Ridiculous bit of fun for the summer, weekend picnics only. I actually like the colour. Ludicrously cheap, no doubt for a reason.
So, talk me out of it.
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201310199367611/
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>> So, talk me out of it.
>
Not at all, go for it.
Not my thing, I really wanted to like the Mx-5 but after a test drive, 'meh' was the best way to sum it up.
If that's your thing, do it.
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A slow car without a roof. What's to like?
Don't let me stop you though, it's cheaper than the picnic...
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If you get food poisoning at your picnic at least the result will match the car colour. :-)
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I think you absolutely should get an MX-5 if you fancy one.
But perhaps not *that* colour....
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If you have to buy something like that don't go to a Whittlesey back street dealer... find one where the charming private owner is selling for good reason and can tell you all about the car.
And the colour would put off 75% of buyers when reselling.
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Well that all makes me like the colour more, and who cares about resale value at that price? It's virtually a consumable.
But possibly good point about Whittlesey back street dealer, although I'm perfectly sure they are a wonderful organization, given that the internet is a publishing medium with laws attached to it and I don't know otherwise.
Slow is fine, roofless is the reason. Did a TVR once, been there done that on swift cars.
My other alternative is a ludicrous Mercedes S-Class, which are also fearsome cheap, and running costs are in the who cares category when you do a few miles a year on a few weekends.
Shall have to think.
The idea came from here. Others on there better, do we think?
www.parkers.co.uk/cars/advice/finding/archive/top-ten-hidden-gems-for-a-grand/
Last edited by: Crankcase on Fri 29 Nov 13 at 12:06
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Wrong time of year to be selling a rag top, right time to buy.
It's a 1.6, not a 1.8.
It'll have rust at the back of the door sills.
You'll need somewhere under cover to store it in the Winter, as it doesn't appear to have a hard top.
Manatee can tell you how to chase intermittent non-starting ;>)
Other than that, go for it.
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Buy it, enjoy it - insurance on a 1.6 will be less than a 1.8.
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>> www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201310199367611/
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Can you get in and out of it without too much of a struggle?
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It's the getting out that can be a struggle. Especially in a kilt.
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Oh well from that Parker's list if you are not relying on it and fancy a laugh/risk it has to be an Alfa GTV.
Perhaps not this exact car but one like it... I could just enjoy that tan leather sitting on the drive.
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201308138296717
Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 29 Nov 13 at 12:51
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Not a bad colour IMO, I was expecting worse going by what others have sed.
Basically an old banger really - how many owners has it had?
Check it out - it might be a goer, or it might be a money pit.
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Do it, CC. Really enjoyed having our Smart Roadster for summer joyrides when we had it.
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>> So, talk me out of it.
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>> www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201310199367611/
No - go fer it. If its got 12 months MOT on it, you'll easily sell it for the same money after easter if you get bored with it.
I quite like the colour.
Edit I also notice he has knocked 300 quid off the original price. Doesn't want it hanging around over winter.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 29 Nov 13 at 15:54
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Lovely car I wouldn't talk you out of it.I f you can afford to keep and running it go for it.
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Not the pinnacle of automotive desirability but a very clean example (judging by the pix) of a perfectly respectable and obviously pleasant little tourer that ought to be reliable even after 100,000 miles. I wouldn't expect the 1.8 engine to make it all that much quicker either. It isn't a snorting monster.
Like almost everyone else here I don't mind the colour (but I don't mind any colour really on cars although I like some more than others). What's wrong with it Crankshaft?
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Fri 29 Nov 13 at 16:11
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Great colour, IMO.
I'd go for it, in fact when I retire in about four years (I can't really afford to retire, but I can cut down a lot) an MX5 is on my list.
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I suspect it will fail the MOT at the height of summer due to terminal rust and that might be why it so cheap. It might be the colour too.
If this was spring I would say go for it, but if you buy it now you will won't get much fun out of it and who knows if it will still be working by the time the warm weather comes?
By the time the dealer takes his cut, what you're buying is a £500-£650 car and it does seem too cheap.
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Could be nice, or not.
You can join the OC forum without forking out to join the OC, and read up on what to look for.
My 1.8 is currently insured fully comp with Lancaster at a cost of £134. You have to ring them.
The sills that bt mentions are the outer part, the structural bit is hidden behind The bit that mostly rusts, from the inside, is actually the lower front part of the rear wings. Mine had already been cut out and a plate inserted, and I have had them done again. Those look a bit bubbly, as near as I can tell from the pictures. There are some drain holes that you can't see, they need rodding now and again from the parcel shelf end. When they get blocked, the resultant water hanging about is supposedly what causes the rust in the sill cavity.
Do get underneath if you go to look. Mine (1999) is fairly solid underneath, but a pal up the road has a 2000 one that is just brown with rust, though that might be because it came from Arbroath! Check the rear arches too - mine were a bit scabby but it was all on the outside.
The owners' club forum has recently thrown up a few cases of rust in the front chassis legs - around where the front ARB attaches, and it's not easy to see properly without removing the small front undertray. Repairable but not easy as they are a composite of steel and some sort of plastic sandwich, so can't be plated - new legs have to be welded in which in economic terms probably means a write off. I haven't looked at the forum recently but the speculation was that it affected Mk2.5s. (The one in the ad is a Mk2).
www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=46836
A hood is about £450 fitted. If it needs one, it needs one - and suddenly you have a £1450 car that you are reluctant to throw away or sell cheaply if something else goes wrong.
Make sure the ABS light comes on and goes off. Wheel sensors are £140 each (I've had two front ones, it's about the right age...). You can probably tell if they have been replaced recently - my originals were well rusted in and came out in pieces.
The battery should be a neat little gel thing, it lives in the right rear wing under the boot mat. If it has been replaced with an ordinary one it can rot the floor. Just lift the mat and have a look. It should also have a space saver wheel, jack etc. under the mat.
Mine has to live outside but I have a half cover - one of these, which is better and cheaper than the last one I had which had elastic chin straps and blew off in a strong wind.
www.moss-europe.co.uk/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=10297
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Forgive me, but isn't it a girl's car?
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I don't think its a girls car...unlike all open Benzes. (My pal with the SL would hate me for saying that!)
My neighbour still has his immaculate 1.8 Eunos for sale, and seems to have lost interest in it. A lovely dark metallic grey with matching hard top and wheels, chromed roll bars, uprated suspension, S/S exhaust, etc etc. I could now probably buy it from him circa £500 with 12 months MOT but it is currently sorned, sad & lonely on his drive.
A great shame as it would make a fun second car for someone.
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Come on, Mapmaker is teasing.
And if I wanted an open Benz I'd get one. I was very tempted by one a few months ago but I already have my leg in with the MX5 and an SLK will cost even more to fettle.
No such thing as a girl's car. Not even one of those pink convertible Micras - no girl I know would have one.
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>>chromed roll bars
NO THEY'RE NOT, they're 'style bars', meant to mimic roll bars.
If you can get it for half-a-grand, then go for it.
The suspension's fully adjustable and if you get a proper four wheel alignment set-up, I understand it makes the handling amazing. A modest suspension lowering kit (25mm or less) completes the transformation.
The sport versions carry an LSD (so I'm lead to believe). Go for a Torsen as the other type's not worth it (see one of the dedicated websites to tell the difference).
I saw one t'other day with a small supercharger/intercooler. Went like stink!
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If it's a 'sport' with Torsen, I'll buy it for that!!
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I took it out for a spin, and despite the bargain basement price, it was just too unrefined. And slow. And noisy. Sadly I was just too old to appreciate it. Totally spoilt by my current wheels which give me the best of both worlds. If only I could have bought it in my thirties as a runaround instead of being offered it two decades later.
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You've got to regard such a motor in the same way as if you were buying a 1970 Norton Commando. It ain't going to be fast or refined or smooth and economical, that's not the point of owning one...
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I quite like the colour of the OP car. Car colours I can't get on with are anything wishy washy like pale blue, pale green, beige etc or conversely bright yellows and oranges.
I don't mind any of the standards like black, siver, grey, navy, red and so on but some shades of dark burgundy, dark green or even dark browns can look cool depending on the car.
I'm still struggling to like the modern trend for white cars although I'll concede it does suit some. Can look a bit chavvy even* ( *or should that be especially ) on expensive cars.
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>> You've got to regard such a motor in the same way as if you were
>> buying a 1970 Norton Commando. It ain't going to be fast or refined or smooth
>> and economical, that's not the point of owning one...
The other thing is to put aside say £1000 a year to fix things and generally stop it falling apart. Some years it will cost less, some more.
And if you want a nice one, buy a nice one. Only buy a cheap tatty one if you can live with things that way.
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Talk me out of it - sooty123
