NC1 Verdict after a month of ownership

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1

Hi everyone

I collected my NC1 on 12 October, and to be honest I was a little bit apprehensive about buying the MX5 as I’d read all the stories about rust, and seen some of the pictures. I’d had a couple of NA’s many years ago, and one of them did end up being scrapped because of rust.

Anyway, I’ve been lucky enough to buy a car that appears to have been really well looked after - it has been garaged all its life and Mazda advised that the previous owner had had the car undersealed as well. Since getting it home I have had a bit of a scrabble underneath and it does look really clean. I haven’t taken the wheel arch liners off yet though, so I am hoping there’ll be no surprises lurking for me there but of course you never know…

But what I really wanted to say is how fantastic this little car is. It’s not the fastest car I’ve ever owned, and it certainly doesn’t have all the bells and whistles such as auto lights/wipers, etc - BUT what a pleasure it is to drive. Honestly, what it lacks in power compared to some cars it makes up for in its fantastic handling.

I am still amazed at how much feedback I get from it, how responsive it is. We’ve had some pretty awful weather the last few weeks with driving rain and high winds, and at no point did I just want to stop the car. I feel really safe in it. Prior to this I had a 2.4 diesel Brera and it was a handful in the wet so I’d end up driving around like Miss Daisy in it.

The Mazda has been a breath of fresh air for me, and constantly puts a smile on my face.

I really don’t want the weather to get colder - once they start gritting the car will be covered and kept off the roads - but until then I intend to have as much fun as possible in it :smiley:

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2

Welcome along, glad you’re enjoying your purchase :+1:

4

Good to hear. Driving my NB I don’t miss the bells and whistles at all, in fact their absence adds to the driving experience. My five is the 60s roadster I always promised myself - without the breakdowns!

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5

Great to read you are a happy NC owner.
I feel the same about my mk3.75.
When I read comments that the NC is the least liked of all MX-5’s, I cannot help thinking that the others must be out of this world, or that I must have strange tastes.
Either way, my NC suits me fine. And if you enjoy yours after owning NA’s, then it must be good.
Do remember to watch out for the back end on wet roundabouts though.

6

my nc does 200 smiles an hour lol

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7

Bought my 2.0 NC after passing it on a garage forcourt in the pouring rain. It just seemed to glow in its true red so wife and I stopped to have a look. Took it for a test drive and the drive convinced us it was coming home. Found out later that all 4 wheels were pointing in slightly different directions, the underside had been the feasting area for a large tribe of rust worm (it had been parked on wet grass by the seaside for a year) and it had almost as much overtaing power as my wifes vacuum cleaner.
After a good floor pan scraping and underseal, replacement sub-frames, proper wheel alignment and a BBR upgrade its hood down and grins everytime we are out in it.

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