Hi,
I’ve just bought an MX5. Until now I had thought an MX5 was an MX5. Now I find Miatas and Eunos and Roadsters and so have to know what kind I have got.
One bloke saw mine and said, “ah, that’s an import, it’s got a fog light on the bottom of the bumper” .
I have checked out the forums about vin numbers and know mine is a Mk1 NA. The service record says it was registered Nov 1991.The pop up headlights go up when I put the side lights on (I’ve found out how to stop that).When they say an ‘import’ do they just mean a car built abroad or what?
It has the damp problems that seem to be pretty universal but it does have a nice new hood with a glass windscreen although the hood doesn’t fold down very easily (I have to stand and gently bounce on it, one side at a time) but apart from that it is great. I don’t care if everyone says I’m a hairdresser…they’re just jealous!
The easiest way to tell if you have an import is the shape of the rear numberplate. A grey import car will have a square two-line plate whereas a UK car will have a standard oblong plate.
The JDM (Jap Domestic Market) cars have badges on the back that say ‘Eunos’ and ‘Roadster’. Eunos is Mazda’s premium brand in Japan, similar to Toyota’s Lexus badge. The US cars are called MX-5 Miata and I don’t think a great deal of these make it here and the car will be LHD.
Make sure you tell your insurance company what you have as the import cars get slightly higher premiums. Insuring a Eunos as an MX-5 will invalidate your insurance.
The hood problem could just be the cold. Mine tends to be the same at the moment. Best not to put it down in the cold as the vinyl will be brittle and more liable to crack.
Don’t listen to the detractors, I get the same ‘hairdresser’ comments. Ask them if they have ever driven one and note their choice of mondeo/vectra/other boring saloon then feel sorry for them! [;)]
At the end of the day, whether its a Eunos, Miata or MX5, its all the same car and they all drive pretty well the same - unless you’ve got a special edition with stiffer suspension. If you think about it, even the UK cars were built in Japan and are therefore technically imports!
Careful with that hood in the cold weather though - easy to damage it.
Well done on buying a cracking car - just great fun.
When I first got mine the hood didnt fold down very easily, but after a while it seemed to work just fine. the conclusion I came to was that the previous owner had rarely put it down and all it needed was use. You might find the same.
G’day mate, Welcome to the Forum
If you DO put the hood down in this very cold weather, don’t force it. Let it go down under its own weight. It only takes a mile or so and a couple of potholes or speed bumps to do it. (Why do they go the the expense of putting in speed bumps when they get potholes for nothing?)
Thanks for all the help everyone. I’ll keep the hood up for now…