Morning fellow MX-5ers.
I have this week bought my first MX-5.
It’s a 2004 Euphonic in Red. 6900miles. Never been out in the rain. I have every piece of documentation including brochure from when the previous owner was thinking of buying it and the original purchase invoice.
It is literally like brand new.
What to do… drive or store?
Get it professionally rot proofed, injected, and ceramic coated.
Dry-weather drive it’s ruddy nuts off.
It’s a sports car begging to be used.
Not a Greek amphora in a museum!
You did ask…
Drive it that’s what it made for. If you brought it to make money on appreciation then better investing elsewhere.
Drive it all summer, put it away for the winter.
I’d change the tyres if it’s on the originals, and any other consumables (oil/filters/belts etc) as they’re all 16+ years old and way past their best, then as others have said, corrosion protection and drive it. Lots.
It’s never going to be worth a fortune so just enjoy a new old car.
All of the above.
Have fun 
looks fantastic by the way a green tinge developing on my chops
I’d certainly want to drive it, but before doing so I’d do a safety check, like the condition of flexi-brake pipes, fuel lines etc - Though if it’s been MOT’d in the last 12 months that should tell you much of what you need to know 
Rob
That’s a beautiful car Grease monkey. Nice find and welcome aboard.
Question is, what do you want to do with it?
If you have a collection of cars in an indoor area that you can enjoy looking at then it’s unlikely you’ll find a better example. This one probably exceeds Mazda’s own heritage collection for quality.
Regarding value, it may well increase but it won’t be extremely valuable for many years by which time will we even be able to drive internal combustion engined cars?
If I was lucky enough to own this particular car I would be fearful of driving it or leaving it unattended anywhere in case anything happened to it.
My choice would be to store it in my garage collection, admire it on a regular basis, sit in it making brumming noises, polish it and cosset it. But, I’d buy myself a much higher mileage, cheap old banger to razz around in so I could still enjoy MX-5 driving.
I suppose it depends how much you paid for it. Plenty similar stories on the Focus RS forum and really you cant drive them, if you want to retain the value.
500-1000mile per year max I would say.
Nothing wrong with keeping it locked up and just enjoying the “ownership”
Simple: Why did you buy it?
It’s up to you but for me I would use it. I can never understand folk who buy cars & motorcycles then just lock them away in a garage but it is their money & they can do what they want with it.
You are in quite a unique & enviable position here insofar as you have effectively a new car but with many years of knowledge as to where the weakspots are. Get these protected & you will have many many years of enjoyment from it. You don’t say what you paid for it but I am guessing around a years depreciation on a new one. I know for sure which I would choose.
I wouldn’t use it as your daily driver, but would definitely get it out and used!
You’ve clearly invested a fair bit of cash to buy one in such good condition and the sensible money as has been suggested is to spend some more protecting your investment. Thorough check over of all perishable components, then proof it against rust to the greatest extent possible and get out with the roof down and enjoy your purchase!
Drive it - Nice Car - enjoy
