Cheap MX5 or Z4?

[Digby]

Am currently off work with a shoulder injury and have spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos etc and it occurred to me that some cheap, Summer fun, might cheer me up when I’m better.

I had seven mk1 MX5s before the prices went mad and despite suggesting I would never want a mk3 / 3.5 (NC) I have warmed to them rather a lot! This also lead to suggestions of Z4s as there seems to be a lot around.

I know nothing about the BMWs and all I seem to find are conflicting reports about the reliability of the various engine types and the associated niggles. I honestly had no idea they used so many different engines!

Some moan about and advise you avoid the 2.0, others say they are great, some prefer the 6 pots, others the four cylinder models; the 3.0 is the ultimate? Not if you love the 2.5! But the 2.2 has the best of everything….. and on and on it goes.

The Mazda choices are simply a 1.8 or 2.0. I don’t fancy a mk1 again and have never liked the Mk2.

Not bothered about speed, not bothered if auto or manual (don’t laugh) not worried which is the quickest around Brands.
Budget is only around 5k max but that offers up a lot of choice!
Some in both camps are well under budget, too, because they may need some tidying or odd jobs and I’m ok with that as I don’t mind getting my hands dirty.

Sooo, anyone else been in the same boat?

Edited by Digby on Monday 24th June 19:54

[Digby]

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all the replies. I really do appreciate you taking the time and effort!

One question for those in the know...

Did all Z4s come with electric water pumps? I keep seeing that cropping up, but can't seem to find a definitive answer. Given my budget and the subsequent mileage on the cars within that budget, I may need to prepare for some preventative maintenance. Reports seem to suggest they just go. No warnings etc. One second fine, the next, stranded (assuming you spot the dash warning and don't cook them) I also watched a video on how to change them and was a little surprised that you needed to remove an engine mount and raise the engine to remove the pump! Would that be the same on all models?

Once again, thanks for all the input.

[Digby]

Interesting bunch some of these Z4 sellers.

All I have done is asked a few questions relating to specific cars and it hasn’t gone very well…

Does the air con work? Question completely ignored.

Have you had it long? Completely ignored..

What was the reason it failed the mot a few weeks ago due to the engine light? A: No idea.

Has it had paintwork on one side, or is it just the light making it look a different colour? Completely ignored.

How many owners? A: No idea. (No offer to find out)

How many owners? A: Don’t know. (No offer to find out)

Mot advisory for tyres at the last mot prompted me to ask if they were ok / replaced A: Not really looked.

Do you have any pics with the roof up? Is it in good condition? A: Looks ok. Come look yourself (No pics and a 2 hour drive to find out)

I could add five or six more examples here. None of the above were cheap cars. Am I being too fussy?

[Digby]

Mad Maximus said:

Part of the fun of car shopping. If you really don’t want to deal with that sort of thing then you’ll need a dealer and pay accordingly.

Plenty around just take your time and enjoy it.

The only thing with some dealer adverts is that they simply name the car and then go on to list absolutely every single feature listed in the original sales brochure. You get zero information about the actual car, but will know it has door pockets, usb slots, an illuminated ashtray, vanity mirrors, car mats, alloy wheels, map light, glove box……

I know what you mean, though. It just struck me as odd as I don’t remember it ever being this bad with previous car purchases. Many don’t even list which engine the car has. All good fun!

Edited by Digby on Sunday 30th June 20:40

[Digby]

Shamless copy paste (more or less) from another post I made...

Well, thanks again all; in the end, I picked up this 85k mile, 2004 3.0 manual (well, the kind chap delivered it) as it was very cheap and had some bonnet damage. I therefore decided to gently ease myself back in to playing about with cars and very, very slowly, over the last couple of days, messed about with it...

Oil and filter change, stubby aerial installed, damaged bonnet removed and second hand one fitted, new lower arms + bushes and drop links, cleaned the headlights, removed the foam from the sound resonator pipe and my pièce de résistance.....fixing what turned out to be a broken xenon headlamp levelling arm (Thanks to the Z4 FB group for letting me know what it did!) with some 1970s Meccano! You can see the yellow arm I made in the pics below, although that was taken before I bolted it in.

A few more jobs I want to do, but even with numerous breaks, I ached, a lot, so that will do for now.

[Digby]

Gastons_Revenge said:

Fantastic stuff. Has the roof motor been relocated to the boot from the drain channel it sits in? If not that's a key job to do to avoid a massive headache in future as it sits in a 'cup' in the channel which gradually fills up with water & drowns the motor. There's a handy space behind the boot lining on the front left side which the motor was relocated to on my old Z4 by a previous owner.

Fortunately, already done by Z Shed.

Maracus said:

Nice write up. What did you use for the headlight to get it so clear?

Thanks.

I have used kits before, but returned to my usual method of 800 to 3000 wet and dry by hand and then finished with some E-TECH Restored Headlight Clear Coat I have had lying around for a while. Most kits are pretty good these days, although the ones that use pads in a drill are a bit too..... 'aggressive' for my liking. That said, my friend used one recently and got on just fine. I think I would only use those if I were taking the headlamps completely out.

So far, we have used:

Turtle Wax Headlight Restorer Kit (twice)

Bass motor headlight restoration kit (comes with pads for drill)