Would a MX5 NB daily driver be a good idea?
Discussion
Rough101 said:
I bought a brand new one in 2000 and put 80,000 miles on it.
Has a front wheel bearing changed, that was it other than servicing, tyres and brakes. I did run a hard top October to January though.
Glad to hear that it’s still going strong, I have read that the earlier mk2s are a bit more resilient to rust? If I end up going with one I would be running a hardtop till the nice summer weather hits.Has a front wheel bearing changed, that was it other than servicing, tyres and brakes. I did run a hard top October to January though.
LesMcQueen said:
I haven’t checked the market lately but with a £6k budget I would expect you can find a mint example! If you’re not confident on what to look for definitely get someone who does to check it out. Even if the bodywork looks perfect it can still be hiding nastiness underneath.
My current car was a gift from my Wife who paid £700 for it. Sadly it needed a lot of work, think it was about £3k to get the welding and paint done by a reputable garage (beware that not all places will actually do the work that is needed even if the end result looks good, if the rust isn’t dealt with it will come back). But if you find a good car you won’t need that and hopefully gives an idea of worst case repair.
Absolutely great cars to drive, even better when the roof is off!
It would be my first car if I went with one. Although I haven’t test driven one yet so I still can’t be 100% sure if they are for me but based off of everyone’s opinions on the driving experience I am pretty excited to test one out. Also out of all the MX5s in my opinion the NB is the best looking!My current car was a gift from my Wife who paid £700 for it. Sadly it needed a lot of work, think it was about £3k to get the welding and paint done by a reputable garage (beware that not all places will actually do the work that is needed even if the end result looks good, if the rust isn’t dealt with it will come back). But if you find a good car you won’t need that and hopefully gives an idea of worst case repair.
Absolutely great cars to drive, even better when the roof is off!
jimmytheone said:
Check the front chassis rails. That's where NB's go the worst. Then check everywhere else!
My NA has lived outside for nearly 14 years, i did the sills a few years ago but i've got a restomod and some ITBs planned
What's your daily commute like?
If it involves motorways or dual carriageways the car can feel very small compared to modern stuff!
My 10 mile commute is across B-roads and single trackers where its bloody brilliant, even in town small roundabouts can be fun...
really easy to park too, and lots of room in multi-storey car parks because the car's so small.
If i was buying again, i'd probably look for a car with air-con, really useful for de-misting windows - mine doesnt have it and my hood leaks like a sieve so in wet weather it can become a bit misty inside!
Thanks for that advice! My daily commute is 2 and a half miles on a dual carriageway, so not too bad. Although I can take an alternative route but it does work out to a bit of a further distance though. My NA has lived outside for nearly 14 years, i did the sills a few years ago but i've got a restomod and some ITBs planned
What's your daily commute like?
If it involves motorways or dual carriageways the car can feel very small compared to modern stuff!
My 10 mile commute is across B-roads and single trackers where its bloody brilliant, even in town small roundabouts can be fun...
really easy to park too, and lots of room in multi-storey car parks because the car's so small.
If i was buying again, i'd probably look for a car with air-con, really useful for de-misting windows - mine doesnt have it and my hood leaks like a sieve so in wet weather it can become a bit misty inside!
andburg said:
Can’t see why not if you get a solid one.
No different to daily driving a mk4 if you fit a decent modern head unit
Was looking up some apple car play head units earlier funny enough. Any idea on how good the speakers are in em? I do love my music so it would be nice to have decent sound.No different to daily driving a mk4 if you fit a decent modern head unit
LesMcQueen said:
I’ve found the thread I started on mine.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I need to drive it more. Had the suspension refreshed this year. Done about 700 miles since the MOT in March (madness)!
That is a beauty! That colour really works with the NBs. Definitely one of my favourite colours on them as well as the crystal blue metallic.https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I need to drive it more. Had the suspension refreshed this year. Done about 700 miles since the MOT in March (madness)!
LesMcQueen said:
Controversial about the looks but I agree! Go for the 1.8 engine though, no real difference in terms of running costs but much better performance. My 1st MX5 was a 1.6.
Yeah I will try and go for the 1.8 although the 1.8 is around a grand more to insure at £5200 a year 
. Still works out cheaper than the route I was going to go down with a 1 series and a black box 
jimmytheone said:
The standard speakers are pretty rubbish, some NBs came with speakers built into the headrests - i dont know the quality but it may be worth budgeting for upgraded speakers as well the head unit.
Having recently got a massive subwoofer in my subaru (yeah, i know
), i looked into finding a sub to fit to the mazda - some slimline ones are available to fit either under or behind the seat, or some put it on the back shelf but to me thats an invitation for thieves.
If you really want to go to town you could look into dynamat, or similar. The aim is the reduce noise/ vibration in the doors so you can hear your speakers better.
https://www.dynamat.com/applications-industries/au...
Or just turn the volume up!
Having recently got a massive subwoofer in my subaru (yeah, i know
), i looked into finding a sub to fit to the mazda - some slimline ones are available to fit either under or behind the seat, or some put it on the back shelf but to me thats an invitation for thieves.If you really want to go to town you could look into dynamat, or similar. The aim is the reduce noise/ vibration in the doors so you can hear your speakers better.
https://www.dynamat.com/applications-industries/au...
Or just turn the volume up!
Yeah definitely would have to upgrade the speakers and if i did that might as well add some sound deadening when fitting the speakers. From what i’ve seen the speakers in the door are a weird oval kind of shape but i have seen someone fit a kind of adapter made from some mdf for standard circular speakers. Also a sub would be nice but maybe an amp may need to be introduced? Would be tricky finding somewhere to put it I would imagine?
jimmytheone said:
I'll see if i can find the details of the sub i was looking at but other options are:
Headunit with a decent built in amp - you can get a double-din replacement fascia - or
Amp behind one seat, sub behind the other
I think my NA speakers were round, NB's may be different or it could just be a different grille and behind it its a normal round one?
eta - dont add too much weight
I am a bit lighter than the average male so I reckon I could get away with a bit more! Headunit with a decent built in amp - you can get a double-din replacement fascia - or
Amp behind one seat, sub behind the other
I think my NA speakers were round, NB's may be different or it could just be a different grille and behind it its a normal round one?
eta - dont add too much weight
georgeyboy12345 said:
I had an NB 1.8i as a daily driver back in 2010 when I was 24 that I ran for 3 years, but that was nearly 13 years ago and rust wasn't such an issue back then as they were newer.
I wouldn't daily one now and I wouldn't let one live outside either, it'd be in a garage when I'm not using it and it'd be SORN'ed in winter, mainly because of rust and leaky soft tops.
In terms of practicality, when you are younger it doesn't matter so much, you can find a way around or get a mate to help you if you need a car with space or whatever.
Also, I wouldn't get one if I was only 17 - insurance will be an absolute killer as they are RWD and do 0-60 in 8 seconds. Insurance on my MX-5 when I was 24 was about £450 a year.
Hi again george, yeah insurance is a killer. Every car I have looked at such as the cars you recommend in my other, I got cheap quotes with a black box or starting from 4k onwards for non black box. Been trying loads of cars. Definitely don’t want a black box, I do believe I am sensible enough to drive reasonably although that’s what probably every 17 year old says. I wouldn't daily one now and I wouldn't let one live outside either, it'd be in a garage when I'm not using it and it'd be SORN'ed in winter, mainly because of rust and leaky soft tops.
In terms of practicality, when you are younger it doesn't matter so much, you can find a way around or get a mate to help you if you need a car with space or whatever.
Also, I wouldn't get one if I was only 17 - insurance will be an absolute killer as they are RWD and do 0-60 in 8 seconds. Insurance on my MX-5 when I was 24 was about £450 a year.
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