MX-5 Buying Advice

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MX-5 Buying Advice - Advice Taken Car Is Now Mine!

Right, you must be sick of the questions but as we have quite a few mx-5 owners on here it's a great place to ask for advice.

The car in question: Mazda MX5 1.8iS (1999)

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64,000 miles, Full Service-history,Metallic British Racing Green/black cloth/walnut-effect trim, rear (Mazda) fin, front grille, alloys, garaged, just serviced, double airbags, C/L, E/W, E/M, Nardi s/wheel, great drive, lovely condition. UK Car
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I had a look at it today and was impressed. It does have a few nicks but the current owner has touched it up. The only real issue is the roof (pic below) is starting to go a bit funny on one side, and as I don't have a garage I don't want a leaky car. So does this look bad to you:

Roof.jpg


Also the owner before him had the radiator changed, now I've looked up on this and it seems a blocked rad is quite common on the mk2. Driving temps all seemed fine, but there was a warm smell in the car. Now this might of just of been because I had the heaters on full for a second and the owner is a smoker, but do any of you get a warm smell?

I gave the car a general check over today, but are there any specific things that I should really be looking for? There were no obvious leaks, and it all looked in good condition. Service history all checks out, and had a MOT done on monday.

I'll be going back in a day or so to buy as long as the HPI check is all ok (Anyone recommend a decent cheap site, best so far is RAC at £25). But this being the first time I've considered buying private I don't want to make any stupid expensive mistakes.

I've offered him £5,600 for it which he's accepted, I tried to get down to £5,500 but he wouldn't budge. :p I'm happy with that though, especially as it has front fogs and the small rear spoiler. (Never seen front fogs on a mx-5 before :o )

Thanks for any help, and I shall hopefully be the owner by the end of the week.
 
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Looks very clean and the price is very good for an iS of that age.

The hood looks very similar to mine, but that could be just the pic. If you're concerned, take it to a jetwash on your test drive and see if it leaks. They shouldn't normally.

Overall, they're very reliable cars, partly because they're so simple. The key thing I'd suggest you look out for is potential crash damage. So look for odd panel gaps and uneven paint finishes.
Hope to welcome you to the OCUK.mx5 group shortly.
 
Was going to say, front fogs / rear spoiler sure its not a sport lol, looks like they have been added on, look good though.

1.8is is a great spec and mine has been fantastic, no real problems as such just do all the usual checks, service history is important so check that out.

MX5 OCUK meet is deffo needed now :D
 
the roof doesn't look too bad. Although i'd check the rubber allong the sides isn't cracking at all - should be really nice an spongey. The edging of the roof looks a little tired but with a bit of care it will be fine :)

i'm interested in the front fogs thou. Not seen any like that on a mrk2 - the mrk2.5 has them (or space for them) as standard, but the mrk2 didn't so it looks like they have been added in, and done pretty well from the looks of it :)

HPI wise "HPI" is a trade mark, but pretty much any of them that offer a service will be semi decent. The RAC one will be fine, just make sure you run the VIN through from the offset.

So when we meeting then ladies ;)
 
A meet would be a good idea. I can do most weekends, though bear in mind that I'm in London. The first question is going to be "where". Somewhere that is fairly central for us all would be a good move.

More to the point, I really want to see what a turbo MX goes like...
 
I hope you're not talking about me ;) :p

An MX5 meet would be great fun, I think there are about 6 of just on here now? I'm in London too, but I don't mind a little bit of a road trip (certainly on fun back roads ;)).

That MX5 looks great. The window seal can be a bit dodgy as it's where the join is where the roof folds (it's so clever). Mine can leak a little bit if it's torrential rain, but I really mean torrential - still it's so minor that it's not a concern. There's a guy nearby from me that can redo the rubber for me for around £100 if necessary.

As for the warm smell, well the heater could well give that, if the radiator has been replaced I doubt it'll be causing a problem. Put on a front grille when you get it though - it helps protect the radiator a little. I don;'t know why they didn't fit this as standard?

The fogs look good, there are lots of aftermarket front dams that look so much more aggressive... but one thing at a time!! :o
 
Thanks guys, now I just need to sort the insurance out so I can collect it. :D

I had a look at the options sheet for the 1.8iS and sure enough spoiler and front fogs are on there, so it's possible they are genuine mazda parts.

Also you can just about see it on the 1st pic, but the owner has fitted a metal grille to protect the rad. I never noticed that they didn't come with them as standard, seems a bit risky. :o

I already have a few mods in mind to get done, mainly replacing the walnut interior as it's a bit worn. But I'm also tempted to get a new exhaust as I was a bit disappointed with the sound from this one. The 1.8 I drove the other week sounded much cleaner, so I guess that was an aftermarket one.

I can see this car being a big drain on the wallet. :p
 
I've been looking around at MX-5's in this price range, and wasn't too sure if the MK2's would be any good at this price, good to see that there are some good ones about!
 
I didn't realise there were many other MX5 owners on here, count me in for a meet too!

That MX5 looks very nice and I really like the boot spoiler! My 1.8iS is a 1998 and does not have the spoiler or the fogs. As for the roof, my looks very similar. I believe they do shrink somewhat over time and this makes the seals more visible. I am considering buying a new genuine Mazda Mohair roof for mine as I have a couple of small holes, should also look nicer than the Vinyl one. Not a bad price either!
http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/product_info.php/products_id/724

Anyway, get the car, you will love it :)
 
sounds like i'm going to have to bust a groove and get to the RR.... i'm not convoying with you on the way back like the exeter meetWill, no way i'll be able to keep up now!
 
Siliconslave said:
sounds like i'm going to have to bust a groove and get to the RR.... i'm not convoying with you on the way back like the exeter meetWill, no way i'll be able to keep up now!
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:D I can drive gently - besides it's the twisties that are more fun ;) I might be able to overtake ******* in X5s now :p
 
MonkeyMan said:
I've offered him £5,600 for it which he's accepted, I tried to get down to £5,500 but he wouldn't budge. :p I'm happy with that though, especially as it has front fogs and the small rear spoiler. (Never seen front fogs on a mx-5 before :o )
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Im unable to offer you any specific advice as I have never lived with an mx5 for any lenght of time but that seems like a good price for the car, good luck.
 
I would be slightly suspicous of the new radiator as this worrys me.
If the car was run for any length of time with a faulty rad then a bit of cooking was done.
I would by No car that has been run hot.
Now the MX5 owners will say and i would agree that it's more likely road/stone damage that has caused the rad to go but what i want to know is how long was it dodgey.
Look around the engine bay for light brown staining caused by over heating.
I would give this car some serious treatment in the engine/heat area.
Take it for a really long test drive and then go into town in it. Turn the heater to cold and tickle around trying to cook it up. Keep an eye on the temp gauge especially when you exit the motorway you blast it down.
They are very reliable cars and exellent engines in general but heat is your enemy.

As far as the hood goes it costs very little to rectify a hood and not much more to replace them. If the car is good i wouldn't worry about the hood to much as it doesn't look that bad just normal wear and tear.
 
Thanks guys.

I picked the car up yesterday, after giving it another good check over. It looks to be in great condition, and has a long service history (nothing major).

Cheers for the advice Malc, I read it a bit too late but I can tell you from the driving I did yesterday that temps were fine. I also have the invoice for the Rad and it was changed in 2004 so any problems should have shown up by now. (I hope :o )

I've got a few pics, I need to upload. Plus it rained last night so I'm about to find out if the roof is still ok. :D
 
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