Is the MX5 the new Mondeo?

Phil W said:
Can you really get a *good* MX-5 for sub £1k?
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Yes, there are 3 pages of sub £1k MX-5/Eunos Roadsters on PH.

Granted they aren't going to be minters, some might have a bit of rust or tatty wheels but will be straight, with tax and test and drive brilliantly.
 
The Running Man said:
Honda S2000 = expensive parts, highly stressed engine worth probably £2000-4000? You can probably pick up a used 1.6 or 1.8 for an MX5 for about 500£ or less? And a cheaper gearbox too....
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The gearbox is bulletproof, it's not going to go wrong unless you abuse it. Quite why the cost of an S2000 gearbox is relevant to the comparison I don't know.

What do you mean by "highly stressed"? The engine, brand new will set you back a few notes but it's not like they have a shelf life. They are fit for purpose and not what I would call 'stressed'. You can FI a stock f20c and it will be quite happy with it, in stock form, maintained and not abused it's not going to need replacing or rebuilding just because.

It's a high revving engine with the engineering to let it run like that all day long (Fiber Reinforced Metal liners for example). It's not stressed.

Some parts can be quite expensive and I have no doubt on the whole the MX5 can have more overall parts bought for less. That's not to say ALL S2000 parts are prohibitively expensive like some premium brands, they just aren't.

You will never run an S2000 on the budget you can an MX5, but that is more a testament to how cheaply you can run an MX5, not how expensive an S2000 is.

I ran a Ford Focus for 5 years, the S2000 has not cost me any-more to maintain other than tyres. Servicing is no more expensive than any A to B car, nothing fancy to go wrong electronically, there are a few bugbears that can creep up on you if you do not get ontop of them (Bushes and adjustment bolts for example). I'm not sure where the perception that an S2000 is closer to supercar running costs than run-about costs comes from.

Just because you can spend 5 grand on a Mugen hard-top or a cool half million on a Spoon washer fluid filler cap sock does not mean all parts costs this much :p
 
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Because at 100,000miles or 150,000 miles like an old MX5 i reckon if used properly the gearbox will need fixing in a couple of them its just how it goes when cars get to that age and milage. Synchros go, its just part of the old car thing tbh.

So your telling me that the 2 litre isnt a stressed unit? i think it is, and its a very complex unit that as i said at 100,000 or more miles - if it needs any work, its going to be very expensive very quickly.
 
My colleage just offloaded his 13 ish year old MX5 to WBAC for £200. We all winced when we heard.

The online quote was £700 and then when he got there told him they would only pay £200 as it had a little bit of rust. Daylight robbery if you ask me...
 
The Running Man said:
Because at 100,000miles or 150,000 miles like an old MX5 i reckon if used properly the gearbox will need fixing in a couple of them its just how it goes when cars get to that age and milage. Synchros go, its just part of the old car thing tbh.

So your telling me that the 2 litre isnt a stressed unit? i think it is, and its a very complex unit that as i said at 100,000 or more miles - if it needs any work, its going to be very expensive very quickly.
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Carbon syncros in the gearbox from 2002 onwards I believe.

A stressed unit is something like an Evo FQ400 with a stupid-low service interval. If it was that stressed it would blow up the second you went near it with forced induction, fact is you can chuck a blower on it and put 300 to the wheels without touching a single thing on the engine. Optionally swap out the clutch, chuck an uprated fuel pump on, an ECU and a map and you are good to go. If it was stressed it would melt doing this, but many people do, and it does not?

The S2000 has a very reasonable service interval (once yearly unless you are doing moon mileage and hit distance before time) which is not characteristic of a high maintenance highly stressed engine. Earlier S2000s were a little more prone to oil loss but some revisions helped in later models. For comparison mine uses next to no oil between services.

You do not need to look after an F20c more than you would any other performance cars engine.

Plenty of people with 100K+ mileage on original engines and gearboxes.

Why is an F20c going to be more wildly more expensive if things go wrong? Specifics? It's not that complex of an engine, I am competent enough with a spanner and adjusted my own valves quite easily. I am quite happy to accept opinion backed up with fact. I will also quite happily concede the differential is the weakest link in the transmission setup, it's not built for drag racing and constant abuse. It's not a chocolate fireguard either, it's not going to break under normal use.
 
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DM said:
But.... heres the thing, you need people like that so the rest of can get a living.
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I just don't understand what possibly could have been going through his mind to make £200 seem like a good deal? Especially how they got him down there on the principal of offering him more than three times that much which still probably wasn't enough.

Legalized mugging of the 'misguided'/stupid :(.
 
He just didn't want the hassle of selling.

There are used car garages within a few minutes walk of his house though. I reckon he'd have at least doubled his money if he'd asked at any one of them without even starting to haggle.
 
Biggest problem with the s2000 is for most young males the insurance is actually insane, If that wasn't the case I really do think we would see more being owned and spec'd in these parts.

The MX5 is pretty much within anyone's reach budget wise. Be it their daily or weekend toy.
 
well okay iu just went on ebay.com and searched for f20C most are at $4000 used with maybe some bits. $3000 for a long block.

Mazda 1.6 engine $300. Some at $500 and 700 with tranny..

Thats what im talking about.Yes i know the honda engine is more powerful, but everything costs so miuch more...
 
You should not NEED to replace an F20c block though so what is your point?

How many engines do most cars go through in their lifetime? 1.

I totally and utterly fail to see how the cost of an engine is a comparison point? If consumables were 10x the price and an indicator stalk cost you a grand I could see your point. But they are not and do not so the only thing you seem to of brought up so far is the 2 parts very very very few people would ever need to replace - The engine and gearbox.

"Everything costs so much more"

....because an F20c engine costs more than a Mazda lump? What are you smoking?

VALID arguments for an S2000 being less accessible:
Insurance can be prohibitive
Higher purchase prices
Less of them around (comparatively)
Arguably more likely to fall off the side of the world on fire and explode

INVALID arguments for an S2000 being less accessible:
The engine costs quite a lot to replace entirely

We get it, you can run an MX5 on 50 pence and a bit of string but I have never in my life heard someone discount a car because of the cost of an engine.
 
Don't take what I am debating to mean if you can run an MX5 you can run an S2000 equally, because you cannot.

The point is however than S2000s are not the polar opposite of an MX5 on budgetary requirements and maintenance. You will not get the same for your money, far from it - But you don't need 5 grand in the bank for an engine change and 4 figures a year to service it.
 
Will Gill said:
build quality and perception more than anything, as I already said there is a limit to how stupid I'll make myself look just to enjoy a spirited driving car.

I doubt the Z3 is leagues apart from the five on any level but for me it's a more appealing package and doesnt look like cheap, cuddly and ultimately gay

horses for courses
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I did not realise you were so self concious what with the ski image and what not! :p
 
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