Eunos or UK car?

[GreenArrow]

Is there any perceived wisdom in terms of which is the better buy and worth the most? I guess if you are talking Mk1s, good original UK cars will eventually appreciate the most, but is it correct that the Eunos' have a better spec, such as an LSD?

[lilwashu]

Imports tend to have better spec (air con etc) than UK cars. The best buy is the one with the least amount of rust and that will normally be the one that has spent the least time on UK roads. None of them will be worth anything significant while there remains so many of them on the roads.

[MX-5 Lazza]

As above. Just choose on condition and don't worry about UK or JDM.

As for the levels of rust; most JDM imports have been over here so long there is little to no difference between JDM & UK cars now. You are as likely to find a UK car that's been a cherished summer toy as you are an equally clean JDM car.

[pewe]

Another factor just in case it crops up is Insurance companies evidently make no difference between UK and Japanese cars.
Jap cars are speed limited to something like 110mph, though if you're anything like handy de-limiting is an easy job (assuming you want to drive at 110 plus!)
HTH.
Cheers, Pewe.

[tr7v8]

WHen we bought the wife's MX5 imports were considerably more expensive to insure. She had no NCB & we wanted Class 1 business use.
The EUnos she bought was £750 whereas the UK equiv MX5 would have been £600.

[Jobbo]

GreenArrow said:

I guess if you are talking Mk1s, good original UK cars will eventually appreciate the most

I'm not even sure that's true - it's a Japanese car, the best/most interesting variants were made for the Japanese market and they're already prized more highly than UK cars (e.g. the RS).

[GreenArrow]

Jobbo said:

GreenArrow said:

I guess if you are talking Mk1s, good original UK cars will eventually appreciate the most

I'm not even sure that's true - it's a Japanese car, the best/most interesting variants were made for the Japanese market and they're already prized more highly than UK cars (e.g. the RS).

Yep you may be right. I've noticed on Ebay that Eunos' attract a lot of interest and pretty good prices. You live and learn!

I think MX-5s will eventually go up in value. We had a 205 GTI and for years it didn't appreciate because there were plenty of them around. Then suddenly last year, woosh, it nearly doubled in value during a 6 month period, because, I guess 205 GTIs are finally pretty rare....Couple of car mags agree with me, I think Octane have an article this month titled "buy a Mk1 Mazda MX-5"

Anyway I am gonna look at a few MX-5s over the next wee, Mk2s actually and go on condition...

[Jobbo]

While I have an interest in talking up the values of the mk1, I can't see them going up that quickly; there are simply so many around. Having said that, Goodwood Sportcars in Berwick are importing cars again (they became too cheap to make it worthwhile for about 7 or 8 years) and they're up for £4-5k; of course, they are absolutely pristine for that price, but they are selling quickly. At 20+ years old, they're not necessarily factory standard either, and even if they come with a history 99% of UK buyers won't be able to read it.

Anyway, if there are some rare editions like the RS which always command a decent price, there ought to be plenty at sensible prices for some time yet

ETA: sorry, I never answered your original question! My insurance is so cheap (£81 for the year on a classic/specialist policy) that I don't think there's any way a UK car would cost less. The better spec and (usually) less rust of an import would always point me to a Eunos first now.

[GreenArrow]

Jobbo said:

While I have an interest in talking up the values of the mk1, I can't see them going up that quickly; there are simply so many around. Having said that, Goodwood Sportcars in Berwick are importing cars again (they became too cheap to make it worthwhile for about 7 or 8 years) and they're up for £4-5k; of course, they are absolutely pristine for that price, but they are selling quickly. At 20+ years old, they're not necessarily factory standard either, and even if they come with a history 99% of UK buyers won't be able to read it.

Anyway, if there are some rare editions like the RS which always command a decent price, there ought to be plenty at sensible prices for some time yet

ETA: sorry, I never answered your original question! My insurance is so cheap (£81 for the year on a classic/specialist policy) that I don't think there's any way a UK car would cost less. The better spec and (usually) less rust of an import would always point me to a Eunos first now.

Who is the insurance with? does it have to be 25 year old cars or more?

I am watching an auction for a supposedly mint Mk2 Mazda MX-5 1.8 right now, with 45,000 miles on it. Starting bid £1300. At that price I doubt the value will rise but hopefully I can get it all back when I sell it. That's the theory! In regard to Mk1s, I think I have missed the boat on low mileage affordable examples, although I am also watching an auction on ebay for a 1992 1.6 Eunos with 77K miles on it, which is "buy now" £1625 or best offer. This car too is supposedly mint having been imported in 2002 and then garaged.

[Jobbo]

Mine's a 1994 car so no, definitely doesn't need to be 25 years old. With Footman James; I called them to get a classic policy but it ended up being a specialist policy because the car's slightly modified (not faster though; that would increase the premium).

[g7jhp]

You can put a case forward for both UK and Eunos, but best advice is buy on condition.

When new MK4's are £18.5-23.3k OTR before extras a nice MK1 at £4-5k is good value and will offer just as many smiles per mile and zero depreciation.

[GibsonSG]

I looked at a lot of Mk1's last year and eventually bought a fresh import from Goodwood. Yes I paid more but when I stripped the trim and various plugs and confirmed that the condition in the critical rust points was like factory fresh I was pleased that I ended up taking the plunge with one of their cars rather than the various UK or aged imports with sill repairs, wheelarch issues and lower front wing problems. A year, 7500 miles and face full of smiles later and I know that it's been a good decision.

Good luck, whichever way you go.