I went to look at a nice 2:0 Roaster Coupe today at a dealership. My current car is a Jag XJ automatic, so I don’t drive manuals on a regular basis. However, I noticed that the clutch seemed to engage rather fiercely, almost as soon as you start to lift your foot from the pedal. This caused me to stall as I pulled off the dealer’s forecourt. Once the car was on the move the clutch seemed fine. Is it normal for the clutch to engage like this?
Also, I noticed quite a few deep stone chips on the front of the car and evidence that one of the alloys had been kerbed as it was badly gashed. (Strangely, one of the rear wheels, not one of the front ones!) The dealer said if I wanted the car, he’d get these things fixed. But, I’m reluctant to put a deposit down without seeing how well the repairs are carried out. The asking price was £14k for a car that was 10 months old with 5000 miles on the clock. Does this sound like a good deal? The price new was around £20k.
Sounda a reasonable price considering its 10 months old, was it a 6 speed sports or just a standard 2.0 ltr ? I bought the sports model just under a year ago, it was 5 months old and I paid a little more than they are asking for the one you looked at.
You will enjoy the ride and handling a lot as the MX5’s are excellent and the clucth is brnad new hence why you stalled at first, I drive another car as my main drive and I usually stall a few times until I’m used to the 5 again.
I have a feeling that a new one won’t be a lot more at the moment! Have you checked ? If there is ever a time to get a good deal on a car its now… so drive a very hard bargain. And with a new facelifted 5 due shortly the current style will most likely be cheap as chips at the moment…
Many thanks for the advice. The car was a 2:0 Niseko, which I think is based on the standard 2:0 car, but with some of the features from the Sport. I must say, I did quite like the subtle blue paintwork and was pleasantly surprised at how free from squeaks and rattles it was. I’d heard bad reports of the folding metal roof on other cars, particularly the VW, but in the MX5 it was easy to forget that the roof wasn’t fixed!
I think the clutch is something that I would get used to over time, but was interested to read that others are like that too. As for the price, I think it probably is reasonable for a car as good as the MX5 Roaster Coupe. Drive the Deal do the standard 2:0 coupe (without any extras) for £15584 and the Sport or £16877, a saving of over £3500 in each case, and these prices include road tax! But, it’s tempting to save even more and go for the second-hand one. My only reservations really are a cluster of stone chips at the front and a scraped alloy wheel. They’ve agreed to repair them, but I’m concerned that they may still be noticeable, or that the paint/laquer may start to peel after a couple of years.
Even though I’m still undecided whether to go for this particular car, driving it did at least make me realise that the Roadster Coupe is the one I’d like to have rather than the soft top, even though I prefer the looks of the soft top. The RC is definitely the one I’d want to drive all year round and feel happier about leaving parked anywhere.
This forum is great by the way. I’m very impressed at the helpfulness of fellow MX5 enthusiasts and the wealth of knowledge they are prepared to share.
Woah - where have you found a Niseko 2.0 RC in Icy Blue??? That’s my dream car and I couldn’t find one anywhere - is it definitely Icy Blue not Silver? With dark chocolate leather seats with blue piping? If you are not buying it, I will!!! Seriously, if you decide against, PM me the location. :o)
I agree that it’s a fabulous combination. It seems to have the best bits from the Sport, but without the 6 speed gearbox, which I personally don’t like. On paper, the combination of light blue paint and dark brown seats doesn’t work, but when you see the car in the metal it looks great. So, after much deliberation (and waking up in the night thinking about it!), I’ve decided to buy it! But, if the sale falls through, I’ll let you know. There are one or two of these cars coming up for sale incidentally and will probably be even more of them in the coming months.
Very, very jealous! Well done, though - I honestly believe that is the prettiest MX-5 there has ever been!
Incidentally, I do remember a thread on miata net about clutch pedals disengaging too low on a number of models (almost as soon as the foot is lifted) - they can be adjusted (though most dealers apparently don’t know this) to make biting point higher.
I agree that icy blue RC is the one to have. Colour does seem to make a big difference on an MX5 and I wonder if they will offer something similar to icy blue when the face-lifted version comes out in May. If so, I guess it would then make the Niseko less exclusive. I’m also looking forward to seeing what the next special edition is like.
The car that I looked at last week did have a few bad stone chips on it, a (very) small dent in the passenger door and a badly scuffed alloy, so I’m not too disappointed as I know those things would have annoyed me. There are 560 Niseko RC’s out there, a fair proportion of which would have been icy blue, so I reckon there will be more coming up for sale in the next few months.
That’s great! I live up in Yorkshire, so I guess we may be looking in different places anyway. If I spot anything in your neck of the woods I’ll let you know. I’d originally looked at a Stormy Blue Icon (soft top obviously) and only went to view the Niseko just out of interest, not really expecting to like the colour. But, it seemed such a great package that it suddenly made the Icon look decidedly average, especially as both cars were the same price and theoretically the Icon was slightly older even though both were registered in March 2008. That’s the great thing about special editions - it’s easier to know how long the cars have been standing around in the showroom. Although I really like the Niseko, I can’t help wondering what it would look like with dark blue seats instead of dark brown ones.
In that case, you may be pleased to know that Mazda seem to be offering the facelifted MX5 with chocolate brown seats! They look similar to the ones in the Niseko (as do the alloy wheels), although you can’t always tell from photographs. They may turn out to be a different shade. It doesn’t look as though icy blue will be an option, which is good news for those lucky Niseko owners who want to retain their exclusivity, but not such good news for those of us unable to find one.