So having put new Fab VRS plan on hold, still got the itch for some new wheels! I think I' gonna sell up my Suzuki Samurai jeep (nowhere locally to off-road, sub 20mpg, terrible road manners!) and look at an MX5 to keep the soft-top fun but have something, by all accounts, a real pleasure to drive.

Anyone got any experience with them, didn't Devonutopia run one for a bit? I've heard the Mk1 sub-1995 1.6 UKspec is the real ace if you can find a good example. My budget would be pretty low, I'd say £1.5k - £2k at a real stretch.

From what I've read, mileage and age are coparatively irrelevant, it's all about rust-free sills and sweet engine.

Are they as sweet a drive as people say? Is the low seating position a bit intimidating in traffic?

I have got a Mk2 that I bought from Pete here on Briskoda and it's fun fun fun to drive. Maybe not so classic as the mk1 with the pop up lights, but a peach of an engine (mines a 1.8) light, rear wheel drive, easy to work on and maintain, cheap parts and plenty of specialists out there supplying parts and services.

In my experience, based on my own ownership

Rust, MK1 Sills can be an expensive repair, on Mk2's the outer sill is not structural so not an MOT failure if it rusts, and there is a repair panel available for the Mk2 / Mk1 sills and wheel arches. Mk2's can go on the Sills / Rear Arches / Bootlid. The most important thing is the rain channel, the drain tubes and drain holes in the sills, check these every now and again and all will be fine.

I treated mine to a session at Chassis clean, where for £375, they strip the car of arch plastics, sill plates, wheels, pressure wash it to strip all underseal and rust then leave it to dry for 3 days in a controlled environment. They then make patch repairs as needed, and completley reunderseal the car with Dinotrol underseal, inject dinotrol wax into all cavities, then wash / wax the car and guarentee the work for 2 years.

Engines are great, if cambelt goes it won't lunch your valves and the cambelt is a DIY job in a couple of hours. With regular servicing, it appears they will go forever.

Maintenance wise, I just got a Cambelt kit for mine from www.mx-5parts.co.uk that includes the belt, tensioners, gaskets for £69, I put 4 new Toyo T1R's on for £105 (for 4 x 195/50/15's) via Camskill.

MX-5 Owners club has loads of information, guides and how toes, MX5nutz is another useful place. Buy one, you really won't be disappointed, just go in with eyes open and check the usual area's for rust.

Col aka NeoVR is the local expert, Wardy has had one as well as Mr Grumpy. For the money (£2k would secure you a good Mk2 if that's what you wanted) you really can not beat them. It does feel like you are dragging your bum on the floor sometime, but it's not intimidating imho, and the steering feel and handling more than make up for it.

Edited 1 March, 201115 yr by fluffmeister

Bloody brilliant little car , cannot be beat ,end off , owners are a bit dodgy but hey

What year does the Mk2 begin at?

1998 and 1999 are the Mk2's 2000 onwards are the Mk2.5 with lot's more limited editions, VVT motors in some and a front end facelift with foglights. 99% of parts on the Mk2 are the same on the 2.5

Imho, you want a base spec like mine, nothing on it that it does not need, mine has leccy windows and power steering and that's it, no aircon, no central locking, no heated seats etc etc etc all keeping weight down and driving enjoyment up.

There's a few picks of mine in the blogs section. http://briskoda.net/forums/blog/65-fluffmeisters-mx-5-mk2/

More to come as I just swapped my seat's for some mint seats off a JBM sport and have added a style bar with integratd upper body brace, a stainless mesh grille and 3 spoke leather nardi airbag wheel and a leather nardi gear k nob

Edited 1 March, 201115 yr by fluffmeister

Bloody brilliant little car , cannot be beat ,end off , owners are a bit dodgy but hey

You speak from experience, what was it like that warm summers evening on the test drive "Fluff, stop fecking around with your hair, you are proving the sterotypes right

A few months ago drove back from work in Cardiff, taking the long way over the heads of the valleys road and then skirting north wales back into Warrington, roof down all the way, wooley hat and heater on max and I swear I grinned for the whole 200 miles back home.

We have just got shut of a mk 3, great in summer, ****e in winter especially if you don't have a garage. Every morning the roof would be frozen on the inside from condensation which would then melt and drip everywhere :(Tried everything from car cover to silica gel packs.

We have just got shut of a mk 3, great in summer, ****e in winter especially if you don't have a garage. Every morning the roof would be frozen on the inside from condensation which would then melt and drip everywhere :(Tried everything from car cover to silica gel packs.

Would be garaged and not a daily driver, not in winter anyway!

Fantastic to drive! There is nothing better than driving with the roof down! Looking forward to getting mine out again in the spring - currently in dry storage for the winter

Mine does have a touch of rust. I am planning on sorting once its back on the road (to get to the body shop). As people have said keep your eyes peeled when buying one, typically lower sills and the rear wheelarches are where the rust forms. I bought mine off my sister for a good deal and I knew the car so thats how ended up with mine!

Ho does performance between a Mk1 1.6 (the 115bhp) and the Mk 2 1.8 compare. Does the larger engine warrant the higher insurance and road tax premium? Also for enthusiastic driving would the detuned Mk2 1.6 (89bhp) still be worth considering? Been doing some research, the amount of special editions is ridiculous!

I've had a 1995 mk1 1.8 iS for 12 years now and wouldn't swap it. They are fantastic cars - both fun to drive and reliable with fantastic handling once set-up right.

There's not a big difference between an early Mk1 1.6 (115 bhp) and the later Mk1 1.8 (130 bhp but heavier, although punchier mid-range) performance-wise but the later Mk1 1.6 (90 bhp) is a bit lethargic. Mk2's got vvc and the 1.8's were 140 bhp but again aren't much better and are more crmaped inside if your big. Do a search o here for some guidance as I and others have posted lots before on pro's cons and what to look for...

Edited 1 March, 201115 yr by skomaz

Thanks Skomaz, also searched and found your buyers guide from january, most helpful thanks for sharing.

Thanks Skomaz, also searched and found your buyers guide from january, most helpful thanks for sharing.

Nice one - and glad to help!

have a look at www.mx5nutz.com it's my brothers website and there is tons of info from a Very enthusiastic and friendly membership

Nutz is a great site , probably the best mx-5 site out there.

On the running costs I just ordered a full set of oem discs ( front and rear ) with ebc pads from mx-5 parts for 79.95 all in.

Top banana

Everyone loves 'em that's had one.

My neighbour had an old un about an R reg or something. He used to commute ion it and claimed he'd done 115k in it and the only thing he's had to replace (bar servicing) was one light bulb.

He called it Dougal because it was magic on roundabouts.

That's the only thing that have put off friends of mine that have had them was that they can be very twitchy in the wet. They've all spun them without exception. some got rid for that reason.

Nutz is a great site , probably the best mx-5 site out there.

On the running costs I just ordered a full set of oem discs ( front and rear ) with ebc pads from mx-5 parts for 79.95 all in.

Top banana

Yes it's rather good isn't it? my Brother is the owner of Nutz ( DAZ) and is mx5 mad!!

SWMBO has owned a Mk2 and now runs a Mk3 roadster coupe (electric hard top). Whilst both cars have an oil pressure gauge on the dash on the Mk2 this is static whilst on the Mk3 it actually shows you a difference in pressure whilst driving. The Mk2 was a soft top with manual (2 person to lift on/off) hard top which is the main reason she swapped to a roadster.

The 1.8 Mk2 was a nice car to drive but the Mk3 2.0 sport is a step up in comfort and driving pleasure.

One thing to note is you have to get the revs up to be in the power band, I have outpaced an MX5 on the exit to a roundabout in my diesel Verso because the MX5 driver had changed gear too soon.

If you want something a bit different (left hand drive only) you could also look at a Fiat barchetta, I had one of these and it makes you smile every time you look at it, let alone drive it.

Sorry hertsnminds, I have to disagree with the Mk3 being a step forward in Driving pleasure.

I have driven 3 x Mk3's 2 x 2.0l and a 1.8 and found them to be more comfortable but a huge step backwards in driving pleasure. No precision to the steering, very little feedback and they felt like heavy cars to.

The 3.5 is heading back in the right direction (the one with the smiley face grille) but the 3 went backwards imho.

The Barchetta is nice, but it's front wheel drive and the motor can suffer from Variator problems with the VVT, it's the same lump as used in the Punto HGT, and the engine has little scope for upgrades, with a mk1 MX-5 or a Mk-2 you could drop a BBR Turbo conversion on with no mods to the internals and run 220bhp and a huge grin.

That's the only thing that have put off friends of mine that have had them was that they can be very twitchy in the wet. They've all spun them without exception. some got rid for that reason.

The twitchyness is largely down to alignment and tyre choice. If you're careful with both then it shouldn't be too much of a problem but at the end of the day they are RWD and most people come to them from understeerng FWD hatchbacks - so they tend to catch people out!

Woohoo I bought one, and I can't stop grinning

It's a 1994 UK 1.8 in Classic red. Came with a hardtop too! It's like chalk and cheese with the Fabia, I keep having to remember to rev it and keep revving! Think the VRS is quicker, but my god this little car puts a smile back on my face! Will get pics up soon. Big thanks to Skomaz, your buyers guide post was very helpful to me.

reckon I'll use up the full tank of Esso supreme I treated her to tomorrow

Nice One - Enjoy and just hope yor face doesn;t ache from all the grining!

Well done Sounds like you have made a good decision. I cant wait to get mine back on the road again

Well not quite the smoothest of starts to MX5 ownership. Had the car looked over by local specialist, urgently needs new clutch slave cylinder and front pads. Also some of the coolant hoses are bodge jobs with cheap pipes and there's a bit of an oil leak somewhere round the front of the engine. Annoying, but to be expected with a used 17 year car. Also want to get all the 4 mismatched tyres off and stick some Rainsports all round and get it properly aligned with a decent set-up. No receipt for cambelt change so will have that done soon. Also the classic red needs a good polish, just a little dull in patches.

But I'm still smiling :yes:

Well not quite the smoothest of starts to MX5 ownership. Had the car looked over by local specialist, urgently needs new clutch slave cylinder and front pads. Also some of the coolant hoses are bodge jobs with cheap pipes and there's a bit of an oil leak somewhere round the front of the engine. Annoying, but to be expected with a used 17 year car. Also want to get all the 4 mismatched tyres off and stick some Rainsports all round and get it properly aligned with a decent set-up. No receipt for cambelt change so will have that done soon. Also the classic red needs a good polish, just a little dull in patches.

But I'm still smiling :yes:

It will get better mate, parts are cheap as chips though, MX-5 parts still have their offer on, 4 oem disc's and EBC ultima pads for £79.95 all in. Cam belt is cheap enough but it's best to do the cam and crank oil seals at the same time.

Mine has just been done by Glen Cowley up our way, he knows his way around MX-5's and is an absolute star.

£149 for Parts (www.mx-5parts.co.uk)- Cambelt / tensioners / Aux Belts / Oil Filter / Fuel Filter / Oil Seals / Mazda Rocker Cover gasket / Water pump

£240 for Labour including MOT / Brake fluid change / Diff and Gearbox oil / Fitting and setting up all of the above / coolant

I am doing a tour of the D-Day beaches in mine with my son in May and then onto the Nurburgring for a couple of days (if it's still there), can't wait