Hi All,
I’m new here and currently a no time MX-5 owner.
Been looking recently at getting a more fun car to use as a weekend/track day/project car with some amount of daily usage when the weather permits. Probably going to buy around June time. Decided pretty early on that I’d like an MX-5, after extensive research and weighing up my options I have set my sights on an NC2 2.0 PRHT (Preferably the Sport Tech trim for the extra niceties). The NC seems to be the all round more practical car for me and the facelift seems like a good choice in general (especially as power mods are on the table). I’m not looking for anything special, high mileage doesn’t bother me nor do cosmetic issues so I am looking at the lower end of the price range, this is intended to be a long term project.
Obviously my main concern particularly at the cheaper end is rust, surface rust I will tackle myself but anything more serious I plan to have a specialist take care of as well take preventative measures. Aside from the subframe/bracing, rear sills and boot floors is there anything else I should be looking at specifically? I’ve seen a handful of threads with rust in unusual places so I guess the best bet is to take a good look over everything.
Aside from that I’ve noticed quite a large price difference between early NC2’s and later NC2’s on otherwise similar mileage/condition. The difference seems to be between Euro 4 and Euro 5, is this something I should be paying attention to? Is there anything different between the drivetrains or is this purely a newer car price increase? I tried doing some searching but didn’t really turn anything up.
My current plan is to get a car around the £5-6k mark.
Thanks in advance, hopefully I’ll be in an MX-5 and grabbing a full membership soon enough!
I think for that sort of money you’d get an early NC2 with a high ish mileage. Chances are it’ll look great above ground but underneath will be a different story. Trouble is you can’t really see properly without getting the car up in the air. Ideally the car should have been undersealed from the beginning. Problem areas - rear wheel arches at the cills; top of boot lid ; all subframe areas and suspension linkages. Spend a bit more and get a 2012/13 vintage.
Hope this helps,
D
Thanks for this, I think if any turn up locally at a lower price I will take a good look at them and try and get under one. Otherwise you might be right about me waiting until I can put a few more quid down on a “safer” later model
Have a good look about. There are bargains out there. I originally started out looking for an nc2 and ended up with a 2014 1 owner car with 30k on it for very reasonable money so I’d imagine you’ll be able to pick up a decent circa 2010 car for what you have.
Think I’m gonna keep an eye out and gather a bit more money to give myself some leeway (and money for the first couple mods I want to do!), also did a bit more research and determined that getting a lower trim and retrofitting the extra bits I want is pretty straightforward and cheap, could save some money (SWC, cruise control, front fogs etc).
You may find it works out dearer to gather and retrofit all the bits to trick out a base model to high spec than spotting one with all the kit to begin with. Keep an eye out, you might get lucky as I did.
Yeah you might be right, I’ve made the decision that I’m going to downsize my daily car first (something I’ve been planning for a while) which will free up a bit more cash for MX-5 related things. Will keep an eye out for deals in the meantime.
