Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 69 total)
  • Mazda MX5
  • I_Ache
    Free Member

    Thinking about replacing Mrs Aches Micra with a MK2 MX5 for me and giving her my focus.

    Just wondering about a few of things.

    1. Are they reliable decent things?
    2. What are the main things that go wrong with them?
    3. Apparently my bike rack will fit on the back of it, and if so is this wise?
    4. How are they on the motorway?
    5. Is the boot big enough to fit my hair straighteners in alongside my riding gear? I absolutely must have my hair looking good after going for a ride, especially if I'm going for a post ride pinot in the wine bar.

    sofatester
    Free Member

    😆

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    1. yes
    2. just service parts, battery on my mk1
    3. I had the custom rack on mine, worked fine.
    4. mk1 – a bit noisey
    5. mk1 – tiny boot, I understand mk2 is a lot better.

    Great cars!

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    Surfr
    Free Member

    1) Very reliable
    2) Not really aware of anything major. Check drain holes are clear and that water is not resting in doors from failed rain rails.
    3) Never tried on the MX5s but I used a Saris Bones (2 bike version) on my RX8 without issue.
    4) Fine on the motorway. Not too loud if you put the radio on. Roof down is fine too.
    5) You can fit most of a mobile salon in there 😉

    ski
    Free Member

    I am just about to buy my Mrs one (well ok its for me really) a Eunos 1.8 for £900! only problem I am having is getting a reasonable insurance quote, not many insurance companies touch Jap imports for some reason.

    1. Are they reliable decent things?

    Reliable, check for rust on sills and arches with early ones, tatty roofs after a while, easy to fix mind.

    4. How are they on the motorway?

    Noisy, but not madly.

    5. Is the boot big enough to fit my hair straighteners in alongside my riding gear?

    Aparently the MK1's boot will dent if you stick a bottle of wine upright in it as they are quite narrow, or is it the other way round and its the mk2's 😉

    tron
    Free Member

    They're reliable. The battery is an Absorbed Glass Matt one, and they're £90 a piece.

    They rust on the sills, starting from the front of the rear arches.

    They don't leak.

    They're reasonably noisy. Noisier than a normal car, even with a hard top. But not at all unbearable.

    The boot is rather small, but not stupid. Everything on them is pretty light weight (alloy bonnet etc.), so it's possible that a bike rack could dent the boot. I'd be inclined to get a bike bag and strap that to a proper Mazda boot rack. Or put the bike in the Focus.

    mundiesmiester
    Free Member


    Great little cars though

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    £70 for my battery IIRC.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I had a ride in one once. The heater was insane. It was like a fan assisted oven. It would burn your skin if you put it on full.

    I suppose it was to allow you to drive with the top down on a dry winter's day. That's British design for you 🙂

    ski
    Free Member

    Mk 1.8 Eunos 94, fsh, 45k on the clock, owned by neigbour for the last 8 years, garaged and polishied, full mot & tax, ok – needs a new front wing & boots soon, no rust (visable) mechanics 100%.

    For 900 notes?

    I think I can put up with the hairdresser jibs 😉

    sofatester
    Free Member

    I think I can put up with the hairdresser jibs

    We will see 😉

    toby1
    Full Member

    First time you hit a roundabout in the wet it pays to remember it's a rearwheel drive 🙂

    My mate ruined one this way and I saw another out on an icy morning ride in winter having done the same – that was a much newer model too!

    tron
    Free Member

    First time you hit a roundabout in the wet it pays to remember it's a rearwheel drive

    Rear wheel drive is not at all scary.

    I_Ache
    Free Member

    First time you hit a roundabout in the wet it pays to remember it's a rearwheel drive

    One of the reasons I'm thinking about it. 😆

    I have wanted a RWD car for ages and this is about as cheap as they get.

    FWIW the bike wont go in the focus when I'm transporting it because 2 kids and a mother wont go in an MX5. Well not safely anyway. But I can put one of them in the passenger seat if I need to.

    tron
    Free Member

    Oh, not all come with LSDs. I think most of the 1.8s did. LSDs are good.

    tinker-belle
    Free Member

    Have a MK1, and would recommend it over a MK2 any day, especially if you want to have it for the joy of driving on winding country lanes.

    1. Are they reliable decent things? – Never had a single issue with mine (except a dead battery when I left the lights on.

    2. What are the main things that go wrong with them? Sills on my R reg are now rusting, but again never had anything go worng on it

    3. Apparently my bike rack will fit on the back of it, and if so is this wise? I believe you can get one to fit, but never tried this as I use the other car for bike portage

    4. How are they on the motorway? a bit noisey, but not overly so, you can still hear the CD player/radio. does get a bit shuddery at about 90mph

    5. Is the boot big enough to fit my hair straighteners in alongside my riding gear? Have sucessfully managed to pack a weeks groceries in the boot without removing the spare wheel.

    As said above, only thing I would say is back end in the wet gets a bit twitchy if you are heavy footed, but to me it just makes it so much more fun to drive.

    Oh and from personal experiance will go up almost any hill in the snow, even when Landy's etc are getting stuck

    ski
    Free Member

    Have a MK1, and would recommend it over a MK2 any day, especially if you want to have it for the joy of driving on winding country lanes.

    tinker, curious now, why do you prefer the MK1 over the MK2? Is there that much of a difference?

    Ta.

    Surfr
    Free Member

    The Mk 1 is lighter and better handling than the Mk2 supposedly. I only ever owned 2 Mk 1s so can't back that up but I've definitely heard it banded about on mx5ocforum.

    Daisy_Duke
    Free Member

    Had Mk1 Monaco, which was only the 1.6. I'd go for the 1.8 as it was little slow on the straights. Agree Mk1 more fun to drive than Mk2. Avoid imports, despite what others tell you. Top tip, remember to unzip the rear plastic window before you drop the hood. Otherwise it may split as happened on me. Think Mk1's don't have power steering either, so parking can be heavy.

    tinker-belle
    Free Member

    @Ski – what surfr said, the MK1 is thought to be more your "purist" type drive, where as the MK2 was made to be more usable to the general market

    ***EDIT – consider a singlespeed without rigid forks, it's just not a true singlespeed is it?

    You'll feel every lump and bump in the road with the MK1, it's a twitchy as you like, but drive it and you can't help but grin from ear to ear. I drove a MK2 once, and I just didn't enjoy it – I think it really depends what you want from your car.

    If you want a toy that will make you feel like a kid again (including the bug filled teeth) get a MK1, if you want a car that's more practical and more comfortable go for the MK2.

    second what DD says I have the 1.8 Harvard – and the 1.6 is ok, but I'd seriously recommend the 1.8

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Is the Mk1 the one with the pop-up headlights, and the Mk2 the one without?

    Daisy_Duke
    Free Member

    yes

    coffeeking
    Free Member

    Rear wheel drive is not at all scary.

    Rear – end – happy cars are more fun and controllable than front end happy in my experience.

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    Recently had to move on Mrs North's MX5 (mk2.5) – we've a child on the way, and I thought it unfair to put it in the boot – and still really miss it.

    Reliable
    So much fun to drive
    Drop the roof sitting in the driver's seat
    Bike rack (Saris Bones) fitted easily to the boot (drove to Avignon with the road bike this year)
    Boot bigger than you'd think and with the roof down, you can carry all sorts of stuff….

    Surf-Mat
    Free Member

    The MX5 doesn't have enough power to make the RWD scary – they just handle brilliantly and are well made.

    Image aside, they are very decent cars.

    As is the last (mk3) and sadly missed MR2. One of the best handling little cars I've driven. A bit more power and they would have been much more reliable alternatives to Elises.

    crispybacon
    Free Member

    MX5's are great cars to drive & in my experience very reliable. Mrs CB had a mk2 for 10 years & this year got a mk3.

    You don't need a boot rack to take your bike ….

    [img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/4557670195_c36986e702_o.jpg[/img]

    Most of the points you were asking about have been covered above.

    5lab
    Full Member

    mine leaks!

    I've not tried the bike in it yet (looks like a squeeze). they're not fast but they're nippy enough to be plenty fun. Electric windows often play up, and a bit fiddly to fix, but once its done it's done

    mine was £730, with 6 months ticket. Bargin

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    I had a Mk 3 and was not impressed with it. The handling was at best twitchy, suspension too soft, and overall not that good a drive compared to Mk 1 or 2

    A mate who's had a Mk 1 & 2 said the original was the better drive.

    As to not enough power to slide, well my Mk 3 with limited slip diff could certainly do so in the wet

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    my wife used to have a MX5 (mk1)

    good fun to drive, esp in the snow

    roof leaked, as did the replacement. 3rd one was fine though 😕

    DaveGr
    Free Member

    Owned a Mk2.5 for just over 8 years and 88k miles.

    Great car to drive. Can't compare to a Mk1 but much much better than an MGF.

    Had to replace tyres, front disc/pads (3 times!!!), rear discs/pads once hood under warranty, clutch under warranty and number plates. Sills are rusting at the rear – this is a common problem on Mk2's – and difficult to fix properly.

    Can carry two bikes on the boot and get plenty of kit in the boot if it's packed well. The rear parcel shelf will take my 3 man tent and kit bag but restricts dropping the hood. Oh and it'll easilt take ALL my hair care products such as a flannel.

    LordSummerisle
    Free Member

    have a 1995 mk1, 130,000miles on the clock. Had it for 4 years – lives in the street, driven in all weathers.

    Always starts, keeps going.
    I would say – very reliable, but as said, they do rust (doesn't matter the age or the mark of car, the body shop who did mine has already had the mk3s in for rust) – mostly its in the area between the door and the rear wheel, on the wheel arch, down by the sill where the jacking point is.
    Its not terminal, costs about £200 per side to sort out properly: but search the owners club forum for past experience of garages, as one who has a good rep for '5 rust fixing will be cheaper and better in the long run.
    Battery wise – i'm still on my original mazda battery (15 years old it seems), I had the exhaust replaced when the original rusted through a couple of years ago, suspension replaced after 120,000, clutch around the same time. basically wear and tear.
    only failures i've had are – misfire due to HT lead: they are recommended to be replaced every 40,000miles, i never got round to it, and it broke a while later, cheap fix. secondly was clutch slave cylinder leaked – £40 had that replaced (the slave cylinder seems to be a – they all do that, eventually)

    if the roof leaks, and it doesn't have any cracks in it – and its dripping from around the point the roof, door and windscreen meet (tis were it happens on mine) try Vaselining the rubber seals around the windscreen and/or make a little adjustment to the tension of the roof (theres adjusters on the roof clips)
    roof replacement is a DIY job, and you can get mohair roofs with zip out plastic screens for about £250. (took me about 4 or 5 hours to do… but next time would be quicker, i stripped the car down more than i needed to)

    at the end of the day – mine is the ultra basic model; it doesn't have power steering, electric windows, central locking, air bags, abs, stability control. controls are a simple cable between the accelerator and the throttle linkage, firmish brakes… it was everything i wanted – i wanted a basic car with good handling. i did drive an S spec when buying which had alot of the electronic extras, but it wasn't what I was after

    bootsize wise: get rid of the space saver spare (useless thing – i have a can of tyre weld stuffed in a wee gap behind the fuel tank – the space saver says not to put on a driving wheel or a steering wheel… in a 5 that leaves the errrrrr…) boots pleanty big enough.

    this was taken at the start of a weeks holiday to France – so the car carried tent, bedding, and clothes for me and the missus and all the usual extras you end up taking.
    equally we have been away camping at race meetings – so tent, cooking gear, clothes – plus 2 hold all bags with our marshalling gear in. you get good also at finding the little nooks and crannies around the cabin like behind the seats and on the parcel shelf.

    on the motorway – they are more noisy that a regular closed car. with a standard exhaust its not too bad, its mostly wind noise. mines a little louder (not by much) as i have a Larini stainless steel exhaust fitted, but its still a case of being able to hold a normal conversation, or listen to the stereo without having to shout. ( a big improvement i made was to get a little fabric windbreaker which is fixed between the seats which reduced the wind in the cabin with the roof down.
    and long distance motorway wise – from the above picture – we drove from manchester to dover, then on to Le Mans nice and easily and comfortably.
    70mph is about 3500rpm hence why its a little noisy on the motorway.

    if you test drive one – remember they are very sensitive to set up – a poor/neglected set up can ruin how the car feels – a good geometry set up will bring feeling to the steering wheel, and feels more planted on the road.

    engine wise – there was the original 1.6 which had about 115bhp (this is the one that is used in the mazda mx5 race series) then in 1994 they introduced the 1.8 with 120bhp. the Uk spec 1600cc engines were reduced to 90bhp (these are the ones to avoid – very underpowered) while the 1600cc Eunos imports kept the 115bhp engine.
    the 1800cc stayed through the mark 2 variant.

    I do like mine – i do find myself sometimes taking the long way home, just for the fun of it, (tho having tasted the experience of caterhams and elises – i want i want i want!)

    I_Ache
    Free Member

    Wow quite a few fans then.

    What are the stereos like will I have to rip it out and fit a quality one or are they ok? I would quite like to fit a head unit that has iPod compatibility and I guess putting some new speakers in at the same time would liven things up a bit.

    5lab
    Full Member

    the stereo's unlikely to be original if you're buying a mk1. My speakers were, but aren't up to much. Worth an upgrade, but also worth considering that a stereo in a convertible is rather theft-prone so don't spend too much

    DaveGr
    Free Member

    I find the standard stereo fine but then I'm not an audiophile. If you do replace it then I think you'll need – "box" to fit it in the dashboard as the Mazda stereo isn't a standard size, wiring loom to connect the non standard Mazda connections to the standard ones on the replacement unit as well as the unit itself. Other options are to plug in an adaptor via the CD changer port or the FM aerial to run your Ipod..

    LordSummerisle
    Free Member

    Dave: in my Mk1 its a standard fitting – i've got a cheap £20 radio/cd/mp3/SD card/USB player from Lidl in mine didnt need any extra fittings.

    but the imported Eunos cars had a double radio slot. tho most will have been converted to the standard single slot by now.

    http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/index.php/cPath/86

    hora
    Free Member

    Three essential rules with MX5's:

    1. Buy in Winter, sell in Summer.
    2. Buy privately.
    3. You will have to make two trips to the cash and carry for the Salon.

    I_Ache
    Free Member

    I think I'm going to buy one quite soon.

    hora
    Free Member

    I_Ache I've said this before but I passed my test in 10 lessons but I didn't learn how to drive until I bought a MX5. since then everytime I've had oversteer, rear out etc- its never been a drama.

    Fantastic cars and none of that 'its one car you should own before you die bollocks' (i.e. reliable (if regularly serviced), easy to work on, non-interference engines on the mk2.5, simple and fantastic fun 😀

    I still want another one. My third… :mrgreen:

    withersea
    Free Member

    if it's still going and you want a good choice try MX5 city (imports and UK cars I think) somewhere near sheffield/doncaster

    I_Ache
    Free Member

    Ok not strictly an MX5 question but it is so I can get the MX5.

    My wife's Micra is worth roughly 3k, I want to buy a MX5 that costs no more than 2.5k. If I take the Micra to a dealer that is selling the 5 will they PX and give me the £500 or so? Or do I have to sell separately?

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