Im not sure if this is the right place to put this but anyway,
My name is dylan and im an 18 year old who hasloved and dreamed of owning an mx5 since i was about 11. I am currenly wanting to buy a 1.6 mk2/2.5 mx5 as ive just turned 18 and got 1 year NCB.
my budget is about 5000 pounds which i think is enough to get me a mechanically and visually decent mk2. lastly i don’t want one with ridiculous milage maybe sub 70k.
I have found a fair few that seem and apear to be good, but im not an expert and seek advice from any mk2 owner and what things to look out for. i currently have a 1.0 ecoboost i really want to get rid off for obvious reasons.
here are some links to a few i like with decent MOT and milage:
these are the only two which seem relitavly decent for my price range. please if anyone sees this at allsome advice or what to look out for or if they are any good would be much apreciated.
Both of those will need welding in the not too distant future. With the Mk2, the front chassis members are pretty critical. Do you have £2k in reserve in case work is needed?
I wouldn’t be too worried about mileage; low mileage NBs are also cars that haven’t been used much, and that can cause other issues.
Forget about, except through sheer luck, finding a rust free NB that’s never been welded for £3k.
£1500-2000 covers rear sill repairs, £500-1000 front chassis legs.
The car to find is a £2k example, with a wedge of work done, with welding no more than 2 years ago. It will leave you a bit of reserve, such as a new hood.
Rusty sills could probably be left to the next MOT. Crunchy front chassis legs can’t really be left; once you see them, you cannot unsee, and structurally more critical.
Mechanically, there is no real difference between a NB1 1.6 and a NB2 1.6. Personally, I think the early NBs look better.
Welcome to the club Dylan, as others have said, rust is always going to be an issue, mine looked great when I got it six years ago see photo above, since then it has had a new exhaust, 4 wings, 2 chassis rails, 2 sills and inner sill panels, complete new OEM suspension down to the last nut, bolt and washer and a complete respray.
I do not want to put you off, but NB’s are all 20 years old which makes them ripe for money pit / project cars status. That is no reason not to take one on, but do so with eyes open. Once the money is spent they are absolutely fabulous to drive.
During that time I have also driven her 60k miles visited Europe twice competed in autosolos, production car trials, a couple of dozen sprints and hillclimbs and had the time of my life with her and I sincerely hope I never have to buy another car.
I’ve owned my NB 2.5 1.8 Icon since March 2007 as second owner when she was 18 months old
But she wasn’t garaged until 2019…lived in Whitby near the sea [salt] and later for a while in a field [my bad] where her corrosion began
So like previous members above have wisely indicated …the NB is very prone to rust !
And I’ve had to have work done on her sills/chassis rails etc …welding and undersealing as Art above did and my girl is still a work in progress [next task a respray]
She is low mileage [46,693] and I had her works done by a MX-5 specialist [coincidentally Club Members who are in my current locale]
So…I don’t want to put you off your ‘dream car’ either…Indeed Welcome Any New Member that has fallen in love with the MX-5
But be prepared for spending some pennies [Bullit is going in on the 29th for ‘normal’ wear and tear on her braking system…Quote is £411.00]
And addressing the ‘Elephants in the Room’ …your age will work against you with regards to Insurance and the MX-5 as I suspect you already know
And restrictions on your ‘driving with passengers’ if Govn plans go ahead for young drivers…
But don’t give up and your dream car please
Because as Art says…“I’ve had the time of my life with her and I sincerely hope I never have to buy another car”
Art and I are both 66 years though [so we get cheaper insurance…one of the advantages of getting older]
Hello, insurance won’t be included in my budget as it’s all separate. Origionaly I did say my budget was 3k however it is now around 5k as I didn’t realise how much I had. I have another savings for insurance so I hope I can get a good one for 5k
Thank you for you input I really appreciate it. Your story about you and your car is very cool. Thankfully, insurance is 1.5k for the year at 18, suprisingly, so I’m very lucky. Thank you for the advice
Struggling to know how to respond without sounding ‘parental’
My first car was a Mark I 1.3 Ford Escort [aged 19 years]
I upgraded to a Mark IV 1.5 Triumph Spitfire [aged 20 yrs]
During this time I’d joined the Police and was trained by them [Roadcraft] to drive safely plus we did theory tests back in 1979 before they were rolled out to the general public
But the Triumph Spitfire Mark IV 1.5…scared the pants off me …even with my Police Trained Driving Courses
Because it’s about ‘Road Driving Experience’ [I mean it was a good 6 months before I noticed that I’d changed gear automatically without having to think about it]
But I thought I ‘knew it all’ back when I was younger with all my Police Driving/Theory Training !
I was in my mid 20 ties when I sold the Triumph Spitfire to an 18 yr old [Daddy bought it for her]
She totalled it within weeks
So please Dylan…if you get your MX-5 …just realise that aged 18 yrs…you don’t have ‘driving experience’
And be ‘Safer than Safe’ for the sake of yourself, your parents, Friends & Family and the wider driving community
Thank you for your advice. I will definitely make sure to look after the mx5 the best I can mechanically visually and personally. For something I’ve wanted for such a long time I will definitely take a lot of care driving it as I cherish certain things like that a lot. My father has warned me if im a yobbo teenage driver then if any damaged is caused it’s all on me.
Hopefully I won’t have to worry at all
These are old cars now. What you look for in MOT fails/advisories is evidence of owner neglect/tight fistedness, or “deferred maintenance”. How many MOTs do you see the same advisory?
Yep…it’s boring I know but your father is correct re ‘yobbo teenage driver and consequences’
Humour: “When I was 18 years I thought my parents knew nothing…by the time I was 25 years…I was surprised at how much they’d learnt !”
Joking aside…I recall attending my first R.T.A. as a police officer aged just 19 yrs and having to comfort a young chap [who was obviously going to lose one of his legs below the knee]…having to keep a ‘Poker Face’ and try and re-assure him whilst we waited for an Ambulance…well I still have that image in my head aged 66 yrs…so you also need to consider the emergency workers attending a prang if ‘you drive like a yobbo’
A bit of advice I wish to pass on from my Police Driving Instructor [he came second in a ‘Driver of the Year’ competition and won a Mini !] and it’s stood me in good stead ever since
“Remember you are driving a machine that can kill and…assume every other driver is an idiot”
BUT ENOUGH OF THE 'DOOM AND GLOOM ME THINKS
We aren’t all ‘old fogies’ on here
Indeed there is another young chap on here who aged 11 yrs bought and restored with his father an NA/NB…the project was so interesting that it made it into the STHT Magazine
I’ll try and find the link for you
Meanwhile look forward to hearing about your girl/boy when you find her/him and a picture and a name
