Exactly what I said but I was shouted down,running a 14 yr old car every day probably isn’t the best idea.
Absolute rubbish !..I run my 12 year old NC and my 23 year old NA on a 2 weeks on/2weeks off basis all year round…both have done in excess of 100k mileage, both have recently sailed through their respective MOT’s…
The OP has said that an MX5 is a specific desire…why, as owners, are you trying to dissuade this ?
Don’t listen to these nay-sayers OP, go for it !..keep looking, be patient, the right car will come along eventually.
Hi trimmytrish, I think I saw you live in Norfolk.
On Sunday 6th August, there will be at least 33 MX-5s on display at Helmingham Hall (see its website). None will probably be for sale, but you will have the chance to look them all over and talk to the owners.
Festival of Classic and Sports Cars,
I managed to find a very early Mk2 1.8i (built Jan 1998) with 31K miles and paid the seller’s full asking price (£2200) because it was all original and had no rust on the usual areas of the chassis, despite the paintwork being a bit rough in places (mainly seagull damage, I suspect).
Prior to that I’d inspected three, newer 2.5’s for quite a lot more money. One of them was advertised very locally to me for £3500. It was a lovely car and looked pristine in the engine bay and inside. However, I put my hand under the rear of the sills and found a line of corrosion along both; on closer inspection both were just about to break through. From past experience if the outer sills go, the inners have already gone. I had to walk away because the seller wouldn’t budge at all on the price - he got quite upset and went inside and got his father (who strangely tried bullying tactics with me, denying there was any rust there and trying to convince me it probably just needed a quick respray!). I told him it possibly needed the best part of £800 spending on it, for new sills both sides and about the same again if the front outriggers had gone. I waved them goodbye because it was a risk I didn’t want.
Point I’m trying to make is that early cars seem to have been painted better and it might be worth bearing that in mind.
Just to echo that going along to Helmingham is a great idea. It’s a great day out if you love cars and lots of MX5 owners to talk to. Shame I’m missing it this year. For what its worth I live in Norfolk and if I had the car you are looking for I might be tempted to sell! My experience so far. I‘m 2 and a half years into owning a Mk 2.5 1.6 on a 51 plate. Very nice on the outside. Now on 77k miles and I am the second owner. Engine absolutely fine and I have spent a total of £1,400 on having both sills done in the past 2 years. All the rot cut out and sections welded in. Just looking at the outside with a few rust bubbles you wouldn’t have known but in certain areas these cars rot from the inside out. You really do need to factor this in. Chassis rails are also an area to look at. There are still lots of Mk 2s out there and a lot are tat but also some good ones. My advice is take someone who knows about these cars with you. By the way I still love my car and in this weather it’s a top down daily driver! Toying with moving to a Porsche Boxster though sorry!
I didn’t mean to shoot anybody down in my previous post I was simply explaining my previous car purchasing experiences.
I am more than happy to take on board all points of view even if they do differ from my own. Having never owned an MX-5 I was looking to seek advice from as many owners as possible to base my decision on.
Unfortunately I’m at a wedding this weekend so am unable to attend Helmington :(.
In other news though after viewing 10+ cars I’m the proud owner of a 2004 Arctic special edition (although it’s not that Artctic as the air con needs re-gassing), but that’s a small sacrifice I was willing to make. The car came complete with hard top & has 49k on the clock. It has 2 small scratches on the boot lid where the previous owner dropped the hard top but I will look to get those touched up.
Hopefully I’ve found a good example & it causes me minimal issues 
Brilliant news, well done…after all the huffing and puffing.
49k is nothing…ours just turned 100,000 last week as they do, is oil tight and spins like new.
In terms of these particular engines, it’s just getting nicely run in.
The Arctic was always a favourite of mine. Lovely colour/alloy combination.
If I may take leave to give you a wee bit of advice, and I say this as an individual who has run a Mk1 & a Mk2.5 together as perfectly competent daily transport for nigh on 14 years, try to get it on a garage ramp, get the engine bay plastic tray dropped out (some of the bolts may split) and thoroughly check the chassis rails from underneath, and everything else underneath. Secondly, consider having the underside cleaned off, and protected. This can cost anywhere between £300 to £400.00 typically if professionally done but a very worthwhile investment.
I think you will find it far more satisfiying than a Pox-all Cursa!
Please feel free to use your thread here for any future advice or questions. We are always here to help.
If I may take leave to give you a wee bit of advice, and I say this as an individual who has run a Mk1 & a Mk2.5 together as perfectly competent daily transport for nigh on 14 years, try to get it on a garage ramp, get the engine bay plastic tray dropped out (some of the bolts may split) and thoroughly check the chassis rails from underneath, and everything else underneath. Secondly, consider having the underside cleaned off, and protected. This can cost anywhere between £300 to £400.00 typically if professionally done but a very worthwhile investment.
I think you will find it far more satisfiying than a Pox-all Cursa!
Please feel free to use your thread here for any future advice or questions. We are always here to help.
Scottish,
Many thanks for your words of advice- I plan to do just that!
Ordered a hard top stand today so i’m all set for the rest of summer
To be fair, my 22 year old Mk1, with 270k kms on the clock, has turned into a stinky thing, leaves a trail of oil leaking from some orifice, a creaking pedal box (worn bushing somewhere). I can say Mazda gearbox boots last 14 years, as the ones I put on in 2004 are now well split. Can’t wait for the next thing to break on it. MX5parts twin exhaust rattles when cold, so somewhere underneath there is a tired hanger. Onto 3rd set of pedal rubbers, but that’s because MX5parts/ILM ones are rubbish. . Onto its fourth cat, though that might have been due to a gradually dying MAS that’s fooled everyone, that Ive just replaced. I’m onto the third hood. I now make sure I carry a basic tool kit in the boot, just in case. Calipers should be in good shape, as all 4 have been replaced in the last few years.
Its now retired from everyday transport. I wouldn’t like to depend on it for commuting in now, like I used to.
Fair comment, and I won’t deny I’ve spent a quid or two on my Mk1 too. The point I was trying to make is that if they’re well maintained, which shouldn’t cost a fortune year on year, the older cars make perfectly serviceable daily runabouts. As for tools etc, I have been known to stick 'em in the boot, but only when I’ve taken it abroad…better safe than sorry…
Well the last two garage bills for my 2 Mk1s have been over £3k in total, but that was welding.
As the cars get older, their reliability decreases (any car). At some point in a car’s life, there is a tipping point, when odd things start to let you down. So one issue will be the electrics; the relays do fail, and its related to age. Wiring is heated, and hardens, insulation chafes through etc etc. None of that is anything to do with how well you maintain the car. And unless you have owned the car from new, you really don’t know how that 20-25 year car has been maintained. Service histories are completely worthless. There is a car on this site for sale, got a full service history from new, rotten as a peach.
If you avoid the welding (somehow), then they won’t cost you that much (comparatively) to keep them going, as parts are currently cheap and available. But increasingly, there are parts that are no longer available (or harder to find).