A friend and myself have often considered going 50/50 and buying a convertible...It would be my daily driver (I only drive 5k miles pa according to my last MOT certificate) and a fun weekend car for her...she drives 40k + pa in her company Passat TDi. Given all the recent talk about falling car values, should we look to buy now or wait until the depths of winter? We shall initially look to buy privately, unless a garage can offer us a deal we can't refuse a couple of days before the end of the month....private sales displayed on Autotrader seem to be valued 20% above Glasses part/ex values on the Vauxhall website.
Her last convertible was a Spitfire (I also had one of these in BRG, plus an Alfasud with opening floor rather than roof, and more recently in '97 an Elise during my first MLC). The only alternative to an MX5 would be an S2000, but the MX5 wins on points (just).
Edited by legacylad on 18/08/2008 at 16:36
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I was all set to get an MX5 as a fun car, but reconsidered when SWMBO (who has an arthritic knee) found it hard to get in and (particularly) out of.
I'm sure you and your friend are more youthful than we are and don't have a knee problem - but although the MX5 is a great car I've no regrets at getting a BMW Z3 instead. More expensive than an MX5 (or you get a slightly older one) but cheaper than the S2000s I saw on Autotrader.
Edited by Avant on 18/08/2008 at 21:12
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Avant
We never even considered a Z3. As it will be my sole Monday to Friday transport (apart from Shanks Pony and the train) reliability is paramount...as is decent resale value. I enjoyed hugely 3 years of daily driving with my '97 Elise which was ultra reliable...it lost brownie points for the fiddly hood arrangement, and SWMBO may not take too kindly to this aspect of the Elise. No, we don't have knee problems and are both fresh air fiends, so an easy to operate roof is very important, manual or otherwise. Shame we cannot afford the latest MX5 hardtop Roadster or whatever it is called.
Edited by legacylad on 18/08/2008 at 23:01
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I don't think there's any good or bad time to buy.I bought the Roadster Coupe (the one with the electrical folding roof) in March last year and it's been ,as you can imagine ,brilliant.However,I paid 20 grand for it and in retrospect ,I don't believe it's worth that.Having said that there seem to be very few of this model for sale.It does give an added security to the car but my previous soft-top was never a target for vandals.Are you intending to buy new?
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We do not intend to buy new, but second hand...oops, I mean pre owned. HJ 's review rates the 1.8 highly, and this should prove slightly cheaper to run. Two of my friends run older ( H & P reg models) as 'second' fun cars, but we can afford up to £10k with our combined kitty. This should get us an excellent '06 model...at least according to Glasses part ex values.
The Roadster Coupe is a pipedream.
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I believe that the concensus suggests that the 2.0litre is a slightly better engine than the 1.8 with virtually no penalty in fuel costs'The problem (if indeed there is one) has been that the 5 is underpowered in anything other than 2.0 guise.I previously owned a 1.6 which was pedestrian to say the least.Of course owning a 5 isn't about speed but nevertheless it's nice to have too much power rather than too little.
I would suggest that you drive both the 1.8 and the 2.0 and make your mind up from there.
As regards the Roadster Coupe a secondhand example perhaps 18 months old would cost about 16000 pounds at a dealer or perhaps 14500 privately maybe slightly less the way the market is.It's certainly the better choice with regards to refinement and the sports model comes with heated leather seats,Climate,bose ,traction etc
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I don?t think it matters what time of year you buy, to be honest. We started looking in May, and found a good one in September/October. During that time the prices stayed pretty constant. If you are going to look in winter then I would examine the hood carefully for splits/tears etc. and the carpets for dampness. There are two drains that take any water that has gone passed the rear hood/body interface away and dump it into the cills. These block up and allow the water into the cabin. They are easy to clear when you have found them. My son found a second hand hardtop at the right price, very useful in the depths of winter and can be fitted/removed in a couple of minutes. I have fitted a new hood to it as well. The original vinyl one gave up after about 7 years. It has the 1,6 engine. It isn?t a ball of fire but still brings a smile to the face and goes well enough for him. My biggest gripe with the engine is its severe lack of low down torque, but I?m used to the Xantia?s 2 litre petrol, which has it in oodles.
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Paid 3k for my H reg 6 years ago and still loving it.
Regards getting in an out, I gave the old dear a lift to the quacks this morning and she had no problem getting in and out at 88!
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1.6 under powered?
The original 1.6 were 110BHP. They were then detuned to 88BHP in the 90s to differentiate it from the 1.8 litre.
I had several Spitfires in various states of disrepair when a kid. There is no comparison. Those that deride the MX5 as 'a haidressers car' should look at some of the engineering underneath the shell. It really is a latter day Lotus.
I've only driven a 88bhp 1.6 without PAS and loved every mile of it. Perhaps I should have stayed with that girlfriend a bit longer just to access to her MX5?
Z3? The looks are growing on me, and walking to work last week I heard an interesting car approaching from behind. I thought it may have been a colleagues Merc. C43, but was another colleague in their 2.2 6 cylinder Auto Z3. I am not sure if it's leaking from the exhaust but it sounded very tasteful as it pulled away. Not loud, tuneful and different from a V6 burble. Engineering and suspension wise the Z3 is behind the MX5. E30 rear axle versus wishbones alround on the MX5.
I want an MX5. I have occasionally looked for Monster Miatas on eBay.
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I started looking for an MG TF 160 last March and bought in October. I was specifically looking for a certain year and spec so kept my eye on the prices and nothing really altered throughout the summer and into autumn. Granted last year was a washout and not really convertable weather, but this year seems no different.
The MX5, like the TF, is likely to have varying specs, models etc and you will want the right one. As there are not 1000s sold every month it will probably take time to get what your looking for so it will probably be winter before you buy anyway :-)
I test drove the MX5, Z3, MR2 and Alfa GTV spider as good measure when I was looking for the TF and would say that the MX5 and TF are proper old school roadsters - I liked the others but they didnt have the right feel. I went for the TF due to mid-engined, rear wheel drive layout and the fact that you can get a 160bhp car that will do 0-60 in less than 7 seconds for the 9K I paid for my 3 year old one. I am pleased I did now as there will be no body part probs now they are being made once again!
The MX5 is a good car though and is in some respects the car the MGF should have been from the beginning - obviously with a bit less interior character!
Edited by bbroomlea{P} on 19/08/2008 at 23:31
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