I’ve put a £300 deposit down for it but not test drove it yet. Should be picking it up today or tomorrow, was planning on doing a further inspection then as I haven’t been able to sit in the car.
I have seen plenty of soft tops but ideally looking for hard tops which I don’t think there are as many.
I haven’t driven the 1.8L yet but after test driving the 2.0L that was more than plenty for me, not planning of racing it or anything.
My main priority is for comfort and reliability so can go on road trips around the UK.
I’ve read the stronger internal engine is beneficial for boosting/tuning the engine but I don’t really have any plans for that, will I still notice a difference? How about the handling is there a big difference?
The last MOT failure before then was 22nd July 2019
Do not drive until repaired (dangerous defects):
Offside Rear Anti-roll bar linkage likely to fail (5.3.3 (b) (ii))
Repair immediately (major defects):
Nearside Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively (3.4 (b) (ii))
Offside Front Lower Suspension arm pin or bush excessively worn rear bush (5.3.4 (a) (i))
The retractable roof is obviously better for security but really doesn’t provide any other significant advantage, and the soft doesn’t leak unless it’s worn out.
You can notice the difference to the handling, for instance when you hit a bump mid-corner, and the strengthening of the engine is relevant long term. It’s not just about usefully higher revs, but also covers for how previous owners have mis-treated it. (There are plenty of examples of the NC 1 engine failing at higher mileages.) I have never raced or tuned any of my cars, but will just repeat that for everyday use and travelling around the country the 2 litre is more driveable. The sixth gear really helps on long journeys, and when you are driving quietly the economy is pretty good. Incidentally, you may have noticed that cars advertised in Scotland and Wales are often quite a bit cheaper. Whatever you do i hope you’ll enjoy it; they are great cars.
Thank you @RichardC, it gives me something to think about.
It’s nice to hear from someone who’s using it only for street driving too, I’ve found a few MX5 owners who go all in on performance at the cost of comfort
The 2009 2.0L also has a LSD so it should be better in the wet too which is most days in the UK.
Try to be patient and look at as many as you can. If it were me I wouldn’t buy that one , lack of service history as I said it doesn’t appear to have been cared for . There are better cars out there ,if your budget allows try to find an NC2 they have many improvements over theNC1.
Checking Auto trader valuation they have it at
£3,950 - £4,360
And Carguru price it at
£3,984
So it is on the high side and rust issues which should be getting waxoyled be not telling what the rot is like on the inside and little service history.
I’m guessing there’s a dealer mark up in that (obviously) You could do no worse than buy privately or join some Facebook groups. Whatever you do, come off the throttle a bit, it’s not summertime yet
I’m only taking it to a dealer because I’m trading in two cars for part-ex as we only need the one now.
The next hardtop that’s he’s got in that also a NC2 is £7,990
Or the next hard top he has is another NC1 but that’s £6,490
If it helps for comparison I might be selling mine soon (still can’t get on with the driving position after 5 months) but I’m down south so quite a way from you so probably not suitable! it’s a 2009 mk3.5 SportTech conv with 97k, never had an advisory for corrosion, No idea on price but it should be sub £5k. Just need lockdown to lift before I can test drive a ND2 with the adjustable steering column to make sure I want to change!
I’d echo the posts above on the NC2, stretching budget just a bit more gets a lot more car for the money. I bought mine because you could tell it had been looked after by an enthusiast, he’d done lots of preventative maintenance like changed the oil in engine, gearbox, diff, sound proofed the boot, swapped out the scuttle grommits just in case they leaked in the future, regularly cleaned the hood drains, swapped out the front suspension bushes, renewed the brakes, got the geo setup properly with 4 wheel alignment etc.
When I test drove it felt like it was well looked after, nice & tight, started instantly, idled right, handled well with no signs of the NC1 nervousness if you suddenly adjust your line/throttle mid-corner. So the higher mileage didn’t matter to me.
Evening guys
Re cat C&D cars. In the last 12 months due to dealers & body shops closures etc there were many many cars wrote off for very little, I know this as I bought some…my own mk4 recaro was in fact a damaged car and I challenge anyone to view it and correctly identify where the repair was…
What with social media where everyone knows best and no one having ■■■■■ in the 2020’s everyone insurance companies & finance companies back down at the drop of a hat when people want to return goods. An example is I have a car that has had NO paintwork or body damage but suffered an engine fault, due to lockdown,lack of parts, waiting time to get it repaired the owner contacted his finance company saying he was not happy paying for something he bought with a warranty that he couldn’t use, they told him to contact his insurance co that proceeded to write the car off and pay him out…
Now I’m not saying you all should rush out and buy the first cat C car you can find, but if you look carefully and do your homework you can pick up a car that is excellent value for money that you can enjoy and not loose too much on it when you sell it…
When I was looking for an MX5 around three years ago I
had several trips out to Supercar Classics as it’s just up the road from me. I’m not going to start bashing them but I would say the mark up on their cars is significant for the mileage and condition. They often look nice and shiny after a good polish but I agree with the others. I don’t think that’s a good un and I would keep searching for a better example.
I was keen on two cars I saw at SCC. One was damp inside, smelt badly and was steamed up due to water ingress in the passenger footwell. The other looked great up top but was pretty rough underneath and looked seriously flaky and crusty. I thought to myself maybe they are all like that?
But thats just not the case you will find a good one just keep looking and be prepared to travel a little, I eventually bought a tidy 2010 NC2 but had to drive down to Brooklands on the edge of London. It should feel like the car you MUST buy as apposed to the car your feel you COULD/SHOULD buy…
Yeh it’s quite close to me aswell. Wth it being an MX5 specialist I thought they would be well maintained and looked after.
Because of covid I wasn’t allowed the test drive the car but in the pictures online it looked nice and the owner said there was no rust so I placed a deposit.
When I got chance to view the car on the forecourt I saw all the rust and took those videos. I told the owner about it when I got home and he said he would waxoyl it but after showing you guys it’s really put me off. Hoping to get my refund today
Going to keep looking and might travel a bit further too now like you recommend, thanks
I’ve heard the LSD should help in the wet too which will be a big benefit with living in the UK too. I’ll get a 2.0L everyone on here and reviews I’ve watched all recommend it too.
Thanks guys for your help, il keep looking .
I have seen a few NC2 hardtops on autotrader but they are all ~110k and ~£6000 but most do come with service history. Are they worth considering?
What do you think I’ll be able to find in my budget?
Service history ( a lot of dealers say the car has service history but as you found out, not comprehensive)
Engine/transmission ( all the usual stuff really but oil level is important and is it relatively clean?)
Does everything function correctly? Etc, etc. My 2.0 Sport Tech is on 117k but full Mazda history to 100k, mostly mine since, which is not unusual for an enthusiastic owner to do.
Just be careful, a club members car can often be a good buy when they pop up for sale don’t dismiss the 1.8 completely, I’ve owned both and enjoyed both. Condition is really important. A suitable car will appear on your radar.
If you’ve not done already, Google ‘mx5 mk3 buyers guide’ or similar, there is plenty of info out there.
Good luck!
You have to be prepared to travel, when I bought my first NC I traveled from Ramsgate to Ipswich for it my Sport Black that I have now I went to Peterborough for , but you do need to be fairly certain that it’s the right car for you. Keep looking I’m sure that you will find the right car eventually.
I’m glad I got your expertise first before fully committing and I’ll keep looking 
don’t dismiss the 1.8 completely, I’ve owned both and enjoyed both. Condition is really important. A suitable car will appear on your radar.