o/t roadster / convertible
Turbo Mini Forums

Thinking about buying a 2 seater roadster, have owned a mk1 mx5 and liked that so looking for something similar but wondered what everyone else would suggest?

Z3… MR2.. or back to a newer MX5 etc

Can afford about 7k ish.. any experiences / what to get what not to etc

Cheers, Mark.

suzuki cappuccino

you could get a mint mr2 turbo for under 7k!

Cheap Elise (£7-8k) or an MX5 for less is where my money would be.

Elise !

In the 13's at last!.. Just

i would not go for a Z3 as they are piss slow and not very nice to drive if you want to push it abit. the new mx-5 on the other hand is lovly so are the older ones alot of fun :), but not sure if you can pick up a new one for 7k. Mx-5 or elise imo

Drives
-Ford S-max Mk2 Ecoboost
-Rover 100 VVC #2 - track project

Searching is all you need on TurboMinis

we got rid of the wife's mk2 mx5 earlier this year after 5 years of fun - she has missed it ever since.

What about something a bit less practical like a Westfield, Caterham, etc.

Or an Elise, I miss mine all the time.

http://www.twin-turbo.co.uk
http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/default.asp

A man without a project is like a like a woman without a shopping list.

if your looking for something for the commute, our Mazda, as much as i hate to say it, was 100% reliable

MR2 on that year (VVTI) is ok but they can have dodgey engines where they burn a lot of oil, im talking about a litre (ish)evey 1000 miles or so at worst and this normally leads to knocking engine when customer has run it low. also the wheels on them are toss and all the paint flakes off them after afew years. the discs can tend to go very rusty after a few years and may need new. there is also 0 storage enough for a hand bag and tow rope. if i were going for an mr2 id get a late one of the last shape, they did a really nice (imo) black and silver special edtion one about a T or V reg, they have a good strong engine and even have a fairly decent size boot. couple of faults on them is radiators tend to corrode and leak, calipers can seize, check the clutch and if you cant do the cambelt yourself then its about a 4 hr job.


this is like the one i mean, i suppose it looks a little dated and is a little expensive lol
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Toyota-MR2-Last-week...=p3286.c0.m14ow


sorry dont know much about the others

id love an elise ive done a few jobs on them and they dont seem to bad to work on to be honest. but i think there is less storage space than a VVTi MR2 lol

Edited by Carl on 13th Oct, 2008.

no longer a series, but still 1.3 turbo.

Thanks for the info Carl. Great help :)

im not too bothered about the storage space as we have a bigger car for longer journeys , to be fair i wasnt a big fan of the wheels so that could be a good bargaining tool if they look cack.. good excuse to replace them.

The Burning of oil is a worry.. so will look out for that and the levels when i view them... ask a few related question etc.

so that the mx5 or the mk1 elise.

Thanks again for the help.

Edited by MarkGTT on 13th Oct, 2008.

get an elise!!!!!!!!!!!

Theyre no where near as problematic as you would imagine, and if they do go wrong then they have the added advantage that most things are available from other cars and its easy to fix yourself

You wont be sorry

Early Boxster?

I have one and its just been fantastic. Slightly over budget but you should be able to knock them down

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/640970.htm

Check out the (slow) progress at.......
http://www.turbominis.co.uk/dn89mini

Another vote for Westfield here, I had one 10 years ago and happily put 38,000 on the clock over 3 years using it every day.

Oh yes, and another vote for the Cappuccino too, we had one of those and it was a blast.

Failing that, stick with an A series and get a 1275 Midget!

http://www.twin-turbo.co.uk
http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/default.asp

A man without a project is like a like a woman without a shopping list.

Elise.

forget the $7K thing & just buy an Ariel Atom

that`s what i say anyways like it or leave it i say spend the money, you only live once

www.miniman.com.au

"""LazyGoodForNothingSmartArseKnowItAllBackYardMiniMechanic"""

You would say that living is Australia!

Imagine having an Atom as an every day car in the UK.

Install a power shower in your car to get an idea.

In the 13's at last!.. Just

if i had the choice id buy an elise, although i did need a lesson just to work out how to get in lol

no longer a series, but still 1.3 turbo.

elise

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

for the money i want to spend most of the elise's i have seen look tired.. and have done a fair few miles.

i would love one but it looks like i would need to spend more.. i already have an ST a Golf GTI and of course the mini.. one of them might have to go to help fund it.

If i can spot a good one it would be hard to say no..

on the other hand i have seen a load of mx5's for 7k with under 20k on the clock and only a few years old..

Edited by MarkGTT on 14th Oct, 2008.

Poof.