After reading some enthusiastic comments about the MX-5 on here, I ended up having a drive in a 7 year old Mk3 1.8 coupe (electric roof). Very low mileage (< 20k) but not mint – a lot of fine scratches around the door handle and rear wing, dinged alloy wheel, some interior trim scuffs and scratches, and a bit of corrosion underneath and in the engine bay. I’m not sure if the price of around £8k is reasonable. It felt nice to drive, though.

I’m not sure how seriously to look for a car as I’m happy with my current vehicle (which I would keep), and an MX-5 isn’t very economical, but I’ve been thinking of all the different options from a Mk1 up to a new one.

I was initially drawn to them by the idea of a cheap Mk1. What’s the Mk1 like in comparison with the Mk3 coupe?

I’ve seen the Goodwood Cars website with the Eunos (Mk1 Japanese imports). They’re around £4k – is it worth paying for one of these rather than a UK Mk1? They look clean underneath, but I imagine they would soon start to rot in the UK. Is there a recommended method to prevent this from happening, and to ensure it would have a long life? Any problems with Japanese-spec parts?

At the other extreme, is the MX-5 a good option for a VAT registered sole-trader to lease/contract hire? I know there’s a Mk4 due next year, but it’s probably going to be a similar price to the current Mk3.

£8k for a 7 year not perfect mk3?!?! That seems waaaaay too much.

But then if you’re somehow finding mk1s for £4k you’re looking in the wrong places. I’ve had 3 mk1s, an absolute rotter I paid £500 for (and had to scrap but made more by breaking it) and two asolute minters, one with a hardtop which I paid £3k and £1800 for. That were about 5 and 7 years ago now. All were Jap imports but I wouldn’t be afraid to look for a good UK car.

I’d definitely get another mk1. You need to drive one.

8k? Crivvens, you could get a decent Elise for that

Last year I paid £5982, at the start of summer, not after the weather had turned.

Our 1.8 Roadster is a MK 3.5 on an 09 plate. Had 36,000 miles on it, but in great condition with full mazda service history. Alloys will need a refurb at some point, but they’re not bad by any means.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/nyHYjM]Clean[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

It had a few scratches, most of which polished out. And this 5 year old car cost over a grand less than the one you’re looking at. Sounds massively overpriced especially in that condition.

I really like ours. Doesn’t get used every day, but starts and runs beautifully whenever we want to drive it. Apparently the older ones are more fun, but I’ve never driven one so can’t compare.

It was in fact MLC original picture that finally tipped me over the edge to get one. Bought ours in rainy May on a wet friday night in Bristol. Off a bloke who was moving to London that weekend. He was keen to get a deal 😉

Mk1/Mk2 are quite a bit different to the Mk3

Depends on what you want out of it

Mk1 and Mk2 are pretty basic, light and not much in the way of creature comforts, and are a really nice drive

Mk3, more comfortable, I’d hope a bit safer, and not as much of a drivers car

I’ve had a mk2 for about 2 years now. I like it, even though it hurts my back getting in and out of it 🙂

mrbelowski

8k? Crivvens, you could nearly get a high mileage Elise for that
FTFY

Thanks for the info and pics – really nice cars!

It sounds like I’ll have to try and find a Mk1 to test drive. Also, I didn’t manage to drive with the roof down, so I’ll need to do that to see what it’s like!

Are the Mk1 hoods draughty and noisy?

Loved my Mark 3 – went for about 7k after 6 years with only about 8k on the clock.

Miss it still 😥

The Mk1s and Mk2/2.5 are quite different to the mk3- they are a lot more basic inside (only the latest 2.5s got fuel lights). We have a 2.5 and it is loads of fun. I haven’t driven a mk3 but have heard they are less of a driver’s car, ours is very much arse/seat/road in feel and is lovely to drive.

The basicness and obviously the age may put you off, but you can find good Mk1s for about 2k, and Mk2s for not much more (ours was about as cheap as you can find a good one at £1750). Ours had had sill rust (which is common) dealt with by the previous owner and was well maintained.

We didn’t get an Eunos simply because the insurance seemed to jump up a lot, and if we kept it for any length of time an un-treated one would need the sills doing.

And try one with the roof down! Then you’ll buy one.

Lovely!

My daily drive is a Defender, so I’m used to something slightly quirky which isn’t too refined… A Mk1 might appeal to me…

I had a Mk2 and it was hilarious and cheap. Wrote it off though. Tried a mk3 and it seemed equally fun but alot nicer to be in and better put together.

I’d say 8k for the car you mentioned seems steep I’d expect much more car for that money. Like this http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201410078025655/sort/default/postcode/kt89lg/model/mx-5/page/1/usedcars/price-from/8000/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/radius/1501/quicksearch/true/make/mazda?logcode=p

or this

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201410078025655/sort/default/postcode/kt89lg/model/mx-5/page/1/usedcars/price-from/8000/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/radius/1501/quicksearch/true/make/mazda?logcode=p

If you are 5ft 10 or over – I think the Mark 3 is a better fit. Top of the windscreen a bit low.

Reputedly they engineered it so it had no more grip than the mark 2.5 to keep the fun factor.

But the driver assistance electronics were great. I remember doing a free training day with it at prodrive. Doing an emergency stop from 80mph with no hands on the wheel, and seeing how much better it was on a skid pan

Damn, now I want one again…

I recently got a Mk2.5

It’s a 52 plate 1.8 iS model, top of the range.
29k miles, v. good condtion and I paid £2100 private

VVT engine
Bilstien shocks
Limited slip diff
6 speed gearbox
16″ alloys
Heated leather seats
I dunno what else – foglights?
Electric mirrors and windows
Only thing it doesn’t have is AC.

Car drives great – very supple, still looks good inside and out.

Only issues are an alloy that needs refurbed and one door speaker not working.
A little bit of rust bubbling on the arches, but nothing major.

Again, it’s a great car and didn’t cost much. I was lucky to get one with such low miles. One old guy had it from new, serviced and MOT’d every April without fail.

Mk 2 or 2.5 chassis rails rot and it is hard to see without taking bits off.

Mk1 doesn’t suffer from the above problem.

The fresh imports at goodwood look great underneath but four grand! You vould get s well loved turbo or supercharged car for less.

There are a lot of cars about, keep looking until you find a good mk1 at about a grand would be my advice.

Try mx5oc or mx5nutz for advice, buying guides and classifieds.

I wouldn’t get suckered into paying too much – there are lots about, and you can afford to be choosy, particularly at this time of year. I’d buy from a private buyer if the history was complete.
I had a Mk3 2.0 coupe for a couple of years, used it as my ‘daily driver’. Good car, very reliable, but very noisy/boomy with the roof up. Loved it with the roof down.
If you buy sensibly, you won’t loose too much if you sell at the right time of year.

do it.

I’ve had 3 Mk1s. Current one is a complete departure from the norm: Japanese kit fitted

As said at great length ^^ the later cars are much, much changed from the Mk1; more polished and comfortable / ‘saloon’ like inside with more toys. Mine’s 21 years old, has twin 45 carbs fitted and isn’t what you’d call refined. That said it’s the first car I’ve ever had that’s inspired me to get under the bonnet and learn something.

They’re pretty reliable – never tried the later models (2.5 onwards) but I’ve used all my 5’s as daily drivers through winter without issue though hard-top can be essential, at least on a Mk1.

The Mk2 can catch you out with serious rust issues that can be nigh on impossible to spot without access to ramps. There have been a good number of cosmetically perfect cars scrapped because they’ve rotted away underneath.

Later cars are getting remarkably reasonable. And for Mk1’s early Japanese after-market parts are growing increasingly expensive!

mrbelowski
8k? Crivvens, you could get a decent Elise for that

A decent 7 year old Elise will be around twice that.

Of all the cars I’ve owned, the only two I miss are my first car (1975 Mini) and a Mk2.5 MK-5 Sport.

We had so much fun in that car. Still want one to this day (impractical as we’re now parents).

Here it is in practical mode:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/52P3Qf]Car loaded up![/url]

As others have said, do not pay £8k for a 7 year old MX-5.

Mine is 8 years old now (non electric roof 1.8), bought it when it was 2 years old, 15k on the clock, on the 29th of December for £8k which I thought was a not bad deal.

I’m up to about 110k on the clock now, only thing major was the exhaust which went earlier in the year – cat back to the back box was about £300 odd quid for a pattern part. Also had to replace a seized front caliper, that was £90 but I did that myself. Apart from that it’s just been regular servicing – no silly cam-belt nonsense either.

PS my FIL’s on his fourth, I think. First was a Mk2.5 and the last three have all been Mk3. It’s still a lovely thing, although has lost a little of the Mk2.5 charm.

Woffle, we’re you out in the Hope valley on Sunday? I saw a line of mx5s including one suspiciously like yours and I remember you saying that yours is the only one in the UK like that.

There’s a little beauty, T-reg, (83?), just along the road from me. Dark metallic green, tan cloth roof, wood-rimmed steering wheel, nice fine, multi spoked alloys with good tyres, very tidy body, as far as I can see, £1950.
I’m seriously tempted, I must admit.

T-reg, (83?)

Er, more like 1999. These cars only date from 1989..!

Ah well, I was trying to work the date forward from 1963 ‘A’-reg. 😳
I’m pretty sure it’s T, it’s got the later glass recessed headlamps instead of the pop-up ones. It’s a very pretty little car, I don’t think the owner’s driven it all summer, I go past every day.
I’m tempted, like I say, but it’s just running costs, like excise, insurance and possibly fuel; I’m a bit spoilt by an Octavia that costs £110 excise, £180 insurance and 50-ish consumption.

Woffle, we’re you out in the Hope valley on Sunday? I saw a line of mx5s including one suspiciously like yours and I remember you saying that yours is the only one in the UK like that.

Hey, not me – I suspect you saw an MX5 with a Pitcrew front end, rather than the Zoom one I’ve fitted. Looks kind of similar and there’s a few black ones about. As far as I know there is/was a metallic grey Zoom one and a very heavily modified blue with white stripe version too though I think that’s now in Japan. There was a black one in Vietnam of all places…

I’m tempted, like I say, but it’s just running costs, like excise, insurance and possibly fuel; I’m a bit spoilt by an Octavia that costs £110 excise, £180 insurance and 50-ish consumption.

Tax isn’t too bad on my Mk1, insurance is minimal, even for a modified car, as it’s on a classic policy – depends on the area and your age but sub £150 is pretty common for standard 5’s. Well, at least for the Mk1 > Mk2. Fuel consumption on mine admittedly isn’t great (carbs + the cars tendency to encourage a heavy foot doesn’t help) but I don’t think they’re horrendous…

As ^^^ they’re generally pretty reliable and certainly the earlier cars are a complete doddle to work on with parts readily available and comparatively cheap (I can get a replacement engine for £150 odd).

An ex Mk3 2.0 sport owner here. Would never buy a Mk3 again. They are a ‘nice’ car, but they are not a good MX5. Its as though Mazda managed to engineer the soul and sportyness out of the car.

I kept mine for about 1.5 years and then got rid as it wasn’t offering that spark/excitement a sports car should.

At the time a colleague at work had a Mk 2.5 1.8 and theres was a much nicer sports car. You just sat in it and as munrobiker says above

it felt very much arse/seat/road in feel

In comparison I have now got a BMW 3 Series Touring, which has more soul, and drives better than the Mk3, that just isn’t right that a big executive car should offer more fun than a smaller, lighter car.

I had a 04 1.6 Euphonic which was rear ended:

Then after this I testdrove a MK3 and didn’t like it at all. It felt like a saloonish to drive compared so I bought a MK2.5 1.8 sport like ourmanupnorths.

OP I think you paid well over the odds. Did you buy it in the summer months?

ALWAYS buy a MX5 on a cold wet and rainy day in winter and sell at the start of summer.

Can you fit a bike rack on them? Mk3 with folding hardtop in particular.

Not sure but the Saris Bones was great on a MK2.5.

+1 Saris Bones on my Mk2.5.

(On the way home from the Mont Ventoux Etape du Tour in 2009. Happy Days.)

Oh and @ woffle, please stop posting photos of your car or I’ll end up spanking this year’s ISA (and getting a divorce….) 😆

I have had a Halfords boot rack on ours but it’d only take one bike comfortably. It was designed for a hatchback, though.

We’ve just bought a spare set of wheels for the winter off a bloke who has a 1989 Eunos with a towbar, so in theory you could fit a proper bike rack.

Tax on ours was £275, insurance (for a 24 year old female with 1.5 year’s UK driving experience and named 26 year old with 7 year’s driving) was £600ish. We’ll be going with a specialist insurer at renewal, such as Peter James, now she’s 25. The guy we bought the wheels off was paying £160 for unlimited mileage from Peter James. MPG is around 35.

I love the look of the special editions like Hora’s, wish our budget had stretched to that.

Saris Bones does fit on the Mk 3 soft top.

Was never super happy with it – fair bit of flex on the boot lid where the upper legs were sitting, plus you have to be careful with the feet and to avoid marking the paint. I ended up just sticking a couple of bits of heli tape permanently on the boot.

Having said that, it’s been fine, clocked up several thousand miles over the years.

I always removed the wheels and put them in the boot. It makes it more stable/strapable for motorway speeds.

Also- in the mk2.5 – take off the wheels/boot. Put the forks into the footwell- rear mech where the passengers ears would be and seatbelt it up (with a blanket underneath)

Perfect 😀

OP I think you paid well over the odds. Did you buy it in the summer months?

I didn’t buy the car. I popped into a main dealer when I was away for the day, and that was the only one they had for sale. It’s the first MX-5 I’ve looked at, and I’m not in a desperate hurry to buy. I may join an MX-5 club, as suggested above, and try to see some older cars. A Mk1 still appeals, although I’d have to drive one, and finding a good one might be tricky.

Ah 🙂

Then its getting to the right time of year to buy one for a good price.

Dealers will tell you when your px’ing a mx5 in winter ‘cant offer you book price I’m afraid as no one wants these now’.

When your buying one in winter ‘sir its at book price as these cars really hold their money’. In reality, its cold, bleak and his MX5 isn’t shifting but he wont tell you that. Buy privately or call round first and ask for best price over the phone before coming down. If they say ‘sorry wont budge/thats our best ‘internet’ price’. Don’t waste time.

Haggle hard and don’t be ashamed too. When they call you back say ‘look I am interested but its too high, especially due to the weather’.

I bought both of mine in winter and px’d in summer for more than I’d paid.

I’d love a MK1. Its THE BEST looking MX5 but for a blend of feel, still relatively young etc blend I’d get a mk2.5.

You probably already know this but remember main dealers secondhand stock is sourced the same way as everyone elses. Auctions, PX etc.

Also their guarantee isn’t no longer 1yr guarantee anymore. Usually 3-6months is now the norm.

Yes, the salesman said a similar thing. He said that during winter they often have a long line of MX-5’s, and in the spring they get cleared out. He added that the reverse is true of the 4x4s.

It’s worth getting an insurance quote before getting the Eunos model, as I’ve found they can cost a little more to insure if they are an import.

However, if you are older or don’t live in a hole then you’ll probably find the difference insignificant. 😉