Am I going to regret this?

General Discussion Forums MX-5 Chat
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I bought my first MX-5, a 1.5 litre ND1, in 2016, ran it for a couple of years and loved it but I also wondered whether the 2.0 litre version would be better so swapped it for a new model ND1 Z-Sport. Within a few weeks I realised I’d made a bad decision, I found the ND1 2.0 litre engine gutless and unwilling to rev. I kept the car for a year and, when the ND2 came out in 2019, I took a 2 litre version for a test drive and loved it - it was just like the 1.5 litre version in the way the engine pulled so freely and the extra power and torque improved on the smaller engine so much I bought one immediately. So, here’s my problem: the 2.0 litre ND2 is now 4 years old and I rarely keep a car beyond 3 years these days so I’m looking to change once more. I love the MX-5 so much I was just going to replace it with another one with a cost to change IRO 15K but, when I went to my local dealer to see what the platinum colour looked like in the flesh, I saw a mid-2022 1.5 litre ND2 on the forecourt with only a handful of miles on the clock and in immaculate condition and I’m sorely tempted to return to the smaller engine. The advantages are two-fold: 1. I will be able to exchange my car almost immediately whereas, if I wait for the ND3, it could be several months before one becomes available, and 2. It will save me about 5K.

Will I regret going back to the smaller engine? atm I think not. I have many fond memories of trips taken in the first one, it never let me down, I can swap a 4 year old car for a nearly new one for a cost of perhaps no more than 7K and the extra power of the larger engine is proving more and more useless as government and councils clamp down on higher speeds.

Anyone care to offer their advice?

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Keep what you have got. I bought an 18month old ND1 in 2017 as my fun car, replacing a Caterham R400 I’d had for ten years . I have now done about 50 k miles and it is a far nicer car now than when I bought it. Lowered springs, decent tyres, decent s/wheel and , critically , significantly more power and torque and revvability thanks to Roddison Motorsport . It is Dinitrol-ed , so is good for years more service .

For 7k you can make a serious difference to your present car . As for more power being not much use you can have a lot of fun with more go and still stay legal -ish .

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If you are committed to change then the 1.5 would be my choice, for me it’s the more balanced package. You already know the 1.5 which is a good starting point.

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Try an Abarth 124 Spider. I did and love it.

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I don’t understand why you would pay this much money for a newer version of what you already own. That’s about how much I paid for my 2016 2.0 Sport Recaro when I bought it in mid-2020.

I would either keep what you have and enjoy it, change it for something completely different, or spend some of your budget modifying what you have enough that it feels somewhat different to you. You could do a lot of high quality performance upgrades or a complete wrap for well under £10k.

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I would keep the car you have and know: it is younger and therefore has a longer life before it (think 2035!). I dont know the 1.5 L engine, but my 2.0 L has plenty of power in reserve and every so often it pays to put your foot down and sprint away from some idiot who is intent on killing himself and you too! :slight_smile:

David

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Thanks for all the advice. It’s interesting seeing the variety of thoughts. To those who say keep it and mod it I’ve now reached the stage in life where I’m perfectly happy with stock and rarely modify it. I like the security of knowing that, if I have a new or nearly new car then I can expect nothing to go wrong and, if it does, the warranty will cover repairs…

@david-p: The replacement will be, to all intents and purposes, a new car, not one that’s older.

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This is probably obvious but don’t just PX get prices from cash buyers, I sold mine for pretty much the same as I paid for it 18 months on. Also this is not the time to sell you’ll get the lowest price, if I’d not parted with mine in Sept the offer would have been £1-2k less possibly even less, based on the dealer potentially not re-selling until the spring.

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Why pay out a ton of money to swap for something very similar. Keep yours for another year or too and the value will hardly move.

I bought my 2.5 year old 2.0 ND1 in April 2018 with 11k on the clock. I’ve put 10k miles on it and nearly five years later Motorway value it at £4,218 less than I paid. Depreciation less than a grand a year. And that’s comparing the price I paid approaching summer and the winter value now.

You use the phrase ‘I rarely keep a car beyond 3 years these days’ but this is just habit. You love your car so why not break that habit.

Later on you suggest an option that will ‘save you about £5k’. It’s not a saving, It’s an option that will cost you £10k rather than the other £15k option.

It’s a marketing ploy to bring out new colours every year and I’ll admit the lure of the latest plate is nice but that only ever lasts six months max. You are on your third ND and when you test drove it you loved it so much you bought immediately. Don’t forget that feeling. Stick a cheap private plate on what you’ve got and keep loving it a bit longer.

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And if warranty is important to you, speak to Mazda, they might be able to quote. If not, there are 3rd parties out there that may provide you with peace of mind for a fraction of your cost to change.

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Here’s my 0.02:

For me the MX5 is a car which just doesn’t need a lot of power. 30mph feels like 40mph, 50mph like 60mph etc. A 911-owning friend recently bemoaned that it’s the reverse in his car, it feels slow because it has become so heavy and ‘thick’ with features and comforts. So the downgrade in power you propose would not bother me at all given that we’re talking MX5. Then again if you like zooming around at the limit maybe you will miss the acceleration the faster model offers. Just have the roof down more and it will feel faster more of the time!

Personally I’d rather have the £5k in the bank for other things - a holiday, home improvements, investments, another hobby or…just to have in the bank for a rainy day.

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I’d keep what you have (which happens to be what I have too, a 4yo ND2 2L …)
and spend a few 000s on what I found made me enjoy the car much more

  • lowered suspension
  • thicker, nicer steering wheel
  • sports exhaust
  • BBR super200 to make it rev even more freely …
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FWIW I think that changing a perfectly good car for practically the same car but with a different number plate for 15 grand is mental, you need your head looking at :smiley: If you put the new number plate on the old car, could you really tell the difference?

I get the warranty rationale but I counter with this. What do you think can go wrong with your car that will cost anywhere near £15,000 to replace?

If you buy a new car now it will cost you £15k now and in 2-3 years when you have the same feelings again you will have a car worth at most what your current car is now. If you keep your car and spend a bit making it tip top [say £3k for a paint correction, PPF, undersealing and a nice set of wheels to keep the must have a new thing demon at bay] you’ll have a car worth at least two thirds of the newer model and 12 grand in your pocket in 2-3 years time.

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Thanks for your opinions which gave me lots of food for thought but, in the end, I’ve swapped the 2.0 litre for the 1.5. The immediate cost to change was £6,500 but I saved a further c.£500 because I was spared the expense, on the 2.0, of the upcoming 4 year service, front brake pad replacement, an MoT and, in the near future, at least one pair of tyres.

In yesterday’s less than wonderful weather I took the 1.5 on a brisk 100 mile route of mixed roads, i.e. some M25, M4 and M3 motorway, to reach some reasonable A-roads and some of my favourite B-roads and I was delighted to find that my memories of my earlier 1.5 were not faulty. Is it less powerful? Of course it is, it only has 2/3 the bhp of the 2.0 and, what’s more noticeable, significantly less torque, particularly low down, but wind the smaller engine up above 4500rpm and it flies just fine. The smaller engine’s exhaust note is delightful too, while the 2.0 exhaust is relatively quiet and uninspiring - one of the few disadvantages I found in the 2.0. As for the softer suspension, mostly courtesy of 16" rims, this I found to be no disadvantage. On the contrary, it’s a real benefit on the mixed route I took. UK roads are in a generally awful state and, where I live (in outer S.E. London), there are way too many speed humps, ramps, etc. Were I using the car to race, the suspension would have to be uprated, but I’m not so it’s a moot point.

MX-5 owners are really lucky I think. Mazda, unlike almost all other manufacturers, are still producing, two cars which are both great fun and the fact that the 2.0 model is only £2k more than the 1.5 gives all of us a real choice between two surprisingly different but equally fun cars and, if you do want the more powerful version, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

Now all I have to do is go and wash it, it’s filthy after yesterday’s trip.

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You have captured the essence of the 1.5 right there and the reasons I went back to it after having an ND2 2.0, I’m sure you’ll enjoy your purchase :slightly_smiling_face:

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Good outcome.

Confirms in my mind that it really isn’t about power and speed (though there are MX-5 models that do this as you say). My boggo 2011 1.8 SE is just fine for me in that sense, so when the time eventually comes I suspect the ND 1.5 will be too - in fact it’s a bit quicker than the old 1.8 if I recall correctly.

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Really useful, chaps. I too am minded to change/update… have tested the nd1 2.0 but not yet the 1.5. However was minded to update my nc and will now defo look at costs vs benefits. Thanks for interesting thread!

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Nowt wrong with the pre launch 1.5’s I drove with IanH before they hit the showrooms.
Same power to weight ratio as the old Mk1 1840cc cars.
Never feel short changed in my old steed.
Thing is…much of the performance lies in the chassis.
And that, gents, is down to drivers and not BHP.
Think on this.
LH in a 1.5cc ten laps around Silverstone
Most of us in a 2000cc.
Who wins?
Exactly.
It’s called skills.
Are you a motorist, or are you a driver?
:wink:

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The quote originates from Michael Jordan (of Automobile magazine), and is as follows:

“If you can’t go fast on 90hp, 900 won’t help you.”

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