help pricing an mx5

[BigRichi]

Hi Folks,
i'm looking for a bit of help pricing a possible car.
i know very little about mx5's other than how highly rated they are as a drivers car.
my other half has fallen in love with an mx5 for sale by an independent dealer near us.
the car itself is a 2002 1.8. it has 14000miles, heated leather and a few chrome bits n bobs on the inside.it comes with a hard top fitted. we went over for a look and to say it is totally mint is an understatement.
the car is up for sale for £6895
do you feel this is a reasonable price??

thanks for any info
richi

[trace1967]

Never buy from dealer that knows nothing about mx5s.
The mark 1 is the best built car, you can mod them up after getting one cheap. If you can try getting an import like mine. Much more fun and look nicer.
I would if you can try and find someone who knows mx5s. On here they sell loads privately and also search on the internet or ebay for mx5s.
Make sure the roof is intact. Pour a bucket of water on the back and make sure the water does not leak in the boot. test the suspension. Ask about the cambelt. Check the sills for rust and the wheel arches. Ask if the wheels have been aligned (all four of them). Check the exhaust too underneath.

Edited by trace1967 on Tuesday 19th May 18:27

[hornetrider]

7k sounds very expensive for what is a 7 year old car, regardless of mileage. Is it a special edition?

[BigRichi]

thanks for the info guys.
i does seem expensive for a 7 year old car but hey ho.....deposit down,pick it up at the end of the week hopefully.

here it is here

http://www.jamesglen.co.uk/730/used-cars.htm



the car isnt actually mines......it is for the other half but i cant wait to get my backside into the drivers seat lol

see what all the hype is about :-)

so hello to you all from a newbie and apologies for any stupid questions to follow

Richi

[hornetrider]

Looks good! I'd be tempted to get new tyres for it straight away if the ones on it are 7 years old.

[BigRichi]

hornetrider said:

Looks good! I'd be tempted to get new tyres for it straight away if the ones on it are 7 years old.

i know what you mean regards the age of the rubber....

i'm convinced tho it must have had tyres at some point,they look like new.....no way 14k miles worth.

[MX-5 Lazza]

14k miles is nothing on the original Bridgestones, especially if it has been driven gently and judging by the description I'd guess that it has been.
When I bought my car it had 10k miles over 3 years on it's original Toyo T1S which are pretty soft (it was specified with 17" Oz wheels from the dealer and those were the tyres that came with the wheels) but they looked like new - until I looked a bit closer and found a frightening number of cracks in the tyre-walls and between the tread-blocks. I replaced them straight away with Goodyear F1 GSD3.

Looks like a good car though. It might be a bit over-priced compared to some others but to be fair, if it really is in that good condition then it's probably worth it.

[MX-5 Lazza]

Another thing - when I bought mine (10k miles in 3 years) I drove it gently to start with and slowly built up the abuse. I figured that the way it had been driver up until then (driving 2 miles to work and back 3 days a week and the occasional countryside pootle) had probably not run it in very well so I just treated it like a new car. I'd advise you to do similar.

[hornetrider]

Yep - the poor thing has probably never seen 4000rpm.

Interesting anecdote from one of the Pro drivers at a recent track experience event. They imported a Mk1 specifically to use as a track car, which they did for about 4 years. So, it spent it's entire life having the nuts ragged off it.

They then decided to race the car in Max 5 and had the engine dyno'd. Apparently most cars were putting out 118-130 brake but theirs was measured at 132. He was convinced it was because it had spent the majority of it's time being thrashed!

[tuttle]

hornetrider said:

Yep - the poor thing has probably never seen 4000rpm.

Interesting anecdote from one of the Pro drivers at a recent track experience event. They imported a Mk1 specifically to use as a track car, which they did for about 4 years. So, it spent it's entire life having the nuts ragged off it.

They then decided to race the car in Max 5 and had the engine dyno'd. Apparently most cars were putting out 118-130 brake but theirs was measured at 132. He was convinced it was because it had spent the majority of it's time being thrashed!

I am in agreement here. This engine will freely & quite happily let you rev the nuts off it-within reason. It seems to me that higher revving engines need a regular thrashing, even if its just to clear deposits etc.

[BigRichi]

MX-5 Lazza said:

Another thing - when I bought mine (10k miles in 3 years) I drove it gently to start with and slowly built up the abuse. I figured that the way it had been driver up until then (driving 2 miles to work and back 3 days a week and the occasional countryside pootle) had probably not run it in very well so I just treated it like a new car. I'd advise you to do similar.

good point...never though of that.
thanks

[S7Paul]

My daughters MX-5 was a private buy a couple of months ago. It's a 2002 1.8 Sport (146 bhp, 6-speed) in black with black leather & aircon. It had about 59K on the clock, with full history, recent cambelt change and a fairly new clutch. It had also had the geo set up recently. All the wheels were either slightly kerbed or had paint blistering. We paid £4,900 for it on the proviso that the previous owner had all the wheels professionally refurbished before we collected it (which they did). As a result, when it's polished up it looks as good as new. So, I'd shop around a bit if I were you.