Hi all,

First off I'm completely new to the forum and the entire Mazda scene to be honest. I'm 23/yo and currently own a BMW M135i. I'm looking for something a bit cheaper and smaller, and after doing some research the MK3 MX5's seem to have excellent reliability and driving style and they come across really appealing to me. I'm looking in the range of £6,000 to £7,000 for a used one at around 40k to 50k miles, from the year 2005 to 2009 and am looking at the 2.0 litre engine (not sure of the engine name).

I'm curious as to whether there are any particular things to look out for in used MX5's, any noises, feelings, particular checks that I might need to do - as I want to get one in great condition really and not have one break down within the first 1000 miles of getting one. I know the MK1 and MK2's are bad with rust, but from what I've read the MK3's aren't so bad. I've had bad experience with rust in the past so are there any particular areas I should check?

Hope I can get some good pointers as it'd be much appreciated, and hopefully I'll be joining the Mazda community with a little convertible relatively soon!

Thanks chaps,

Matt

 

Same check as any car are required. Complete service history, check for rust, & accident damage etc. Soft Tops do dry out, shrink & crack over time & will leak.

The engines are very reliable, along with the transmissions, as with any car, poor servicing will hurt it.
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The third gen or NC as its chassis tag, were getting a bit fat compared to the earlier NA & NB series. They are fun to drive, just don't expect a rocket ship.