306maxi said:

The wifes brother has a similar dog which seems to fit well enough into their Legacy Tourer. I still don't see why you miss the car though

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........ and I'm sure that I will never be able to explain it to you.

grimwau said:

........ and I'm sure that I will never be able to explain it to you.

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Just never been one for British cars. There's a good reason that it's generally only British people that like British cars

loveshandbags said:

Saw a lot of MGB and MGB GTs at the weekend. It never got the hairdresser's image like the MX5. It seemed to keep its manliness for want of a better word. There is a nice burble of the back exhaust. I understand that it's not a car for 'pushing on in'. But it is a classic in every sense. There is sometime timeliness about the dash set-up with the clocks, etc - sense of occasion.

There was a good number of 500s and one in particular that caught my eye was a Grey one with a red vinyl interior - it looked immaculate. In the background you will see a Lancia Falvia and from talking to the owner (it was a HF) he said it was a boxer engine and the 'designer' of this went to Subaru so his car essentially had the 1st generation boxer engine. Now the Falvia is going through a revival as a Chrysler 200 which will end up in the Fiat showrooms.

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True the MGB was never a hairdressers car,infact it had a rugby players image,however the Triumph TR6 was even more manly.It was known as a hairy chested sports car.
I see it is the 50th aniversary of the Jaguar E.Type. I wish i had kept my V12 E.Type. 150 MPH, 0-60- 6.5 secs, and 15 MPG. I kept mine for 4 years and made £2000 profit when i sold it.Today they sell for over £30000.
I would still love to have an MX5 coupe today even if it is a hairdressers car.There is always a nice bright Red one parked outside a shop in St Annes.I would say the owner works in and lives above the shop. I never really looked at the shop untill last week,but would you believe it is a hairdressers shop lol.

smart examiner said:

True the MGB was never a hairdressers car,infact it had a rugby players image,however the Triumph TR6 was even more manly.It was known as a hairy chested sports car.
I see it is the 50th aniversary of the Jaguar E.Type. I wish i had kept my V12 E.Type. 150 MPH, 0-60- 6.5 secs, and 15 MPG. I kept mine for 4 years and made £2000 profit when i sold it.Today they sell for over £30000.
I would still love to have an MX5 coupe today even if it is a hairdressers car.There is always a nice bright Red one parked outside a shop in St Annes.I would say the owner works in and lives above the shop. I never really looked at the shop untill last week,but would you believe it is a hairdressers shop lol.

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It's amazing the number of 500 owners (I'll put you in that category ) who are comfortable with the MX5. Probably to do with not giving a monkeys about what people think of us. LOL.

Thing is the MX5 is a genuinely good car. I'm sorry to say it, but I'm baffled at why people like British cars from the 60's and 70's when as cars they're generally quite poor compared to their French and Italian counterparts.

loveshandbags said:

It's amazing the number of 500 owners (I'll put you in that category ) who are comfortable with the MX5. Probably to do with not giving a monkeys about what people think of us. LOL.

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Thanks,and Smart owners too.We do our own thing,and have the last laugh.
I looked at some Internet brokers on the web before,and you can get a new Mazda MX5 soft top for £14000 or the Coupe for £16000. That would be a hard choice between that or the A500.
I must get in touch with that dealer down south who says he has new MX5 coupe automatics for £13000.That does not sound possible.There must be a catch.
For cheaper cars,does anyone fancy the new Kia Picanto (7 Yr warranty) Hyundai i10 (5 Yr Warranty) or the Toyota IQ. I have seen the Fiat 500 TA on Fiats web site. It looks good with the Black alloys.
If i could get a year old A500 for £11000 which is the correct price it should be after loosing 25% in the first year,not the inflated prices dealers are charging at the moment,then that would be a good buy.Im not sure if i could live with the hard ride though,which was the main reason i got rid of my Panda 100 HP. The Smart has not got a smooth ride,but compared to the 100 HP it is like a limos ride.

smart examiner said:

If i could get a year old A500 for £11000 which is the correct price it should be after loosing 25% in the first year,not the inflated prices dealers are charging at the moment,then that would be a good buy.Im not sure if i could live with the hard ride though,which was the main reason i got rid of my Panda 100 HP.

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This was the reason I put the original 16" wheels back onto my A500 as the 17" Petals made the ride just that bit too harsh on our roads. Now the car is as good as both of my previous 500s (both of which were on 16" wheels) but obviously a little harsher than the 15" or 14" wheels.

306maxi said:

Thing is the MX5 is a genuinely good car. I'm sorry to say it, but I'm baffled at why people like British cars from the 60's and 70's when as cars they're generally quite poor compared to their French and Italian counterparts.

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In the 60s and 70s Italian cars had a bad name for rust and reliability.The Alfasud was a drivers car,but it rusted away as soon as it was driven out the showroom.
The MGB and TR6 were great cars for that time,and they were fantastic babe magnets.I would not want one today ( the car that is not the babes lol)
Lets face it,today there is no such thing as a bad car,and if we were all earning big money like the footballers and pop stars we would have a few cars like they do.
I would have my Smart, A500,Mazda MX5,Jaguar XF,Mercedes SLK,and Bentley Conti GT all in my stable.

grimwau said:

This was the reason I put the original 16" wheels back onto my A500 as the 17" Petals made the ride just that bit too harsh on our roads. Now the car is as good as both of my previous 500s (both of which were on 16" wheels) but obviously a little harsher than the 15" or 14" wheels.

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I have not driven the A500 yet but all the road tests i have read say how hard the ride is,which is just what they said about the Panda 100HP as well. I understand what you are saying about the smaller wheels,but i guess the best way is for me to try the car.Mind you i tried the 100HP twice before i bought it and thought i would get used to the hard ride,but i never did.
I should not worry seeing as i had sports cars in my youth which all had hard rides. I guess i am getting old. Pass me my Zimmer Frame.lol

smart examiner said:

In the 60s and 70s Italian cars had a bad name for rust and reliability.

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Ah yes, the British cars of the same time were very reliable and the ones you see at shows today show no signs of rust at all

smart examiner said:

I have not driven the A500 yet but all the road tests i have read say how hard the ride is,which is just what they said about the Panda 100HP as well. I understand what you are saying about the smaller wheels,but i guess the best way is for me to try the car.Mind you i tried the 100HP twice before i bought it and thought i would get used to the hard ride,but i never did.
I should not worry seeing as i had sports cars in my youth which all had hard rides. I guess i am getting old. Pass me my Zimmer Frame.lol

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I haven't driven a A500 with 16s like grimwau Abarth but with the 17inch 10 spokes (heavy wheels) the ride was better than my old 1.4 Sport with 16inch 5o-spokes. My impression of the ride on the A500 was that is was very much a Mito ride being around 100kg heavier than a 1.4 Sport and was surprisingly better. Tyres are also a factor. The Contis on my current 1.4 Lounge give a quiet comfortable ride.
So grimwau's recommendation of 16s is the sensible choice. It is nothing like the harsh ride in a Panda 100HP.
The ride on the eesseesse is hard but it is designed for going faster in at which point the ride feels OK - this is probably similiar to your 100HP.

Going to be spending my summer fixing the other toy.

Much as I'd love to be out driving I have to get this all sorted out:
getting-my-x1-9-back-shape

Or in more detail here but you'll need to sign up:
Julian's Dallara Project Recovery

Best of luck, you realise we'll need progress reports as well as photos.