MX-5 help & advice

Meatball

Meatball

Meatball

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MX-5 help & advice (Now purchased)

I'm turning 21 soon and cheaper insurance finally allows me to upgrade to a more fun car. I've always had a soft spot for the Mazda MX-5 (MK1, MK2) and I know they're always recommended on here. Just a few bits of advice needed:

1) I have a private number plate (N19 WMH) that I'll be transferring over to the MX-5. If I understand correctly I can only put my number plate on an N-Reg (1995) or newer?

2) Is the 1.8 engine worth it over the 1.6? I've not driven an MX-5 yet but I do like the idea of going for the 1.8 as I can see myself getting the 1.6 and wanting to upgrade to the 1.8. Insurance cost is not a problem on the 1.8.

3) Am I right in thinking the original MK1 MX-5 qualifies as a classic car?

4) Should I be looking at UK spec or imports?

I have a budget of up to £2500.

Any links to MX-5 forums / specialists websites would be useful.

Thanks for any help :).
 
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1. Correct
2. Depends who you ask. The 1.6 is slightly free'er-revving and more fun to thrash, the 1.8 is more powerful at the end of the day, although not by much. A later 1.8 will weigh more than an early 1.6 so the performance difference will be negligible, up until motorway speeds anyway.
3. Depends which insurance company you ask. I have a classic policy.
4. If your insurance isn't much higher for an import (it sometimes can be) then there's no reason not to go for one - they're generally better specified, although history is likely to be more patchy. Just find a car matching your requirements in good condition really.

£2k will get you a mint mk1, £2.5k will get you a reasonable earlier mk2. I myself much prefer the mk1, it's a much more classic design and it's more raw and fun :)
 
Howard said:
2. Depends who you ask. The 1.6 is slightly free'er-revving and more fun to thrash, the 1.8 is more powerful at the end of the day, although not by much. A later 1.8 will weigh more than an early 1.6 so the performance difference will be negligible, up until motorway speeds anyway.
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Guess I'll have to test drive both and see which I prefer. The 1.6 is a lot more common than the 1.8 which seem to be few and far between.

Howard said:
3. Depends which insurance company you ask. I have a classic policy.
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I'll be trying Adrian Flux for quotes, I've only used comparison sites which I know aren't ideal for cars like the MK1 MX-5.


Howard said:
£2k will get you a mint mk1, £2.5k will get you a reasonable earlier mk2. I myself much prefer the mk1, it's a much more classic design and it's more raw and fun :)
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I prefer the MK1 as well but I only have 1995, 1996 & 1997 MK1's to consider so I can transfer my plate.
 
Howard said:
£2k will get you a mint mk1
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Is this really still the case? When I was briefly looking £2,000 was about the going rate for any MK1 that didn't have sills your could pick apart with your bare hands (this includes imports).
 
Yes, I'd expect a clean, rust-free example for £2k. £1500 should get you a decent one too tbh, £1k is "slightly shabbier example but mechanically pretty solid" territory.
 
Peter Diffey said:
Dont get a 1.6 if you are going for a UK car from 1995 as they will be 90BHP ones.

www.mx5nutz.com

Brilliant forum and has a for sale section......
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That's not much more than my current 1.25 Fiesta :o. I'm not in a rush to buy, I'll wait for a good example.

Imports appear to add quite a lot to insurance quotes, although I haven't tried specialist brokers yet.

Another nice example, although very expensive! Paint looks like it has lots of swirls in.
 
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Peter Diffey said:
I found that imports made a big difference on mine too, must be a younger driver thing.

Just noticed you live in Uxbridge too, hello :D
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Great area to be for insurance, not! :p.

Imports seem to add around £500 to my quote.

I really like that Berkeley SE linked above. Only thing putting me off is the dealer is in central London making the test drive a bit awkward.
 
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Another vote for mx5nutz.com, good community there.

I've been toying with the idea of getting a mk1 for awhile, and IIRC the mk1 1.6 puts out 115bhp vs. the 1.8's 130 bhp, whereas with the mk2 the 1.6 is much less - 89 bhp I believe.

As for imports, I used confused.com to get a flavour of price conference between the UK model and the Eunos. The Eunos was consistently more expensive, and by enough to convince me that the UK model was the option I'd be looking at.
 
Bad news :(. My current insurer, Aviva, will not insure me on an MX-5 until I'm 21 (19th November) and I can't afford to loose the extra 1NCB I *hopefully* get in December. I knew I should have got a bonus accelerator policy with Admiral group, I would be renewing now vs. December :(.
 
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What a ridiculous requirement. Insurance companies really confuse me sometimes, It's not like a MX5 is a fire breathing monster of a car :confused:.

Just to rub salt in the wounds, the Admiral group are more than willing to insure under 21s on any MX5 (including imports and the BBR Turbos for a fraction more than a UK car).
 
UK cars are coming out at around £1400 fully comp at the moment on Bell quotes. Hmm. I can't decide whether I can justify it. See if I can get a classic policy cheaper.
 
I'm sure not that long ago you were adamant that new cars were amazing - will you really be happy with an MX5 that's over a decade old?

In fact, didn't you buy a brand new Peugeot of some description, what happened to it if you now have a Fiesta 1.25?
 
OllyM said:
I'm sure not that long ago you were adamant that new cars were amazing - will you really be happy with an MX5 that's over a decade old?
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I was wrong :). If they live up the hype they get on here then I'm sure I will! After seeing a few around and about they certainly do have a charm & character! I've not yet driven one, I'm hoping for a test drive on Friday.

OllyM said:
In fact, didn't you buy a brand new Peugeot of some description, what happened to it if you now have a Fiesta 1.25?
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I didn't purchase in the end. I was considering a new Peugeot, luckily that didn't happen. I suppose I owe thanks to the forums! I had a Peugeot 206 as my first car which I replaced with my Fiesta 1.25 after I had engine problems in the Pug.

Joshy said:
What a ridiculous requirement. Insurance companies really confuse me sometimes, It's not like a MX5 is a fire breathing monster of a car :confused:.
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They've flat out refused, whether it's because they're convertible or "too powerful" for under 21s according to Aviva. Most other insurers don't seem bothered.

Joshy said:
Just to rub salt in the wounds, the Admiral group are more than willing to insure under 21s on any MX5 (including imports and the BBR Turbos for a fraction more than a UK car).
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The Admiral group are consistently "cheap" for me, I'm getting quotes of £810 fully comp on an MK1 MX-5 1.8 :). I haven't tried a multi-car, classic insurance or specialist brokers yet.
 
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