Hello! Looking to buy my first 5

Hello everyone, I’m Noddy, live near Newcastle and am about to own my first MX5.
I’m
in my twenties and have been driving for several years and decided a
few months back that my next car was going to be a 5 as I wanted a car
that was renound for being fun to drive, easy to mantain and had an
enthusiastic community. 
I’m trying to source a tidy mk1 at the
moment but I find the current market quite
confusing price-wise. Viewing the likes of Pistonheads, Autotrader and
Ebay a lot of mk1’s seem to be going for £2,500+ which is out of my
budget range, as I’m a bit of a pauper. I’ve spied a nice 1993 model with 97,000 miles on the
clock but the £1,675 price still seems a little excessive given its age
and spec.
Does anyone have any advice for a new buyer? Should I
wait until mid-January when prices might fall further or should I just
take the plunge and try and haggle the price down?
Looking forward to becoming part of the community! Cheers

Welcome…good choice of car.

Plenty of bargains to be had right now so take your time looking.

Are you after any model inparticular? Standard? Moded? Import or UK model?

You should find an immaculate MK1 for under £2000 in todays climate no problem.

Here is one for £1500.

http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=24716

G’day mate, Welcome to the Forum

There appears to be a lot of nice cars for £1k to £2k around, don’t buy the first one you see, unless it’s an absolute bargain

 Thanks very much for the swift replies gentlemen.
Ideally I’m after a a mk1, 1.6 in black so you were spot on with your first recommendation Dave. I’m gonna make some phonecalls over the weekend and see if I can see in 2009 with a new (to me) MX5.

 

[quote user="Noddy"]  Thanks very much for the swift replies gentlemen.

Ideally I’m after a a mk1, 1.6 in black so you were spot on with your first recommendation Dave. I’m gonna make some phonecalls over the weekend and see if I can see in 2009 with a new (to me) MX5.


 

[/quote]

Hi Noddy

as a recent member and 5 virgin you really cant go wrong by asking questions on this forum, the knowledge and experience available is simply second to none, will be picking up my 1st 5 in the new year after seeking advise from members on the forum, I can only pass on to you the advise I received … buy on condition not year a well cared for and maintained 5 will provide more “smiles per mile” don’t forget to join the OC and benefit even further, enjoy your purchase.
Zippy [:#]


 

greetings noddy.

zippy is dead right about advice here. ask any question & you will usually have the answer in 24 hours from various sources./

enjoy your 5 when you get it.

[:D]

Thanks again for the warm welcome and sage advice guys.

I’ve found what appears to be quite a nice 5. Body seems to be in good condition following import back in 1998. Dealer was honest enough to point me to a little patch of rust on the drivers-side near the chrome sill plate which looks easy enough to repair.
Right now I’m looking for ways to beat down his price. I tried offering him a blood sacrafice but he wouldn’t budge. When inspecting the car I noticed in place of the slender, retractable metal aerial there was a short, black rubber aerial that obviously doesn’t retract. I’m hoping this suggests the retractable aerial was broken! How much could I expect to pay for a new aerial and (worst case scenario) parts and labour on fitting a new motor unit? 
Lets take whatever that cost is and multiply it by two, then demand he factors that into the sale! 

EDIT
I may have answered my own question: http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/product_info.php/products_id/672
Normal price for a genuine electric aerial for a mk1 is £247.10! Thats going to ruin his sales pitch haha!

 

The MX5 market seems to have fallen into two distinct sectors recently: cars for sale at the £1000 mark, most of which are horrors, or really nice cars, usually at £1800+. Its the ground in between where you need to be careful as you occassionally find cars that are either overpriced or a complete bargain, depending on your luck. As has been said before, condition is everything: buy on condition and you won’t be disappointed.

welcome aboard!
im 20 and have just bought my first 5 a few months ago and its has been well worth its money twice over with just the amount of smiles per miles driving it has give me already
good look in finding a car
kris

Hello again everyone, just posting back in this original thread to say I bought my first MX5. Shes not without her problems but is an absolute BLAST to drive. I have never had as much fun in a car and I haven’t even had the roof down yet!
Here are some pictures of my new love:


 

 
Cheers!

Hey noddy,

Nice wheels may i say:)

Good feeling owning your first 5 isn’t it? i’ve still got that feeling five months in to ownership of my beloved Mark 1, and hope it never goes away!

Enjoy the car and glad you found what you were looking for:)

Cheers

Ben

Well i for one don`t see any pictures! But glad you found your car Noddy…Enjoy [Y]

Hi Noddy

ditto here NO images [:(], but enjoy the car

Zippy [:#]

No pics here either.

 

Welcome and enjoy!!  And get som pics up ASAP [;)]

This is a strange one, i can see pics of the car no problem! there’s three pictures of the car in the post directly before my last reply, can no one see these? maybe the weekend has already started for some of you! :wink:

The car is black and has side skirts, can no one see these pictures or am i having one of those moments?(not the magic type either:))

Cheers

Ben

I can see them - Mac running on Safari

Mac with Safari here too

Cheers

Ben

Hi,

 No, I can’t see them either!

Internet Explorer latest version, Windows Vista Business.

I’ll try Safari browser and see what happens. would love to see the new 5!

Cheers

Eric

I can’t see the pics either. Unless it has special ‘klingon cloaking’ paint (I think it was an option in japan?!).

Welcome aboard Noddy! (Say hi to big ears for me…)