Another possible mx5!

[Zac]

Hi everyone, I went and had a look at this quickly before uni yesterday. It was at a dealer, he gave me the keys and left me with the car which was cool so I could take my time to check it out. No books or service history. What attracted me to it was the low kms and the decent price. I checked over the car and here were the things I found wrong with it. Just wanted to check here to see what you experts think.

-oil in all 4 spark plug wells, not terrible amounts but let's say a centimeter or 2 so not quite covering the spark plug. The rocker cover looked like it had been replaced so this oil may have just been residual. Is this common for nb8a's? In the few na6's I've checked out there was no oil in the plug wells.
-Had a cut and or polish paint was ok but obviously not perfect bit of fade and slight peel here and there I think
-Window motors did the job but struggled
-The right hand side door shut and when i looked at it it looked like it wasn't 'as shut' as the driver door if that makes sense like maybe 0.5-1.5cm out of allignment. Other panels lined up pretty well though. Maybe this was a repaired crash? I saw a rubber insert on the bottom of the chassis where the doorframe makes contact and wasn't sure if it was those chassis rigidity improver things that people get?
-The steering wheel and clutch pedal looked very worn for 127000kms, like nearly as worn as my 370,000km Corolla. However, the interior was pretty good, no cracks or major fading. Not sure what to think.

My main concerns are if the kms have been wound back or if it has been in an accident or if these are just common mx5 problems. Good points were
No rust that i saw, clean diff no signs of leaks, 100% stock everything, engine started well from cold, 4 newish pirelli's and the car just generally presented well except for the allignent on the passenger side.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mermaid- ... 1122086793

Keen to know people's thoughts and appreciate any help!

[beavis]

There are much better cars around for the money.

[smy0003]

Yep it looks pretty tired. Just looking at the pics and the car yard it is in my bet is repaired write off.
Keep looking.

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[luzinit]

Would not bother at that price. I sold my wife's nb8a with about 10k in servicing and mods receipts and full history along with sensible modifications for $7750.

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[Zac]

Thanks for the replies, I'll scrap that one then.

While we're here, would this be worth a look? Is the svt engine really that bad, considering it's been serviced on time?

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/clevelan ... 1120222775

[beavis]

nobody ever said the VVT motor in the NB8b was bad.

[Zac]

I feel like some people don't like the vvt design because they say it starves oil at the top of the cam or something like that. Obviously the non vvt is better to turbo but i really don't think I'd be turbo-ing it anytime soon. I guess what i'm asking is, will the vvt motor if serviced properly, last?

[sailaholic]

Vvt motor is the pick of them, good power with better torque. The argument against vvt and turbo is old.

Buy a NBb if you can.


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[smy0003]

SVT engine is better in every way. It also has a 6 speed which is better suited to turbo than the 5 speed of the nb8a.

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[93_Clubman]

As stated above, don't worry about the VVT motor, however the price on that 2003-2004 is suspiciously cheap, so by all means check it out, but be very thorough.
Note rego expiry is shown as 4 Jan 2016 & rego # in ad text is shown as QLD 167WDD, but pics show it with Vic SWC230, which checking the Vicroads website have been cancelled.
Given the hail damage to bonnet & boot, also check the tops of the other body panels as they do get hit & will mark.
Also given the hail damage, it's possible that this vehicle might have been listed in some state as a repairable write-off, which is not a problem as long as you only pay about 50% of normal value.
A consideration might be that the seller may be selling the vehicle unregistered, & therefore won't supply a QLD RWC, which by law they are required to have upon listing a currently QLD rego'd car for sale.
None of these are necessarily deal breakers as long as seller is transparent & there are no nasty surprises for you, & of course that you pay according to what the vehicle is really worth taking all relevant information into consideration.

[93_Clubman]

Btw, according to Vicroads website, the compliance plate date is Jan 2004, which most likely makes the build plate date late 2003.

[Mr Morlock]

I agree with the SMY. As a Uni student you can buy a far more practical and cheaper car than messing with a tired or thrashed or poorly maintained MX5. Just a waste of time and money for a thing like this which has so many points against ti.

[Zac]

Awesome, thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it! If i go to buy another car I want to make sure it's a well maintained one because my current car is fine as well. What attracted me to the mx5 was it's simplicity, rwd, cheap running costs, mazda reliabity, uniqueness and non turbo fun factor. I really think one would suit my current lifestyle. In the 2 and a half years I have had my AE93 I have never "needed" to transport more than 1 person and rarely ever used it for carrying anything else. Not a surfer at all and all i need to carry is my uni bag and occasionally some boxing stuff.


Yes I'm definetly off the red one now as it seems a bit fishy. I might go check the silver one out then