MX5 - Mk 1 valuation and insurance help

[wrighty78]

My first time on this part of the forum, but I'd be grateful for some advice.

The background is that I'm looking to help a mate out by buying his car off him while he looks for a job - cash needed for other things etc etc. There's a possibility he'll buy it back off me if everything works out. Otherwise, I'll run if for a few months over summer, maybe longer.

It's a Eunos Roadster V Special, 1.8, on an "L"plate, BRG with tan leather and tan roof. Smart looking little car with a nice wood steering wheel and tasteful after-market alloys. Got about 6 months mot and a couple of months tax. Service history is good but not complete. Done about 100k miles. The passenger window mechanism needs fixing and the stereo is on its way out. I've driven it and it seems to stop and go alright. I'd describe overall condition as "good to very good".

First question: what's it worth? I've looked on Autotrader and PH classifieds and values seem all over the place, from about £800 to about £3k or more. I'm thinking of offering about £1.5k, on the basis of what I've seen elsewhere, but don't want to take advantage of him but at the same time don't want to pay over the odds. Just want to agree a fair market price. So any help would be much appreciated.

Second question: this would be a second car, garaged and I'd be happy to limit myself to 3k miles a year in it. I've got some no claims discount to throw at it. Can anyone recommend a decent insurance company? I know some won't touch imports.

Again, apologies for numpty questions, but I know nothing about MX5s (other than that they are the stock answer to any "what car" thread, of course!!). Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks!

[Planet Claire]

I would say that £1.5k is reasonable, considering the prices have gone through the floor. Your friend might get more but he might have to wait for the right buyer, so if he wants the cash quickly then I'd say that was an ok price.

For insurance, try out these places, as recommended on Nutz. Depending on your age etc one of the main high-street insurers may come out cheaper so you can always use the online comparison sites to check, but those listed in the link are good.

[wrighty78]

Thank you, Claire, for the lightening response!

He has tried selling it through classifieds, but without success and the need for cash is growing...

And I'll check out the insurers in your link - very helpful. Thank you!

[BoxheadTim]

Depending how nice it is condition-wise, I'd also say around 1.5k. It'll have to be pretty exceptional to be worth more or have some very desirable components on it.

[wrighty78]

That's great - thanks for the reply.

[OnlyMX5ives]

Most of the cheap 1.8's are UK cars without PAS.

£1500 is really the absolute bottom for 1.8's with PAS so you aren't doing him any favours.

That said if he needs cash his other alternative is Ebay which is always a gamble.

[MazDave]

The car will qualify on a classic policy if you're over 25 too.
I was paying under £200pa on mine (before i killed it) with Richardson Hoskin
Might be worth a look.

Dave

[maz8062]

Perhaps I've been looking in the wrong places, but please show me where I can get a 1.8 VR ltd with leather seats, LSD, A/c etc for £1500

[OnlyMX5ives]

I have noticed that with forums...

They tend to find the cheapest ever car and quote that as the 'going rate'

Having seen some of the cheap cars I know they are usually cheap for a number of reasons.

However, list that car on Ebay and could you G tee it going over £1500 ?

I certainly wouldn't.

[wrighty78]

Thanks for the helpful comments.

OnlyMX5ives said:

I have noticed that with forums...

They tend to find the cheapest ever car and quote that as the 'going rate'

Erm... I openly admitted to knowing nothing about MX5s and simply asked for some advice. I'm not trying to do anyone over. And the number of times people ask for valuation advice on PH and just get told "check the classifieds" means those of us wanting a bit of help clearly can't do right for doing wrong.

If you think the "going rate" is higher, fair enough. I'd be grateful if you'd let me know what you think the going rate is. Even a range would be helpful. But suggesting I'm trying to play the classifieds game to my advantage ain't helpful.

I'm just asking for some help.

Thanks!

Edited by wrighty78 on Wednesday 28th January 14:48

[maz8062]

wrighty78 said:

Thanks for the helpful comments.

OnlyMX5ives said:

I have noticed that with forums...

They tend to find the cheapest ever car and quote that as the 'going rate'

Erm... I openly admitted to knowing nothing about MX5s and simply asked for some advice. I'm not trying to do anyone over. And the number of times people ask for valuation advice on PH and just get told "check the classifieds" means those of us wanting a bit of help clearly can't do right for doing wrong.

If you think the "going rate" is higher, fair enough. I'd be grateful if you'd let me know what you think the going rate is. Even a range would be helpful. But suggesting I'm trying to play the classifieds game to my advantage ain't helpful.

I'm just asking for some help.

Thanks!

Edited by wrighty78 on Wednesday 28th January 14:48

For the life of me I really cant fathom what is difficult in simply looking at the classified ads to get an idea what a car is worth. A forum is not glass's guide nor is it populated by traders that readily have that information to hand.

Please don't think I'm having a dig at you, but surely information is more useful if it is gleaned by you and by your own efforts rather than relying on the opinions of posters. For example, you have plucked a figure of £1500 from somewhere...where? Why do you think it is worth £1500? why not £1000 or £2000 or were you just plucking figures out of the air, so to speak.

At the end of the day you are only going to be making an offer for the car. You can start low, £1500 say, your friend can either accept of negotiate higher. Where you end up will depend on what you or your friend determine the car is worth - afterall the value of a product, be it a car, house or whatever, is only worth what a punter is prepared to pay for it.

Just my view

[Kinky]

In defence of the OP, I asked a similar type of question a few days ago ..... http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

As for insurance - ironically my renewal quote came through at the weekend, which came to £229 (with Privilege). A quick shop around of the usual insurance suspects, and the cheapest I can get is £248 with the Post Office

I don't think I've ever had a renewal quote which has never been beaten. Although that said, I'll follow Claire's link above and see if I can come up trumps!

So - back the question at hand .... refer to my thread above, as that might give you an indicator.

K

[wrighty78]

maz8062 said:

For the life of me I really cant fathom what is difficult in simply looking at the classified ads to get an idea what a car is worth. A forum is not glass's guide nor is it populated by traders that readily have that information to hand.

Please don't think I'm having a dig at you, but surely information is more useful if it is gleaned by you and by your own efforts rather than relying on the opinions of posters. For example, you have plucked a figure of £1500 from somewhere...where? Why do you think it is worth £1500? why not £1000 or £2000 or were you just plucking figures out of the air, so to speak.

At the end of the day you are only going to be making an offer for the car. You can start low, £1500 say, your friend can either accept of negotiate higher. Where you end up will depend on what you or your friend determine the car is worth - afterall the value of a product, be it a car, house or whatever, is only worth what a punter is prepared to pay for it.

Just my view

Let's try this again. I looked at the classifieds. The range of prices for apparently similar spec cars was huge. I asked for help. I hoped there might be folks on here who keep an eye on prices of MX5s (perhaps because they trade them, perhaps because they're looking to buy, perhaps because they're looking to sell) who might be able to help me understand the market. I know very little about the differing specs and even less about their relative values.

Yes I plucked £1,500 out of the air. That was clear from my original post. I was just hoping for a reality check.

And I'm genuinely grateful to those who made helpful suggestions yesterday.

And I don't think you're having a dig, but I do think you're not quite entering into the spirit of a motoring forum set up for car enthusiasts to share advice, experience and expertise.

Just my view.

[wrighty78]

Kinky said:

In defence of the OP, I asked a similar type of question a few days ago ..... http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

As for insurance - ironically my renewal quote came through at the weekend, which came to £229 (with Privilege). A quick shop around of the usual insurance suspects, and the cheapest I can get is £248 with the Post Office

I don't think I've ever had a renewal quote which has never been beaten. Although that said, I'll follow Claire's link above and see if I can come up trumps!

So - back the question at hand .... refer to my thread above, as that might give you an indicator.

K

Excellent - thank you very much - that is very helpful.

And, may I say, a cracking looking car from the pics.

[maz8062]

wrighty78 said:

And I don't think you're having a dig, but I do think you're not quite entering into the spirit of a motoring forum set up for car enthusiasts to share advice, experience and expertise.

Just my view.

Wrighty, I really am trying to help you even though it may not be obvious to you. Looking back at this thread, for example, you find those that agree with your valuation as being helpful, but those that are not are, to use your own phrase, not entering into the spirit. It is obvious that you are not looking for advice on price more a validation of the guess/price that you think the car is worth. A forum can never determine the price of a product, that is what you have a buyer and a seller. If you go to your friend and say the forum thinks his car is worth £1500 but he thinks its worth £2k how has the opinions of the forum helped you? If, on the otherhand, you show him evidence of cars that can be had for the price you offer he is more likely to be swayed as it shows you have done your research.

My own opinion on the £1500 valuation is that it is exceptionally low, so you would be doing well to pick up the car at such a bargain price. The value is closer to £2500 than £1500, but of course that is not what you want to hear. Early 1.6's can be had for £1500 or so.

[Wilburo]

Seems to me that Wrighty's done exactly the right thing here - he's checked the classifieds himself to get an idea and then sought 'expert' advice to clarify, as suggested by his first post.

He's also been exceptionally polite in his responses considering the critical responses.

If your friend wants to give you the car almost as collateral, then I don't see anything wrong with a price at the lower end of things. In one possibility, he may come to buy it off you, and come to the conclusion that you're charging £500 too much, based on his research on the classifieds.

I think it's OK to be on the lower end of a good price, as it sounds like he will want it back, plus he'll know who's looking after his baby.

With regards to how much it's worth, do we know how much these cars are even selling for THIS WEEK!? The cars aren't necessarily selling for the advertised prices, if at all - a fair judgement is on how much they're selling for, not how much they USED to be worth, or are advertised for.

[maz8062]

Wilburo said:

If your friend wants to give you the car almost as collateral, then I don't see anything wrong with a price at the lower end of things. In one possibility, he may come to buy it off you, and come to the conclusion that you're charging £500 too much, based on his research on the classifieds.

I think it's OK to be on the lower end of a good price, as it sounds like he will want it back, plus he'll know who's looking after his baby.

I didn't have any idea that the car was being used as collateral. I read the post as the OP looking to buy the car off his friend and sought advice as to it's market value.

Collateral value and market value are totally different - just ask a pawn shop.

[MX-5 Lazza]

I wouldn't trust classified ads to get an idea of value. They show what someone wants for their car, not what they actually get and don't show if they failed to sell. It's much better to ask on a forum like this to see what people have been paying for similar cars recently.

[miniman]

MX-5 Lazza said:

I wouldn't trust classified ads to get an idea of value. They show what someone wants for their car, not what they actually get and don't show if they failed to sell. It's much better to ask on a forum like this to see what people have been paying for similar cars recently.

Spot on. Its no different to the car supermarkets quoting they check local prices to make sure theirs are cheaper. Sure the price on the screen will be £5 less than anything else in the area, but what are the cars actually selling for?

IMHO £1500 - £1600 is about the right money for that car. However, there's a couple of potential issues with buying from a mate. If the car goes wrong and costs you a fortune to put right, will you fall out over whether or not he knew something was wrong with it? And so forth.

As for insurance, if it is going to be a second car, try Admiral for a multi-car policy - they will mirror any NCB you have so you can use it on both cars.

[wrighty78]

Wilburo / Lawrence / James - many thanks for the replies. Pleased to see PH doing what PH does best. I sometimes worry that a few are going to ruin it for the rest of us, but there is hope!

Thanks chaps.

Edited for style, propriety, good grace and content by wrighty78 on Wednesday 28th January 23:43

Edited by wrighty78 on Wednesday 28th January 23:44