What model did you choose?
INDY RX5 - Mazda based
What was your intended use of the car before you built it?
General road use and occasional track day sessions.
What made you decide on the MK Indy over the competition?
After 20 years had passed from my first visit to the Westfield factory, I finally chose to take the
plunge and purchase a kit. After discovering the difficulties Westfield were going through I looker
further afield for other options. I quickly found MK and from my initial look at the website I was
immediately taken by the price of the kit and options for the RX5. The price was considerably lower
than the equivalent Westfield and made any idea of looking anywhere else (Caterham, GBS etc.)
pointless.
Using the MK car configurator and project calculator tools, how close were you to the budget
when you finished your car?
A considerable way off. I was initially taken by the deluxe kit price of £9999, however once you add
the inevitable shiny bits and carbon parts the price increases considerably. To be fair these parts are
optional and of course are not necessarily required, however if like me you like the 'nice bits' they are
hard to resist. I did warn you!
How was your overall buying experience when dealing with the team at MK (both good or bad)?
Overall excellent. I have dealt predominantly with Neil throughout the ordering and build stages. I
found Neil to be very helpful and he always allocated adequate time to talk through options /
clarifications. Unfortunately, due to the distance I wasn't able to visit MK prior to collecting my kit.
Whilst this is not ideal, it still felt a natural process having talked through the details from order to
final build at length before committing.
What could the guys at MK do to improve the buying experience?
I'd struggle to point out any improvement in the overall process. There are the usual niggles in terms
of chassis register updates but that is a difficult thing to get right. Patience is key as the quality of
the chassis and kit certainly makes it worth the wait.
How did you find the build manual?
Very good. I had copies printed out and I referred to them throughout the build.
Was the build process how the manual described it?
I didn't approach the build in the order outlined in the manual. There are no doubt a number of ways
to build the car and I felt there was a slightly more logical way to approach it, so followed my instinct
referring to the manual for each element.
We’re there any items throughout your build process that we’re a surprise to you and caught you
out?
No not really. I'm a fairly hands on person with a mechanical background so the bolting together
was fairly straightforward. The loom mod is a bit of a challenge but with the help of the manual, the
videos from Neil and feedback from the build groups you do eventually get there.
Was there anything that you feel needs adding / detailing further in the build manual?
There's a couple of well-known errors in the build manual for the loom mod. It refers to the removal
of plug 24 as part of the ABS when in fact it is actually the speed sensor (a critical item). I also found
the layout of the pictures hard to follow. Whilst they are an important part of the loom mod guide
sometimes the pictures were before the section and other times after leaving you to wonder which
section the picture was referring to. A minor thing but easy to correct to make life easier for those
that follow.
How did the team at MK deal with any technical questions (if any)?
I resolved the few I had myself (fuel tank baffle, loom mod clarifications) - Good to know they are
available should it be needed though.
How was the IVA application process?
Quite straight forward. The forms are simple enough and the guide does a good job of explaining
what is needed.
How was the IVA process?
Again, straightforward enough. It took 3 weeks from submission of the forms for me to be contacted
to pay the £450, and another 6 weeks until my appointment (9 weeks in total). In hindsight I should
have applied earlier but I was told by DVSA the wait was 4 weeks when I originally enquired. I passwd
first time and the DVSA guys were impressed by the quality of the car. Credit for that goes to MK!
Now you have a finished vehicle, how do you intend on using it moving forward?
General drives out (road use) and track day events. I have joined a club which encourages meets for
dives out and social events so I will participate in them too.
Describe your overall experience of buying, building and registering your car.
Fantastic, it's coming up to 1 year since I decided to finally commit to buying and building the car. I
am very happy I followed the route I did. The Mazda route whilst the cheapest isn't the easiest. The
initial strip of the Mazda whilst not necessarily difficult may be a challenge for some people. For me it
was good to get dirty (very dirty in fact) and enjoy the time whilst waiting for the kit to become
available cleaning and refurbishing the Mazda parts so they looked first class in the MK when
installed.
What could the team at MK do better in the future?
I was initially excited to discover that DTO in Liverpool were a sort of 'agent' for MK. I visited them
prior to placing my order and had a great chat with Craig about MK and kit cars in general. For those
of us further North a more central place to connect with MK would be helpful and I hope the
relationship with the likes of DTO ban be developed further in the future.
Would you recommend MK Sportscars?
Yes of course!! Nothing would make me happier than to see MK go on to build an even moresuccessful business.
Any further comments.
Just keep up the good work. I love the fact you are all enthusiastic and genuinely