Introducing Myself + Any Helpful Advice?

[CatchyD]

Hey guys and girls,
So I am 100% keen on getting myself a lovely NA6 in the next coming months.
I am only young blood, aging in at 18, but hopefully you'll find that I am a little more respectful than the average 18 year old.

So I am located in Brisbane and am keen to learn all I can on these lovely series of vehicles. As I stated before I am planning on getting an NA6 and possibly an NA8 if it fits my preferences. I've gone through the tips on buying an Mx5 thread and found it to be very helpful.
I was wondering what you guys would say to a newbie in ways of advice to look for when buying or advice in general.

I am trying to be as picky as I can be when it comes to buying this NA as I will be withdrawing a small personal loan out in order to buy the car and so I want that money to be very well spent. I have a price range of 5-7k so it's going to be tough to get a near immaculate NA but hopefully I can find one that won't cost me much money/time before it gets back up to looking decent and clean.

Cheers guys,
Loving the MX's on here by the way!

David.

[MattR]

Dave,

Look at all the cars you can and don't buy the first one you see.

I did it all wrong, I bought and paid for mine site unseen, didn't even know the colour until a day before I picked it up and hadn't even dríven an MX5. But, I bought through someone I knew and the history of the car was well known as was the condition.

For your budget you should a very tidy car, it is still a buyer's market if you are prepared to haggle and walk away from a few cars. If you can, see if someone on here is close to either you or the car and slip them a few beers to tag along to have a look at the car with you. If they have no emotional involvement they will pick the faults, shortcomings a lot easier than you will which can be used to haggle over the price.

My one tip, take your cash with you and be prepared to hand over the folding if you find a car that you like and you can negotiate the price straight away.

[Magpie]

I have my son's first car at home, a 1990 NA6 (no power steering, AC but it is not cold) and maybe looking at selling it, around the $3k mark. However it was dríven by a 18 year old as his first car and whilst the mechanicals have been looked after (I paid the bills) body wise it is not perfect, soft top has some small holes. The engine, gearbox, radiator have all been replaced (by MX5 Plus) and I have all the parts at home for the aircon and power steering as well as other parts like cold air intake that are left over from my build etc.

I'm not in a rush to get rid of it as it could just become a track only car, however if you are interested send me a PM. I just use it to go to and from the train station as well as take the 6 year old to school (he enjoys going topless). However the 6 yo does have a preference to want to travel in my MX5 NA6 when it is available and not at MX5 Plus The 6 yo designates the MX5's at home by 'Blue Car' which is my NA6 and 'Red Car' which is my sons NA6. If you do come look at it I'll take you for a drive in my MX5 NA6 and give you a tatse of what you could do if you wanted to modify and make a naturally aspirated (P plate legal car) NA6

Feel free to bring MattR along and he can explain to you why the brake booster should be deleted MAttR does have some good advice in his post.

[CatchyD]

Cheers Matt and Magpie,

Yeah I want to see a few and if allowed by owners test drive a few to get a good feel for them and understand how they are meant to respond etc normally.

Luckily I am picky on what I need to know about it and making sure it fits what I want. Yeah, beers for an mx5 owner to come along to check over the car is a good cheap way to save alot of trouble and time and possibly money.

Yeah, I certainly will be taking the cash with me when I go to check the cars out, not in hopes of buying but as you said, if I come across a excellent deal I can negotiate stronger when the money is direct and in hand.

Magpie, in regards to your MX5 it sounds like a good deal, but I am just after something I won't need to do anything mechanically and cosmetically straight away to as it will instantly become my daily. I did hear from someone who lead me to this forum that you guys are every cool about taking people as shotgun when you do drives to let them experience it, which I thought to be a lovely thing to do! Thanks again though for the offer.

[Magpie]

Ooops too late to edit post, some more ideas:

1. Attend the first Friday of the month Mt Glorious Nebo run and hitch a ride in some of the MX5's that attend;
2. Attend a MX5 car club run and hitch a ride. Just visit the MX5 QLD Car Club website and send a message to leader of the chapter run that you would like to attend and explain what you want to do.
3. Attend a MX5 car club track day. Next track day is 17/02/14 at Lakeside. Better yet get your MX5 before then and enjoy Lakeside at your own pace/ability.
4. Attend a dodgy day. At the moment one is not planned but this is a good day to work/discuss MX5's as well as eat hot/spicy chiken wings.

[CatchyD]

Way ahead of you there, I am already talking to a member on here about hitching a ride in his during the nebo run next month.

I am also hoping if I get my mx5 before the lakeside meet to go to that, as what better way to learn your car than take it at your own pace round a track.

Shall do my best to try come to some meets as passenger till I get my own.

[Magpie]

No problems. If you are down the Gold Coast give me a yell and I'll take you for a drive in mine and you can try a stock NA6. I may even get to the first Friday of the month run as I'm not flying to work (at least at the moment).

Take your time, there are some bargins out there as well as some sharks.

[Mr Morlock]

the rules are always the same- buy the best car that you can buy for your budget i.e. check the cars out with someone who is competent or even get it checked professionally. High mileage cars are often not a great idea depending on your budget and what work has been done. You can check receipts sometimes or service records. Always get the car checked for write off register etc. When you do see a car that fits the bill its often just better to go ahead if the price is reasonable as spending months looking is a bit of pain. Just looking for a long time does not always net a better car. Good luck- great car for young man. Incidentally being a passenger and being a driver is a very different thing.

[CatchyD]

Cheers for the tips,
Yeah, I always do pay for the check to be done on the car's history and I always like to see some form of receipts and service logs. High mileage is certainly on my avoid list as I wish to keep this car for a long period of time without needing to get the engine rebuilt/swapped anytime soon.
I will be asking around here and a few of my more mechanically know how relatives to tag along during inspections of the car so they can aid in finding faults and issues with the cars.
I can already tell I am going to snag the first car that fits the bill for me if its a reasonable price as obviously wanting an NA, they don't seem to appear on the market too often in the condition I am after them in, so waiting months is certainly something I want to avoid.

Thanks again.

David

[zero00]

Call in and see Jason at Automotive Plus, Zillmere, he would have an idea if any good reliable NA's are available, people who get theirs serviced there generally tell him

[Magpie]

Maybe even this Saturday at the southbound BP around 0700 for coffee and car talk?

[CatchyD]

I shall have to call in and see Jason then, I have currently been watching an 89 Eunos Roadstar on carsales going for 5'500 with only 163k on the clock. Seem in good condition but obviously an inspection of the vehicle is a must, but from what I can see it has a short nose crank. I was wondering whether I really should avoid short nose crank MX's cause if I should than I won't even bother with this one, as there's no point wasting the fella's time.

As to the southbound BP, which BP exactly are you referring too? I most likely know exactly which one, as I head to Southport from South Brisbane to go to uni. A coffee and a chat with an MX owner would be quite helpful in understanding more about these cars.

[Magpie]

Burpengary Southbound BP. Zerro00 is normally there each Saturday (in a MX5 or the 86) at around 0730. I'm heading up there this Sat and there could be other MX5/BRZ/86 drivers there as well.

Look at this topic http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=727313#p727313

[Vat]

I shall have to call in and see Jason then, I have currently been watching an 89 Eunos Roadstar on carsales going for 5'500 with only 163k on the clock. Seem in good condition but obviously an inspection of the vehicle is a must, but from what I can see it has a short nose crank. I was wondering whether I really should avoid short nose crank MX's cause if I should than I won't even bother with this one, as there's no point wasting the fella's time.

Been watching that myself - I'm a little curious as to the state of the engine bay, the engine is quite stained and there seems to be tape over the top of the frame holding the radiator (you can just see it in the bottom of the engine bay). That with the recent addition of cheap new wheels has stayed my hand - if the car's been properly maintained the short nose crank shouldn't be too much of an issue provided you get it serviced at the right place.

Should take a moment to introduce myself - tucking cash away for the 'midlife crisis' car (well, I'm in that age bracket....apparently) but have wanted an MX-5 for some years. Not in a hurry, and as the budget grows the options increase. Not in a hurry. Probably more after an NA8 but not afraid of a well kept NA6, particularly in Eunos guise. Just keeping an eye on the market, learning about what to look out for. Another Brisbanite, just down in Brisbane's south west. Currently punting, of all things, a '97 Mitsu Mirage, but eh, it's cheap to run and with a couple of mild mods is reasonably fun to drive.

[davekmoore]

Welcome.

Invest some time in reading this forum.

Enjoy the result.