Looking For/Wanted - Mazda MX5/Eunos NA - R-Ltd/S-Ltd/V-Special

Hello All,

With the “Stay At Home” instruction officially set to end in England from Monday, it will hopefully mean that everyone will be able to go out and enjoy driving their MX-5’s again.

I joined up recently and am on the lookout for an NA Eunos. Specifically an R-Limited, S-Limited or a V-Special Type II in nice, original condition. I’ve been keeping my eye on the market for over 6 months now, but with the current climate and lockdowns in-between it’s been difficult trying to track down the right Eunos.

If any one around here is considering selling their Eunos, or knows someone that may I would greatly appreciate it if you could let me know over PM. I’m willing to offer a good price and a quick sale.

Looking forward to joining the MX-5 community and becoming a fully paid-up member in the future if I do manage to get one of these great little cars.

Many Thanks.

P.S As a side note, if the owner of M554 TNT is still knocking around these parts, if you ever decide you would like to part with the car, please do send me a PM, it is one of the best looking R-Limited’s I have seen so far in the wild !

Hello and welcome from Nottinghamshire… Whilst not being able to directly help with your requirement, is good to see you here! Am sure someone will point you in the direction of a suitable NA - Quite a few on here go to very long lengths to preserve them…! :slight_smile:
Rob

Top quality rare (one of 20) NA here;

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the warm welcome. It would be great to acquire one from a fellow enthusiast. If I do manage to get one I am aiming to keep it for many years to come :+1:

HI Saz,

Thanks for the recommendation. I have seen that particular one before, as I have been checking the stock on AutoLink periodically. I know a few other members on here recommend AutoLink for imports.

Unfortunately the rarity on this one has pushed it out of my budget.

Consider using a Autolink to import a car to order. You could have it in 6-7 weeks.

Of the cars you have identified:

R-Limited are thin on the ground; I think they disappeared quickly because when the red leather goes, they became a bit unloved.

The R2 Limited is mechanically identical and has a similar red leather interior.

The V-Special II is a 1.8 only model; there is some confusion because the 1992 V-Spec got a few upgrades (speaker covers). The V-Special II only differs from the “standard” V-Special through the plated chrome wheels (most will be corroded now), the MSSS unit (which doesn’t work here, and most would have been in the skip 20 years ago) and the chromed power mirrors.

The S-Limited is a 1.6 model, and a very different drive from the 1.8. Even with the 1.8s, the R-Limiteds, R2 Limiteds and VR-Limiteds will drive differently from pre-96 V-Special 1.8s, due to the difference in final drive. The R-Limiteds and later cars have a 4.3 final drive, so at motorway cruising speeds, the motor will be spinning at around 4000 rpm.

If you are looking for a old car like a Mk1 “in country” you will have more luck being less specific in your requirements. A personal import will be the most efficient means.

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Hi Saz,

I have looked at importing a car from Japan or Europe, but funnily enough the UK looks like one of the best and cheapest places to buy an NA nowadays. Most cars I found in Japan through the likes of goo-net were well into 5 digits after considering the cost of importing.

I appreciate your advice about the specific models. I’ve spent some time studying the excellent Eunos model guide provided by the club here. I know that these are rare cars nowadays, especially considering they are from the JDM.

I was just hoping to put some feelers out there in case anyone in the community is considering selling. It’s always a case of playing the long game when hunting down specific cars, so if it comes to it I guess I’ll have to just sit and wait for a bit :slightly_smiling_face:

Goonet etc is retail. The starting price for a “DIY” import (in reality using an agent here) is probably about £3k landed (those same cars are now about £4-5k retail). NA are cheap in the UK largely due to condition.

The OC guide is fairly inaccurate (eg V-Spec IIs don’t come in just black, and after 94, the colours broaden to include white). The guide still lists a 1.6 Roadster Mk1 after 1993, no such thing. No such model as a “M-Limited”; there was a M-Package, which was basically a slightly cheaper S-Package (ie. it had power steering, but no Torsen etc).

The adage has always been buy on condition, not on spec. Are you wanting one of these models, because you particularly desire the leather seating spec, or because of the particular model. The facotry leather isn’t great quality, it can’t really be “fed” like old hides. Its about £500 to retrim a MX5 in good quality leather.

Cars already here start to show rust 10-12 years after importation (mostly).

There are various places where you can get a feel for the auction prices in Japan, without having to sign up for anything. Generally, to the sale price, add £500-1000 for the FOB costs (agents fee, getting the car over to the docks), £600 ish for ro-ro shipping (plus 7% shipping insurance), duty, vat, £200 or so UK dock fees. A few years ago, it wasn’t worth importing a car, but I think that might be on the turn, as the supply of decent cars in the UK dries up.

Really bog standard pricing guide:

http://www.jdmauctionwatch.com/prices/pricelist-uk/

This is better to under actual sale prices, and how often the same car can go through the auction before being sold

So here is an example of a very late V-Spec II, in white and an automatic

It was a pretty decent car, sold for 417,000 yen, £2750

But this one, which arguably is a worse car, went fr 705k yen. Maybe that’s the cost of a manual now.

Went for less money.

Crash repaired S-Limited, needs interir work, went for big money.

In general, good early (pre 1994 cars) seems to be attracting more money, the best deals might be had on plain later cars.

A car like this:

Got a cloth interior; D-grade means the cloth is worn through, which always happensa on the later cars, due to a change in the seat. The 240k yen sale pruce sounds good. I think it will need cosmentics, but it is a very late NA, and as a S-Package, will have a decent spec (power mirrors, Torsen etc). Owner even fitted raybrigs. That will be £4000 in the UK, plus the costs of the MOT, Budget £1000 for a new hood, service, maybe some tyres. But it will be rust free

The pricing can be curious

This is a Tokyo Limited, went for peanuts. I suppose the 200k kms on it was the reason, but otherwise, it looks a decent car. Another reason is that maybe in Japan, the Tokyo Limited isn’t that collectable. Its a low production car (40), but technically not a factory edition. A Tokyo dealership put in an order for S-Packages in black (at the time, you couldn’t buy a black S-Package) and then got Mazda to fit out the cars with some of the surplus cream leather M2-1002 interiors (some bits were made up for the car, such as the door cards). The M2-1002 was planned to be 300 cars, but they pulled the plug at 100. In effect, its a dealer special, albeit a noce dealer special.

Hi Saz,

I appreciate the information and advice about imports, certainly interesting to see the few examples you listed above. I’ll have to take a look and maybe keep an eye on what comes up down the line.

Truth be told I was originally on the look out for any nice and clean NA, but after spending more time looking at various model guides and what was available out there, the R-Limited, S-Limited & V-Specials just really caught my eye. It’s a personal opinion, but I think the combination of Nardi trim with a nice red/tan leather interior makes the cars look fantastic.

I saw the thread on here the other day about favourite colours, and personally I think the Satelite Blue makes for a fantastic combination with the red interior, as well as the BRG with a tan interior.

May be interesting to see a thread of everyone’s favourite interiors at some point as an alternative.

Hi there I have a beautiful 1.6 auto 1990 eunos that I recently put up for sale I’m from Derby east midlands PM ME IF YOU WANT ANY MORE INFO price: £2500 ono

Kind regards , jake