Just watched Quentin Wilson offer a young lady a range of cars at under £2000 including a good looking, from what you could see, ‘N’ reg MX-5 for £1200.
His comments about the MX-5 was good looking old car with high miles - repairs will cost a lot and you will see the price keep falling.
She went for a Ford Ka which was probably the right descision for her, but I would have thought that for the same money she will spend on the Ka (or any similar car) would stop the value of the 5 dropping as much as an ‘ordinary’ car.
That view would be at odds with Jay Leno’s thoughts in the Feb issue of Octane:
At first, I thought Wilson had a Damascane experience; black MX5, chrome mirrors, got to be a Roadster import. But no, it was a UK car with (probably) bubbly sills.
I nearly got rid of the MX5 over Christmas, but then thought better of it. And will just continue to chuck loads of money at it… Maybe hang in there to see if Leno is proved right. he said the same thing almost exactly a year ago (though calling the Miata the Mustang of its generation).
I found the programme quite interesting, but the logic seemed flawed somehow. To choose a Ford Ka over an early MX5 may have been the right thing for that particular buyer, but probably not for an enthusiast who loves driving something a bit different. If we just bought cars based on economics and practicality we’d all be driving around in anonymous little eurohatches. You didn’t need to be Einstein to work out that it was going to be cheaper to run a little Fiat than an old Rover. They may as well suggested getting a moped for people who really wanted to save money.
Its funny, but my choice was the 5 or the Ka and I obviously chose the better one (though after the recent weather I had my doublts for about 5 minutes!!). But then, I am older and wiser!
By the way -why can’t I get my smiley in the text??
The 5 is generally reliable, and fairly easy to work on with so many spare parts due to a “healthy” breakers scene it seems unlikely that they will drop in price any further.
I also dont remember throwing much money at mine that wasnt because I wanted to. Hope im not proven wrong by my 97 im picking up this week.
No, he was generally correct. The MX5 on offer was a high mileage 12 year old car. It might well prove to be a very reliable car. I don’t think it will be sufficiently reliable for someone having to plan a budget, as you cannot anticipate the non-servicing failures. Its not a super car in that respect, and old MX5s suffer their fair share of mechanical failures. The main worry in a 1996 UK would be the development of sill rust. By now, its a process already occurring in that car, and nothing a new owner can do will halt or reverse it. By the time bubbling is seen on the mastic underseal and anti-chip finish, the rot is well and truely advanced. Its no use arguing that its technically not structural, for most people, having holes in the sills will see an MOT failure. Engine issues; the engine might be long lived, or, as its a 1.8, it might not (the life of the engine might be dictated by how it is treated in its first 20,000 miles. These cars also went to (unwisely) extended oil change intervals (which they never had in Japan). After 210k kms, I have had to fit a new engine. The engine that was in it has always drunk oil since I brought it at 90k kms off a forum member. I’m getting a rear end hum now; could be a £100 wheel bearing, might be a £1000 diff. Hard to know at the moment. I’ve decided to keep an MX5 for the moment, and continue to shovel money at it, which I expect to do. And I’ll continue to put 30k kms on it a year until bust. On a newer car I might not get these issues. An enthusiast tends to overlook the frailities of their car (they must do, otherwise how can there be a Morris Marina Owners Club), but ownership is not a routine thing.
The point he was making was do not be seduced by the prospect of a cheap flash looking but older car, if you are primarily looking for A to B transport. He was exactly right in pointing out that the normal running costs of a car nowadays trivialises the actual purchase cost of a car, which previously would have been an important decider. The MX5 wasn’t selected because it was a MX5; it could easily have been a MR2, MGTF, Ford Puma, some sort of Alfa, BMW, or any one of a number of 10 year oldish sporty looking numbers , with now suspect mechanicals.
The Ford Ka was probably the right choice for that girly girl about town. Quentin is missing the point regarding the MX5… some of us actually like the older cars and get pleasure out of working on them.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /><o:p></o:p>Modern cars are just downright boring, who is going to enthuse about a Renault Meganne etc. in 10, 20 years time? I’ve had some nice classics in the past, several MG’s one of which I spent a lot of money on restoring/upgrading (I made a small profit when I sold her), a Land Rover that I totally rebuilt and a limited edition Ford Capri 2.8i.<o:p></o:p>I’ve only done about 300 miles in my 1991 LE since I bought it last October, it is low mileage (52k) and I intend to keep it for a long time to come.<o:p></o:p>When I take mine out to places like Chester and park down by the Dee I select a space away from other cars that might bump it. I look back at it as I’m walking away admiring her good looks and I sometimes even stop and take a few photos on my phone… I wouldn’t do that if it was a Ka <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p>
In this scenario the Ka which is worth very little and costs very little to run is obviously going to be a better budget option than the 5. However I disagree that the 5 would be any less reliable than another car of its age.
If you buy a relatively new car you pay a lot for it have to maintain it and then still take a big hit on depreciation.
The advantage an old 5 has its that the repairs to it are unlikely to cost as much over a period of time than the repayments on a more recent but particularly boring hatchback.
You also get to drive a great handling lovely little sports car which just might make you smile.
In this months classic car the above mentioned Quentin Wilson said how pleased he was to see that yummy mummies were turning toward older classics as a replacement for 4x4’s. The thinking being that and old Cortina or moggy minor will give you more bang for your buck than a nineties fiesta. He quoted low depreciation and running costs in his argument for buying one [*-)]<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /><o:p></o:p>
Before i bought my Mark 1, i was running around in an 02 plate 1.0 VW Lupo that i must say was bullet proof. I clocked 10,000 miles a year in that thing and went a full year with the service light on and never had any problems!
I decided to buy a Mark 1 MX-5 a)because of the relatively low price, b)because i had always wanted to own a red two seater convertible sports car and c)perhaps most crucially, i wanted a car that i would love and cherish, realising that this may cost me more in terms of repair bills and maintenance etc…didn’t dissuade me from my choice.
When i bought the car i had both rear sills replaced as the usual problem of rust was starting to take grip. I also have a problem with a little bubbling on my nearside rear arch that i am having treated next week which won’t be cheap i know. Don’t get me wrong, the car flew through it’s last MOT last September and has never had any advisories so rust isn’t a problem on my 5. Now if i was a less diligent owner i may have left the sills and arches to get progressively worse as i didn’t have a special bond with the car, clock 10,000 miles in it and then trade in a years time without caring. But i love my car and will pay whatever it takes to keep it in excellent condition as it is.
The thing is i think to own a car like an MX-5, or any vehicle that’s 15 years old, you have to understand that as something ages it is going to become more and more difficult to keep it running, not just in financial terms but also the time pressures of daily and weekly maintenance jobs on the vehicle.
My dad has an MGF and a gorgeous MGB rebuild and he has owned an MG Midget in the past too. I think you make a decision that you either go for a relatively new car safe in the knowledge that realistically nothing much is going to go wrong, (however the car will more likely be mundane leading to a sanitized feeling of ownership).
Or if you go down the older/higher mileage/classic car route which, let’s face it, the Mark 1 is now a part of, then the obvious potential pitfalls should be apparent to the purchaser from the offset, as with any purchase it’s pays your money, takes your choice. I know even though i have spent more already in six months on my 5 than i did throughout the three years i owned my Lupo, i am happy to pay this as i want to preserve and maintain my Mark 1 as it is something tangible for me to love, as if it was a partner or a child.
