mx5cartalk.com

Still keeping my eye on the market for when I get rid of the lib and the occasional bargain pops up, Question is does it ring alarm bells? With bargains this low is it something that should be avoided by default?

Examples:

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/deta ... AD-2375528?

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/deta ... AD-1150157

Whatever I get when I am ready to buy I think I will pay the money for the revs check. That NC concerns me because there is no link to the revs check on carsales which means they must not have entered all the details about the car. It instantly makes me wonder if they have something to hide.

He said 75kms but I think he means 75,000

I wouldn't consider either of those to be hugely under-priced.
They seemed to be priced towards the bottom of the range, but that could just reflects the motivation of the seller.
Just do a Revs check and organise a mechanical inspection.
BTW, the NC seller appears to have hidden one thing, .... the clutch pedal :-)

If it has a full service history, check it out - call the dealer and verify it. Do your own REVS check - pay the $30.

You do get the occasional deal - we bought a B200 Turbo at the low end of the price range, with lower than average kms. The owner just needed to sell and didn't want to hold out with a high price and deal with negotiating the sale. We only knocked a couple of hundred dollars off.

There is nothing wrong with buying a cheap MX5... i paid 3000 for mine 2 years ago and have since spent about 1000 fixing stuff up and lowering it putting in roll bar.... As long as the engine is good and gearbox is fine i wouldn't worry. The body panels are cheap to replace and respray. Replacement interior is cheap and has so many options to pick from. If your a DIY type of person you can even get one with a crap engine and just swap it out. There is a lot of knowledge out there and every single problem you can encounter with the car, some one else has already encountered it and fixed it.

For me personally i don't care about the body panels on a car. That's a easy fix by getting a respray. What's important for me is the engine and gearbox.

Also KM doesnt mean crap. i got 290.000 on my clock with no issues! Just service her and treat her right and she will carry you for ever!

Pokmx5 wrote: The body panels are cheap to replace and respray.

Said nobody ever.

OurCognitiveSurplus wrote:

Pokmx5 wrote: The body panels are cheap to replace and respray.

Said nobody ever.

Obviously you don't do research. I can't speak for an nc, na and nb are plentiful.

If you drive a car for some false sense of prestige, you may find panel work expensive, but if you just want it to be presentable and work as the machine it is, panels are cheap as chips.

Dann

I drive into Sydney City every day, my car's get scratched and dinged and I don't care. This is where my real buying power will come from because I will consider a car with scratches, scuffed wheels, crap interior, I am happy to replace interior parts myself but mechanicals I have not worked on since I had my 1978 Mini, I don't understand all this ECU stuff lol.

Interior I will be replacing the stereo and if it doesn't have leather seats will look to replace them with leather ones.

So long as the car is straight and the roof is good and of course mechanicals are good I am OK with it .

That NB has been for sale for a very long time.... like around the time I joined here.

I think the main issue with it is the location.
I certainly couldn't be arsed getting there to see it.

Blade_Hunter wrote:That NC concerns me because there is no link to the revs check on carsales which means they must not have entered all the details about the car. It instantly makes me wonder if they have something to hide.

May be they just didn't have the VIN info at hand when they did the ad.

Wish I had sold the Lib already, this looks like something I would be interested in

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/deta ... AD-2384787

Series 2 titanium, I am sure something like this will come up when I am ready though

david_syd_au wrote:I wouldn't consider either of those to be hugely under-priced.
They seemed to be priced towards the bottom of the range, but that could just reflects the motivation of the seller.
Just do a Revs check and organise a mechanical inspection.
BTW, the NC seller appears to have hidden one thing, .... the clutch pedal :-)

I agree, if they went for a trade in they would be better off by a few grand to price it a bit above trade in value, sell it quickly and then get a no trade deal on the next car. To often private sellers try to get dealer price for a car and end up trading it in for much less.

Well worth a look although the one in the ACT for a couple of grand more with 30000 klms is great value if it checks out and you can go the extra.

Good luck,

Peter

The NC1 auto is too cheap - in good cond you would get quite a bit more esp for an auto. Another giveaway is no RWC - a red flag for sure. Still worth checking perhaps and do checks for write off etc. The cheaper car is not far off the price and probably well worth a check. But these are very different cars. If you think something looks sus by all means check its credentials.

TTT wrote:That NB has been for sale for a very long time.... like around the time I joined here.

I think the main issue with it is the location.
I certainly couldn't be arsed getting there to see it.

The market for MX5s in country areas is pretty weak. A similar NB8B sold for $7,500 near my place a little while ago. If you want a bargain then be prepared to go bush.