mx5cartalk.com

I shall start this off with a slight introduction into the story.
So I recently bought myself an 89 NA6 off Magpie(Mark) here for $3000. It does have some blemishes but for $3000 I was not going to complain.

So basically after getting my new pride and joy I drove it around to show it off to all my mates and co-workers. They all were either very jealous or surprised I got such a nice car for only $3000. I took a few of them for a quick top down spin around the block and they all loved it! I felt quite proud of my little NA6 even though I had yet to do anything to it. I took her home and began restoration of it. I spent the next 2 days hand cutting and polishing the faded red paint. It came up looking great and now has a bunch of shine and luster!

Okay so I noticed from day go that I picked up my little 5 I have been receiving many compliments and have noticed a huge increase in head turning of bystanders. I went down to my local Super Cheap to pick up some more cleaning products and the second I got out of the car a bloke across the car park says "Mate, you've got yourself a nice car for a young fella" I thank the man and continue on inside, I spend about 10 minutes or so inside the Super Cheap browsing the stocks and specials before finally coming out with my products, the same man from before was still waiting in the car park, I start walking over to my car and he begins a conversation with me discussing what my plans are for the car. He gives me a few ideas and begins to tell me his story of his first few cars. It was a very interesting experience as my local Super Cheap is located in Browns Plains, which is essentially a crime/bogan hotspot, where I usually try to ignore people and get in and out of as quickly as possible.

This is just one of many things that has happened since I have had the car. Now today I went to go pick up my younger sister from school and when I pulled up to park and wait a man in an Opel stepped out of his car and began walking towards me in my NA with the top down seeing as it was a hot day and thought I would make my sister look good in front of her friends being picked up in a convertible. Anyway, this man begins a conversation with me by saying "So how long have you had your MX5"? I answer the kind fellow and we begin a conversation about my car and also about his bunch of MX5's he also owns. He also kindly gave me his card with his email address so I can ask questions if need be and also offered to let me use his hoist if I ever needed to and to just contact him. I felt rather pleased and happy that someone who I have never met before would offer me a hoist and some advice just because I owned an MX5 as well.

So really, the reason I wrote this up was to bring forward my little story about my first few weeks with my MX5 and to bring forward my interest in why is it that MX5 owners are so friendly to other MX5 owners, and why does the MX5 bring with it some sort of comfortable atmosphere where people feel more inclined to begin a conversation with you? I believe buying this car was one of the better things I have decided to do in my life so far with many more good and bad choices no doubt to come later in life and that this most likely won't be my last MX5 either!

Thanks for reading my short story here and please feel free to express your own story here!

David.

MX-5 does seem to have a big community attached to it.
Within 3 weeks of getting my MX-5 I found another one that parked near me for work every day. After about 5 times, I got a note on my window saying nice car mate! and a phone number. Never called, and have changed jobs since but it was a black na or nb with shiny clean paint and a rollbar, definately not stock wheels either. Nice car to look at it was.

Welcome to the obsession.

Had a similar experience the first weekend I had my thing out the front of Repco. An older guy in a quite tidy late model 3 series struck up a conversation about the car, and then we were joined by another older guy who pulled up in a subtly modded Toyota 86. Seems to be a good one to draw out the 'car guys'.

Be prepared to wave at every mx5 that you pass as well!
The community and general friendly approach is why I got my 2nd mx5. Can't imagine the same things you mentioned with, say, a Nissan Silvia!
Though I used to get those pesky mx5 club cards mysteriously appear on my previous 10AE whenever it was parked on the street! :-P

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I've had my na6 for nearly a year now and no one has come up to me to ask or comment on the car. Also I rarely pass other mx5s and when I do they don't even look my way. Am I driving on a different planet than others??

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ok so just to clarify what has happened to you I'll explain it.

First guy - wanted to steal your car and possibly take your kidneys and was looking for a way in.
Second guy - he just wants to have you alone in his garage/rape dungeon.

Be careful mate.

I am with TTT!

I have had positive comments from all age groups about my 5. Even had a couple of old lady's who were dressed like they were going to church comment on how beautify my car was! Made my day. Get plenty of waves as well. I have never experienced this with any of my previous cars! Great community.

Yeah, it's an easy car to pull chicks in

sunlightsilver wrote:Yeah, it's an easy car to pull chicks in

If you're "pulling" chicks, then they might not be chicks!

sunlightsilver wrote:Yeah, it's an easy car to pull chicks in

But be careful, I know from experience that it's very easy to leave dents in the bonnet...

I too get lots of comments on my MX5. Just this morning I stopped at a Caltex to fill up on LPG, and the old Greek fella behind the counter said lots of lovely complimentary things about my car but finished it off with "but you've converted it to LPG. Shame." whilst slowly shaking his head!

stilletto_rebel wrote: but finished it off with "but you've converted it to LPG. Shame." whilst slowly shaking his head!

A lot of people are turned off LPG by the number of hideous conversions done in the 90s/00s

Oh god, the number of EL Falcons with the single LPG injector in the airbox.... and the terribly half-arsed ECU tunes that guaranteed it would never run well on either fuel.
Not to mention the weekly airbox explosions (dad used to leave the lid of the airbox unclipped so it would just go PFFT instead of shattering the box)


A well done modern conversion is great, same as a conversion on carby fed cars.
It's all about giving it a decent tune.

I experienced a bit of this myself today.

Took the car for a quick lap of the Royal National Park. While stopped in the Audley car park for a stretch and a check of a couple things on the car before heading back the other way a retired gent on a pushie I passed on the way down the hill did a rapid u-turn to come over for a chat.

He didn't know much about the car, other than it was an MX5, but wanted to find out more as he really liked the look of it!

Some years ago I was in an underground supermarket car-park here in the sticks and ran across a Splash Green NB8B (rare colour)I was so excited I went right over to the car and introduced myself to the attractive 20yo girl in the drivers seat. She was gob-smacked I knew what colour it was but seemed a bit less than enthusiastic about my offer to join myself and several others for a Sunday drive sometime.
When I got back to my car and calmed down a bit I had a smile.
She probably had visions of that chamber in the garage TTT mentioned.