Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Yes.

And I don't remember people thinking it was beige at the time, only subsequently since they all got bought up by final salary boomers.

A bit like the 1st gen Audi TT. It only got a bad rep, because people didn't understand that it was a two person Golf / Sirocco, so once recruitment and estate agents started buying them everyone forgot what a style icon it was.

OK, you obviously can't buy one today.

But you could when Fox bought his Civic. It's nuts that even a fabric interior 318i has trebled in price in 18m

I love how this has turned into a critique of my much loved blueish silver (not beige) Civic!

they made it look both beige and sci-fi at the same time

You're right @Dammit it's truly a genius piece of design. Very normcore.

excellent build quality and reliability

In my period of owning it I've had to buy a new battery because the old one was knackered. Outrageous. It's sailed through every MOT it's ever had except 2014 (hand brake efficiency only just met) and 2016 (insufficient screen wash).

I honestly don't think there's a car which would better meet my needs, specifically:

1. Can fit two bikes in the back while still having loads of boot space (thanks magic seats)
   
2. Has a big boot because DIY
   
3. Can do 50+ mpg on long trips
   
4. Is well built and incredibly reliable
   
5. Isn't too big/wide (we've got busy on street parking and I often need to squeeze in to tight spaces)
   
6. Is ULEZ compliant
   
7. Cheap as chips
   
   

If anyone has any suggestions on that I'd be genuinely interested as it won't last forever (although it's only done 75k which is mid-life for a Honda).

Anyway, I texted the nice lady and said the cheapest way I can fix it is to buy a tidy secondhand wheel and a tidy secondhand bumper and fit them myself, and that shouldn't cost more than £200. That seems reasonable to me.

But you could when Fox bought his Civic

I bought it last summer ;)

I'd strip it to the shell and repair or replace from the ground up

I think Mazda are now reproducing new potentially better quality panels for the MK1 to help with this. I get this is a fantasy project but having witnessed how full strip and rebuild costs go crazy/rarely get finished i'd consider looking at finding the best base you can find for a rolling project then ICE conversion to manage the costs. Boring but it blows my mind what people spend restoring cars with such relatively low ceiling values.

This is why my Saab 900 will likely never get a full restoration as i'd have no idea where to start or stop.

Take the money for the alloy refurbs and buy some nicer wheels 😎

Honestly these cars are best left stock. If you change anything it goes from beige to bad boy racer. I also like the idea of it being as original as possible because I'm sad...

Yes.

But based on what?

Apparently the MK2s are even worse in terms of rust resistance (or lack thereof). Damn shame as there's no real alternatives that aren't incredibly rare. Will likely pick up an MK4 when my one finally bites the bullet, but they look a bit naff IMO. This modern trend of aggressive styling really should not have been applied to MX-5s (IMO)

she told me it must have been something snotty about her parking

Brilliant - to be honest it being Morningside when I first saw it that's what I thought!

Ok, almost. Then.

I remember looking at convertible e30s when I was working in the office and they were a long way from today's prices.

buy a tidy secondhand wheel and a tidy secondhand bumper and fit them myself, and that shouldn't cost more than £200. That seems reasonable to me

This is exactly the amount and what i did when someone hit my parked T16 (tail light, boot and bumper damage). I picked up some used parts and fitted them myself, one day i'll get the dent properly sorted but for now i'll live with it. The person who hit my car had a mechanic in the family and they were quick to tell him this was very fair. Hope it works out for you.

90s Civics are fucking hot...

90's civics yes. 2010's civics, not so much

Just playing devil's avocado... It makes me sad whenever I see a current Civic, why oh why, so many questions about those styling decisions... 🤦‍♂️

Well, can't be any worse than BMW and their current design direction. Honestly, most KIAs are better designs now.

this is the most iconic civic IMO

1992-I hate your youth.

If you have the space, and you can weld that is the major cost and your time of course.

So uk spec or JDM spec?

My two were less than £500 for the pair, both no MOT and really poor welded patches on the rear cils. First thing I did was remove the doors and weld in some box section in the door gap to strengthen the shell. The striping the interior to make cross strengthening the shell.
Then panels/bumpers to remove as much weight from the shell as I was removing the shells strengthening.

At that point I would have liked to strip the shell bare and get it soda blasted but the costs and time would not have increased the value of the car when sold.

See also all japanese hatchbacks.

Eg the Pulsar:

Meh to the MK2 'cos who cares, no pop up lights there fore not cool.

Just but the fiat 124 spider as it will cheaper that the equivalent mazda.

Also Toyota Corolla

Technically 80s but they made them into the 90s I believe

Pop ups vs baby viper:

Still massively prefer the look of the MK2, but would happily take an MK1 also!

124s are an option, though they're a bit more chunky like the MK3 MX-5 and so rare over here that's it's rarely worth considering. Will just wait a few more years for the MK4s to become a bit cheaper and grab one of those if the MK2 continues its natural water/salt-based weight-reduction programme.

You start by taking the car apart and then getting the shell soda or sand blasted...then see what is left/what is needed.

Still massively prefer the look of the MK2

Well you are wrong...pop up lights for THE look.... and maximum pedestrian injury potential. MK1 MR2 and X1/9 are still favs and the MX5 is the extension of this for me.

I know that IAD on the south coast developed the MK1, and my opinion made the MX5 a brilliant handling car, was much carried over to the MK2, or did it go the the Mr2 route of making it bigger but not better.

Let's not forget the Vauxhall

Boy racer's favourite. My plumber's 17 year old son/apprentice wants one, a few of his friends have bought standard ones then turned them into fake Type R's by putting the bigger engine in.