A restored 1989 NA: opinions please

Forgiven · Postby **Forgiven** » Fri Oct 20, 2017 11:34 am

After a good deal of thinking (including being honest with myself and fair to the owner of my money and time), research on choosing an NA and current prices, and some driving, I think that this car would be a good fit for me: https://www.carsales.com.au/private/det ... AD-4943868. Anybody know of Roger's work? Of course, PM me if you prefer.

Regie · Postby **Regie** » Fri Oct 20, 2017 12:03 pm

interesting to see the dash has be recovered. at least the stitching could have been lined up across the top panel and the vent panel

taminga16 · Postby **taminga16** » Fri Oct 20, 2017 1:04 pm

If you are not desperate for an NA, there are some good buys around at the moment eg, viewtopic.php?f=73&t=75560#p919896 ,
and it hasn't been mucked about with.
Greg.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Fri Oct 20, 2017 1:11 pm

II was also a bit put off with the dash- it does detract from the car- original far better but ..that might not be a show stopper. Do some checking and ask questions of the seller and get the VIN for a quick check with Mazda. Everyone knows if you repaint cars it does cost quite a bit. It seems an excellent example - best to talk to the guy and then decide if you want to inspect it- make sure you make an arrangement-

However see Greg's post he- picked a car which I also thought looked terrific value here on the forum ( rare colour Rocky would love it) and frankly these are more usable and safer - I have the same model ( P2)- and the blue has the standard wheels available as well.

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:07 pm

Dehamsta · Postby **Dehamsta** » Fri Oct 20, 2017 9:39 pm

Way over priced for an na6 with nearly 200k kms

For that money you could easily buy an NA8 with way less kms

Have a look at gumtree for better deals. Sellers on carsales are mostly dreamers.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Fri Oct 20, 2017 9:53 pm

"Restored" to me means original. This one has been "fixed up". Not knocking what's been done, just at that price I'd be chasing something with lower original mileage and more original, not as altered as this one is. That dash repair looks awful.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Sat Oct 21, 2017 7:12 am

KevGoat wrote:"Restored" to me means original. This one has been "fixed up".

I agree.

A restoration to me is when the whole car has basically been stripped and refinished/repaired so what you have is essentially a car that could be mistaken for one that's never been dríven.

Shocks and new paint isn't a restoration.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:41 am

HKS has a point but restored can perhaps be replaced with renovated. If a car has presentable seats then getting them replaced by often non standard patterns in new materials might not only be costly but lose some of the charm along the way. In this instance we all seem a bit horrified at the dash....

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Sat Oct 21, 2017 11:12 am

First sentence of my PM was 'no knowledge of Roger in Magill or his work, but $12.3k for a 200k kms 1990 red NA6 with no mention of service history - just a pic of a service book - tell him he's dreamin'.'

For me the following from the ad along with the spec of items & finish is revealing:
'I have listed below all the work carried out so you can see that as far as is practically & economically possible, the vehicle is as new!'

Btw, seller has told potential buyer that service history was rare in a car that age & it didn't matter so much anyway because the car was restored.

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Sat Oct 21, 2017 11:37 am

An original NA faithfully restored at this price would be a great buy, as a collectors car it wont lose value but that dashboard glaringly smacks you in the face as an aftermarket mod, no matter the quality of it.

The seller would get more takers if they sourced an original dashboard in decent condition.

IMO, find a more original NA with decent paint and restore it yourself, you'll learn a lot (there's plenty of help on the internet), really bond with the car doing so, save money and have a wonderful hobby.
See KevGoat's http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=54225&hilit=mexie+and+kev thread for an example of this (unfortunately the photo links are dead but you can read his updates).
The first post of KevGoat's new SE thread, http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=69985 summarises much of this and may inspire you to consider doing the work yourself.

KevGoat, in hindsight, would you have preferred to keep the NA you restored (along with the new car)?

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:11 pm

And another good example of a recently purchased NA6 garage thread: viewtopic.php?f=57&t=75192

KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Sat Oct 21, 2017 2:25 pm

Lokiel wrote:KevGoat, in hindsight, would you have preferred to keep the NA you restored (along with the new car)?

Hindsight's a wonderful thing, but yeah I often reflect on that question. Mexie was a lot of firsts for me - first MX-5, first doing my own mechanicals, first fixing up paint etc etc and I was learning as I went along, so I now look at that question very differently than I did back then, but I'm in no doubt I should have kept her. But it's always hard at the time.

I actually think that if it was now, with all I've learned (and spent :roll:

) since, I wouldn't be considering changing at all (even to the SE!), but instead I'd be considering further developing Mexie - maybe to SE mechanicals, maybe to full on NitroDann upgrades, maybe just staying N/A with some subtle power upgrades as that 1.6 engine was such a joy, who knows, but yeah I'd go that way now. The few gripes I had with the NA that headed me down the NB track (apart from the fact I've always preferred the appearance of NB's to NA's) I could have modded out of her and could easily have been as happy and my wallet would be a lot happier too :lol:

If I take emotion (and the $$$ since) out of it and am more honest with myself, the SE (or MXSE as she's called - after Mexie) is a way better car for me. I'm more confident and relaxed with it than I ever was with Mexie. It's my first turbo, I hadn't even been a passenger in a turbo car before! I've thoroughly enjoyed learning about and modifying this car and as with Mexie I've become very attached to it. Mexie had character, more emotional involvement and in some ways was a more involving driving experience, but I certainly have no regrets.

If I have a modified car I like the mods to be mine and reflect my own personality, so I agree with your advice Lokiel to the OP to search out a more original car at a good price and go from there ....