I BOUGHT A CHEAP MAZDA MX-5 for £1,800! 

Proof that you don’t need big power to have a fun car, as long as it handles right.

I had one of these for 4 years as a daily driver and it was the most reliable car I've ever owned. My experiences as follows: ALWAYS have 4 matching tyres, regardless of the make. Get a 4 wheel alignment done and checked regularly, I used to have mine checked regularly and it never went out of alignment in 4 years! Check the footwells for damp, the bolts on the windscreen scuttle bolt through behind the dash and the washers deteriorate. Cheap repair but can cause rusting of the metalwork behind the dashboard Check the drain hole in the middle of the bootlid by the numberplate. They corrode from the inside out. Check the drainage channels for the roof as these can get blocked and over flow. Replace the spark plugs when they should be done or before as they can snap off in the cylinder head. Fit the wiper stalk from an RX8 as this gives you the variable speed intermittent wiper in drizzly conditions. The old one unbolts and it's a direct replacement. Regularly use 98oct fuel as it does run nicer. Going into second gear on the 6 speed gearbox can be a bit stiff when cold, this is quite normal. You can replace with a different spec oil but then could cause premature wear one other parts so best leave as is and be sympathetic until it's warmed up. A decent set of lowering springs to get rid of the first sized gap between the wheel arches and wheels!

I'm on my fifth MX5, this one for 5 years, rear brakes is the only thing I've had to replace in that time. Make sure you clean the rear drain holes as they will cause water ingress.

My wife's on her 3rd MX-5, she's had an NA, NB and now an NC - loves them to bits, I must admit , they're so much fun to drive without getting silly, and you're right - the gearbox is what gearboxes should be like. They're solid, cheap as chips to run, reliable and fun - no brainer really.

In that spec it's looking like the Sport model : 17" wheels, 6 speed box, Bilstein shockers, LSD, leather. We had one of these and used it daily year round, but rain and salt took their toll. In all, that looks like a car somebody has really cared for.

I loved this model when it was released and time hasn't been unkind to it. Doesn't need any lifts or fillers to keep it looking young. You could tell it had been looked after before you opened the doors. Great colour too. Nice work, Matt - I bet it sailed out of the door.

Also replaced the standard stereo with a Pioneer touchscreen unit that incorporates rear cameras, a very worthwhile update and modernises the interior, easy to do.

Hey Matt, I would love to see a video about how things worked out with that private plate, how transfers & retention works and any insights you might have on that market works. Cheers

Brilliant, Matt! What an unusually, straight car which I'm sure will sell well! 👍

What a great little buy, love these and starting to see a lot more on track too.

My old MX5 NC in Winner Blue ... I miss her ... A couple of things for people who might consider one: 1. The story with the gear knobs: on my one, the former owner used to drive wearing rings, and the knob was very damaged, a replacement from Mazda is 70 quid, so I got an aftermarket one, nowhere near as weighty as the original. 2. The paint: the front bumper is plastic, the wing is metal, the paint doesn't degrade in the same way and if you look at any picture of a winner Blue you see that they look repainted. If you look closely you will notice the painting stroke is the same and is continuous. 3. Safety belt not winding back: it's an old recall, in my case Mazda had offered a discount to replace it on my 66 plate in 2019. Another known weakness is the central locking, occasionally there can be a water ingress in the control box on the passenger side, and the cl/alarm behave erratically. Aside from that, I miss her every sunny day, and I sold her after 3 years for the same money I had bought it for.

Great video as always Matt. Could you put on you list of future videos to do one about high v low mileage cars. Pros and cons to both, which makes/models handle high mileage well and which don't. Sometimes a high miler can be a better buy as it's been used and serviced (hopefully) versus a low miler that's been sat in a garage.

I've been touring around North Yorkshire for the last few days, and the number of these - along with other soft tops - has been quite amazing... the nice weather brings 'em out.

My mum has owned one each of the NB, NC and ND models. All of them were an absolute hoot to drive. The whole experience, even just driving to the shops, is brilliant. Can’t think of another car that fulfils its design brief as well as this car

SO COOL! I have a white 2013 MX5 NC (same model) as second/fun car since 1,5 years: super fun drive cars indeed! Cool to see you featuring it!

Cracking car , and great price too. Who needs 200bhp + ? With the roof down 60 mph feels like 80 and as you said you’ll have a smile on your face. If I had a garage I’d have one ASAP .

nice !! we hope we'll see you reviewing a Honda S 2000 soon ! I love these kind of cars that put immediately a smile on your face ! Thanks again bro for the videos !

Had one of these when they were new - great little car. We even drove to Italy for a fortnight's holiday in it and managed to bring some wine back with us too! Tempted to get another.....

You got a nice little upgrade in this Mx5 that few know about. That's the addition of the retrofitted RX8 wiper stalk, which gives you adjustable intermittent wipers.

Mazda is probably the only major car manufacturer that has still not done enough to kerb rampant corrosion problems. Every time I see an MX5 I am reminded about the rust problems particularly in the sills.

Hi Matt,i'd take it over to Spain and use it there. Nice car and been well cared for,makes a massive difference to some other cars you have bought and over spent on! Great work 😊

Great restoration of this model in that amazing blue finish👍 In 2016 I brought a 2007 basic model with only 14k on the clock. Had to sell 2019 due to practical reasons but still miss the quality engineering and fun factor. Might get another as a hobbyist and for classic shows in the future. One of those cars that holds distinction, popularity and continues its rein in todays market 👏

Hello Matt, lovely looking car, and you didn’t massively over spend. Thank you for taking the time to upload another video. Ged

Good video Matt ,the main thing is to flush the sills out as if blocked they are a certain rust trap

Morning Matt, love these cars I've had two of these myself a mk3 and a mk4RF had great fun with them both, love the colour of your one and at that price it won't with you very long. Cheers Phil from Newark.

What a result 🥳 Always liked the MC5 and wouldn’t mind getting one, they’re amazing

These are great little cars. Enjoyed your video as ever. Both entertaining and informative. PS: rubber mats are very useful when you get caught in a shower when the top's down!

Great video - Had one myself and a neat roadster

What a cute little car, the colour really sets it off too. I thought I had miss heard when you said you hadn’t overspent, that must be a first lol. As always great video Matt, I really enjoyed it❤.

Fantastic video, Diary of your States Side trip . Excellent content thank you for sharing it with all of us in your RU-vid family ❤

You videos really light up my day. Only thing I watch on 1x speed. God Bless Matt!

A great little car. It gives you the feeling of owning and driving a old MG, but but not having to deal with the MG's flaws.

Great buy as always Matt, cute little car, love the color! :D

Survives the ulez test too... Great ride, the NC is my favourite series of the MX5 (though I'd want the hard top convertible personally).

MX5’s are Joy of Motoring. Tonight I’ve been out in my BBR NC, top down and 22 degrees. NC’s are currently the bargain of the range. Great vid.

You're lucks in here Matt, a cracking little mx5 and we're hitting an Indian summer. Perfect timing

I bought one in silver , from the main dealers in Stockport . It was a brilliant car and you’re correct about it delivering more smiles than a BBC comedian. Traded it in several years later , for a good price, having done many long road trips from Stockport to Porto. Everyone should at least try one.

Hi Matt. Love your work 👍

Great little car - probably the best value for smiles per mile.

I love the MX5 - I'm on my 3rd which I bought new in 2021, in lovely Soul Red. I traded in my 2007 Mk3 MX5 (which I'd had from new) and it had never had a fault of any sort in the 14 years I owned it (it had the folding electric hard top). These cars are SO much fun to drive as they are light and flickable unlike Porches etc. And dirt cheap to own and run. I love them! But you do need a more conventional car as well for when you need more than 2 seats and have a load to carry (my wife drives that!). I love top-down motoring, so anything with a fixed roof won't fit the bill for me.

Nice car, great pictures on autotrader and for a change Sun is out lol. Definitely next time I buy a car will check out high peak autos after watching so many of Matts videos

I had a Mk1 1.8 Berkeley and it was one of the most fun cars I ever had. I had it at the same time as an Alfa 147 which I also loved. I decided that having two cars was a bit too much (given that I lived in the centre of Manchester and walked to work!) so swapped both for an MK3 2.0 MX5 Roadster Coupe. The expectation was that I would get the fun of the Mk1 and the refinement of the Alfa. Unfortunately it didn't work out - it was less fun than the MK1 and less refined than the Alfa. It also had awful MPG. It was still pretty fun though - all MX5s are fantastic cars. There's nothing else like them.

Mazda are beautiful vehicles , but totally unacceptable with how easily the wheel arches rust so quickly. Another great video Sir. Thank you for sharing this with us all.

You mentioned waxoyl, did you decide against it in the end. You really go the extra mile with your motors, plus you are a joy to listen to. Thankyou

Just did the NC500 in one of these in this colour. Had it tuned at BBR a year ago, big recommend

Nice one Matt, I've bought a fair few MX5's and as long as there isn't hideous amounts of rust they are great. Did get burnt with one NB that was well disguised but that's life eh.

Imperial Car Sales was based in Southampton and had car supermarkets in different area of the UK. Cazoo purchased Imperial in 2020 and rebranded the business absorbing the stock and turning the car supermarkets into distribution centres and customer collection bays. Most of these have been closed over the last year or so.

Getting to love this S Class! Easy to park? At the golf club a guy parks his so far forward in the row anyone else is struggling 😅. Always fancied one of these Mazdas.

Matt, loved the before and after. Long sleeves and rain before. Blue sky, sun, shorts and roof down after. RU-vid gods on your side this one. Cool car certainly played its part :)

What a bargain! Another excellent review thankyou Matt

Great video. I really like these cars.

Great cars again you have done a fantastic job. Looking forward to the next episode

Beautiful! Great colour. Superb rims.

Nice! Always love a Mazda mx-5.

Saw the M4 at the back. Looking forward to that video.

Love my NC. Had it for the last 3 years and it’s been faultless.

Smashed it ❤

I had a 58 plate MX5.(The 1.8 slower variant). I got it from Stockport Mazda. It gave me years of reliable, fun motoring.

I had a 1991 MX5 for 11 years. Loved it! So much fun the drive.

Just check the drian holes and clear with a wire coat hanger behind the seat belt were it's secured behind the seats if it's that model that has them , it runs straight out to the ground and they can get blocked up

Got one. They are brilliant. You always smiling ❤😊

We've got one and driven it to Budapest, Barcelona and Nice on three different trips. Excellent fun. Crossing the Pyrenees and the Alps was a blast.

I had the same model for a couple of years as a second car... what a great car they are fantastic to drive cheap to run. Smiles per miles is of the scale. Great video Matt.... I still would love you to review my Audi S4 TDI... I'd bring it to you....

Great cars regardless of price point. Always fancied one as a second fair weather toy. Will get around to buying one at some point I'm sure..

Great cars. Good example and well sorted. A lot of fun for not a lot of money.

Even by just watching you drive that s class you can feel the quality oooze through the screen😁👍

Great video, only just watched it. I looked up the MOT history, it always amazes me what testers record. I would have like to seen the front brake discs failed in Oct 21, probably should have passed. Sep 18 advise brake fluid slightly aged, nonsense. It is amazing that some MOT testers appear to have 'calibrated' eyesight. My wife had an advisory once, all discs rusty when the braking surface on all 4 discs had NO rust at all on her MX5 NB.

Credit to the viewer that sold it to you, kept a very nice car.

Love this particular MX5 model & the one withthe retractable hardtop. I owned 2001 MRS Spyder, even though it does look fiercer, MX5 is so muc comfortable to drive and it comes with a boot

I have the 2.0 sport (2009 NC.2) in top spec with lekky roof, heater leather, Bose sound and the 6 speed is great for motorway cruising at 3k rpm. It's about to go in for it's first service since I got it in Jan (8 months ago) and I have no cause for concern. It's been 100% reliable with no dash lights or issues of any kind whatsoever. If they didn't corrode like they do and if they were more stable at high speed in cold wet conditions they would be near perfect cars. Only 42k miles on mine so it's barely run in as they have been known to do moon mileages. Recommend!

Love those old Miatas. For a second there, this was almost your shortest video. Wouldn't be surprised if someone had stolen it before you got there. Just popped it into their backpack and run off with it. Very surprised that the key-fob worked though. Got the exact same one for my 2009 Mazda 6 V6 sSport model. Bought her new back in '09. Have had to get replacement key-fobs from Mazda far too often since they usually stop working in a relatively short amount of time. Have had 4 or 5 now. Each one at $300.oo per pop. Just seems excessive since it wasn't until 2016 that Mazda USA started going up-market as a more luxurious brand.

Matt, It would be great if you could do a video of some of the private plates you own / have traded. Did you have to register this Mazda in your name to remove plate? Great video as ever.

Such a deal…my dad bought a few years back & his Corvette just sat in the garage ..great little cars.

excellent cars - great video Matt

Credit to its owner, looks like new! 😍 I’d be very tempted if I had somewhere to keep it!

I had one from new, loved it. Only issue was that it would flood inside if the hidden drains clogged up with leaves etc. it became quite a nuisance.

Lovely little car Matt 👍🏻

awesome video

Hi Matt great little bargain of a car been well looked after thought you might have had the gearbox oil changed.

That looks a lovely car. Such a great colour.

Nice one Matt! I guess the only other things I might have done before selling it on would be to change out the gearbox and final drive oils as well, purely based on age and mileage. Nice extra peace of mind for the new owner and a little bonus to throw in when negotiating for a top price!

Gorgeous looking mx5 in that colour 😍

Choosing a random video to say THANK YOU for making me aware of car vertical, it just saved me from buying a "perfect" car with one single careful owner which turned out being involved into three accidents, changed two owners, was used as a rental vehicle and had been into service for five times within its first year.

Ive always fancied doing exactly this. Cheap mx5 and have it for a weekend

Imperial were a car supermarket based down my way in Southampton. All ex lease cars. Lots of people I know bought cars from them and all the cars were excellent with no issues. Sadly went out of business in Covid.

I’ve always liked these cars…good value even at that age and mileage 👍

That is the perfect description. It is a lot of car for no money - insanely good value

Always liked the MX5, just a modern day MG in my books, cheeky little looker and love that blue, had a few vehicles in that sort of colour in the past, if i had the money and the space, yep, would be on my list.

Beautiful colour. That’s going to sell straight away. Well done Matt

Excellent. Great colour

Well done Matt great little car this Mazda Nice one Cyril (Matt ). Would like one myself Kevin

Nice little Mazda!

Air con is only really useful in convertibles for winter demisting. I put the roof down on mine year round when it's dry. On the bright side you won't have to pay to re-gas it if it isn't fitted.

Lovely color, really works

My brother had a eunos roadster years ago (just the original Japanese name for it for anyone who doesn’t know, he had one that had been imported from Japan), and it was such a fun car to drive. Took it around a track one time, it was so easy to drift with unsurprisingly. Only thing that confused me with his was the indicator stalk being on the right side. I found myself turning on the wipers when wanting to indicate very often.

Great video. I'm on my third 2 seater roadster and I think they are the car to go for unless you have kids still at home. (Mine are long gone).

Splendid. I think I’ll always have a 5 in my collection.

Lovely looking car. Love the blue colour. Miss the mgtf I had as a daily driver. Every day was a top down day winter, summer, day or night. Really need another simple convertible. Thought about a z4 or a slk but too many dodgy electric roof stories can't beat a nice simple manual roof

My first convertible, been and bought it today! :)

You got lucky on this one, looked in excellent nick right out the gate, certainly compared to some of the ropey jalopies you sometimes end up with :) Sadly I cannot fit in one otherwise I might have been tempted myself.