mx5 mk1 advice (buying)
Discussion
We're hunting a mk1 MX5 at the moment and looking for some advice.
Colour choice is free but the bright solid blue is Emmas favourite. White is least favourite. But won't determine the purchase.
Ideal spec:
Leather, LSD, 1.8.
Wheels etc. Don't matter. Leather isn't essential as it's easy to add later. 1.8 and LSD are important to us. As long as it isn't a useless viscous LSD.
Is there a specific model to hunt for?
Colour choice is free but the bright solid blue is Emmas favourite. White is least favourite. But won't determine the purchase.
Ideal spec:
Leather, LSD, 1.8.
Wheels etc. Don't matter. Leather isn't essential as it's easy to add later. 1.8 and LSD are important to us. As long as it isn't a useless viscous LSD.
Is there a specific model to hunt for?
Good luck with the search, my stock answer (this topic comes up quite often!) goes a bit like this:
Your first decision is probably import or UK car. Which one you go for is a matter of personal choice really. All mine were Eunos Roadsters (the one sold to the Japanese market). The were all built on the same production lines and, aside from minor spec/trim differences, all markets around the world got the same car whether it was badged MX-5, Roadster, Miata, etc.
You've got a choice of two engine sizes, 1.6 & 1.8. They look very similar so check the VIN plate. 1.6 cars will begin NA6C, 1.8 cars begin with NA8C. Some UK 1.6 cars had as little as 90bhp but other (identical) cars from a different production year had a fair bit more. The Japanese cars were never fitted with the lower powered variant of the 1.6.
I haven't owned one for a while now but from memory the Japanese 1.8 models from 1995 onwards came with a Torsen LSD etc which UK cars never had. Earlier Japanese cars had viscous diffs which tend to revert to open diffs over time. There are other features like air con (which, while hardly essential, is handy for clearing the screen in winter).
Japanese shaken tests (like our MOTs) mean that general roadworthiness standards are often better than cars from the UK. Additionally, the bodywork is generally in better condition as the Japanese don't salt their roads. The average annual mileage seems lower in Japan too. While evidence of servicing rarely accompanies the cars on their journey over here, it doesn't mean they haven't been serviced. If the car's done over 100,000kms, check that there is a silver sticker at the front of the cam cover with a kilometer figure on it - this tells you when the cambelt was changed (assuming it was done in Japan).
Common areas where problems can occur include:
Electric windows (prone to slowing or sticking)
Noisy tappets - for a few minutes after start up this is fine, if it continues, investigate further.
Dampness in the boot (often because the plastic rail that the base of the hood sits in has perished)
Hood damage - the area above the windows can develop cracks if the hood is old.
Air con - check that the revs rise when it's switched on and that the resulting air is nice and cold. Earlier cars were filled with R12 - not sure how easy this will be to re-fill now. Later cars had R134a which is still in use today.
Bodywork - check for rust around the wheel arches/sills. Check panel gaps and look for signs of respray work.
Usually the above are neither difficult nor expensive to rectify.
There were plenty of Japanese special editions to chose from - some, like the v-special had leather & wood if you like that sort of thing, others like the RS-Ltd had kevlar bucket seats and Bilstein suspension. The S-Special is a decent package that offers better suspension and a reasonable level of equipment.
I'm not trying to put you off UK cars, I just think that because of the excellent reliability of the MX-5, the main advantage of UK cars (service history) isn't as vital as it would be if we were talking about some handbuilt Italian V12.
Personally I'd get a post 1995 1.8 Eunos Roadster but whichever model you go for, you'll get a reliable, simple to maintain, fun, cheap, great handling car!
EDIT: You'll probably pay more insurance for an import but ringing around for quotes should reduce this to a negligible amount.
There's a very basic guide to the Japanese limited editions here.
There's a similar thing for the UK special editions here
Your first decision is probably import or UK car. Which one you go for is a matter of personal choice really. All mine were Eunos Roadsters (the one sold to the Japanese market). The were all built on the same production lines and, aside from minor spec/trim differences, all markets around the world got the same car whether it was badged MX-5, Roadster, Miata, etc.
You've got a choice of two engine sizes, 1.6 & 1.8. They look very similar so check the VIN plate. 1.6 cars will begin NA6C, 1.8 cars begin with NA8C. Some UK 1.6 cars had as little as 90bhp but other (identical) cars from a different production year had a fair bit more. The Japanese cars were never fitted with the lower powered variant of the 1.6.
I haven't owned one for a while now but from memory the Japanese 1.8 models from 1995 onwards came with a Torsen LSD etc which UK cars never had. Earlier Japanese cars had viscous diffs which tend to revert to open diffs over time. There are other features like air con (which, while hardly essential, is handy for clearing the screen in winter).
Japanese shaken tests (like our MOTs) mean that general roadworthiness standards are often better than cars from the UK. Additionally, the bodywork is generally in better condition as the Japanese don't salt their roads. The average annual mileage seems lower in Japan too. While evidence of servicing rarely accompanies the cars on their journey over here, it doesn't mean they haven't been serviced. If the car's done over 100,000kms, check that there is a silver sticker at the front of the cam cover with a kilometer figure on it - this tells you when the cambelt was changed (assuming it was done in Japan).
Common areas where problems can occur include:
Electric windows (prone to slowing or sticking)
Noisy tappets - for a few minutes after start up this is fine, if it continues, investigate further.
Dampness in the boot (often because the plastic rail that the base of the hood sits in has perished)
Hood damage - the area above the windows can develop cracks if the hood is old.
Air con - check that the revs rise when it's switched on and that the resulting air is nice and cold. Earlier cars were filled with R12 - not sure how easy this will be to re-fill now. Later cars had R134a which is still in use today.
Bodywork - check for rust around the wheel arches/sills. Check panel gaps and look for signs of respray work.
Usually the above are neither difficult nor expensive to rectify.
There were plenty of Japanese special editions to chose from - some, like the v-special had leather & wood if you like that sort of thing, others like the RS-Ltd had kevlar bucket seats and Bilstein suspension. The S-Special is a decent package that offers better suspension and a reasonable level of equipment.
I'm not trying to put you off UK cars, I just think that because of the excellent reliability of the MX-5, the main advantage of UK cars (service history) isn't as vital as it would be if we were talking about some handbuilt Italian V12.
Personally I'd get a post 1995 1.8 Eunos Roadster but whichever model you go for, you'll get a reliable, simple to maintain, fun, cheap, great handling car!
EDIT: You'll probably pay more insurance for an import but ringing around for quotes should reduce this to a negligible amount.
There's a very basic guide to the Japanese limited editions here.
There's a similar thing for the UK special editions here
Edited by Risotto on Tuesday 16th June 22:48
Risotto said:
There's a very basic guide to the Japanese limited editions here.
There's a similar thing for the UK special editions here
Some very good advice - however it's blatantly obvious that the MX5OC are & always have been, biast towards 'UK MX5' marks.There's a similar thing for the UK special editions here
For example - all UK MX5's fitted with elec windows as standard?
It is clear that the MX5OC know little of the diverse commutations that have been available to the Japanese market over the years.
Edited by Stickers on Wednesday 17th June 09:54
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