Question for James (or any other MX-5 heads?)

[Rave]

There's a little secondhand car dealer near me which quite often has some interesting cars at tempting prices. A few months ago they had a Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo in average looking nick for £1300 which got me doing a bit of internet research, but it went within a few days while I was still deliberating.

Today I drove past to see an MX-5 on the forecourt, so I quickly nipped up a nearby side road, parked up, and went back to have a shufty. They were closed, so I could only stare at it from behind a gate, but it looked pretty reasonable for £1400. Knowing that this dealer usually advertises their cars on Autotrader, and often cheaper than the price in the windscreen, I went for a look and sure enough found it- up for £1300:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...ge/1?logcode=p

It's not a bad marketing strategy I guess- put a higher price in the window in case a passing punter happens to have cash burning a hole in his pocket- and to allow haggling room- while putting a lower price on Autotrader to attract custom from further afield. But I digress.

So.....does it look like a reasonable deal? I can't really afford or justify a third car purely on my own, especially since I already have a fast and fun little car in the shape of my 106 Rallye. However, I've always wanted a convertible; I miss RWD since I got rid of my Mk1 MR2 a few years ago, and (the reason why I'm posting this at all) my mum mentioned that her sister recently got an MX-5 from her husband as a present, and that she was disappointed that she'd not brought it along when they met so they could go for a spin. When I was a baby she had an MG Midget (she used to put me in a moses basket thing and tuck me behind the passenger seat- 1970s health 'n safety FTW!:LOL: ). She commented a few years ago on how much fun she'd had driving an MGB which someone she'd met at an archeological dig had brought along; and she loved my MR2 when she took it down to see my Grandad in Somerset one time. So- I'm hoping I can talk her into either buying it and naming me as a driver, or if not going halves on the car and insurance.

I put the reg number into Confused to see about an insurance quote, and it came up as a "MX-5 1.8i V-Limited", which a bit of Googling has shown to be a type of car that doesn't actually exist; it's a catch all category made up by the ABI to describe any type of Eunos that doesn't match up with a spec available in the UK. Slightly worryingly, it also comes up as a 1998 car (hence the trader's description I guess), which it's very clearly not- the insurance quotes all came up as about £600, which is a bit too much. I was hoping to get a classic policy as I did with the 106- £193 for fully comp and unlimited mileage- I was hoping to pay no more than £300 for the MX-5, which is potentially going to be difficult if the car isn't officially 15 years old. Looking at this guide, I think it might be a '94 V-Special.

Anyway, from my observations of the car from behind a fence, and looking at the listing, I have come up with the following minus/plus points:

Minus:

I'm not a fan of British Racing Green- or wooden steering wheels.
Bodywork looks to be pretty average (admittedly not really a concern for me, since I've never owned a car that doesn't look completely sheddy, I just don't want to overpay).
The alloys look a bit cheesy, and it comes with dreadful looking Wang-Chin Ditchfinders which might be useful for learning how to drift the car in an empty carpark, but which will otherwise go directly in the bin, despite being fairly new.
The gap between the bonnet and the headlights looks a bit big at the top edge- suggesting it might have had a front end nudge? Or are they all like that?

Plus:

I definitely am a fan of Tan leather (and for that matter any colour of leather other than black, grey, or blue).
It has aircon.
It comes with a hardtop.
It might have an LSD- any easy way to tell short of parking one wheel on an oil spill and sidestepping the clutch?

TIA.

[Zak33]

it seems to have Sold Rave

Did you go buy it?

A lot of Eunos' (imports) had the LSD, I know DR's one did cos I slid it around for an evening in the rain while he nearly didn't scream

The 1.6 was in that car and it was a tad slow but not bad really... good crack to drive.

I agree about Tan leather being nice too. I like it with Wooden wheels and BRG too... shame it's in a Jap car not a Brit Classic though

[Jay]

I don't think any 1.6i MX5s had LSD I think it was only the 1.8

[Rave]

Yeah it sold while I was prevaricating. It had a load of tasty kit on but the engine smoked on startup- apparently they're notorious for having stuck piston rings. I was going to take it for a whiz down the road, involving a trip to the redline and a sudden shutoff to see if that sucked all the oil past the rings, but a less discerning punter than me must have had it.

A pity really, as even the sills and arches looked very sound depite it having been in the UK 12 years. I plan on keeping an eye on the local papers and ebay in case the engine does seize in a couple of months- then I can buy it off the hapless new owner and fit a new engine myself.

If not, as of November if all goes to plan I'm going to be £950 a month better off (moving in with my mum, rent free ) so I'll probably try and sniff out another decent V-Spec sometime early next year. Might have to do some research as ideally I want one with tan leather and an LSD (and possibly the funky headrest speakers) but I could take or leave the wooden wheel and BRG paint....

[Sputnik]

so I'll probably try and sniff out another decent V-Spec sometime early next year. Might have to do some research as ideally I want one with tan leather and an LSD (and possibly the funky headrest speakers) but I could take or leave the wooden wheel and BRG paint....

They did the V special in black too but, it still had the tan seats.

I've driven many Eunos imports and I would suggest getting a 1.8 they feel much better than the 1.6 ......just my 2cents.

[Butuz]

Fairly easy to stick a Garett T25 on the 1.8 too with about 7psi should give around 180 bhp.

Makes it much more fun!!!

Butuz

[J4MES]

Sorry chap, I missed this having been away for months (years?)...

Looks like it was a V-Spec, so as mentioned an import. The early (1990-1994) 1.6 has 116bhp, and imho is the one to have. The engine is lighter by 40kg and revs more freely than the 1.8 (130bhp, from 1994 - when the 1.6 became 90bhp!)... and can be turbo-ed too. The block will happily take a turbo without internals needing upgrading, as it's based on the early 323f block which had a turbo model in the line up. BBR did an MX-5 factory-approved 1.6 turbo kit following the Le Mans win (1991?) and there are now loads of turbo-/super-charger kits on the market too.

Imports are registered with an age-related plate as per the year of manufacture, but the V5 registration date will be when the car came to the UK. They had viscous LSDs which wear out, but will also have aircon, headrest speakers (and PAS/EW iirc) as standard. Usually in far, far better condition too than domestic models of the same age. The hard top would be worth a few hundred quid on eBay too - whats the point if the hood doesn't leak?

V-Spec has 'Nardi' brand wooden steering wheel/gearstick/handbrake, all can be changed easily. There were all sorts of JDM versions - V Spec, S Ltd, R Ltd, all with extras. Too many to recount...!

There are now loads to pick from, so take your time..........



P.S. Just bought a crashed one (my fifth!) to make a Westfield - will keep you posted!