Newbie MX5 Buyer

[Suprella]

Hey there,

Nice to meet you all. I live at the Gold Coast, and I'm in the market for an MX5 between $10,000 to $15,000 dollars. Preferably red or black, and under 120,000ks. Pretty mags not necessary, I want to spend money on it as a hobby. There's a few on carsales.com.au but if anyone has something in my range, and wants a mature owner who'll take great pride in their car, let me know.

I'm female, 30 yrs, a full time novelist and owned the same Mitsubishi Mirage for 12 years, lol, so whatever I buy I'll likely keep it forever.

First question: Should I buy a convertible in winter? Buying in summer seems like I might have less chance of a good deal.

[d3ck5]

buy one when the right one comes up (regardless of season).

im partial to the earlier models (NA, NB) and if youre going down that path, buy a car with a good soft top and a hard top.

thatll be well within your budget.

[Suprella]

buy one when the right one comes up (regardless of season).

im partial to the earlier models (NA, NB) and if youre going down that path, buy a car with a good soft top and a hard top.

thatll be well within your budget.

I like models between 2001 - 2006. Some of the prices on Carsales are pretty high for what you're getting. I imagine because of the type of car, that if I were to post a link to any cars I'm interested in that someone here probably knows its history?

[lee]

Don't be afraid of buying one with higher milage on it. 120,000kms is barely breaking it in!

[Suprella]

Don't be afraid of buying one with higher milage on it. 120,000kms is barely breaking it in!

I've heard that parts for the MX5s are a dime a dozen, my mirage has like 230,000 and it's never broken down because of a major fault (twice actually, once a tyre, the next one the muffler fell off in the middle of the desert between Adelaide and WA, long story lol)

But I am wary of a high mileage car. I assumed 100,000ks was even too high.

[Mr Morlock]

So you reference yourself with an ND?

Same rules apply for an MX-5 as anything else. Check the prices and get cars checked and try and buy genuine cars with sensible kms- i.e. buying cars at the tail end of their live is not so smart. Be aware that MX-5 up to NC ( 2005) require timing belt and water pump change at interval 100,000klm and it if it has not been done add about $700 for the work. "Car Sales" seems to be the main source for sales. These days its often better toby from a reputable dealer and avoid cars that have been modded too much or raced on Sundays. Its worth understanding what model you are buying. The last of the NBs were very good cars and arguably the best of their type but NC's are a newer generation and worth a drive and viewing. Convertibles are not for everyone i.e. work out if you can Iive with a 2 seater. I don't think buying in winter makes any difference - does QLD have a winter?

[taminga16]

I realise that this is in Victoria, but Dave works in the industry and they have means, the NB 2 looks great in this colour and I think that you would agree, it fits a lot of your criteria.
Greg.
viewtopic.php?f=73&t=70215#p863951

[93_Clubman]

Your preference for a red or black 2001-2004 MX5, (NB8B, NB8C) as a long term purchase, hence sub 120k kms, with a budget of $10k-$15k, is easily achievable.
As you note, MX5s do tend to be a bit more sought after at this time of year, which is compounded by SE QLD MX5 asking prices tending to be a little higher than NSW & Vic.
Some forumites will know some of the cars for sale, but there's a lot out there, so there's many we won't know.
Good MX5s are quite reliable, & parts prices aren't bad when you do need them if you know where to look.
But do your research, don't rush, & buy a good one to begin with. Good luck.

[Steampunk]

Convertibles as "summer" cars is a misnomer, when you buy one, you'll realise what I mean after driving for hours on a sunny day but yes... because most people who own convertibles actually "convert" it very seldom, so they discount it during the colder months.5

You have time on your hands so continue to trawl around all the classifieds, including Gumtree, and go check out and test drive as many cars you can,and as 93clubman states, your budget and km target you'll have no problem finding the right one for you.

As stated, don't be shy about higher mileage cars, and 100,000-120,000km is nothing. I have a friend who bought a car with over 300,000km and it was fine previously, and is still going strong a few years and thousands of km down the road.
You've gone the distance with your trusty Mirage, so expect the same with your new MX-5.

Feel free to contact any of us here who lives on GC and Brisbane if you want our opinion or to check out a car for/with you.

[keito]

So you reference yourself with an ND?

I believe that's the default setting for the user profile.

[Mr Morlock]

it does not make sense to buy high KM cars unless you are on a very restricted budget. High KMs means more wear and tear and definitely affects resale at any point. You cannot wash off the Klms- you are stuck with it. Kms compared to age is the usual yardstick- say something like 10,000 per annum as a guide.

[joshuam]

Hi Suprella,

I live between Brisbane and the coast and bought my NB8B (late '00, which is the 2001 update) in March and helped a friend buy the same a few weeks later.

As others have said, summer is the one season that you don't really want a convertible.... it is hot and rains a lot How that affects prices I'm not so sure.

I wanted a red one, but they seemed to come at around a $2k price premium for the standard models when I was searching, so I settled with midnight blue. Black seems to be pretty average so no problems there.

There is no need to settle for a car with high kms. In my opinion, cars in the 100-120k kms range are ideal; they have been dríven enough to get regular use and servicing, but aren't worn out. I bought a '00 NB8B single owner 6spd manual with 63k kms for $8k in Sydney. My friend ended up paying just over $7k in Brisbane for a '00 NB8B 6spd with 170k kms. In the 6 months we have owned them I have had to replace a soft top that fell apart after I bought it due to a lack of use.... a cost of a low kms car that had hardly been dríven in 3 years. Meanwhile my friend has just had to replace the suspension and all the rubber suspension bushings in the car because everything was so worn out that he couldn't get a proper wheel alignment done on it. There was a VERY obvious difference in how the two cars drove when we bought them.... mine was just newer. So you have the money... no need to settle for less.

Your budget is very generous for a facelift NB generation car ('00-'05). Early cars ('00-01.... don't buy a pre-facelift car) are the cheapest and you can easily get 120k kms for under $10k (more like $8k). The NB8C update that came mid 2002 sometimes saw a drop in rated power.... but there is a good chance that was just because of a new testing method. These later models also came with a few extra creature comforts like a low fuel warning light and boot light.... not game changing, but nice.

One thing I would like to suggest is investigating the factory turbocharged SE model of 2004. These will be at the upper range of your budget, but it is very easy to get them in red and if more power is something that you are likely to seek then it is a good base (even if you swap turbos later... it is beneficial for insurance to have factory turbo vs aftermarket).

My opinion is also to go private sale instead of dealer. You do get some mandated warranties and stuff with a dealer car, but you generally get NOTHING on the history of the car, and you don't get to sus out the owner. Also, people who can't look you in the eye and tell you you are buying a good car are the ones that get a used car salesman to lie it to you instead.

Also, I would strongly recommend not limiting your search to south-east Queensland. Buying from Sydney and Melbourne is often significantly cheaper (I have saved at least $2k each on my last 2 car purchases from Melbourne and Sydney respectively). A flight down is $120, petrol back is a couple of hundred tops and a night or two at some hotels on the way. You could choose to take a bit longer and find some spots to do some writing along the way! You could also have them shipped back for ~$700.

Good Luck

Also, I think Kirk still has his low kms (~70k kms?) black NB8C ('03 I think) for sale on the Gold Coast. It comes with a hard top as well if that is your sort of thing. It was a pretty stock car 6 months ago, was modified and then had the parts put back to stock again so he could buy a turbo NA MX5. Not ideal.... but it is a pretty honest car and owner. PM me if you can't find the ad.

Good luck

[Suprella]

Hi Suprella,

I live between Brisbane and the coast and bought my NB8B (late '00, which is the 2001 update) in March and helped a friend buy the same a few weeks later.

As others have said, summer is the one season that you don't really want a convertible.... it is hot and rains a lot How that affects prices I'm not so sure.

I wanted a red one, but they seemed to come at around a $2k price premium for the standard models when I was searching, so I settled with midnight blue. Black seems to be pretty average so no problems there.

There is no need to settle for a car with high kms. In my opinion, cars in the 100-120k kms range are ideal; they have been dríven enough to get regular use and servicing, but aren't worn out. I bought a '00 NB8B single owner 6spd manual with 63k kms for $8k in Sydney. My friend ended up paying just over $7k in Brisbane for a '00 NB8B 6spd with 170k kms. In the 6 months we have owned them I have had to replace a soft top that fell apart after I bought it due to a lack of use.... a cost of a low kms car that had hardly been dríven in 3 years. Meanwhile my friend has just had to replace the suspension and all the rubber suspension bushings in the car because everything was so worn out that he couldn't get a proper wheel alignment done on it. There was a VERY obvious difference in how the two cars drove when we bought them.... mine was just newer. So you have the money... no need to settle for less.

Your budget is very generous for a facelift NB generation car ('00-'05). Early cars ('00-01.... don't buy a pre-facelift car) are the cheapest and you can easily get 120k kms for under $10k (more like $8k). The NB8C update that came mid 2002 sometimes saw a drop in rated power.... but there is a good chance that was just because of a new testing method. These later models also came with a few extra creature comforts like a low fuel warning light and boot light.... not game changing, but nice.

One thing I would like to suggest is investigating the factory turbocharged SE model of 2004. These will be at the upper range of your budget, but it is very easy to get them in red and if more power is something that you are likely to seek then it is a good base (even if you swap turbos later... it is beneficial for insurance to have factory turbo vs aftermarket).

My opinion is also to go private sale instead of dealer. You do get some mandated warranties and stuff with a dealer car, but you generally get NOTHING on the history of the car, and you don't get to sus out the owner. Also, people who can't look you in the eye and tell you you are buying a good car are the ones that get a used car salesman to lie it to you instead.

Also, I would strongly recommend not limiting your search to south-east Queensland. Buying from Sydney and Melbourne is often significantly cheaper (I have saved at least $2k each on my last 2 car purchases from Melbourne and Sydney respectively). A flight down is $120, petrol back is a couple of hundred tops and a night or two at some hotels on the way. You could choose to take a bit longer and find some spots to do some writing along the way! You could also have them shipped back for ~$700.

Good Luck

Also, I think Kirk still has his low kms (~70k kms?) black NB8C ('03 I think) for sale on the Gold Coast. It comes with a hard top as well if that is your sort of thing. It was a pretty stock car 6 months ago, was modified and then had the parts put back to stock again so he could buy a turbo NA MX5. Not ideal.... but it is a pretty honest car and owner. PM me if you can't find the ad.

Good luck

Hey there, I think I might have seen that black mazda online, is it the automatic one? I'm definitely only interested in manual transmission.

I think maybe a trip down to VIC would be worth it, there's way more cars there for price and variety. Though then there's the hassle of registering in QLD later on, but if it's the perfect car for me then it'd be worth it

Thanks for everyone's input so far, I'm really moved that some of you would even offer to go look at one with me, I have no idea what I'm looking for when buying one and dealerships have major price inflation.

[Suprella]

For curiosities sake, this is something like what I'm interested in (I'm interested in black, or dark grey as well)

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Mazda-MX-5-2005/SSE-AD-3502981/?Cr=30

[davekmoore]

I realise that this is in Victoria, but Dave works in the industry and they have means, the NB 2 looks great in this colour and I think that you would agree, it fits a lot of your criteria.
Greg.
viewtopic.php?f=73&t=70215#p863951

Thanks Greg. I also make special arrangements for out of state buyers. You'll not be surprised to hear I'm in touch with Suprella.