are far higher as are it's limits and on UK roads I can't have fun in one until I'm well into licence losing speeds.

A MK1 MX5 is far more fun but also far more compromised (scuttle shake, rust, no electronic aids) as is a MK3 MR2 which is arguably a better car but again, IMO less fun to drive on the road

[Loafers92]

Test drove a mk1 tt quattro (180bhp) and its a fun little car. Not as fun as an mx5 though. Also drove an 87 944 with 100 k miles on the clock (odometer was broken at 85 k miles so this is what the seller says). The car hadn't moved in a long time, the interior was just dirty with a bit of condensation in the hatch and a leak from the targa top. Trim wasn't perfect, and the paint had seen better days, but it had a timing chain replacement last year and a clutch less than 20k miles ago (12 years ago). The car was much nicer to drive than I expected. When I drove the mk2.5 1.8 mx5, I wondered where were the 147 bhp, the 944 felt like it had all the 163 bhp. Sounded nice, linear power delivery, gets going after 3k rpm. Owner had it on older, budget tires and we drove in some wet roads and it still felt quite nice to hustle around. You feel it's weight a bit when going into a turn, or maybe it's just the steering. It felt stable and heavy, planted. Very nice car. Quite tempted to get one, as unlike the Audi, it feels like it can take the abuse (owner drives it up and down a rutty dirt road, full of potholes as if they weren't there and leaves it outside all year long under the snow).

Tempted to find one that's in better shape!

[ATM]

Audi always run their sporty model low and stiff. First s line a4 I went in back in 2004 was rock hard and it was brand new. My modern Boxster has standard passive dampers. I've attacked some meaty speed bumps in it at 50 and it just dealt with them. I did aim the one side to miss the bumps and therefore only got one wheel to traverse the bump. I usually go driver side off bump and passenger on if the car just has me in it. I did fail MOT on both lower suspension arms on the passenger side so clearly this isn't good for the car.