Advice on buying Mazda MX5?

Toothfairy4

My husband is currently driving a 1997 Peugeot 306 which is on it's last legs and has his heart set on buying an MX5. All we have read about them says they are a good fun, reliable car but my mind is boggled looking through autotrader!

We have about £5000 to spend, is it practical to buy one for this price (are they known to still be reliable when a bit older?) as I know they are pretty expensive to start with new. Thanks for any advice, not very knowledgeable about cars!

tberry6686

They are great at what they do and seem to be pretty bomb proof. However they are not the most practical of cars and not the fastest either (although mine never fails to make me smile on twisty roads)

gilbert_and_sullivan

They are very durable but require decent maintenance, as does any car.

If coolant isn't changed you'll end up with a blocked rad, which isn't expensive but avoidable.

Find the best looked after you can, luckily many sensible older drivers run these and they tend to look after them well.
Buy on condition, good care and previous ownership, avoid those owned and neglected by youngsters, cleaned for the first time just prior to sale by the local car wash cowboys.

Empty_pockets

Just bought one after looking at many.

Stay away from Car supermarkets, go to a specalist.

You can get something quite nice for 5K. Suggest going for a low mileage Mk2 over a Mk3. We looked at both and it seems the better car.

Think we paid 7k for ours but that was for a 2005 sport model (ex owners club immaculate condition) with hardtop, blisten suspension, 6 speed box, leather heated seats, rear rack etc and only 27K on clock. also worth noting we got it from one of the more expensiv dealers in out area.

He has a Mk1 for sale at the moment. 3K
http://www.philipwelch.co.uk/used-cars/mazda-mx-5-1-6-monza-p163ayg/

Toothfairy4

Thanks everyone, we are going to go look at some on thursday, will be buying from a dealer and will make sure they have been well looked after

Toothfairy4

Thanks for the link empty pockets but its a bit far away as we live in Surrey lol.

JQ.

https://www.mx5nutz.com
and
https://www.mx5oc.co.uk

both have for sale sections and contain cars that will have been looked after by enthusiasts - both sites also containing Buying Guides, to help with what you need to look out for. The mechanicals on them are absolutely bombproof and they are far more reliable than more modern cars. The only issue is rust, which they are susceptible to. Check the rear arches, sills and bootlid for any signs of rust, if there's any, walk away. There are hundreds for sale and lots don't suffer from rust, so just be patient and wait for a good one to appear.

tberry6686

Only rust issues that I am aware of are on the boot lid due to poor rustproofing around the boot lid lights. It's a known issue and is present on lots of these cars - if not most. replacement boot lids are around £300 plus painting so not the most expensive replacement going.

Hammyman

Empty_pockets wrote: »

Think we paid 7k for ours but that was for a 2005 sport model (ex owners club immaculate condition) with hardtop, blisten suspension, 6 speed box, leather heated seats, rear rack etc and only 27K on clock. also worth noting we got it from one of the more expensiv dealers in out area.

Hope you've changed the cambelt...

JQ.

Hammyman wrote: »

Hope you've changed the cambelt...

Why?

The MX5 has a non interference engine.

vaio

If you do manage to break a belt you don’t end up with major engine damage, bent valves etc

But you are still stuck by the side of the road (probably miles from anywhere, at night & in the rain)