Cam Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 The good lady wife has decided she would like a little two seater, (must be the time of life) and not wishing to spend load of wedge it seems the obvious choice would be an MX5. Been looking at around the £4K mark and there seems to be some decent Mk2's with reasonable mileage for the money. So any tips from the WSCC massive on buying MX5's? Is there much difference between the 1.6 and 1.8 engines and are there any things to look out for that could cause future problems. Going to go and look at some this weekend and it would be nice to go with a little bit of knowledge Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenh Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Morning, Cam. Good choice, though I dont really know much about the earlier cars, Mrs H has one of the later 2.0 litre cars, and we love it. Went on a 10 day tour of Northern Spain in it last year and it was faultless. You might even see it around town, she uses it every day. Copper Red, folding hardtop. That's maroon to you and me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 there seems to be some decent Mk2's with reasonable mileage for the money Check VERY carefully for rust in the sills behind the doors, if they're not rusty already then they soon will be...they rust from the inside out so what appears to be small bubbles or surface rust is more likely to mean they're rotten all the way through - for the worst rust the order seems to be mk2.5, mk2 and then mk1. As long as you realise this and the fact it will cost circa £300 per side to fix via Gareth at http://www.themx5restorer.co.uk/ then you should be OK (properly fixing this means cutting out the outer AND inner sills and the fabricating a new inner panel and then fitting a new rear wing, not just welding on a panel to the outside), however, the chassis in the engine area also rusts and is not easily fixed... I spoke to Gareth about my car and he said he's seen 2005 cars that had failed the MOT as they were rusted through! Looking at your location SteveD might be able to do the sills more conveniently for you if you decide to go ahead - mk3 models don't seem to have the rust problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooch Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Watch our for the 1.6 engines - they were derated when the 1,8 came out to keep a reasonable performance diferrential between the two. Early Mk1s were 114bhp, later ones wend down to around 90bhp, so not much use. Shows how good the early Mk 1s were, though. PeterG is dead right about the cills. They are so close to the seatbelt mounting points that they are an obvious MOT fail and not that cheap to fix - image above was my donor car and believe it or not, was about to fail the MOT on exactly this point, which is why she went to a nobler cause! If I had the choice, I'd go for a 1.8 Mk2 or Mk2.5 - there's loads ove very well priced and well loved examples out there. Mind you, my missus would be watching me like a hawk if I bought her one because it would be soooo tempting to rip it apart and do another SDV Westy... :laugh: :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Maybe the wife has plans to build her own SDV Westy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wood Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Not much to add to the above, really. Other than the issues mentioned they seem pretty bomb proof IME. We have a yr. 2000 1.8 with 130k on the clock and the only thing that it's ever needed other than routine servicing is a coil pack. Keep on top of the various chassis drain points to make sure it stays dry. Certainly worth going for the 1.8 of that vintage over the 1.6 IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samulis Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 (edited) You might want to look 1999 10th anniversary, it comes with leather, 6 speed and LSD etc. Or NB facelift (mk 2.5) Sport that has VVT engine with goodies. I would go with freshly imported Eunos as their rust free and with all the goodies and upgrades. Their such a bullet proof cars, I've had my pedal at metal for ages in autobahns. Edited March 29, 2012 by samulis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 for the wife hey!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Thanks for the comments guys, all taken on board. Just need to go and look at few now. Yes it's for the good lady but I shall have to drive it occassionally to make sure everything is OK :d :d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Thanks for the comments guys, all taken on board. Just need to go and look at few now. Yes it's for the good lady but I shall have to drive it occassionally to make sure everything is OK :d :d and why not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet orange Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Hi, MX5 sounds like the right choice... BUT BE WARNED... when she's bored of that she will want a Porsche Boxter! Best thing to do is spend 4k on handbags and shoes.... maybe a few things for the kitchen! :p Sorry neighbour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spokes Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 How about this one? Not many of these around. Surely she would't get bored with this. http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3718414.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samcooke Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 The absurd intergalactic gearing in the MK2s I've driven utterly ruins the car. You have to wring the thing out to make it go anywhere and the 1.8 is a gruff soulless thing to wring out. The more powerful 1.6 mk1 is most definitely the one to have. Sweeter engine, perfect gear ratios and a much better steer on small wheels with skinny tyres. They're brilliant little cars. Not that any of that is likely to matter to a girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 How about this one? Not many of these around. Surely she would't get bored with this. http://www.pistonhea...les/3718414.htm She'll be doing trackdays soon with this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onliest Smeg David Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 My tigger has a 1.8 mk2 and its been very reliable. Despite its lack of power its very very fun to drive on the limit. Buy carefully as above and neither of you will be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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