Can it really be worth it??

[dragonheart]

Browsing for a MK1 when I came across this. Now I know that good MK1's are still commanding strong money, but can it really be worth this much??
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-MX-5-S-Special-1-8...

[cheddar]

Tough to price, if you're intent on driving it regularly then it'll shed value very quickly, as a museum piece it's maybe worth £12k to £15k but I think there's still too many decent ones out there

I came across a one owner 6000 mile MK1 two years ago up for £5000

[drgoatboy]

Bit too rich I think. £10 -14k maybe but that's big bucks.
Looks lovely though!

[OMG_TURBOZ]

Who are they trying to kid! Lovely car but waay to pricy!

[Mattlan]

I mean, would you really spend this much money on a car, when they can't even get the colour right in the advert, classed as green, then laguna blue in the spiel, when it is montego blue in reality.....

I mean come on, how hard is it?

[fatjon]

The standard ish formulas for adjusting value based on mileage would say it's maybe worth double what an average mileage car would be worth. Nothing anywhere remotely near that figure though.

[MX-5 Lazza]

The standard-ish formula doesn't really apply in these cases though. If it was a 7 year old Mondeo maybe but not an 18 year old sportscar of which most have suffered from rust or just wear & tear by now. That does still look like a hefty price-tag to me but I'm not surprised that it's shockingly high.

[fatjon]

I fear you might find it applies when you come to sell it. It's an 18 year old sports car that was mass produced in the millions. However much we may have a soft spot for them the market will dictate the price and the market is just not that sentimental. If I can buy one 90% as good for 3k I certainly would not entertain paying 20k. I would buy the 3k one and spend 5k on it making it something very special indeed, after which it would likely be worth 4.5k. If I bought the 20k one and ran it for 30k miles it would be worth 4.5k and I would be badly out of pocket.

[MX-5 Lazza]

The mistake you are making there is looking at it as a car i.e. a form of transport. It's not being sold as a car. It's being sold as a collectors item i.e. not to be used as transport.

[fatjon]

It IS a car, a very common one.

I think we will have to respectfully agree to differ

[MX-5 Lazza]

No, I don't disagree with you at all, I completely agree. Paying, or even asking that much for a cheap common car is obscene.

However, if it really is in absolutely showroom condition then someone will be willing to pay well (massively) over the odds for it. We might not agree with them but it's their money so they can spend it as they like. I can't see it going for that asking price but it will likely go for a very big price.

[dragonheart]

I can't honestly see the Mk1 MX5 becoming a collectors item. As has already been said, these are common cars there is no rarity value in it. Collectors cars are mainly however not always investments to appreciate in value, at 20k is there a likelihood that this car would increase in value??

[MX-5 Lazza]

I know of a multi-concours winning UK Mk1 1.8 standard model (steel wheels, fabric seats etc.) with 19k miles that was sold for over £10k. The car lived (probably still does) under cover in a heated garage in a dust-proof chamber. Not everyone buys these cars to drive them. That car only ever came out for concours shows (which it usually won) or for detailing. Really not my thing but like I said, if that's what someone gets their enjoyment from and wants to spend their money on that's their business.

[drgoatboy]

dragonheart said:

I can't honestly see the Mk1 MX5 becoming a collectors item. As has already been said, these are common cars there is no rarity value in it. Collectors cars are mainly however not always investments to appreciate in value, at 20k is there a likelihood that this car would increase in value??

When I was a lad mk2 escorts were common as muck. Couldn't give them away practically. Even basic ones now command big money and the sporty ones lots and lots of money.
Just because they are common doesn't mean they won't become collectors items.

[MX-5 Lazza]

My neighbour recently sold his slightly rusty, patchy paint, tired interior Vauxhall Chevette Hatch for £2500...

[Who Me]

drgoatboy said:

dragonheart said:

I can't honestly see the Mk1 MX5 becoming a collectors item. As has already been said, these are common cars there is no rarity value in it. Collectors cars are mainly however not always investments to appreciate in value, at 20k is there a likelihood that this car would increase in value??

When I was a lad mk2 escorts were common as muck. Couldn't give them away practically. Even basic ones now command big money and the sporty ones lots and lots of money.
Just because they are common doesn't mean they won't become collectors items.

Yup, slighty OT but the amount of MK2 escorts and alike that me and a mate took to weigh in for scrap and get 50 quid for.......we still talk about exactly this and what cars now are the future classics, damned if I know, if I did id be getting myself a shed full

[e21Mark]

I could build a much nicer MX5 for two thirds of that amount.

It doesn't even look particularly nice in that colour combo anyway.

[fatjon]

drgoatboy said:

dragonheart said:

I can't honestly see the Mk1 MX5 becoming a collectors item. As has already been said, these are common cars there is no rarity value in it. Collectors cars are mainly however not always investments to appreciate in value, at 20k is there a likelihood that this car would increase in value??

When I was a lad mk2 escorts were common as muck. Couldn't give them away practically. Even basic ones now command big money and the sporty ones lots and lots of money.
Just because they are common doesn't mean they won't become collectors items.

The older Escorts are rare because they were spectacularly good at rusting, I had a 3 year old one that was like a flintstones car. There are no more than a couple of hundred Mk1/Mk2 RS2000s left. Even an immaculate and very rare Mk1 RS2000 is barely making this kind of money (16k to 25k, figures from Sporting Escort Owners Club). The Mk1 MX5 is not in the same league for composting so it will be decades before they are worth anything. Your 20K would grown quicker in a post office account at 3.5% it would be 40k in 20 years. Adjusting for inflation it will make the square root of zero profit.

So if you buy it as an investment you will lose a mint, if you buy it and drive it you will lose a mint. Solution is pretty simple to me.

I suppose that if you buy it because you really want it and have 20k to spare, fair enough but I would drive a hard bargain and expect to leave with it for sub 7k even if I was feeling particularly generous.

[Wardy5]

For me, it's not an S-Special with BBSes and a Nardi wheel....

Probably a bit early to be asking this sort of money, but we'll probably see the day.