help needed finding me an MX5

[mickymellon1]

with everyone (well the majority) singing their praises, I am looking to spend upto £3k on one and ideally pick it up over this weekend / early next week

ideally fsh, newest that I can get, NOT GOLD , suspension upgrades would be nice and nearer to London the better as I dont fancy getting on the train to Scotland to find a lemon

so what can you find (can you please help me out)

am looking at mx5nutz at the mo

[Baryonyx]

There really are a lot about in fair condition (and plenty that are pretty poor). You'll pay top whack now though, with it being summer. I traded my MX5 in to a dealer a couple of weeks ago and it stayed there for about 6 days before i was sold!

You can only really get a feel for the good ones when you see them in person, and more importantly, get a good look at the wheel arches and sills!

[mickymellon1]

Thanks for the reply will bare that in mind

[Jag-D]

Register with MX5nutz and you'll find a varitable gold mine of 5's

[jr123]

How about this, looks decent, just serviced as well as new brakes and tyres. http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2812091.htm

[edo]

Haggling required.


£3,795
2001 MAZDA MX-5 1.8i S 2dr Convertible
Private Seller

30,000 miles, 2 Door Convertible, Red, Petrol, Manual, Twin airbags, Front electric windows & door mirrors, Alloy wheels, Passenger airbag, Rear headrests, Sports seats, Sony Xplode Radio, Tape with 10 disc cd multichanger & remote control, Glass heated rear window, Mazda overmats, 2 owners from new current owner 7 years, bought from a friend who worked at Coventry Mazda, Genuine mileage ultra low mileage as I used it to get to work which is a round trip of 4 miles, Brand new battery. My MX5 has the very responsive 1.8i engine which delivers more power than the 1.6 without drastically effecting the MPG. The car is in fantastic condition inside and out so viewing is highly recommended although there is the odd small mark but then it is a 10 year old car. Any inspection is welcome so what are you waiting for.summer is on it's way! Genuine reason for sale (wife & kids).so someone else can enjoy it (whilst I cry). If you have any questions then please feel free to phone me. £3,795 ONO.

01926 815184
07870 995780

[mickymellon1]

EDO, surely thats £3.5 with haggling or my skills need work

[NiceCupOfTea]

Not up on Mk.2 values but it seems a bit steep to be honest. Also I would question the desirability of a car that has a low mileage as the result of lots of 4 mile runs...

[edo]

mickymellon1 said:

EDO, surely thats £3.5 with haggling or my skills need work

Probably right, but no harm in trying!

[mickymellon1]

went to see two cars, one early mk2 1.6 which was good mechanically but looked a little tired and one late mk2 1.8 with a clutch at the top of its adjustment and crap service history

so looking for a silver mk2 <100k thats service history includes a recentish cambelt change and its clutch isnt on the way out

[Baryonyx]

The clutches in these are a bit funny. They eat slave cylinders according to some. Mine was a bit funny, very stiff and squeaky. I was going to get it looked at before I sold the car, as it was getting on my wick. Mind you, it was probably just my mind playing tricks on me as it had pretty much always felt like that and it wasn't until someone else said "should it squeak like that?" that I started to wonder!

Then you have people who have done 140,000 miles on their original clutch!

An NB (mk2) is the way to go with these IMO. Better interior, better chance of finding a good one.

[JFReturns]

mickymellon1 said:

with everyone (well the majority) singing their praises, I am looking to spend upto £3k on one and ideally pick it up over this weekend / early next week

ideally fsh, newest that I can get, NOT GOLD , suspension upgrades would be nice and nearer to London the better as I dont fancy getting on the train to Scotland to find a lemon

so what can you find (can you please help me out)

am looking at mx5nutz at the mo

If you are looking for an honest MK1 in great condition, may I suggest you check my profile? I'm in Kent, so not far from London.

[Mr MXT]

Nutz tends to be good for modified car sales but IMO if I was looking for a standard car I'd be looking on here and Autotrader.

[edo]

At your budget I dont see the need to be buying one with massive mileage TBH.

Are you prepared to travel, or just looking in London?

Also, does it have to be a Mk2, or can it be a Mk1 also?

Might just get this in budget http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

or

Well under budget, and loads of history

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

or

a load of Mk2's

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

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

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


I'd personally avoid the later 90hp 1.6's.

[Ben3883]

Mine would have been right on the money for you and your budget....but after 6 weeks of people taking the piss and wasting my time I've reinsured and decided to just keep the fker.

Which is absolutely no help to you. Sorry.


What might help is to know that the slave cylinder problem isn't a particularly expensive repair and can be fixed by a garage in a day in the event that it fails (mine did, it wasn't a big deal).

Your biggest issues will be rust and st soft tops...make sure you can't stick a finger through the sills, make sure the roof closes and doesn't whistle at speed and check for mould and other evidence of leaks.

Other than that £3000 is plenty to find a good non-goatst-gold mk2.

[MX-5 Lazza]

edo said:

I'd personally avoid the later 90hp 1.6's.

That only applies to UK Mk1. JDM cars and all 1.6 Mk2 had full-power engines (Mk2 110bhp).

[Riknos]

That ad at the top.. It REALLY gets my goat when people say "genuine UK car, not cheap Import".

We all know imports are better. I'm surprised that someone who knows enough about cars to own a gem like an MX5, can spout such tripe!?

Sorry, not adding to this topic very well. My advice is to keep looking OP! There's hundreds of cars out there, and it's the right time of year to buy for choice (wrong time of year for price mind) so just keep your hair on and look at as many as possible. I looked at about 6 before I bought mine; and I had enquired over the phone over thrice as many as that, and had spent about 6 months looking.. To get a good one you gotta put the time in.

[mickymellon1]

ta all, jumping on a train to take a look at one in the midlands tomorrow

does anyone know how much it is for a service including cambelt (and aux belt, water pump change?)

thanks for all the info and help too - much appreciated

and I am only looking at mk2's at the moment unless I can swing a red mk 1 with watanabes by the missus

[JFReturns]

mickymellon1 said:

ta all, jumping on a train to take a look at one in the midlands tomorrow

does anyone know how much it is for a service including cambelt (and aux belt, water pump change?)

thanks for all the info and help too - much appreciated

and I am only looking at mk2's at the moment unless I can swing a red mk 1 with watanabes by the missus

I would say around £350 to £400. The water pump is quite costly.

[mickymellon1]

thanks