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So, my son’s beloved VW Scirocco (he’s 22 and it’s his first car, paid for by him) has suffered a terminal issue with the engine leaving him out of pocket and in need of a car to get to work. Seeing as I’m a TZ-er, I suggested an MX-5 and he’s very keen (insurance is also half of the scirocco!) - considering he’s got to pay back his loan on the first car before selling for scrap, he doesn’t have a heap of money (ideally 3-4k, potentially 6k if it gets you a much better example and dad feels generous!). I’ve done a bit of research and settled on MK3’s - they seem to suffer less from rot and he’s 6’ foot 2’’ like me and he fits in one! - any tips from the hive mind? He also wears a Seiko Sumo and occasionally a Barbour jacket if that helps?!? I’ve never owned an MX-5 but I’ll be a named driver so it’ll be another TZ bucket list ticked off after Red Wing boots ;) - I’ve got normal bloke in his early 50’s car knowledge but any pointers very gratefully received!
Last edited by RobDad; 23rd October 2023 at 22:31.
https://www.roadster.blog/2013/08/th...elift.html?m=1
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If you can stretch to a 2009 onwards the improvements are worthwhile, especially a more robust engine.Originally Posted by ELD1970
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Interesting read thankyou
Actually, previous engines were all fine. It was the owners not checking/putting enough oil in them that caused them to muck up.
I know it's hard buying pre-owned cars, not knowing previous history but they love to rev to red line once a week.
Keep the oil 3mm above the max dipstick level.
I was fortunate to pick one up on here with just over 100k miles on it that had great history. I ran it until 126k with frequent oil changes to get rid of any sh!te/gum build up that have been there.
It was a Sunday car but I also tracked it around 20 times and it never used any oil.
I only sacrificed the original engine to have a built turbo installation in its place.
Just spent a couple of hours watching videos of horrendously rusty examples
That look great from up top - looks like I’ll need to see under any potential purchase and take a screwdriver with me!
The real horror show is the Mk2, IIRC the crash protection rules changed and they had to put an extra layer of metal around the chassis rails and they rust out where they terminate in the engine bay. It happened to my Mk2 and the cost of doing a proper job on the rails/rust/MOT failure would have cost upwards of £1,500. Mk1s are great but now so old they don't make so much sense as daily drivers. Rust on those is limited to sills and the rear of the rear wheel arches.
I've seen 25-year-old Mk1s with 160,000km+ on the clocks with immaculate undersides fresh in from Japan, they genuinely looked like they'd been driven on English roads for a week. I think what that says about Japanese and British roads probably goes to show why MX-5s have rust issues!
Good luck with the Mk3. While I can't see past the Mk1 (and don't have to use mine as a daily driver), the Mk3 is a big upgrade in modernity over the early cars.
"A man of little significance"
You’re right. I think that’s partly due to the UK salting the roads in winter, where as they don’t in Japan
Plus the state of the UK roads really doesn’t help!
It’s the best time of year to be buying any convertible so take your time and get the right one. I previously had a MK1 as a summer car, for years, and should have kept it. However I love my ‘03 Boxster.
Car Insurance rates seem to be "rocketing" this year
We have 3 cars and increases seem to be in the order of 50%+ - we are retired - no accidents and all that - max NCB - and I have got alternative quotes which seem to be as expensive or more
We even got a letter from LV a few days before the renewal "bleating" about how rates will have to increase
Mine and my mates have both doubled this year without any changes
If the budget will run to it, then I'd strongly suggest getting a PRHT (Power Retractable Hard Top) Mk3. It effectively gives the options of two cars in one, a coupé and a convertible, without compromising on boot space. Having the hard top makes the car a more pleasant place to be when it's raining, and adds appreciably to security, especially if it's going to spend much of its life parked in a student area.
As with all MX-5s, rust is the single most important factor when buying, even with Mk3. The rest of the car is very reliable and relatively cheap to maintain/repair. The Mk3.5 and Mk3.75 are relatively minor updates, and probably not worth seeking out if you're on a tight budget. (I'd certainly take a good Mk3 over a rough 3.5 or 3.75 any day).
It's worth joining the MX-5 Owners Club - or, at the very least, their forum (https://forum.mx5oc.co.uk/). There's a wealth of good information there, and you might find the right car for sale on there; cars owned by enthusiasts are more likely to have been looked after than random cars found on Gumtree/eBay/Auto Trader/etc. Also worth contacting the Area Co-Ordinator - they might just know of good cars for sale in the area.
Pretty much everything I was going to say. So I'll just add a picture (or two) of mine instead......
Happy to answer any questions.
Salting the roads in winter is a car-killer if the car isn’t thoroughly rust- protected, most modern cars are fine in this respect and won’t show signs of corrosion for many years despite regular use in winter. Those of us who bought cars in the 70s will remember when rust was a major issue, it was quite common to see 5 year old cars with extensive corrosion, manufacturers did precious little to prevent rust in box sections and under wings, rust was the reason why cars got scrapped at around 10 years old in the UK.
It’s a great shame that some Jap manufacturers were slow to up their game in this respect, MX5 s do seem to rust badly compared to other cars of the same vintage and it’s a pity the owners didn’t treat them with Waxyoyl in the vulnerable areas, they were sold in an era when people (like me) were involved in restoring 60s classics so the DIY rustroofing kits were readily available and used to good effect, but the typical new car (or newish car) owner doesn’t think that way.
Not what the OP’s son will want to hear, but if he needs a reliable car for work travel on a limited budget he really should be looking for something more humble but much newer, buy an MX5 in a few years when he can afford a good one. Having had his fingers burnt once with an ageing car that’s expired, leaving him in debt, I would’ve thought he’d be reluctant to risk a repeat performance. Older cars can be money-pits, buying reliability should be his priority, stretch the budget to £6k and get something sensible.
I am surprised he fits into a Mk3 with the roof up. I am 6' 1" and my head was always touching the bar of the roof frame in ours. Loads of legroom left on the seat slider though though, so maybe I am just an odd proportion of legs to body...?
I’m in broad agreement with everything you’ve said tbh, but talking a boy out of a toy is not easy!! - I’d be looking at a tidy £6k Japanese hatchback in the lowest insurance group possible if it was me!
Not my sort of car but 'er indoors has had this one for 10 years or so and it is a great little thing, no trouble at all .
"distraught son"
He is lucky not to start motoring life with a Morris Marina or a Austin all aggro like some of us did.
Besides always breaking down and wallowing around the bends they where hard to impress a girl with.
I am sure my German girlfriend thought it was just a ploy as we always seemed to break down in a dark alley somewhere.
The heater rarely worked all through a German winter, I am sure if she could have found another young squaddie with better wheels I would have been binned.
Thankfully I never had to get her to push the car.
Mine was the fetching green model.
Blimey, that is dead modern, mine was an Anglia Estate, on an F plate, so 1967, it was 6 years old when I got it and already rotten.....
"distraught son"
He is lucky not to start motoring life with a Morris Marina or a Austin all aggro like some of us did.
Besides always breaking down and wallowing around the bends they where hard to impress a girl with.
I am sure my German girlfriend thought it was just a ploy as we always seemed to break down in a dark alley somewhere.
The heater rarely worked all through a German winter, I am sure if she could have found another young squaddie with better wheels I would have been binned.
Thankfully I never had to get her to push the car.
Mine was the fetching green model.
He’s more distraught at the debt and how to get to work but I take your point! - my first car was a light blue Sierra so hardly a babe magnet - but it was a step up from my grandads Marina which I was very thankful for at the time. My best mate had a bronze Allegro at the time we called ‘the Al Jareau’ - that really was awful!
What about putting a recon engine back in the VW.
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Looking at 3.5k for an engine, tbh it’s been unreliable from the start and the insurance is twice that of an MX-5 so not an option imho
Quite a few owners get their MX-5s fully rust protected and undersealed from new - Lady Sod did with her ND - so if you can afford to take a bit of time over this (which I guess not...), you should be able to find one that's had this done early in its life. Generally goes hand-in-hand with a well cared-for example.
Good luck. FWLIW I feel really sorry for your lad - tough times to be saddled with empty debt through no fault of his own. Been there myself in the past, and no-one to help.
I’ve been perusing adverts during the day and cheap cars no longer seem to exist, it’s quite shocking how much even humble hatchbacks cost. I plan to spend the weekend looking at as many £4-6k NC’s as I can, paying very close attention to MOT certificates and a trusty screwdriver to gently tap sills etc! - if we find a good one I’ll be getting an AA check paid for. We’re not really able to hang around but I don’t want to buy a bad example. I’m a pretty good judge of what looks right or wrong but I feel I need a second opinion as the rust issues on these vary massively. I’ve said to my son that we ignore the spec, colour etc and just get the least rusty mechanically sound example. Thought about looking at a short term rental car but nobody seems stop offer that to under 25’s. All seems a little tougher on a youngster than it was when I was that age in the late 80’s
Last edited by RobDad; 24th October 2023 at 22:34.
I have been test driving cars lately.
Very close to getting a Corsa they seem the best value and nice to drive.
The Focus I drove looked good but where flat performance wise.
You are correct though prices have shot up even S/H.
Oddly Corsa’s and Fiestas have really high insurance for youngsters. I’m guessing they buy and write off a lot of them. For my son an MX-5 is half the price of a Corsa for fully comprehensive cover!
I had a mk1 MX5 at 22 when I left Uni, had a year out as part of my time on the course and lived rent free with a family friend.
Saved money paid for most of the car, with a little loan to get me the one I really wanted.
As you are seeing, sometimes the car can be cheap to insure. Mine cost me just over half what I paid for a 106 & was much more fun to drive!
Oh and let’s not forget the ladies, being 22 with a convertible sports car does attract attention from them lol.
My son needs no encouragement in regard to girlfriends - in fact I’m hoping the confines of an MX-5 cabin with him being so tall will cut down on any in potential in-car entertainment!
Maybe one of these would suit https://www.reddit.com/r/ATBGE/comme..._its_for_sale/
I`ve never driven one, but I imagine an MX5 will be 'challenging' in snow compared to a small front wheel drive car. Having said that I ran Triumph Spitfires and an MGB through the winter in the late 70s'early 80s when we seemed to get far more snow, I lived on the edge of the Pennines and the trip to work (11 miles) was interesting in bad weather. Worst car I had was a Toyota MR2 (Mk11), with the mid-engine I thought it would be fine in snow but it wasn`t, they had a tendency to spin with very little warning, fortunately I learned this on a quiet road at low speed. I vowed not to keep that car for another winter, it scared me in bad weather despite having lots of experience with RWD cars.
Cars like the MX5 and the T top MR2 I had tears ago were great in summer but not so great in winter, the thought of running an MX5 as an everyday car doesn`t appeal to me........but I am 65. My current MGB is tucked away in the garage for winter, best place for it.
Hopefully the young man in question will find a decent example, I can see the attraction of a good MX5 and if I didn`t have the MG I`d consider buying one. Can`t see the point in getting anything faster, speed is over-rated, it's the feel of the car that makes it fun.
Part of that may be down to there only being seats for two rather than four or five in a Corsa or Fiesta, so fewer people are at risk, at least within the vehicle.
At his age a more accommodating car would surely pay dividends in accrued favours by driving more friends to and from events in addition to the easier transport of house-moving stuff? A two seater is really rather limiting in those regards...
I had one spin early days in the MX5, wet slush on the roads, new owner. Exited a roundabout with my boot the direction my bonnet should have been (gift of god recovery lol!).
Blue lights came on for plod to have done the same. But not the full 180, so less controlled finish. They were good and just said to be careful.
OP - plenty of room if you so desire lol.
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