MX-5 NC 1.8 (Formerly a Pistonheaders car....)
Discussion
My wifes Mazda 6 sport went to the big scrapheap in the sky due to varous mechanical issues that weren't economical to fix, and we were on the lookout for a replacement. She seemed struck on an SUV, so I suggested a Kuga, due to it being apparently one of the more fun SUVs to drive.
However, she seemed very non plussed by my search, with barely a response to any Kuga I saw for sale.
Then out of the blue, she sent me a picture of an MX5 NC she'd seen. It perked my interest, beacise pre kids, we had an NA MX-5, which I adored, and we had lots of great memories of.
Not practical with 2 kids (9 & 12), but I have a ZC31 Swift Sport (great car). We've had a crap year, I lost my dad suddenly last yeat, and she lost an Auntie she was very close to, and I felt like we needed a pick me up. So lets be spontaneous, and give it a go, if it doesn't workout, we can sell it on right?
So off we went to Kingswinford to look at a blue NC, when midway there, the guy messaged and said a family member may be interested. Wifes dad lived that way anyway, so we carried on to nip in for a cuppa, while we waited for the chap to confirm whether we should come see it.
Still hadn't heard after an hour, so we decided to just go have a look anyway, arriving to see said man handing the keys over. Pfffft.
Search resumed.
We saw a 2.0 NC in Birmingham that looked promising, and went to look. It wasn't promising. It smelt horrendously of damp, the underside looked like it accompanied Clarksons Hilux in the Bristol Channel, the paint was horrid and to compound matters, it wouldn't start. Not great on the dealers part when he knew we were coming.
Next.....
A 1.8 popped up in Wolverhampton, in Galaxy grey, local to us, so we went for a mooch. Straight away I got a good vibe, the owner had an old Honda Prelude and a 330 BMW, and he was a proper petrolhead. I've not had a car conversation like that since dad passed.
The car looked straight, smelt good, underside was clean, started on the button with no smoke and drove well.
Only faults were a headlamp bulb out, and the offside front was very low, a look underneath showed a broken spring. Checked the last few MOT's and virtuallu clean passes, other than said spring being corroded on the last MOT. Good service history too.
Knocked a bit off the asking price, popped a deposit down, and picked it up the next week, where the chap kindly gave us £60 back for the headlight bulb and the fact he hadn't had chance to wash it.
Managed to get the bulb replaced by moving the fuse box due to my tiny hands meant I could finagle my way in (Manual said to remove the arch liner), and spent all of Saturday cleaning, waxing and sealing it. It in great condition for a 17 year old car, and only has 68,000 miles on the clock, which I believe due to haw it feels and looks. Spring was replaced with no issues.
It feels tight as a drum to drive, and feels quicker than I expected, engine is tractable and it handles nicely.
Future mods are the 30mm lowering springs as it has a typical NC 4 x 4 stance, and a filter as it doesn't make the best sound, and I love induction noise :-)
Oh, and a nice discovery when cleaning, there was a black pistonheads sticker on the rear bumper above the nearside exhaust tip :-)
It would be cool if a forummer used to own it?
However, she seemed very non plussed by my search, with barely a response to any Kuga I saw for sale.
Then out of the blue, she sent me a picture of an MX5 NC she'd seen. It perked my interest, beacise pre kids, we had an NA MX-5, which I adored, and we had lots of great memories of.
Not practical with 2 kids (9 & 12), but I have a ZC31 Swift Sport (great car). We've had a crap year, I lost my dad suddenly last yeat, and she lost an Auntie she was very close to, and I felt like we needed a pick me up. So lets be spontaneous, and give it a go, if it doesn't workout, we can sell it on right?
So off we went to Kingswinford to look at a blue NC, when midway there, the guy messaged and said a family member may be interested. Wifes dad lived that way anyway, so we carried on to nip in for a cuppa, while we waited for the chap to confirm whether we should come see it.
Still hadn't heard after an hour, so we decided to just go have a look anyway, arriving to see said man handing the keys over. Pfffft.
Search resumed.
We saw a 2.0 NC in Birmingham that looked promising, and went to look. It wasn't promising. It smelt horrendously of damp, the underside looked like it accompanied Clarksons Hilux in the Bristol Channel, the paint was horrid and to compound matters, it wouldn't start. Not great on the dealers part when he knew we were coming.
Next.....
A 1.8 popped up in Wolverhampton, in Galaxy grey, local to us, so we went for a mooch. Straight away I got a good vibe, the owner had an old Honda Prelude and a 330 BMW, and he was a proper petrolhead. I've not had a car conversation like that since dad passed.
The car looked straight, smelt good, underside was clean, started on the button with no smoke and drove well.
Only faults were a headlamp bulb out, and the offside front was very low, a look underneath showed a broken spring. Checked the last few MOT's and virtuallu clean passes, other than said spring being corroded on the last MOT. Good service history too.
Knocked a bit off the asking price, popped a deposit down, and picked it up the next week, where the chap kindly gave us £60 back for the headlight bulb and the fact he hadn't had chance to wash it.
Managed to get the bulb replaced by moving the fuse box due to my tiny hands meant I could finagle my way in (Manual said to remove the arch liner), and spent all of Saturday cleaning, waxing and sealing it. It in great condition for a 17 year old car, and only has 68,000 miles on the clock, which I believe due to haw it feels and looks. Spring was replaced with no issues.
It feels tight as a drum to drive, and feels quicker than I expected, engine is tractable and it handles nicely.
Future mods are the 30mm lowering springs as it has a typical NC 4 x 4 stance, and a filter as it doesn't make the best sound, and I love induction noise :-)
Oh, and a nice discovery when cleaning, there was a black pistonheads sticker on the rear bumper above the nearside exhaust tip :-)
It would be cool if a forummer used to own it?
Lovely. I bought an NC under similar circumstances. I was looking for a 2.0-litre Sport but a 1.8 popped up locally and looked very clean. The seller was an old guy who'd polished it more than he'd driven it. He'd recently discovered it had been written off in its past, so it was cheap. It ended up being one of the best cars I've owned - I regret selling it, despite having owned a number of technically superior cars since (including a 986 Boxster S and now an ND MX-5). My mate bought it and is using it as his daily... I'd be very tempted to have it back when he gets bored of it.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Check underneath for rust, get at it early. Other points are around the number plate lights on the boot lid and on the front valance where the bonnet rubbers touch
The plastic clips that hold the wheel arch liners always break, but aren't expensive. Mazda dealer parts can be cheaper than people like MX5-parts for consumables. However really easy to look after, hugely reliable and fun. Not fast, more brisk, noisy on the motorway, but great on A roads.
Congrats
The plastic clips that hold the wheel arch liners always break, but aren't expensive. Mazda dealer parts can be cheaper than people like MX5-parts for consumables. However really easy to look after, hugely reliable and fun. Not fast, more brisk, noisy on the motorway, but great on A roads.
Congrats
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