Mk3 Mx5 - Specs and buying tips please

[anonymous-user]

Hi all,

I've finally sold my E46 330Ci and now have the funds available for a Mk3 Mx5. My commute is a 30 minute journey on A roads and Motorway. Unfortunately my budget won't stretch to a facelift, am I missing out on much by not getting a 3.5? I know you don't get cruise control which puts me off slightly but that's the only downside I can see.

My budget is £5000 and I'm looking to get a 2.0 sport soft top. Am I right in saying the optional extras are only A/C and Bose sound system? I am led to believe you get leather and heated seats as standard. Also is there any differences between the years 06-09 before the facelift?

Any other tips or advice people can give before I go test drive a few?

[Oldandslow]

Can't help directly but this is a good read if you didn't already see it
http://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-buying-guid...

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for the link, I've also found some other buying guides so I've now got a list of things to check. One question I did have was regarding the engines going pop. Lack of oil, normally due to not being kept on max.

Should the engines use any oil at all? If they are using it I presume it's a leak. What are the signs or indicators of a bad engine, tapty noise??

I've also found a lovely Zsport near me. 07 plate, 56k miles @ £5900. Seems over priced to me, opinions? It appears to not have Bose system, is it a worthwhile option?

[Flip Martian]

I have the top spec in my Mk 3. The 6 speed box is nice as I'm used to 6 speed boxes. The Bose sound system though I barely use - I drive it with the top down almost all the time and just love listening to the car. I think I only used the radio to tune it - barely ever have it on. The heated seats and aircon are nice for the winter.

[Bertrum]

AB57 said:

Thanks for the link, I've also found some other buying guides so I've now got a list of things to check. One question I did have was regarding the engines going pop. Lack of oil, normally due to not being kept on max.

Should the engines use any oil at all? If they are using it I presume it's a leak. What are the signs or indicators of a bad engine, tapty noise??

The engine is a Duratec as fitted to Ford Mondeo's. focus's etc all be it with a different intake design and variable cam timing.

The engines are pretty robust, they can suffer from piston rings not being seated properly which is due to people nursing them when new, this however shouldn't cause excess oil consumption that is noticeable unless you drive it really hard.

The earlier engines have weaker rod's and can do shells, a loud knock at idle will give that away, unlikely though.

These engines are raced in the MX5 supercup, and its rare for a bottom end to go. Or for them to give many problems, they will usually just be down on power. They are raced with the rev limit raised 500 rpm also...

[HorneyMX5]

Get Bose and AC. It's worth it.

Great cars and with a few small tweaks they are as good as the early cars.

[chillbill]

The 2.0 engine, esp. early ones, can use a bit of oil, but as long as you top it up, it's not that bad. Driving wise all of the basics are spot on - excellent driving position, steering wheel and -feel, sublime gearchanges. The boot is OK and the interior pretty spacious for what it is.

For me the major disadvantages of ownership were a) the 2.0 is not that fast as the numbers would suggest, b) the intake-exhaust noise is not that inspiring, c) stock springs are wallowy and not suitable for over 8/10 driving. All of this can be remedied using aftermarket parts, though.

[HorneyMX5]

chillbill said:

The 2.0 engine, esp. early ones, can use a bit of oil, but as long as you top it up, it's not that bad. Driving wise all of the basics are spot on - excellent driving position, steering wheel and -feel, sublime gearchanges. The boot is OK and the interior pretty spacious for what it is.

For me the major disadvantages of ownership were a) the 2.0 is not that fast as the numbers would suggest, b) the intake-exhaust noise is not that inspiring, c) stock springs are wallowy and not suitable for over 8/10 driving. All of this can be remedied using aftermarket parts, though.

Agree completely. In the first couple of weeks I owned mine it had a remap, backbox, induction kit and 30mm lowering springs fitted. Job jobbed.

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for all the replies. I've been hunting since I've posted and I still haven't found the right one..

Having a real tough time with price/spec options. I keep finding cars which are the right price and in good condition however they lack AC and BOSE. Then I find a good condition car with BOSE and AC but they're asking around £500+ too much. I want the AC and BOSE so cars without are a straight no-go. Also I noticed the driver seat is either in good or terrible condition. Most notable the bolster and side edge being trashed by what appears to be a oversized/lazy person getting in and out. Any idea on how much a new seat or refurbish of the current one would cost; just in case that was the only downside to a car?

To further complicate matters my budget of 5k seems to pick up cars around the 60-70K miles mark in which the major service is due, if I'm correct in thinking, does anyone know what the price is for this? I know the spark plugs are about £80 plus all the fluids to go on top. People, mainly dealers, want top wack for a car which is due or hasn't had its major service.. bloody nightmare!

I'm contemplating upping my budget to get less miles and the facelift version with hardtop, peoples thoughts? Or should I stick to my 5k budget and just hope the right one crops up?

I'm not in a particular rush but my stop gap car, a 1.3 KA, has just cost me a pair of front tyres way too soon. Mind you it's clear the budgets which were on there don't stand up to hard driving on a daily basis.

[anonymous-user]

HorneyMX5 said:

chillbill said:

The 2.0 engine, esp. early ones, can use a bit of oil, but as long as you top it up, it's not that bad. Driving wise all of the basics are spot on - excellent driving position, steering wheel and -feel, sublime gearchanges. The boot is OK and the interior pretty spacious for what it is.

For me the major disadvantages of ownership were a) the 2.0 is not that fast as the numbers would suggest, b) the intake-exhaust noise is not that inspiring, c) stock springs are wallowy and not suitable for over 8/10 driving. All of this can be remedied using aftermarket parts, though.

Agree completely. In the first couple of weeks I owned mine it had a remap, backbox, induction kit and 30mm lowering springs fitted. Job jobbed.

I'm going to fit the 30mm eibach springs and an alignment as soon as I get it. I'll consider future mods after a year if I like the car. Any idea on whether the Miester R's are a better pick instead of billys if I was to do a suspension refresh? It will only be used for road driving so coil overs seem like a waste, however the cost of getting the Miesters seems the same as new billys.

[HorneyMX5]

AB57 said:

HorneyMX5 said:

chillbill said:

The 2.0 engine, esp. early ones, can use a bit of oil, but as long as you top it up, it's not that bad. Driving wise all of the basics are spot on - excellent driving position, steering wheel and -feel, sublime gearchanges. The boot is OK and the interior pretty spacious for what it is.

For me the major disadvantages of ownership were a) the 2.0 is not that fast as the numbers would suggest, b) the intake-exhaust noise is not that inspiring, c) stock springs are wallowy and not suitable for over 8/10 driving. All of this can be remedied using aftermarket parts, though.

Agree completely. In the first couple of weeks I owned mine it had a remap, backbox, induction kit and 30mm lowering springs fitted. Job jobbed.

I'm going to fit the 30mm eibach springs and an alignment as soon as I get it. I'll consider future mods after a year if I like the car. Any idea on whether the Miester R's are a better pick instead of billys if I was to do a suspension refresh? It will only be used for road driving so coil overs seem like a waste, however the cost of getting the Miesters seems the same as new billys.

If you're fitting new Billies then I would go Meisters instead yes. Unless the car si very tired I'm not sure a suspension refresh is money that well spent TBH. Mines 10 Years old and on 67K and feels sharp as knife with the new springs and an alignment. Personally I would just go withthe springs on the original dampers first and see how you get on. THe springs are £150 from MX5 Parts. If you do the swap yourself and then later on go for Meisters they'll be essentially as you'll be able to sell the Billie with the springs on for £150 easily. Man maths at it's finest!

[Flip Martian]

AB57 said:

Thanks for all the replies. I've been hunting since I've posted and I still haven't found the right one..

Having a real tough time with price/spec options. I keep finding cars which are the right price and in good condition however they lack AC and BOSE. Then I find a good condition car with BOSE and AC but they're asking around £500+ too much. I want the AC and BOSE so cars without are a straight no-go. Also I noticed the driver seat is either in good or terrible condition. Most notable the bolster and side edge being trashed by what appears to be a oversized/lazy person getting in and out. Any idea on how much a new seat or refurbish of the current one would cost; just in case that was the only downside to a car?

To further complicate matters my budget of 5k seems to pick up cars around the 60-70K miles mark in which the major service is due, if I'm correct in thinking, does anyone know what the price is for this? I know the spark plugs are about £80 plus all the fluids to go on top. People, mainly dealers, want top wack for a car which is due or hasn't had its major service.. bloody nightmare!

I'm contemplating upping my budget to get less miles and the facelift version with hardtop, peoples thoughts? Or should I stick to my 5k budget and just hope the right one crops up?

I'm not in a particular rush but my stop gap car, a 1.3 KA, has just cost me a pair of front tyres way too soon. Mind you it's clear the budgets which were on there don't stand up to hard driving on a daily basis.

I do get tempted to sell my 2.0 Sport - its a 2nd car and since being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue in the Summer, I've probably been able to drive it 3 times. The last time I did - only for a half an hour round trip - it reminded me of why I love driving it. Roof off, just makes driving enjoyable. As competent as my Focus is (and easier to drive for me at the moment with the cruise control), its the Mazda that makes the journey fun to do. So I can't bring myself to sell it yet. Although if ultimately I have to stop working, it will no doubt have to go.

[Bertrum]

AB57 said:

Thanks for all the replies. I've been hunting since I've posted and I still haven't found the right one..

Also I noticed the driver seat is either in good or terrible condition. Most notable the bolster and side edge being trashed by what appears to be a oversized/lazy person getting in and out. Any idea on how much a new seat or refurbish of the current one would cost; just in case that was the only downside to a car?

To further complicate matters my budget of 5k seems to pick up cars around the 60-70K miles mark in which the major service is due, if I'm correct in thinking, does anyone know what the price is for this? I know the spark plugs are about £80 plus all the fluids to go on top. People, mainly dealers, want top wack for a car which is due or hasn't had its major service.. bloody nightmare!

.

For the seat, second hand ones from cars being turned into race cars or damaged cars appear on Ebay from time to time and are cheap, so I wouldn't let that put you off.

Major Service wise, its Plugs, Air filter, Pollen Filter,oil and Oil filter and coolant. Simple DIY job, plugs are £30 (£80 is ripping you off big time) so probably £100 of parts and about 1 hours work. Engines are chain driven so no cambelt to worry about. Anything over £200 for the 'major' service is taking the Piss.

[nikpro]

Bertrum said:

For the seat, second hand ones from cars being turned into race cars or damaged cars appear on Ebay from time to time and are cheap, so I wouldn't let that put you off.

Major Service wise, its Plugs, Air filter, Pollen Filter,oil and Oil filter and coolant. Simple DIY job, plugs are £30 (£80 is ripping you off big time) so probably £100 of parts and about 1 hours work. Engines are chain driven so no cambelt to worry about. Anything over £200 for the 'major' service is taking the Piss.

Have a look here for servicing costs:

http://www.blinkmotorsport.com/?page_id=227


Mazda MX5 : NC 1800 and 2000 Models (2005-)

General Service including :-

Oil and Filter change (Rock Oil Fully Synthetic 5W40 Oil and Genuine Mazda Filter)
Air Filter (or cleaning of aftermarket air filter)
Screen Wash
General vehicle check
General Service Cost : £99+vat

Extras :-

Spark Plugs (every 62,500 miles) : £50+vat
Brake Fluid Change (every 2 years using DOT 5.1) : £40+vat
Coolant Change : £35+vat

[anonymous-user]

Hey all just an update: Once again thanks for the replies, especially the service costs, I didn't realise it was that cheap. Also the advice on the suspension Horney.

I've had a good look into the Mk3.5 changes and the cost of the sport techs currently available and I've decided to increase my budget to 10k. I much preferred the styling of the Mk3.5, NC2, and the fact that they come with cruise control is a big bonus for me. Overall they seem to be better specd and have a fair few improvements. Also they all seem to be RCs which is great as that's something that I wanted but was difficult to find for the Mk3s.

Any idea of the reliability of the hardtop roof and what I should be looking for in regards to faults/problems with them? The potential for a 1k bill is a bit of a concern.

At the moment a 2010-11 plate with 20-30k seem to be around the 8-10k mark depending on private sale or dealer. Will have 7k in January so I can start looking then with a small loan from my grandad.

[Ninja59]

RC issues are pricey to sort, however I have not seen many reports of issues with the roof mechanism itself. For me I love the RC nature.

As said above about servicing costs it is really cost effective (and I do love Blink - mine goes there) - In honesty costs are not bad, but it is worth remembering in 4th and 5th years to do the gearbox and diff changes (although you may consider doing both at the same time). Equally, on some of the older cars they will be around a coolant change (FL22 has an 11 year life).

If you do the springs consider doing the ARB's as well, IMO it is worth looking at the Ohlins DFV's as the price has come down a lot from the original price (plus Blink's price for a set fitted is really good!).

Edited by Ninja59 on Monday 19th December 11:22