My poor MX5 (Miata) has delevoped a fatal fault, looks like the crank-shaft thrust bearing has self-destructed after 7 years and 137,000 miles. It will cost be about the same as the car is worth to fit a secondhand engine or rebuild the existing one.

So I think it is time for me to finally get a serious sports car. I've got a budget of £30,000 for a secondhand car.

The car needs to be suitably powerful. It needs to be nice and light. It needs to handle well. Ideally it will have a soft top/removable hard top. It needs to have luggage space for two people for a week away.

It also needs to be reasonably new, I'm going to probably be putting 15k miles on it a year for the next 5 years.

My short list at the moment is:

- TVR Tuscan
- Porsche Boxster

Cars I have considered but decided against:

- TVR Cerbera (probably the best looking TVR, but it has a fixed roof)
- TVR Tamora (a bit ugly, though I would probably still consider it if I hate the Tuscan when I drive it)
- TVR T350C (fixed roof)
- TVR T350T (targa panels look like an after thought)
- TVR Chimaera and Griffith (just not as good looking as the Tuscan and Cerbera)
- Noble M12 (zero luggage space)
- Elise (zero luggage space and probably a bit unlivable with for long journeys)
- Vauxhall VX220 (looks great, goes great, but has the same problems as the Elise and is a Vauxhall)
- BMW Z4 (looks great, amazing engine, but a bit "lardy-arsed" for me)
- Honda S2000 (front end just looks plain wrong)
- Honda NSX (for £30k I would end up with one that is older than I am happy with)

I haven't driven either Tuscan or Boxster yet, hoping to get some test drives in later this week.

Are there any cars (available in the UK) that meet my criteria that I have missed ?

P.S. anyone fancy helping me replace the engine in the MX5 ? Apparently I can get a second hand engine for £250 (they are cheap because they rarely break). I really don't want to scrap it if I can avoid it, I'd far rather fix it up and sell it on, even if I don't get much money for it.

C5 Corvette? The Z06 is supposed to handle extremely well, apparently even better than the new C6. A friend just imported one with under 4,000 miles on the clock for about £25k all-in.

You could get an older Viper for that sort of money but I don't think they have a lot of luggage space.

Gareth

A 993 cabriolet ?

Regards

Mark

BMW M3. End of discussion.

(Also, way below your budget if you get one in the previous body style, which is still one hell of a car.)

Jim

Are Lexus SC430's available.

do you mind if I ask how you came to the conclusion of the fault?
is the car 5 speed or auto?
what are the symptoms?
just how much was the estimate?

I don't mean to question your knowledge of such things, just that I see a lot of good cars tossed out because the owner was misguided.
thrust bearing failure is not all that common on a motor that age. and rare overall. not unheard of, just awful rare.

as a side note: 30k lbs is a lot of pie. unless I'm out-of-date, you're talking ~50 grand usd?. couldn't you get any thing you please for that much?

C5 Corvette? The Z06 is supposed to handle extremely well, apparently even better than the new C6.

I saw the C6 on Top Gear the other day. It clearly doesn't "handle extremely well", even though it went round their track fairly fast. The only reason it went round fast was thanks to the 400 ft lbl of torque...

If I was living in the states then I would happily own a Corvette, but I don't think it is really suited to life over here.

older Viper

I'm sure that would be very entertaining and it looks great too. The problem is the "older" bit, I ideally want a car that is only 2 years or so old.

993 cabriolet

Ok, a couple of problems with 911s in general.

First thing is they are too expensive, meaning I would have to get one that is as old or older that the MX5 I am getting rid of. The second is that the convertible is ugly. I love the looks of fixed head one, but not the soft top.

Are Lexus SC430's available.

They are, but I am afraid I wouldn't describe them as a sports car. They look ugly and they don't have the performance or handling that I am after. We have corners over here you know

do you mind if I ask how you came to the conclusion of the fault?

So far by just describing the symptoms to the UK MX5 mailing list. The techies guys there are all pretty much in agreement that it is almost certainly the thrust bearing.

is the car 5 speed or auto?

Manual, from what I have read it probably wouldn't have happened with an auto, because it doesn't put the same backwards and forwards pressure on the crank shaft.

what are the symptoms?

Started making a diesel like rattle between 3000-4000 revs a few months ago. The other day, 10 miles from home, it the noise got louder. It got progressively louder over the 10 miles.

By the time I got home I sounded like some hitting an iron radiator with a large wrench repeatedly. The sound is present with the clutch in or out and various with engine speed.

Laying under the car the sound (and associated vibration) appears to come from the lower part of the engine block.

just how much was the estimate?

One quote so far of £900, without tax. Plus the engine at £250-£350, plus the cost of transporting the car 40 miles across London.

Because it is a relatively young car but has done loads of miles (most MX5s over here manage about 5,000 a year, I have done 20,000 a year for seven years) it is worth bugger all. If I was going to sell it I would need to replace the roof and probably the rear fender as well.

I don't mean to question your knowledge of such things, just that I see a lot of good cars tossed out because the owner was misguided.
thrust bearing failure is not all that common on a motor that age. and rare overall. not unheard of, just awful rare.

That's alright, I'm planning to get someone to have a look at it before I do anything drastic with it (like scrap it).

My car is a very late Mk1 1.8, which apparently means that it has a good chance of suffering from the crank shaft thrust bearing machining problem that lots of the early Mk2 1.8 cars also had.

as a side note: 30k lbs is a lot of pie. unless I'm out-of-date, you're talking ~50 grand usd?. couldn't you get any thing you please for that much?

You need to remember that cars are much cheaper in the US than they are over here. A new Porsche Boxster for example here costs £32k, which is $64k. According to the US website it is $42k over there !

That said, yes 30k will buy me a recent second hand example of most of the cars I might want to buy. It rules out thinks like the 911 or any of the Ferraris however...

BMW M3

No doubt one hell of an engine and a very practical car. To heavy to be described as a sport car in my mind though.

It is a car that I would consider owning, but not just now.

place a wood block on the crank pulley and pry it 'in' to the motor.then, while you watch, have a friend press the clutch. if the pulley pops out more than the thickness of a finger nail then you found the problem.
I don't know the spec for your motor, but I would guess it's ~.004 inch.

testing the oil pressure would be a good idea too.

hth

if the pulley pops out more than the thickness of a finger nail then you found the problem

This page seems to agree with your suggestions:

http://www.miata.net/solo/99miatathrustbearingfailure.html

I'll take a look when I get home.

That page keeps repeating one thing, "change your oil regularly and religiously". Ooops...

...to say that the servicing and hence oil changes have been erratic over the last couple of years would be a major understatement.

Quote:
But are Russian cars reliable?

Oooh - that's a low blow

The Boxster has the be the sensible choice, but it's a victim of it's own success and doesn't turn heads any more (well not mine anyhow) ...

Pity you can't stretch just a teensy bit further - my NSX is still for sale. It's a '98, but with only 34k miles and FHSH, new yokos, just serviced/MOTed.

Already pre-fitted for an empeg too, which saves a lot of hassle (and about £1500 for the fitting I had done!)

Hugo

Yeah, I know - Got to say I would love a Cerbera, though (as a sensible family car) 'cos I see enough at the TVR meets. Driving in my brother's Chim makes me want one of them, but there just ain't enough seats (well, until the kids leave home in 20 year's time )

He has had no reliability issues, but he does use it to drive to work on a regular basis, and that is definitely recommended for TVRs

How much is your NSX going for ?

You do realise that if you buy Hugo's NSX that you're going to need a new .sig?

I'm localish to you and will happily help you fit another engine to your MX5.

As for what to replace it with, I'd go for a VX220 - you would be suprised how much you can stuff in there for a week away, the build quality is better than the Elise, and they can be easily tweaked to produce big power

I'm localish to you and will happily help you fit another engine to your MX5.

I might just take you up on that offer. Not for a few weeks though, need to get a new car sorted out first.

As for what to replace it with, I'd go for a VX220 - you would be suprised how much you can stuff in there for a week away

I might go and take a look at one then. I was only really joking about the Vauhall thing, I don't really care what badge the car has on it as long as it is good to drive.

Unless it has lots more space than an Elise it is a non-starter though. We struggle when we go away for a couple of weeks in the MX5, there is no way we could manage in an Elise.

I a couple more options have occured to me:

- buy a £10-15k Subaru Imprezza Turbo wagon as the "sensible" car and an older £15-20k Elise or Griffith for sunny days
- buy a £10-15k Subaru Imprezza Turbo wagon and £15k on the first years membership of P1 International (and start saving the £12.5k for next year)

For anyone who does know what P1 International is, it is a car club that gives you access to the following selection of cars:

Lamborghini Murcielago
Ford GT
Aston Martin Vanquish
Ferrari 360 C. Stradale
Lamborghini Gallardo
Ferrari 575M Maranello
Bentley Arnage T
Ferrari 456M GT
Ferrari 550 Maranello
Ferrari 360 Spider
Bentley Continental GT
Aston Martin DB9 (Sept)
Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Ferrari 360 Modena
Porsche 996 Turbo
Porsche 911 GT2
Bentley Arnage
Porsche 996 Turbo Cab
Mercedes SL55 AMG
Porsche Cayenne Turbo
Porsche 997 CS (Sept 04)
Noble M14 (Autumn 04)
Mercedes SL500
Aston Martin DB7
Ferrari 355 Spider
Porsche 996 C4S Cabrio
BMW M3 CSL
Maserati 4200 GT
Mercedes E55 AMG
Range Rover Vogue
Porsche 996 Carrera 2
Ferrari 355 Berlinetta
Audi RS6 Avant
BMW M5 (April 2005)
Noble M12 GTO-3R
Caterham Roadsport SV
AC Cobra
Lotus Exige S2
BMW M3 Convertible
Mitsubishi Evo MR340

For £12.5k a year (with a £2.5k joining fee in the first year) you get 6,000 miles of use. They have a points system, so if you choose to drive a Lamborghini Murcielago on summer weekends then you don't get as many days driving as if you drive the Noble on autumn weekdays. They reckon that members average 70 driving days a year.

www.p1international.com

You'd be unable to put your empeg in a P1 car, though, in case it hadn't occurred to you.

Which would leave me it much the same situation as I've been for the last five years

...in tape adapter land, though if I went with P1 I might upgrade to an FM transmitter.

place a wood block on the crank pulley and pry it 'in' to the motor.then, while you watch, have a friend press the clutch. if the pulley pops out more than the thickness of a finger nail


I've just had a go at checking for movement of the crank pulley. I got a length of timber, put one end on the crank pulley and lightly levered it on the top of the radiator. I then got my wife to put the clutch in and out.

I couldn't detect any movement. Am I doing the right thing ?

Not that I'm biased, but definitely go with the 5 door Scooby - it is a powerful sports car, but also a nice safe family hatchback. I'm certainly happy driving my kids to nursery, then 4-wheel-drifting it round roundabouts on my way to work. I'll be jealous of your second car though - ours is a Punto (which is nice, but gets twitchy under heavy sliding - keep worrying I'll be able to roll it)

I have a 2001 Miata SE (6 speed and some other unique stuff)
and other than the lack of power of the other cars you noted i cant imagine a better handling vehicle. For $5k i am sure i can put a turbo or supercharger in and give me performance at par with a boxter (which i babysat for a friend of mine for a few weeks befor i got the Miata...very sweet )

Mine is BRG with 16" wheels...and as we all well know a ghost in the machine which wont give me peace when it comes to whine through my sound system!

It seems like you have had no other issues with the car...a cheap solution would be to just put another engine in it and sit back for 10 or so more years!!

Good luck on your search!