High mileage mx5 - what do you think?

High mileage mx5 - what do you think?

Author
Discussion

Chris-1e43g

Original Poster:

39 posts

45 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
Here’s the link to a pretty high mileage, but cheapest 30th Anniversary MX-5 I’ve seen, what do you think regarding price? It has 1 owner and a good full service history (every 5k). Yes the mileage is high which is what it is but there looks to be a bit of a dent in the front bumper just in front of the wheel.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17368753

What do you think of the price considering the mileage and condition?

Lincsls1

3,478 posts

147 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
Looks to be in great condition to me. Obviously, pictures can hide plenty though. I'm not seeing a dint on the front bumper. I genuinely just think its reflection and lighting.
Mileage is above average, clearly been enjoyed as a daily, but this wouldn't put me off. Suggests it has been a good reliable car.
Price wise? No idea, but you're saying it's the cheapest you've seen.

Simon_GH

398 posts

87 months

Monday 4th November
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The general consensus is that age rather than mileage is the biggest factor in the deterioration of a car. I’d prefer an example which has been used on a regular basis.

Nickp82

3,405 posts

100 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
Is the dent you’re referring to the plastic blank where the US cars have reflectors?

Price seems decent

Jiebo

961 posts

103 months

Tuesday 5th November
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In what world is this high mileage?

The colour would put me off more, and it will be harder to shift when selling.

RSTurboPaul

11,268 posts

265 months

Tuesday 5th November
quotequote all
lol at 70k miles being 'high mileage'.

Are we back to the 80s, where everything exploded before the 5-digit clocks went back to 00000? tongue out

CABC

5,790 posts

108 months

Tuesday 5th November
quotequote all
NA engines were very solid. Racers thought they were nicely run in at 80k and ready for a few seasons of thrashing!
NC engines less so, maybe because first owners never checked their oil between long service intervals and suffered bottom end failures. So, every 5k on this car would bode well.

Belle427

9,740 posts

240 months

Tuesday 5th November
quotequote all
Worth checking the underside though as they do still rust quite badly and if its been used in all weathers it may accelerate this.
I think the colour is great and suits it.

Rockets7

422 posts

137 months

Tuesday 5th November
quotequote all
CABC said:
NA engines were very solid. Racers thought they were nicely run in at 80k and ready for a few seasons of thrashing!
NC engines less so, maybe because first owners never checked their oil between long service intervals and suffered bottom end failures. So, every 5k on this car would bode well.
Didn’t they go to forged internals as a result of this around 2009…

Chris-1e43g

Original Poster:

39 posts

45 months

Tuesday 5th November
quotequote all
Haha sorry the high mileage remark was relative to the others I’ve seen for sale. Most run around the £20k mark with around 15-20k miles on, so it has higher mileage for its age. Valid point though that higher mileage well looked after is better than a lower one without the service history to back it up.

Yes if you look at where the USA reflector would be on the front driver side you can just see it bent in a bit, and the wheel arch lining is popping out a little.


Truckosaurus

12,046 posts

291 months

Tuesday 5th November
quotequote all
Jiebo said:
In what world is this high mileage?

The colour would put me off more, and it will be harder to shift when selling.
Indeed. Although I suspect MX5s are funny in this respect and a lot of them will be owned as 'weekend' cars, so might only do modest mileages, and not many will be daily drivers racking up the miles like a normal car.

70k miles in 5 years is about average for a normal car I'd say, and I reckon that's the ideal MX5 to buy - if you do a low mileage then things will average out or if you are planning on using it in anger there's no point paying a premium for 'low miles'.

Checking for rust will be a bigger issue biggrin

HorneyMX5

5,429 posts

157 months

Tuesday 5th November
quotequote all
Jiebo said:
In what world is this high mileage?

The colour would put me off more, and it will be harder to shift when selling.
The orange was specific to that 30th anniversary cars that came with very desirable extras like Rays wheels, Recaro seats and Brembo brakes. They hold more money than a standard car.

My 2.0 ND is a 2021 and currently on 40K so heading for this mileage when it gets to that age.

CABC

5,790 posts

108 months

Tuesday 5th November
quotequote all
Rockets7 said:
Didn’t they go to forged internals as a result of this around 2009…
Ah! So just NC1 engines possibly. Good to know.

soad

33,453 posts

183 months

Tuesday 5th November
quotequote all
It is relatively high mileage, hence cheaper than most. If you intend to pile the miles on in your ownership, don’t expect to sell it on for much?

Lower miles is good, but look at the service history too.

Decent bhp but the colour is fairly loud. Miles on it would put me off personally (but I tend to run cars into the ground). Difficult to advice really.

ChrisH72

2,349 posts

59 months

Tuesday 5th November
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The mileage would depend on how you will use it and how long you plan to keep it.

My last car (Fiesta ST3) was cheap when I bought it because the mileage was 'high'. It was 3 years old and had 68k on the clock. I ran it for 4 years and put another 15k on which wasn't much. Even so I was told that it's mileage was high when I sold it at 7 years old and 83k miles. To the average PH member that's not high miles but when you're selling you'll be told it is and the price will reflect that. More so with an mx5 which would typically have less miles on it than other cars.

I don't think there's a dent, it's just the lighting. There's a little plastic strip on the arch, no idea what it's for but they have them on the back too. Looks like the way the light is catching it.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be concerned about the mechanicals on that mileage. It'd be fine. If you're going to do very few miles and keep it a while then go for it. It might even be possible to get that price down a bit more as they'll struggle with that going into winter.

CrippsCorner

3,015 posts

188 months

Tuesday 5th November
quotequote all
Jiebo said:
In what world is this high mileage?

The colour would put me off more, and it will be harder to shift when selling.
I've been looking at a few cars recently, mostly in the 90k-100k mileage range... have found a diamond @ 64k and to me that's mega low mileage!