New car for my girlfriend - MX5?

iaind

iaind

iaind

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Morning all

My GF currently has a 1.2 2008 Clio which is generally fine and cheap to run, with the exception of a few little french electrical niggles.

Her main issue with it is boredom really - she's frustrated with the hairdrier engine trying to get up hills and it's a fairly base spec model so doesnt have many toys. Shes looking to sell the Clio (which I reckon is worth about 2k) and add another couple of k on top to get something more fun and interesting. She's not after anything hugely powerful and still wants it to be relatively cheap to run.

I immediately thought of the MX-5, I've never owned or driven one myself but I know they have a reputation for being really good fun as well as being reliable. She really likes the idea of a soft top and doesnt need 4 seats so long as the boot is useable for a bit of shopping. Do you think I'm on the money here, or is there something better for about 4k?

On the subject of the MX-5 specifically, what should I be looking out for? It seems that 4k buys the top end of the Mk12 and some nice Mk23s - which are better buys? If she was buying a Mk1 I'd probably suggest to drop the price as the ones up near 4k are just the silly low mileage ones.

Any advice appreciated :)
 
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MK1 and MK2 are pretty much the same mechanically, the MK1 will only ever go up in value so get one that's had the sills sorted properly, enjoy it for a few years and you'll probably sell it for equal or more than you paid.
 
MX5's are brilliant and i'd recommend them to anyone, my wife has had 2 the first a base spec 1.6 mk2.5 and then a top spec 2.0 MK3.

If you can i'd really try and get into a MK3 shape if it's her daily car as they are a world apart for comfort as they're 15 years newer in design than the mk1 or 2.

With the mk1 look out for rust around the sills and on the mk2 rust on the sils and the front chassis legs, you have to be really really careful especially with mk2's as they rust from inside the sils and front frame rails can appear not too bad but end up being terminal pretty easily. As silly as it sounds when buying one its worth getting a cheap borascope to put down the drain holes at the back to see how bad it is in there. So for that alone i'd recommend getting a mk3 as they don't seem to suffer the same fate.
 
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Howard said:
Rust.
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Any particular places? Guessing from Janesy's post below that the sills are a problem?

Janesy B said:
MK1 and MK2 are pretty much the same mechanically, the MK1 will only ever go up in value so get one that's had the sills sorted properly, enjoy it for a few years and you'll probably sell it for equal or more than you paid.
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Thats interesting, I thought they were completely different cars! The Mk2 looks a bit more modern and seems nicer inside, but it's a good point about the value
 
I can't comment on Mk1s or Mk2s as I've never owned one and only driven them briefly (and there are loads on here who have done both). But I managed to grab my Mk3 2.0 for 3.2k with 58k on it, so don't rule yourself out.

The mk3 for me was just easier to commute in. Albeit it was crying out for some suspension modification if you wanted to drive it fast(er), but is really comfortable standard on a commute.
 
Oh hang on am I getting confused with the Mk1/2 thing? When I say Mk2 I'm talking about the 2006>, the one hammond raced a dog with on TG. Is that a Mk3?

Edit - yes, wikipedia confirms I'm a moron. OP updated. We're looking at cars around the 2004 - 2006 age which spans Mk2 and Mk3
 
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Oh yeah the mk3 we had the stock suspension is pretty naff, we had the 'sport' with the bilstein dampers but the stock springs are rubbish so we got them swapped out for some -30mm lowering springs which made it far more planted and nicer to drive.
 
Rusty rear arches can spring up on the early mk3's. Plus if your going to be sitting at 70 for any length of time, a 6 speed box would go amiss, although not a deal breaker.
 
It'll just be used for shorter journeys around town, local days out and stuff. We have the big wafty saab for long journeys :)

Is a sport model worth looking out for? seems to have a bit more kit like leather?
 
iaind said:
It'll just be used for shorter journeys around town, local days out and stuff. We have the big wafty saab for long journeys :)

Is a sport model worth looking out for? seems to have a bit more kit like leather?
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Yes well worth it imo, also the BOSE sound system is a lot better than the standard.

This makes me really miss our old one :( was such a cracking car
 
Probably a question thats difficult to answer - how do you think she'd react to me pinching it some of the time and leaving her with the Saab? :D

Have to admit I love the idea of them, would never want to run one myself as they're just not comfortable and practical enough for my needs.. having one in the household should be good :)
 
Give it a try, the mk3's traded some of the lightness in for increased comfort. Now I'm not talking wafty Saab comfort but like me before buying having never overly driven one, you'd probably be pleasantly surprised
 
It'd be fine, that's what i used to do as i had a focus diesel at the time as i was doing 80 miles a day and we'd swap every now and then so i could give it a hoon! Also we always tended to go out in the weekends in the MX5 (unless it was to B&Q...) we even went for a weeks holiday to the lakes in it! Just take soft bags and no suitcases :p
 
Does she deffo not need the use of 4 seats? My mum thought she didn't need 4 seats but every now and again she will need to borrow my car as she does infact need more than the 2 seats she has. If i didn't have my car i would imagine it would be abit of an annoyance.
 
Thats the plan in seriousness - use it for days out at weekends, taking a picnic up to dartmoor and that sort of thing. There'll be occasions she needs a couple more seats so she can just take my car for that
 
sanaxe1 said:
Does she deffo not need 4 seats or is she thinking "oooooh shiney new car?" My mum thought she didn't need 4 seats but every now and again she will need to borrow my car as she does infact need more than 2 seats.
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Nah not really. The only times they get used in her Clio is when she gets roped into giving workmates lifts everywhere, something which she's quite happy to say "sorry, no space!" to. Like I said, she can use mine for days she needs more space and I'll take the MX-5 for a hoon :)
 
I bought my wife a MK3.5 a few years back. We keep considering changing it, but she loves it so much and really doesn't want to change. It was me who suggested the MX5 in the first place, she wasn't convinced coming from an A4 but she has really grown attached to it now and in weather like this adores the whole roof down thing. She drives other cars and they all feel numb and dull and she loves getting back into her MX5. It's over 60K miles now, she had it brand new and though I keep asking her if she wants something else, she is happy to run the MX5.

They aren't super fast but they are fun and when set up properly provide great driving. The brakes are superb, steering when set up well is super as is the gearbox. If your girlfriend wants something fun she will struggle to find much better. I still get a smile when I drive it and though at first it feels slow once you get acclimatised to it you realise just how much fun and how nimble they are.
 
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