Years ago my ex got a brand new original white G reg mark 1 and wrote it off all by himself on a bend in Germany, it was replaced of course. Later he bought a le mans edition which had been re-sprayed black so that someone would buy it. it was totally gorgeous, but a manual and sadly I wasn’t allowed to drive it. Owning one myself seemed a bit of a pipe dream, until finally about 20 years later with a capable mechanic petrol head husband I got a Eunos. But had a long commute to work and it wasn’t up to the motorway really. Four years ago I found my lovely Graham who is just perfect for me and is my daily drive and only car. Adding winter wheels and hard top adds to fun, because when that roof comes back off in the spring it’s like a whole new car again. Husband doesn’t see the point of convertibles, but I don’t understand who wouldn’t want that fantastic feeling of no roof! I just love it.
I never fell in love with the MX5…
The car came to me via a lady whose dad had passed.
Whilst completely rust free and with a straight body the car needed a lot of sorting out,
Usual things like brakes drop links worn seat bolster the list goes on and on…
That was nearly two and a half years ago in which time I’ve done a practically nut and bolt resto on it.
Only done 3 or 4 hundred miles in that time. Total documented mileage is now 56K.
2008 57 plate 2.0 Sport. Bog standard.
I had ridden large capacity motorbikes since my student days . When the day came that I realised I was too old to cope with the weight I looked around for a fun convertible. Originally I was looking at a Caterham but then I Googled " The most fun UK sports car" and guess what came up. I took a test drive and bought the demonstrator ( a 2l RT ) on the spot!
I saw an advert online for the new ND quite some time back and the front end looked absolutely awesome! My intention was to continue sharing our Golf R with the wife for a few more years until I retire then get myself a Lotus Evora 400 as a retirement present, but it dawned on me if I remained a named driver under my wife’s insurance for a total of 5yrs then tried to insure the Lotus in my name I might have a bit of an issue and that maybe I should get a cheap run-around in the meantime to keep my NCB up to date. My brother offered me a drive in his NB MX-5 but the boot was far too small with a spare tyre in it and I wasn’t particularly sold by the looks, but I went on autotrader and suddenly realised a 3 or 4 year old ND was within my price range, so that was that…I might not bother with the Evora, it’s an awesome car but it’s not a convertible and I don’t have space for 3 cars, so I might just get a new MX-5 to my exact spec when I retire if they’re still making them. It would be nice to have the premium audio, reversing camera and blind spot monitoring…
When I was 15 (43 years ago) my uncle took me for a spin in his triumph spitfire (I think).
Driving along country roads with the roof down left a lasting impression.
At the end of the drive, he pulled in at an old aerodrome and let me drive her after a quick driving lesson.
That memory never left me, and I vowed I’d get a 2 seater convertible at some point when I was older and had plenty of money.
At 16, motorcycles entered my life, then a wife, then kids and more motorcycles, but never my desired 2 seater sports car…
About 10 years ago I helped my brother in law when he was looking for an MX5, which he did end up getting. 1999 1.8 se…
A couple of shots in that re-ignited my desires, but lack of finances prevented any purchases…
A few weeks ago, a change in financial circumstances meant I had enough cash to get an “old” 2 seater, so I started my search.
It became an obsession and hours were spent on the net trawling for sale ads and reviews etc.
Then I saw her, my dream car in my dream colour…2001 California. A few hours later the deal was done. I haven’t stopped grinning since.
Only 2 previous owners, full history and absolutelymint condition…
Looks stunning