Mazda MX5 (various questions)

[race2the redline]

3.5k to 4k, what sort of MX5 does this get me? (From a little research a 96 1.8s seems a good bet?)
Power figures seem to be a little hard to come by for the various ages and models, anyone have any definitive figures?
Iv’e test driven a 98 spec 1.8, am I going to be disappointed by the handling of the earlier mk? (I’m rather naïve here not haven driven an earlier model)

I thought I would post in Japchat, not from fear or ridicule in ‘General Gassing’ but because I assume you are the consummate experts on such things.

R2TR

[steve_evil]

You won't be disappointed by the earlier MK1's, as they're both excellent cars, heard some very unfavourable reports about the new one but that's another story. That sort of money will also pick you up a slightly earlier turbo model (BBR did an official Mazda approved car that came with a warranty, all the others tend to be converted afterwards with various kits being available) The turbo's are well worth a look as they give the car a much welcomed boost in power which the chassis is more than capable of handling.

[anonymous-user]

Power figures are roughly, early 1.6 = 110 ish, 1.8 130 ish and later 1.6 90 ish, IIRC.

[wedge girl]

I have a 1990 1.6 and I can honestly say it has never disappointed me, not even round Brands Hatch, what it lacks in power it makes up for in handling. It's handles well in the winter and gives masses of smiles per mile.

The trouble is very few private owners are comfortable letting potential buyers put their P&J through it's paces, so I guess it depends on what you expectations are and what you're looking for in the driving experience.

Will it be your daily driver, second car, used for commuting or just a weekend toy, will you track it or just road use? What's led you to consider the MX5 in the first place?

[race2the redline]

wedge girl said:

I have a 1990 1.6 and I can honestly say it has never disappointed me, not even round Brands Hatch, what it lacks in power it makes up for in handling. It's handles well in the winter and gives masses of smiles per mile. The trouble is very few private owners are comfortable letting potential buyers put their P&J through it's paces, so I guess it depends on what you expectations are and what you're looking for in the driving experience. Will it be your daily driver, second car, used for commuting or just a weekend toy, will you track it or just road use? What's led you to consider the MX5 in the first place?

The Car will purely be a ‘fun’ weekend toy so to speak, I hadn’t considered tracking it as I have another car more suited to that but it might be nice given the opportunity.

Having relatively little experience of the front engined rear drive platform it seemed like the ideal introduction.

R2TR

[Flat_Steve]

I paid £3600 for a P-reg MkI MX-5 with 93,000 miles on the clock in October 2004 but you can easily get a MKII for your budget now, which is probably slightly easier to live with day to day. Some MKI's suffer with a little rust around the rear sills (the water drains off the roof through a channel that sometimes gets blocked, causing the corrosion) though this was more or less rectified on the MKII onwards. If the sills are bubbled you must also check the underside of the car - it may be badly corroded.

Also Many MKI's didn't come with toys such as electric windows or power steering (mine has neither).

[race2the redline]

Flat_Steve said:

I paid £3600 for a P-reg MkI MX-5 with 93,000 miles on the clock in October 2004 but you can easily get a MKII for your budget now, which is probably slightly easier to live with day to day. Some MKI's suffer with a little rust around the rear sills (the water drains off the roof through a channel that sometimes gets blocked, causing the corrosion) though this was more or less rectified on the MKII onwards. If the sills are bubbled you must also check the underside of the car - it may be badly corroded. Also Many MKI's didn't come with toys such as electric windows or power steering (mine has neither).

Thanks for the advice Steve, I cant say iv’e found any Mk 2 models within my budget though?

R2TR

[Flat_Steve]

You could be right, I can only find two MKII's roughly in your budget. One's on Autotrader, is an import and is awaiting shipping from japan:

http://tinyurl.com/a6ozh


The other's on Pistonheads classified:

www.pistonheads.com/sales/57647.htm

[benjc]

Flat_Steve said:

Also Many MKI's didn't come with toys such as electric windows or power steering (mine has neither).

If you want to stick with a UK car that is the case, however if you are able to consider an import the opposite is true. My '93 cam with electric windows, PS, air con, bilstein suspension, BBS wheels and a strut tower brace as standard.

Get out there and drive some. That is the only way to find out if they are viable.

[race2the redline]

Flat_Steve said:

You could be right, I can only find two MKII's roughly in your budget. One's on Autotrader, is an import and is awaiting shipping from japan: http://tinyurl.com/a6ozh The other's on Pistonheads classified: www.pistonheads.com/sales/57647.htm

Thanks for looking, ill stick with a UK spec car, I’m not really to concerned over air conditioning or electric windows.

R2TR

[benjc]

race2the redline said:

Flat_Steve said: You could be right, I can only find two MKII's roughly in your budget. One's on Autotrader, is an import and is awaiting shipping from japan: http://tinyurl.com/a6ozh The other's on Pistonheads classified: www.pistonheads.com/sales/57647.htm Thanks for looking, ill stick with a UK spec car, I’m not really to concerned over air conditioning or electric windows. R2TR

That's a shame. You will be missing out on the more performance focused models.

Make sure you drive a five with and without PS and form your own opinion. The car was desigened with the power assisted rack in place, and the manual rack was added as an after thought for the "less fussy" UK market.

[tuttle]

Quick question. With the imported Eunos v's UK MX5's, are drivers getting really taken the pi55 out of by insurance comps, like they do with just about all the other Jap imports? Or are rates fairly similar for both types?
Thanks
Matt

[benjc]

tuttle said:

Quick question. With the imported Eunos v's UK MX5's, are drivers getting really taken the pi55 out of by insurance comps, like they do with just about all the other Jap imports? Or are rates fairly similar for both types? Thanks Matt

Depends on the company/broker. AON, Tesco, Direct Line, and Elephant were pretty much identical for MX5 vs Roadster quotes for me.

The cars are pretty much exactly the same bar a couple of *tiny* differences (rear view mirror attached to the windscreen, no fog light, rear numberplate surround, one piece seats, third brake light and no pissy 90bhp version avaialable in Japan). What you tend to find though is that if you write off a roadster the burden of proof is on you to prove the value.

[race2the redline]

tuttle said:

Quick question. With the imported Eunos v's UK MX5's, are drivers getting really taken the pi55 out of by insurance comps, like they do with just about all the other Jap imports? Or are rates fairly similar for both types? Thanks Matt

This is a good question and a fairly significant factor for me, ill get a quote on similar age Eunos and report back.

R2TR

[juzzyp]

Im sure my fellow MX5 owners may well agree, the MK1 is the better roadster and the MK2 is the better car (if that makes any sense)

You can get a fairly decent machine for up to 4K, mileage don't matter on these, it's the condition.

If you get a 1.6, go for a pre-93 as these kick out 115bhp, after that they were detuned to give a measley 88bhp, in my personal opinion try and get hold of a 1.8 with an LSD.

The only thing you really need to look for is bubbling on the sill near the rear wheel arch, always check the discs, engines are usually pretty sweet and Im sure the usual checks with find any problems, although check of oil weeping from around the Cam Cover Gasket and around the CAS-O-RING round the back of the engine.

Hope this helped and I wish you all the luck in your purchase, I've had my MK2 for 18 months and loved every minute so much so I'm shoving a turbo on it!!

[race2the redline]

Gazboy said:

tuttle said: Quick question. With the imported Eunos v's UK MX5's, are drivers getting really taken the pi55 out of by insurance comps, like they do with just about all the other Jap imports? Or are rates fairly similar for both types? Thanks Matt The UK Supra is a lot less to insure than the JDM, some say it's 25-50% less, but as we took out insurance for our jdm for £450ish notes fully comp, I can't see it myself.

I just run a comparison with a imported MX5/Eunos equivalent and the import was vastly more expensive to ensure. Are there some specialist insurers I should be enquiring with?

R2TR

[tuttle]

You could try with ; Adrian Flux (bit hit & miss tho),Heard that Quinn are good, or Warwick-Davis (previously did my best quote for a grp 20 JDM). OR if you can get through/shift more than 6 cars a year get Tradex-(very cheap/easy).

[benjc]

Gazboy said:

RT2L- Imports generaly cost a lot more to insure than UK cars, that is the rules of the game I'm affraid.

Try the MX5 owners club insurers AON. However if you are under 25 you may have trouble whatever company you approach.

[race2the redline]

benjc said:

Gazboy said: RT2L- Imports generaly cost a lot more to insure than UK cars, that is the rules of the game I'm affraid. Try the MX5 owners club insurers AON. However if you are under 25 you may have trouble whatever company you approach.

Inevitably I was expecting the quote to be more expensive (a cost balanced out with the additional spec/cheaper price of an imported model) but I wasn’t expecting it to be 800 pounds more expensive.

I think ill stick to a UK spec car

R2TR

[benjc]

race2the redline said:

benjc said: Gazboy said: RT2L- Imports generaly cost a lot more to insure than UK cars, that is the rules of the game I'm affraid. Try the MX5 owners club insurers AON. However if you are under 25 you may have trouble whatever company you approach. Inevitably I was expecting the quote to be more expensive (a cost balanced out with the additional spec/cheaper price of an imported model) but I wasn’t expecting it to be 800 pounds more expensive. I think ill stick to a UK spec car R2TR

Are you on 9 points and have written of 6 cars recently?

£800 is about what I pay for an import with a 100% power increase. That is with a claim 2 years ago and 3 points....