Hi. Just joined in the midst of trying to satisfy my mid-life crisis in the form of a sports car.
In truth I’ve been flirting with the idea of a sports car for some time and fallen in and out of love with various MX5 models over the years - I’m a child of the 70’s and remember the MK1 when it was first launched. My more recent dalliance has wavered around the idea of getting a MK3 (test drove a 2L and enjoyed it). I then realised my budget does not quite run to the MK3 and MK2s seems to be good budget territory.
After staring down many many cars for sale I found myself drawn to the MK1… Bringing a long story to a shortened one… Test drove a 90bhp MK1 today (yes, I know… 90 bhp…) and also a MK2 1.8 and found, out of all three, it’s the MK1 that really works for me - even at 90bhp. The driving sensation and sound is very different to the latter models - much more like a Triumph Spitfire, MGB, etc… Even liked the absence of power steering! Genuinely put a smile on my face and has left my finger hovering over the Bid Now button.
So now I find myself resisting the temptation to buy the one I drove today (uncertain about the sill repairs…) whilst I work out how to buy a genuinely viable car on a limited budget to scratch my immediate itch and provide a solid foundation to invest in the inevitable TLC to secure it’s future!
I’m hoping the forum will help unlock how I move forward with this challenge!
Just accept that a 25 to 30 year old car may need work done to it’s bodywork could be £1,000 to £2,000 if there is a lot of unseen rust. Therefore you need someone with you that knows what to look for and even then allow £500 over the next say 4 years.
A clutch can be say £400 or so and it is not that easy to DIY that job.
Good luck with finding a virtualy rust free car.
OTOH you may get a reasonable runner for £2,000 that lasts say 3 years and by that time you could have scratched that itch and want to return to a normal car.
Assume the £2,000 car is then worth say £500 as it needs lots of work done and it has cost you £500 a year for some fun.
If on a strict budge, better to buy an honest but scruffy car (eg. obvious plate repairs to the sills) rather than something that pretending to be something it is (eg.plate repairs to the sills disguised with filler). You won’t be paying too much to discover if you really like the car (try a Mk1 with power steering before zeroing in on a non-PAS car. The manual rack is too slow for a sports car), and you won’t lose any money if you decide its not for you. Assume any Mk1, if not recently having a documented repair, will need within the next 12 months new sills and arches, cost ~£1500 inc. paint. Hoods are £400-500. Cars to look for are ones with recent hoods (sort of evidence the owner had some kind of pride in the car), but needs rust repairs (owner scared off by quotes). Rear sill repairs are perfectly manageable.