International student buying MX5

lilredridinghood · Post by **lilredridinghood** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:45 am

Hey there, I'm actually a student from Malaysia looking to get a perfect car, which is the MX5 to have fun with without worrying about the maintenance as well as the reliability of the car.

I've been shopping around trademe for a while now and I found a couple of good ones, 1998 NB model, 6 speed manual tranny, etc. There's only one in Wellington, which is the place I stay at and it has about 185,000km on it. I'm pretty concern about the cam belt as well as some of the other things that might hinder the next WOF, as it expires during January. Being a 10 year old car and with 200,000 approaching soon, I'm pretty sure that the cam belt requires changing soon.

I know it will cost me quite a lot of money to get the cam belt change and I have absolutely no experience in changing automotive parts myself. Moreover, I have no knowledge or experience about any Mazda built engine.

I have no problems checking other parts of the car myself, which is why I do not intend to have AA do any inspection for me. However, I might be wrong about it.

I also have a few more things in concern here, how easy is it to insure the car? It is a soft top MX5 and I only have an overseas license. Do I need to present my license while insuring the car? Because I might need to translate my license then. Is the MX5 a huge target among the thieves? Where do you guys usually pump air into your MX5s tyres? Petrol Station? And last but not least, are there any reliable and cheap and reliable mechanics over in Wellington?

Oh yeah, how many people here frequent gymkhanas/autocross events? I'm pretty interested as I used to race a lot back home, and after a year without car, I'm very keen to get back into the racing scene.

Sorry if this is a bit long, I'm a bit long-winded nowadays as I'm in my exam mood. Your help would be much appreciated. Cheers

marinerbluemx5 · Post by **marinerbluemx5** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 7:24 am

- the cambelt is scheduled to be changed at about 100,000 km or a set number of years; so if that car's gone nearly 200,000 km on a single one, that would be bad, and may indicate other parts of it have been neglected too

- getting a cambelt changed won't be hugely expensive, I want to say a few hundred dollars at most but don't quote me on that

- insurance... well, that's up to you to sort out, I opted for liability (if I wreck someone else stuff, I'm covered, but if I wreck my own car, I'm not)

- the soft top on the MX5 makes a tempting entry point for thieves, a simple pocket knife is all it takes to get inside by making a cut in the canvas; I'd garage the car

- bought a small $30 air pump from Repco that runs off of the dash's power plug, very convenient if I need to adjust pressures at the track

- racing, yup, bunch of people here do full fledged racing with rollcages and checkered flags and everything, some others do track days and autocross-type events; MX5's a great car for that

poison · Post by **poison** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 11:35 am

HI and welcome to the forum.

Best place by far is trademe for used MX5's

The general search is
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/SearchR ... ype=Search

And Wellington only is
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/SearchR ... hregion=12

An NB with 200K is very high, there are many around with about 100K, but a cam belt (usually the only thing you need to do except for oil changes) will be 3 1/2 hrs labour $350 and parts incl water pump (best to do at the same time) can be from $170 to $300 if you have to do the tensioner and pulley bearings.

Good luck with that. Ask more questions if you need.

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lilredridinghood · Post by **lilredridinghood** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 12:59 pm

oh cool, thanks mate, oh just another question, does everyone of you have the soft top protector with you? Cause as far as I'm concern, some of them do not have and it might damage the soft top in the future.

Post by **zorruno** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:11 pm

lilredridinghood wrote:just another question, does everyone of you have the soft top protector with you? Cause as far as I'm concern, some of them do not have and it might damage the soft top in the future.

It is useful to stop the UV from degrading the inside of the soft top, so I tend to use mine as often as I can. It looks nice and tidy too...

The only hassle is that it takes a few minutes to fit (and remove... in an Auckland downpour...) whereas you can lift and clip the roof in seconds without it.

cheers

lilredridinghood · Post by **lilredridinghood** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 2:02 am

degrading as in colour fading?

Stevo · Post by **Stevo** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:28 am

No, The inside of the top is not uv stabilised so after prolonged exposure to sunlight, it deteriorates and shortens the life of the top. Cheers Stevo

lilredridinghood · Post by **lilredridinghood** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 12:17 pm

oh thanks guys for the guidance, just one last thing, how much does it cost to get the cover and where can I get it?

poison · Post by **poison** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 12:24 pm

They are about $200 on TradeMe now and again, otherwise it’s Mazda=$$$$$$

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Ian · Post by **Ian** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 7:54 pm

Trade Me or MX5 Mart are good starting points.........$200 approx for a goo

d one!

Post by **jif** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:12 pm

2008/11/4 lilredridinghood <mx5talk@mx5forum.co.nz>:

oh thanks guys for the guidance, just one last thing, how much does it cost
to get the cover and where can I get it?

the tonneau cover (factory supplied, with the clips etc) is
~$200-ish. But to just stop fade you can just cover the exposed
softtop underside with a towel or similar. A black one would blend in
nicely and be pretty cheap !

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Stevo · Post by **Stevo** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 6:35 am

Try the Mazda dealer. If you are a club member you will get a discount. I got mine brand new for about $225. Cheers Stevo

lilredridinghood · Post by **lilredridinghood** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:33 pm

cheers mate, should I instead of getting the car inspected by AA just go for a Mazda dealer?

Post by **zorruno** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 2:57 pm

on 5/11/2008 12:33 p.m. lilredridinghood wrote:

cheers mate, should I instead of getting the car inspected by AA just go
for a Mazda dealer?

Unless you specifically know the mazda dealer... in person... my opinion
would be that you'd be better off taking it to a Mechanic who
specialises in MX5s, or having a check like the AA ones that give a
detailed list of specific items they look for and provide you a report.

cheers

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Stevo · Post by **Stevo** » Wed Nov 05, 2008 6:26 pm

Get the car checked out but personally I wouldnt go to the AA. They tend to focus more on cosmetic things such as stone chips, upholstery rips and tyre treads, something you can easily see for yourself. Take it to a your regular mechanic or if you dont have one, Im sure somebody could recommend one in your area. He will check it for head gasket and other mechanical problems. That said, the MX5 is a very reliable car that gives very few problems. Happy motoring. Cheers Stevo

lilredridinghood · Post by **lilredridinghood** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 7:11 pm

thanks a lot mate

lilredridinghood · Post by **lilredridinghood** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 11:52 pm

I had my eyes on a real good one but it's at auckland, no idea if he would be willing to transport the car to me or not

Another one is here, nearer, the NB that I said, apparently the owner is also a member of the MX5 club, how is it?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 021033.htm

marinerbluemx5 · Post by **marinerbluemx5** » Fri Nov 07, 2008 5:27 pm

lilredridinghood wrote:I had my eyes on a real good one but it's at auckland, no idea if he would be willing to transport the car to me or not

Sounds like an excuse for a ROADTRIP

When I picked up my NA MX5, it was in Christchurch and I drove it back to Auckland over a weekend... great experience.

But yeah there's shipping services that'll go to the seller's house, pick up the car, put it on a train, and then have it delivered to your doorstep.

Post by **jif** » Fri Nov 07, 2008 6:18 pm

our other car got delivered Chch>Akl for $500 - last November.

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lilredridinghood · Post by **lilredridinghood** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 8:05 pm

Cheers guys

I've decided to get the car via Tranzrail, Auto Express

Just wondering, the proper way of going through a smooth transaction, do you guys transfer the full amount of money first or you guys do something else? Much appreciated. Because this involves lots of cash and I wouldn't want to risk myself paying for nothing

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