Whilst out on the bike in Swaledale this morning, I saw quite a few mx5s driven by silvery-haired types in a very “making steady progress” manner.

I’m not complaining about this at all…..considering they were popping up all over the shop on 1.5~track roads over blind crests.

Made me wonder though….there must be loads of those things about that are barely run in. Wonder how, (if one was in the market), you’d ever know how it had previously been driven? Only thing I can think of is wear rate on tyres and brakes…assuming the service and spares history is detailed enough.

The owners clubs are a good place to start. Most of the members are the old guys who treat their cars well. There is a smallish group of members who use their cars for track days.

The groups meet fairly regularly and they often sell cars within the groups.

If I was looking for another MX5 and I wanted to buy from a private seller, I’d start with the owners club members.

I thought they were mainly driven by hairdressers and homosexuals

You don’t want one that’s been pootling it’s whole life

A good Italian tune up now and again is good for them

Edric 64 – Member

I thought they were mainly driven by hairdressers and homosexuals
No, you’ll be thinking of something from the 1970s for that mentality.

Have to admit from intially not being a fan I now like them very much, a STWer has a lovely one in black with an electric roof he got at a great price

TR7?

Edric 64 – Member

TR7?
Tony Pond proved that the TR7 was a good car. The hairdresser and homosexual comments are straight from the 70s. Juvenile at best.

Apparently the biggest problem with the mx5 is rust. I was looking for one for a kit car build and there were loads for sale starting at around £250 for a good runner but rusty. The other big problem is knackered hoods. The replacement can cost enough to mean people get rid of the car instead of replacing.

u’ll be thinking of something from the 1970s for that mentality.

Well the 90’s at least. When they were new to the UK they were branded at hairdressers cars and for ‘the gays’. Wasn’t right then, but was ‘acceptable’ to say such things in public. No red blooded male would be seen in an MX-5 or an MR2 for that matter. That’s why they became so cheap and that’s why they had a resurgence 10 years later when the price convinced more people to try them.

Think rust was worst with the mk2 “NB” model. Was amazed that the mk3 (only just replaced) has been around since 2005! Some bargains out there…

Mucho pisstaking ,my gay brother has a brand new MX5 and absolutely loves it .Only bought the smaller engined one and says it is plenty quick enough

Well the 90’s at least. When they were new to the UK they were branded at hairdressers cars and for ‘the gays’. Wasn’t right then, but was ‘acceptable’ to say such things in public. No red blooded male would be seen in an MX-5 or an MR2 for that matter. That’s why they became so cheap and that’s why they had a resurgence 10 years later when the price convinced more people to try them.

Good job we’ve moved on from the 70s, I mean 90s, I mean present day.
#SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreBlicks

There’s plenty of recent evidence on here that those who would own MX5s have almost saintly patience.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/car-dealer-disorganised-or-flogged-the-car-i-put-a-deposit-down-on

We used to go out with the owner’s club and most were silver haired but I’d not say they were slow, they’re pretty strict with 30/40 speed limits but they tend to be decent drivers. But MX5s are now cheap enough that people buy them as a 3rd car to take out in the sun, and the sort of people that tend to do that I suppose are fairly slow.

Ours certainly wasn’t driven sedately (mind we’re not silver haired)- what’s the point in having a rear drive car weighing under a ton if you’re not going to try and get it to wriggle about a bit?

^^ 🙂

Yes ineed, they are chaep enough to run as a summer car and being Japanese they are going to start faultlessly in April or May having been resting since November.

As an aside my ex-BIL had an MR2 back in fhe 90’s, great little car

Saw a very nicely kept BMW Z3 the other day (hairdresser image along with the MX5), with modern cars being so much more reliable with superior longevity than the stuff we where buying in the ’80’s its great to see them still on the road

I’ve had 2x MX5s (both mk1) and the father in law still has his too, they really are excellent little cars. The better of the two only cost me £1200 and remains the best value car I ever owned. There is definitely a lot of older gents pootling about in them, but then again if I actually make it to retirement age with £2k in my bank, the first thing I’d do is go buy another mx5 🙂

The second mx5 I bought I decided to splash out on a nicely cared for example for £2000 from the owners club, looked after fastidiously for a year or so and then part-exchanged it with a guy in his early 20s, for his VR6. He threw it into a lamp-post and wrote it off within 2 hours!

My grandparents have had a string of them.

TBH I wouldn’t buy one, whilst it’s been well maintained by a garage, it’s needed it, that sort of use leas to seized brake calipers, amongst other perished seals. It seems to have as many brake rebuilds as it does services!

I think like jimwah a few of theirs have been sold onto owners club members in their 20’s who then promptly wrap them round lamposts!

I’d quite like one, but we already have 3 cars, an the Midget isn’t being sold! Ideal garage would need 3 Sunday cars, a classic (tick), a reliable one (Mx5) and something silly (bike engined locost).

Mrs THM had one pre-kids (ie, >20 years ago). I loved driving it despite the inevitable girly car ragging. I also hired a BMW Z4 once and that was an even better drive but same image problem. Critics slagged it off to, but still one of the best weekends in a car I have ever had!

Getting to the age where an M5 might be fun again!!! And too old to worry about piss-taking 😉

Tony Pond proved that the TR7 was a good car.

I think the TR7 Mr Pond pedaled was ever so slightly modified over a standard car which lets be honest were pretty terrible, the TR8 was an interesting beast in a DearGodwhichbitofthesceneryarewegoingtohitfirst

As an aside my ex-BIL had an MR2 back in fhe 90’s, great little car

My sister had a couple. Like driving a roller skate. Great fun!

I believe the MX5 is a little ‘softer’ – the MR2 was pretty direct.

Getting to the age where an M5 might be fun again!!! And too old to worry about piss-taking

A bit like the RS6 I’d love one until I had to fill it up, which would be quite a lot. 👿

They are bullet proof, and driven by all types from all walks of life.
I worked in a Mazda service department for a few years.
The coolest owner was a guy who owned some racing car team, he could’ve driven anything but loved his MX-5. Every service his rear tyres were completely knackered! Change oil, filters and tyres, every time.
Rust was a problem with Eunos (Jap import) not being under sealed but there genuinely wasn’t a bad car.
A work colleague left to work for Land Rover as the warranty claims manager! He was busy.

Someone in an MX5 caused me to be late for work last week, not because they were driving “maturely” though – it was upside down blocking the motorway on-ramp after being apparently sent round the adjacent roundabout backwards before hitting a pole & doing a backflip. Probably best to stay away from that one if it comes up for sale…

I’m sure it was Monday, and it was raining – imagine being cut out of your knackered upside down mx5 on a Monday morning in the rain… once my detour induced rage settled I actually felt sorry for them.

Have always liked the look of them and everyone has been banging on about how reliable they are since they first came out, I quite fancy one as a second car, (but we would actually have to purchase a “first” car* before that)

Is there and easy way of getting a large bike inside it? (with roof on) Passenger seat folded back/down?

*we got rid of our “first” car a while back and still have the “second” car, not buying a car with even less capacity than the one we have now.

We had a NB MX5 – was one of only two cars I’ve owned that I was sorry to see go when we sold it. Though just as well, as the NB’s are the worst for hidden and very serious rust issues (the chassis legs rot from the inside out, causing major structural issues).

The NA’s tend to run on the rear sills (again from the inside out), but this is usually resolvable. The prices of these are now going up.

My FIL (def silver haired) is on his 3rd NC. It’s a classic underused example – barely driven, so he’s had to replace the tyres not through wear but because they’ve cracked from standing. The roof is also rapidly turning green because it isn’t used, and the discs are pitted from standing in the rain. If it was the 2 litre (rather than 1.8), I’d have it off him and get Brodie Britain Racing to tune it.

MX5s are not fast (unless breathed on by BBR), but they’re RWD and their handling is superb – a proper sports car (in spite of Edric’s non-ironic ironic claims).

D0NK: the seats shift about 5 inches for/aft, that’s it. I had to cut the foam out of the base of my mx5 seats to actually sit inside the car – let alone fit a bike inside 😀 Maybe if you took both bike wheels out, and pulled your handlebars off at the stem, you might squeeze a bike in with the roof up/on. Otherwise it’s boot mounted options only. It’s surprising what you can comfortably get in a ‘5, behind headrests etc, but a bike is pushing it!

Not all of them are ‘barely run-in’. I’ve taken my ’06 NC from 15k to 130k in the 8 years I’ve had it. Utterly reliable – Apart from consumables, biggest bill was replacing the middle section of the exhaust at around 100k (miles, not £). Also both front calipers seized and have been replaced in the past two years. Asides from that just the odd drop link at MOT time, and discs and pads.

It’s definitely burning a bit more oil these days, and there’s rust beginning to come through on the wing – wheelarch and around the indicator. Alloys are knackered and could do with refurb/powdercoat.

Ive got an 2006 (NC) version, I’ve had it for about 5 years now and can’t really see me replacing it. Its cheap to run and maintain and has been the most reliable car I’ve owned. Its only worth about £2k now.

you can get a bike in it, just – by dropping the roof , taking the wheels off and slotting into the passenger seat/footwell, then putting the roof back up. Experience shows that using a saris bones rack is much easier.

@ DONK – unlikely I;d say. I used to use a rear rack and hang the bike off the there. Took my road bike to the south of France like that, so not a problem at all:

EDIT: great minds..!!

Bloody love my MX5, I’m gonna be gutted to see it go. Have to say though, of all the cars I’ve ever owned it’s the one that is the most resistant to pootling – it just eggs you on to chuck it into every corner. But that’s the point surely?

I have a ’57 MX-5; great car, fun to drive, reliable. Given that 90% of my journeys are just me, why do you need more seats. Good at the moment since the roof is always down.

Stealth ad
I’ve got an 07 black/black heated leather 2.0 engine 80k
£4200, really nice car
Taken in part ex for a citroen ds3 I had

I had a Mark 3 which I sold after 6 years with 8000 on the clock. Apart from the battery needing trickle charging when not in use, it was problem free.

Someone got a lovely motor there… 🙁

GF has a 2002 NB…. Only 1.6, but a great fun car to drive either with the roof up or down. Lucky to have a hardtop, too which is good for winter. Engine likes to be revved and comes alive when over 3.5k revs.

Good for doing doughnuts.
Managed to jump it a few weeks back.

I’ve had a MK2 as my only car for the last 18 months. I love it, as normally it’s just me out in it. They are great to drive. Mine is a high spec one – leather heated seats, uprated suspension etc and I put a bluetooth stereo and nicer speakers in the doors.
Got it (52 plate) for £2000 with 30k on the clock, an older lady owner from new and full dealer service and MOT every year.

It’s great to drive, and practicality is not quite as bad as you’d think. Use a Saris rack and can take two full sussers. Have hired a van about 3 times over that period and borrowed a pal’s bigger car once or twice.
Have done long drives in it – all the way from Edinburgh to Surrey etc and it’s fine.

I have the roof down almost all the time too

Would totally recommend one.

I think the latest version of the MX 5 is one of the best looking sports cars around, it’s a stunning styling job.

Plus they’ve managed to shave a huge amount of weight off it, something like 100kg, IIRC.
I’d dearly love one, perfect A-and-B-road car, with real-world performance and running costs.

The red of the new ones is lush in the flesh, almost tempted to trade in my ’02 NB. But I really like the smell of old oil.

Yeah, I’d love to get a shot of a new one and see what the difference is.

We’ve had a Mk3.5 1.8 (09) for a couple of years. Only does around 2000 miles a year but everyone puts a smile on my face. Electric hardtop. Totally stock. It’s cost me pretty much nothing other than tax and fuel until MOT this year when it needed a front spring. That was £30 🙂

I really like the look of the new ones, but as ours isn’t what we drive day in, day out no way I can justify one. Might have to test drive one tho…

I drive it quicker than my Yeti but I’m sure to the motoring gods of STW that’d look like pootling. I do have some gray hair, just not much of it!