My sister is looking for a new car 4K

Caporegime
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She is using my mums Toyota Yaris at the moment but she needs her own car as she is getting more hours in work.

Now I'm thinking I steer her towards a Mazda MX5 and I get my name on the insurance for the odd drive now and again.

Thoughts?

Her friend owns one and she has always liked it.

Can 4K get a good one?

Any other ideas?
 
I'll probably get some stick for this from the MX5 crowd, but I just find the mk1 is just an old looking banger, very popular with the lads that like to wear their caps backwards and chav the car up, though I don't disagree on the ones that Turbo them.

For me the Mk2/2.5 to this day still looks great and a bit modern looking.

Just my thoughts, if it was me I'd look at Mk2 and onwards.
 
I'll probably get some stick for this from the MX5 crowd, but I just find the mk1 is just an old looking banger, very popular with the lads that like to wear their caps backwards and chav the car up, though I don't disagree on the ones that Turbo them.

For me the Mk2/2.5 to this day still looks great and a bit modern looking.

Just my thoughts, if it was me I'd look at Mk2 and onwards.


This man is, of course, wrong.


:p :D



The mk1 is a classic design and looks much less generic than the mk2, however I think for someone who isn't necessarily an enthusiast and just wants a decent roadster, a mk2 onwards is a better bet. You should be able to get a decent mk2 or even mk2.5 for 4k.


You haven't actually said whether or not she wants one, though :p
 
A mk2.5 will be attainable for 4k.
we got a very nice 'Arctic special edition' example with quite a few extras for 3.2k.

All of the ones we went to view had rusty rear arches. Ours is just starting but it is being remedied soon.

All of the ones we went to view had obvious rust on the chassis rails. the one we got was relatively rust free, the only way you can tell properly is having the under tray off and checking. ours had a little rust toward the rear of one rail but the other rail was shot. it is very difficult to inspect. To remedy, a set of £40 chassis rail repair parts were ordered and welded in. its an engine out job and cost us £500 in labour at mates rates. not a lot of people were willing to do it and those that were wanted close to double.

FYI, this is a car with full mazda main dealer and specialist history, on an average mileage for the year, serviced at sensible intervals.

another thing to check is the drain holes. every single one we viewed apart from ours were blocked. and full of water.


my girlfriend made a similar move from a small economy hatch and did nothing but complain for the first three months.

she came from a 1.2 clio to a 1.8 mx5 and moaned about the petrol costs.
girls like nice cars, they just dont like paying for them.

with our experience in mind, I would suggest that you need to properly want a MK2 and only a MK2 to buy one. If its just on your short-list, then choose something else.
its not really a case of "can 4k get a good one", its more a case of "can we realistically find a trouble free one that isnt about to throw up a huge bill"

Im sure another £1000 would net a decent MK3.
 
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The mk1 is a classic design and looks much less generic than the mk2, however I think for someone who isn't necessarily an enthusiast and just wants a decent roadster, a mk2 onwards is a better bet.

Looks less generic because most have been tarted about, with some "gold BBS Rims"

I'm being unfair, as mentioned, its a car for enthusiast, i'm not fussed on them, and most cars I see has been modified, or has not been looked after and looks ropey.

But moving away from that before I get chased with flaming pitchforks, how far does she travel? Would she need practicality?
 
She mentioned a beetle and a mini...:eek:

My sister has similar tastes and has had both. The beetle was a complete lemon, electrical issues every week. The 2.0 engine drank petrol and was slow as a boat to china due to being designed in the 80s. The mini wasn't too bad, its actually more of a drivers car than you would think even in base spec, but very overpriced for what they are, a Fiesta would be better value.
 
£4k will get you a decent R50 Mini Cooper with the all important Chilli pack and would certainly be more fun to drive than a Yaris. Really fun to drive too in my opinion, especially on country roads.
 
£4k will get you a decent R50 Mini Cooper with the all important Chilli pack and would certainly be more fun to drive than a Yaris. Really fun to drive too in my opinion, especially on country roads.

I always see people mentioning the Chilli pack, what does it actually include and why is it so important?
 
I always see people mentioning the Chilli pack, what does it actually include and why is it so important?

Floor mats
Passenger seat height adjustment
Map pockets
Fog lamps
Interior lamp package
Chrome bumper inserts
16" 5-Star Light Alloy Wheels
Roof Spoiler
Sports Suspension
Brilliant silver interior trim
Half leather sport seats
Leather steering wheel & gearknob

Nothing absolutely earth shattering, but it just makes the car a nicer place to be.
 
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