Or buy an older mx5
The simplicity of older cars becomes increasingly attractive as modern cars become progressively more technological. I have always enjoyed new gadgets and technology but not always when applied to cars. The burgeoning plethora of new gadgets and gimmicks is increasing the cost of cars, insurance and repairs. High end luxury cars now have switches replaced with touchscreen controls which can be âlaggyâ, confusing and distracting if trying to operate while driving. If the software malfunctions there may no longer be a switch as a back up and essential controls such as for the heating may be lost. An example is the new Volvo XC90 which on paper and according to reviews is a fantastic, luxurious, highly comfortable and safe family car which if I could get overcome the sheer size and cost I wouldnât mind owning . However given itâs complexity the potential long term costs of running this car become unfathomable and if for example the automatic self adjusting ride height suspension were to fail and I couldnât afford to fix it then it might become very difficult to sell. The active bonnet is a great idea in theory but we end up being the guinea pigs for these devices we havenât necessarily wanted and which may not have been tested for sufficient time and we potentially end up footing the bill when they go wrong through no fault of their own. Very best of luck trying to sort this one out.
Cheers
Matt
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I donât think anyone is being âoutraged against progressâ, just commenting on the apparent shortcomings in a given safety âsystemâ, I believe that is what the forum is for.
Hear hear, Countryboy.
And letâs always remember please Ian, that not all progress is good !
I had a Vauxhall Astravan for nearly ten years, fast, reliable and great fun to drive. NO ECU, no sensors, nothing but old technology, I regret selling it. It was still on the road at least ten years after I sold it. Oh - and NO RUST either. So much for new tech, we live in an age of obsolescence, where everything needs to be replaced. The way this planet is going people will be tailored to that end too. Sazâs âbeware of the greenâ springs to mind. (a movie if you didnât know)
Anyone bought a snow shovel lately? - now plastic (you have to be kidding) Dustpans - also plastic- are replaced at regular intervals. I still have a steel dustpan that belonged to my mother- she died many years ago, and she bought it when I was a kid.
Hurrah for technology - you can keep it. Iâve been called a Neanderthal, but Iâm thick skinned. My son - now 41, grew up with new tech, now anything he owns that wears out goes in the bin, he doesnât care if it can be repaired, he just replaces it. For this age, heâs a perfect patsy.If Iâm grateful for anything new itâs improvement in medicine, without it Iâd be long gone.
An MX5 is NOT the perfect sports car, we used to build better looking sportscars years ago, only problem is we didnât build them well enough. Quality control was non existent. One still wonders? Dependability has given way to new design, now we have computerized cars that cannot be repaired by the average Joe, but need a specialist instead. With each new model, the problem increases - S o dâs law.
New technology means greater costs, with each redesign a new component costs more. (hidden development cost adds to the final cost) As someone else has mentioned on this thread, greater costs are weighed up by insurance companies and help increased insurance costs. Iâve yet to read somewhere the lifespan of electric batteries for electric cars, which everyone is hell bent on producing. Like everything else, they are also hell bent on better reliability and weight reduction for said batteries, all of which increases costs eventually. So we are now considering driver less âhire electricâ like a taxi, cheaper for you? someone has tp pay for the initial cost and maintenance of said fleets. Guess who? And who will pay for numerous charging points, the mind boggles, when you start thinking about all those pavements dug up for new cabling.
I think Iâll leave this rant at this point - life goes on, and mine getâs shorter every day.
We said Gerryn.
I once owned a Ford Escort 1300E, 1972 model. (Purple with a black vinyl roof). Â
In many ways the best car Iâve ever owned.
Paul
Us oldies rant a good deal, why not.
Case in point, my daughter complains the other day itâs going to cost an astronomical amount just to investigate why her gear change is dodgy on her current car, the gear stick is built into the dash.
Garage says most of the dash has to be removed, asked how much, deep intake of breath.
She then phoned me later to announce they are looking for another car when finances allow, all because of the stupid design of the gear linkage and access to it, progress?
Â
Strange as it may seem my current 12 yr old  122,000 mile Mk2 Totota Previa is probably the best car I have ever owned. It comfortably takes 7 adults plus luggage and manages 45 mpg overall. It is extreme well built and hugely reliable and is still on first turbo, clutch, shocks  and only on second set brake pads. It has never broken down and has no rust. If you take the rear 5 individual seats out it is a veritable van - I managed to fit a three seat plus a double seat sofa together in the back with rear door fully closed last week to take to Sue Ryder shop. A truly remarkable car which remains cheap to run and it will be hard to ever justify replacing it
This really hits the nail on the head. As system complexity increases it becomes difficult even to get an accurate quote even for assessing the problem.
Rather than getting a quote for a repair we are now looking for an estimate to get an estimate.
Nobody ever plugged a Mk1 into a computer to price up a sill repair.
Modern technology has its drawbacks doesnât it ? All these little âtoysâ on our cars these days are great when the car is new - and all us boys like our toys donât we ?
They do though, store up trouble for when the vehicle gets a little long in the tooth. Luckily, cars seem to be made of better-quality materials these days, and quality control at source seems to be better too (one of the things which let down the UK motor industry in decades past !). Electronics are more reliable than they used to be, but the odd flaky system or component is bound to rear its ugly head on odd occasions. Fine when the car is young and under warranty, but as it gets older, the chances of oneâs little electronic gizmo throwing a wobbler is bound to increase. Then one gets to a stage where oneâs pride and joy needs three or four grand spent on repairs, and the wife says âWhatâs the point - itâs only worth fifteen hundredâ !
This active bonnet feature is a good case in point. Legomanâs little mishap shouldnât have caused any major concern, but the thing went off (when it shouldnât ?), and now itâs likely to cost a couple of grand to put it all right. It looks to me like it should be the insurance companyâs liability, and I hope they agree and pay up. Â
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Sorry this is off topic but just shows how much possibly will have to be removed to access the gear mech.
We know to access the MX-5 gear stick itâs a simple task of removing the centre console (well to some, Iâve done it on all models except ND) and you can renew stuff bushes/gaiters etc rather straightforward.
Doesnât help on the car below it being a Kia, my daughter is finding out now after owning Kiaâs for around 4 years, they arenât cheap to repair and labour costs seem to be a premium. The price of remove/refit a new alternator was eye watering. Anyway I digress, it is about MX-5âs, sorry.
If the two sensors that I found are for the bonnet lift system I find it hard to believe that a wheel trim would set it off as they are bolted to a steel fog lamp bracket behind what looks like a crash bar which is also set back from the actual bodywork so I would think it would take a good wack to set them off, where on the front did the wheel trim hit the car?
The diagram in the manual I referred to above (post #23) shows 6 sensors across the front of the car, and in the text the only thing that Mazda havenât said might set them off is a chicken sneezing at 5 metres!
And roughly what speed?
? In reference to car with problem, speed of hub cap, or chickenâs sneeze?
I LOVE THIS THREAD ! More smiles (or should that be chuckles ?) per mile, as the saying goes !
Cropduster, in this post no.52, does have a point - bizarre thing to happen though isnât it ? And difficult I suppose to design and build a system that can differentiate between a pedestrianâs bones hitting a bumper, and the thousand-and-one other objects that conceivably could !
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Personally I think cars should do away with all of the safety systems then people might start driving better and as for pedestrians run the buggers over is my opinion when Iâm out in my 5 I get lots of people who just walk out in front of me or slow down when crossing yet strangely when Iâm out in the pajero with its full stainless bull bars people avoid me like Iâve got the plague
Whatever you do, do not go to Spain in said vehicle, itâs name has a rather derogatory meaning in Spanish slang!
I know lol
Phew. thank goodness!