Pros and Cons to Owning an MX5 in 2025
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- Today I talk about the 10 Pros and 10 Cons to owning an MX5 in 2025! I talk about how the car is great for the price and how rust is a big issue... If you enjoyed the video don't forget to Like and subscribe for more automotive content on the way!
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[ ABOUT JamesAutoMotive ]
I am a guy who love cars, camera's, and coffee. On this channel, I showcase car meets via cinematic compilations, adventures around the country and showcase my journey with my cars.
#automotive #mx5 #miata #JamesAutoMotive
Owned my NA for 10 years now, love it. During the recent "Global health emergency" I bought myself a set of barber's clippers so now I qualify for the hairdresser tag also.
Haha love that! I don’t think that title is as much of a thing these days as there are so many non hairdressers with one 😆
Had my 21 year old NB since I drove it off the showroom floor in 2003, here in Australia. I have absolutely zero regrets, and what’s more, zero desire to change to another vehicle.
Oh wow that’s insane! How’s the car keeping? Is it in good condition?
@ Yes. I take very good care of it.
@ Awesome stuff! Glad to hear you’re enjoying it 😀
That's awesome, what colour and have you done anything aftermarket?
I'm gonna be looking a NB miata tomorrow. Hopefully it goes well
Good video. I’m looking for an NC currently which admittedly cannot be had for 1600 quid but think you have got cheaper than standard but CHECK FOR RUST asap
Oh yeah lol I made sure to check all around the car when buying it and there’s barely any rust on it thankfully, but yeah it was definitely on the cheap side but that’s because I got lucky lol
@ I think the differences between NC and NB are much less than people online say and are both pretty similar prices now
@ yeah I was looking at getting an NC but at the time NCs were 2-3k more than what I paid
You have found an excellent bargain IMO. I've had two NBs in my past and very happy about it. I drive my ND daily and find it feels very much like my NBs.
Oh wow really that’s a good sign then 😅 and ohh the ND is that good? 👀
Great video. I have an NB myself. I think as a car it's fantastic, but it's no longer the great platform for modification it once was. NAs are massively overpriced for the privilege of some (admittedly cool) pop-up headlights so you're better off buying an NB. Let's say you buy an NB with a 1.8 vvt engine for £2,000
Sticking on some nice coilovers and ARBs will set you back about £1,300.
Getting a half cage and some buckets is another £600.
An aftermarket big brake kit is another £800+.
So far we're looking pretty decent. £4,700 in total. This doesn't include things like tyres, or an LSD should you want one, but that'll add an extra £1,000 tops. Not bad money for a car of that calibre. If this is all you want to do then great, but as soon as you start looking at power you're looking at big money.
Supporting mods of clutch, better rad and exhaust is gonna set you back around £1200+.
Then for a turbo kit which is generally accepted as the cheapest way to add more power to these, you're looking at £4,000 + all in.
That's at least £5,200. We've roughly doubled our budget and looking at a total of around £10k, give or take. At this point, other similar cars that we could have bought would be something like an S2000, an e46 330i in decent nick, or SW20 MR2. If we look at things that are slightly newer, we've got your standard hot hatches (Ford STs, Golf GTI, Cupra 280, JCW minis), some BMW M cars etc., all of which have over 200bhp and loads more torque.
Even if you really want an MX-5, which I do understand as there's just something special about them, you get to the biggest issue. Rust.
These cars are terminally rusty. These are all at least 20 years by now and the only cars that won't have gone rusty by this point are garage queens that you'll be paying an obscene amount of money for. Even if it's been previously repaired, the quality of this repair is questionable unless you have a receipt for a well known restorer (e.g. Deepcar auto bodies, MX5 Restorer) and the previous owner has kept up with the annual cavity waxing required since. For a proper job, you'll realistically be paying £3,000 bare minimum, likely closer to £5,000. Because these cars rust from the inside, they are ALWAYS worse than you think.
If we factor this in, we're looking at around £15k for a full (non rusty) build. You're essentially looking at the same cars as before, but newer.
Long and short is, unless you specifically want an NA or NB, you'd be better off buying a mk3 MR2 or an NC MX-5.
Yeah that's all valid, My plans will be specified in a video coming out next week...
The thing is I really want a BMW 2 Series but the problem is their like 16k upwards which is way out of my budget and will take about 3 years to save that money up, which I'm also saving up to move out so that'll set me back a lot as well... So i'm not really sure what to do right now but I see this car as a way for me to make content on this channel so money is not going to waste! If this car rots out to be nothing then I'll take the stuff I put on it off and sell it all seperately which will get most of my money back as I only paid £1,650 for this MX-5 which is amazing for the quaility it's in.
But only the future will show me what will happen lol, I have big plans for this channel and a lot planned for next year...
But also why would I go with a mk3 MR2 or an NC when they'll still rust because they're still jap cars lol
@@JamesAutoMotiveTV Nah I completely get you mate, in a similar boat myself having just moved out. Pockets are a little lighter than before 😂. I think mk3 MR2s and NC mx-5s rust in slightly less catastrophic ways.
On the note of the 2 series, I'm not an expert and not sure what generation you want, but I saw a few M235is for around the £10k mark when I was looking with my mate the other day.
I wanted a bmw e30 316 but they are tot expensive or a Mercedes 190 to big so I'm going for the mazda mx5 I think
@@mikwns3722 Yeah those will be more expensive on both maintenance and depending on your age insurance might be more of an issue with German cars
I considered for a very long time getting an NB for my second car. Started in a 2004 1.2 Polo, great car but obviously lacking in many areas. Currently have a 2001 1.4 Audi A2 bc it's a good blend of practicality and driving ability, 930kg, 50-50 weight distribution, only 75hp but it's keen to rev and sounds pretty good. I went against the MX5 mostly because I live near Watford and the only ones I can afford to insure are 1.6s, usually in a terrible spec, and none of them are ulez compliant which is a big factor for me.
Yeah that’s understandable to be fair, it’s a big shame that ULEZ exists because it ruins those who love the old cars. But I’m lucky that I don’t have to drive into London or around it, but yeah an Audi A2 is a great choice! Have you thought about adding any performance cars?
Insurance on anything with actual performance is prohibitively expensive, I looked at Fiesta ST150s, Polo GTIs, CRZs, all sorts of stuff, but the fastest car I could get with a quote I was willing to pay was an A2. No mods planned for it as it's actually already almost the perfect daily, I would like to get a set of the 16" six spoke wheels for it cos it's on the base model 15" ones atm, and I'd like to get it mapped cos the initial response on the accelerator is terrible and just make the whole work as well as it can bc it's really a great car as it sits.
Great video! Keep it up! 👍
Thank you! 😁👍
Hi James, I could only see a leak on the cam covers, which come off very easily, just 6 or 8 bolts and remove the coil packs, put a new ruber gasket on it and should be good.
Ohh yes the rocker cover gasket right?
@@JamesAutoMotiveTV yea give that a go if you havent replaced it yet
There are also a couple of places that require silicone adhesive. You can find where on RUclips.
Lovely car, you need to get some lanogaurd or wax oil under it and in the arches asap. I had the 1.6 mk 2.5 and loved it it was completely stock, although it lacked the power. I now have a mk 3 2.0 thats been lowerd and tbh i prefer them standard. Speed bumps become a night mare, and unless you track it, i think it's 0 difference in handling
Oh yeah that’s true, is it easy to apply?
And yeah I’m only thinking of lowing it slightly but not a lot so speed bumps should be ok 👌🏼
Nice car, also have an nb!
Thank you and awesome! What spec have you got? 👌🏼
Nice video, has anyone tried lifting these and tried snow tires so it handles better in the winter?
That’s a good question, I’m not actually sure. But I would imagine that it would make a good difference
I ran my lowered NB for three years on winter tires (unstudded) in New England. It's not going to be a Subaru in heavy snow, but once the plows come through, the roads only have a thin layer of snow. I was easily going around stuck RV4s and CRVs. An LSD will prevent torque steer on snow. If your roads are salted, I highly recommend using "Fluid Film" or something similar to prevent rust underneath.
@@mikeb9569 oh yes very true, I haven’t had a chance this year to protect it but I’m planning on getting it done in the beginning of next year 🤞🏼
What do you think about the mazda 3 (2010-13) thinking of getting one, great vid btw
I think they’re great first cars to learn to drive in but it wouldn’t be one for the long run in terms of doing anything interesting with it. But definitely a good car, they also rust like every Mazda lol and thank you glad you enjoyed it 😄
@JamesAutoMotiveTV yeah exactly as my first car to learn how to drive, plus they look great for a cheap car
Yeah for sure and because a lot of people don’t go for them the insurance will be cheaper too 😁
The driving dynamics of a manual RWD offer more fun for a hooligan.