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I found an MX5 locally which has a hard top, is that a good feature to have? I'd imagine for all-year use it makes sense.
I've had an MX5 and a series III MR2. The MX5 gave me a few problems with the battery being so small, went flat overnight on a few occasions, I ended up keeping 2 batteries having one fully charged all the time so I could swap them over when needed. If you're not bothered about luggage space I'd go for the MR2, and as @blobb said, go for the facelift model and that will eliminate any pre-cat problems that the older models tend to suffer from. I do still own a series III MR2, I've had it for about 5 years and it's been absolutely brilliant. Do it.
5' 7'' would be a great height for driving MX5. I ended up removing the driver's sun visor to give me more vision.
I kept the hardtop on almost all the time on the mk2 and went for the power hardtop on my mk3. There's advantages to it but it's a 2 person job to remove so you need someone on hand for that.
If it's a mk2, the front chassis rails rot. However, MOT test might not pick up on it as the undertray covers the rails.
it's a mk2 1.8S
Insurance quotes are surprisingly good too. Since I own a van-campervan project I have my NCD on that and none to use on another car, but it's coming up at <£250 for me and my wife.
Just look for rust around rear arches and the rear of the sills. I guess it depends a lot on where and when the car has been driven. Winter salt can take its toll.
Yes, I have one and so I'm biased, but they're ridiculously fun to drive, plenty economical, reliable as you like, cheap to service and the boot is surprisingly big if you need to use it (easily fits a 2x12" in there).
They're asking for close on £1500 though I can knock them down a little. It's 20 years old.
My fear is that I'm getting myself into a world of cost. I already have a project van which spends too much time feeling sorry for itself and costing me money. Maybe I'm better off buying a £750 banger and expecting nothing more than a few months of dull commuting.
For what it's worth, my mk2.5 never failed on front rails....and they were like Swiss cheese. Check MOT history via the free official gov/DVLA website.
Did you drive the MX5?
An Audi TT 1.8 quattro has come up locally too though it's a touch more expensive. It ticks the fun and 4 wheel drive boxes.
I just found this which might tick loads of boxes, and will certainly get sneers from most corners. But I think 4x4 and LPG might be a great way to get cheap motoring.
Fiat Sedici 1.6 Eleganza 4x4
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/263979006816
The car allowance is £585 per month, or cash of £425 per month. Fuel is at my own cost, but business miles can be put through expenses. In my case, that will be zero since commuting won't count.
Ignoring other factors, I have no need for a car other than to get 20 miles each way to work. And I can car share with numerous friends and colleagues, and cycle occasionally too. So, I see no point in getting a flashy new, expensive, motor. So Bangernomics is my preferred choice.
The only spanner in the works to that is my wife's car is currently a PCP deal and we're looking at a change soon to something bigger and nicer. But I think I'd prefer to keep that as a private matter and not try and use the company car scheme to that end.
I trudged around some local used car dealers today. My God those places are hideous. Muddy fields, pot hole ridden wastelands, and the only clue that you're in a sales forecourt and not a scrap yard is the price tags dangling from the sunshades, which only refuse to fall off because it would mean landing on the filth encrusted passenger seat of whatever wreck it resides in.
Maybe I should blow my £1500 budget on a swanky commuter bicycle and some gear to handle the bad weather.
The Fiat Sedici 4x4 LPG is looking like my preferred option, even though insurance is inflated due to the fuel conversion and tax is a little steep because it has a 1.6 Petrol engine.
When I worked in a health centre the commonest car on the car park was the Mini. If you are a middle aged community nurse it's the go to car. I do see a lot of MX5s on the car park here which is a local government office. I don't know who they belong to but there are no in house hair dressers. My brother in law is after one. He has a Mazda hatchback of some description and his Cobra replica which is worth about £20k but massively impractical so an MX5 is his compromise car.