Fun Cheap Convertible for the summer?

The thing to check with Mk2's seems to be the front chassis rails as well as the sills and arches. Rust is the number one problem with both mk1 and mk2s but from reading the MX5 forums a bit the mk2s are really suffering with that front chassis rail corroding.

Trying to find a good one is tricky and, IMHO, you need to try and block out the comments of those who "bought a 100% RUST FREE" car for less than a grand because in my experience that is bull. Yes they might be out there but I also might win the lottery tonight :p

The general consensus is that the owners club or MX5 Nutz are the places to find a good one, I looked at one advertised on Nutz and was less than impressed with its condition. The one I bought was from the MX5 Owners Club (you can sign up to the forums for free) and was amazing mechanically and structurally but the bodywork wasn't the best. If it was perfect I paid the right price for it but in reality I paid OTT and by the time I get the door dings sorted and stick a cambelt on it the thing will stand me a tidy sum.

I think it really is a car you need to take your time buying (I rushed in and bought the first one that wasn't crumbling away hence why I paid too much) and be prepared to see a lot of junk. Personally I wouldn't travel more than an hour or so to see one. I was quite fortunate in that the "100% RUST FREE ON ARCHES AND SILLS!!1" one that I went to see was just 15 minutes away because the first thing I spotted was a whacking great bubble on the NS rear arch :mad:

Anyway, good luck with the search. There are good ones out there!
 
Cheers thats a good detailed post.

I had looked on MX5 Nutz but most for sale seemed to be down south and like you i didn't really want to travel overly far which limits me to around Cheshire/Preston area and possible West Yorkshire at a push.

I tried to sign up to MX5 Owners club forum but it seemed to suggest i needed to speak to the webmaster to get my email whitelisted whatever that means!

Whats become a bit of a hiccup is that the wife has said she's rather not have a blue one or a green one which limits the pool even further as a lot of the ones i saw that seemed good were blue.

It then limits me to silver (i'm not a huge fan), black (as the above i linked to) or Red which seem to be mainly 1.6 models.

I agree its probably best to keep an eye out hoping to get the "right" car, but i tend to be quite impulsive and "want it now". I've been considering upping the budget to allow a few other MK2 models as my original budget seemed to be fairly low for a decent Mk2.
 
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I wanted a black or red (not pink!) one and ended up with British Racing Green :p TBH there are so many factors that can send you walking away from any car at this age that the colour might have to be a compromise but that doesn't stop you checking out all of the ones that are in your chosen colour first.

MX5OC sign ups are manually confirmed so you may have to wait a while, I think mine took 3 or 4 days to be authorised.

I wouldn't be put off by a 1.6 at all. As has been said as long as it isn't a 90bhp then there isn't much difference between the 1.6 and 1.8. Even the 90bhp isn't meant to be truely awful to drive because it has the same torque as the 115bhp... not that I'd recommend one though.

Assuming we are talking mk1's Mariner blue is a very popular colour and looks fantastic IMO, Red looks great as long as it hasn't gone pink, black looks great when polished up, British Racing Green looks pretty good and really suits the car... but I would say that ;). Silver... It can look OK but the two silver ones I looked at were suffering from lacquer peel (I think these are the only mk1's that have lacquered paint) in a major way. White looks ok, doesn't really jump out for me but I do see a tidy mk1 in white everyday on my way to work and it does look pretty smart.
 
Laguna Blue is the colour to go for, Mariner blue is horrid IMHO. My neighbour has a Laguna Blue 1.8 S Special import and it's very nice even though the paint is a bit tatty up close.
 
Sorry i meant the red mk2 models were 1.6 so only 90bhp. I think that whilst they might not be awful i'd always be left wondering "what if" although i suppose they might be worth a test.

As mentioned i can't see many Mk1's (except in BRG which i agree looks good but not to the wife), the only ones i've seen in other colours seem to be pretty junky or modified to a point i don't like them.
 
Marvt74 said:
Sorry i meant the red mk2 models were 1.6 so only 90bhp. I think that whilst they might not be awful i'd always be left wondering "what if" although i suppose they might be worth a test.

As mentioned i can't see many Mk1's (except in BRG which i agree looks good but not to the wife), the only ones i've seen in other colours seem to be pretty junky or modified to a point i don't like them.
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Mk2 1.6's aren't 90bhp :p That was only the latter mk1's. Confusing as hell I know but mk2 1.6's are 110bhp!

I showed pictures of the one I was buying to my wife, she came and picked it up with me and it was only the following day she said "It's green... I thought it was black!" :p

You don't want a 90bhp MX5 and you don't need to buy one
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Yup, far too many proper 1.6's and 1.8's out there to settle for the lower power one.
 
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Oh right, i must've misread about those then. Am i right in thinking its the ones between '94 and '98 then that are 90bhp?
 
Right, i think i'm getting there now.

To be honest it's looking like a MK2 is more likely anyway at the moment, providing i can fit into them better than i could a MK3!
 
Yeah I do miss being able to jump in and put the roof down and have a blast when the weather's nice, but running two cars became impractical for me so I don't really pine for it or have the desire for another one at this stage. :)
 
That sounds familiar. I love getting in my one and having a blast with the roof down but using it day to day in the rain to get to work and back is a bit of a chore so I've relegated it purely to weekend / leisure driving now which is what I bought it for in the first place.

If/when I need another everyday car I'm not sure what I'll do with it but that is a while off yet anyway.
 
Well i rang about the above car, turned out it was my wifes cousins husband selling it who's a mechanic (small world!)

Hopefully that means it should be fairly sound and trustworthy but i'll go look at it later.
 
Marvt74 said:
Well i rang about the above car, turned out it was my wifes cousins husband selling it who's a mechanic (small world!)

Hopefully that means it should be fairly sound and trustworthy but i'll go look at it later.
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Or you'll become one of 'those' buyers who makes the guy's life a misery by calling him every time the slightest thing goes wrong with it. :p
 
One other question although i'm not sure if its best opening a new thread as its quite different.

I've been playing around with insurance quotes (as you do) and so far the cheapest way to do it is to put the car in the wifes name (as she has 9yrs no claims and i have none as we share a car and she uses it day to day), insure it in her name and put me as a named driver. However theres an option to set myself as the "Main" driver of the policy (so not the usual insurance named driver trick)

Can anyone think of any issues doing it this way?

Also think i may have to rethink the car above, as its a limited edition Phoenix model the insurance is £200 higher than a regular model of similar spec.
 
If it's your car - even though it gives the option to select a "main driver" - I wouldn't.

You won't accrue any NCB in this instance, which will only make it more difficult for you.

Try Admiral/Elephant/Bell, and do it in your name, and put the missus on as a named driver.
 
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