Spec me - Up to £3-4k - Keep short term

rjkoneill said:
£3-4k fwd, I would look at an ep3. An integra would run more potential of throwing a big bill. An ep3 will have good resale value year round.

That much on an mx5 sadly puts you in mk2 range and finding one that isn't a rusty pos is a nightmare.

If you want to risk it and want a Subaru alternative, why not a gt4 celica?
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wut. EP3 won't hold it's money like an Integra will.
 
All you need it to do is not break in a big way for a few months. Thats got to be possible for £4k. Its a big step up in overall feel to a 328, suspect you'd find the normal 6 nice enough but very boring. The m3, even a relatively rough one will feel like much more of an occasion.
 
loltim said:
wut. EP3 won't hold it's money like an Integra will.
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It won't. But it'll be quicker to sell when he comes round to it. Tegs are good but they're getting on. Even ukdm spec are highly priced, I wouldn't pay £3-4k for a high mileage teg. They're special cars, your typical joe wouldn't probably know what it is.
 
It was an awesome car, but the money I made back from it was much much more than my £3-4k budget, plus the additional savings I have managed to chuck away has been facilitated by me essentially getting rid of my hobby :) I'm actually quite surprised at how much I've saved in such a short time, hence spending a few thousand for a few months fun won't cause any problems.
 
There seems to be a lot of decent cars not far from me.. always said I wouldn't buy a car from Birmingham mind you! Subaru for £1k anyone? :D Seen a few other cars of potential interest around the price I want to spend as well. Octavia VRS, Audi TT, Leon Cupra, the odd Subaru. I have a lot of looking around to do!
 
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That mx5 looks reasonable, sounds fairly well maintained. 'Sold as seen' always concerns me though. I'd want to have a poke around the front chassis legs with the car on a ramp, not all are rusty but some are ruined underneath even when cosmetically okay...some have huge holes in them, a front end impact doesnt bear thinking about in such cases, an mx5 is not a car to have a crash in anyway but with most of the structural strength compromised a bad outcome seems likely. I would want it on a ramp with the arch liners and/or undertray off...whether the seller would let you do this or not soeaks volumes.

The mk1 mx5 rusts on the sills but chassis legs are not a worry in the same way as the mk2 (the 98-02 pre facelift mk2s seem less prone to the chassis leg corrosion than the 02-04 models like the one you've linked to). Sills and arches aren't too bad to fix but front chassis leg replacement is a huge job, engine out and subframe removed....

Reckon your budget is better spent on a really tidy mk1 myself, if youre after an mx5, should be able to get a nice one with solid sills/archea or a good repair already done, maybe some minor mods too like a sports exhaust just to make it a bit more interesting....
 
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That MX5 looks alright - definitely check the front chassis rails though, as they're known for rusting. Apart from that, the usual checks apply. Get it shifted around August and you'll lose minimal money :)
 
Howard said:
If that's a UK 1996 1.6 then it'll only have 90bhp. That's why it's slow. Buy an earlier mk1 with 116bhp, or the 130bhp 1.8, and without an iffy gearbox and ripped roof and rear screen and you'll have plenty of fun. They're quicker than the figures suggest if you thrash them, and they're not all about straight line speed anyway. :)
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Who cares if the gearbox does die - They are £20! :D.
Don't get a post 1994 1.6, as Howard said.
Afaik Jap imports never had the crappy 90hp 1.6, so all 1.6 imports are 115hp. All UK 1.6 ones up to L reg (ish) are 115hp.

I was in the same position as the OP.
I wanted a hobby, yet did not want to spank all my house savings.

The cheapest fun car by a mile is the mx5. Nothing else comes close for the blend of fun, purchase cost, reliability and running costs.
A whole engine and gearbox is £150. If the cambelt snaps the valves do not bend. An ECU is £10. Seats are £30-50 for non-leather ones. A whole new roof is only £250 fitted. Four new Dunlops £220 fitted.

I love my £900 MX5 to bits. Most UK ones have smarter paintwork but underneath are far worse than the Jap ones.
That said the early ones are 25 years old now so buy on rust rather than worrying import vs. uk. They were all made on the same assembly line in Japan anyway with only small differences between them.

The MK2 is safer, more modern, newer and more powerful. But they have crumple points which once they start to rust are terminal. I love popup headlights so the MK2 was a no-go right from the start for me.
Underneath the MK1 and MK2 are 99% the same. A huge amount of parts are interchangeable. For the MK2 they modded all body panels, changed the headlights and spiced up the engine head a touch.
Buy a MK1 for <£1000. Or a turbocharged MK1 for <£3000.

Basically anything on a MK1 (or MK2) is very cheap, just buy one that is not corroded underneath. Same goes for the rear sill where it meets the wheel arch - It rots from the inside out so if you see blisters, the inside is raped.
 
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Thanks for that. Some more great information.

I tried to go and see the MX-5 on Saturday and had hoped to go today, but the guy was otherwise occupied. But it looks like I'll be getting a chance to finally see it tomorrow evening.

I have in the meanwhile looked at an Impreza Turbo Wagon up for £1k. Fairly clean car bar the rusty arches, 1 year's MOT fresh. Tempted :D
 
ScoobyDoo69 said:
Thanks for that. Some more great information.

I tried to go and see the MX-5 on Saturday and had hoped to go today, but the guy was otherwise occupied. But it looks like I'll be getting a chance to finally see it tomorrow evening.

I have in the meanwhile looked at an Impreza Turbo Wagon up for £1k. Fairly clean car bar the rusty arches, 1 year's MOT fresh. Tempted :D
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Uk2000? Or bugeye?
 
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