HOW LONG HAVE YOU OWNED IT?
Since late 2017. We wanted a car for a Crumball Rally event to Europe. We originally went to test drive a BMW Z3, but there was also this (Eunos) for sale. After driving both cars it had to be the Mazda – wow, what a great little car to drive. Purchase price was £1400. We did the rally in 2018 and the car was superb. Driving through the Alps with Matt Monro singing On Days Like These was something to remember.
HOW MUCH HISTORY DOES IT HAVE?
It was first registered on 31 December 1991 and imported to the UK on 11 April 2000. There’s no service book but lots of service history and all MoTs. It’s had ten owners. We were going to sell the car on our return but this didn’t happen because we both fell in love with it, so we decided to restore it and chose The MX5 Restorer in Eastbourne. It first had £2500 of mechanical work, then a full re-spray with new arches and sills to the rear of the car the following year. That came to around £6000.
HAS IT BEEN MODIFIED?
We got a secondhand set of Eunos 14-inch alloy wheels off the internet for £110 and replaced the seats with new leather ones – to the original specification with speakers in the headrests – for £550.
WHAT’S LEFT TO DO ON IT?
Nothing. The car looks fantastic and is a pleasure to drive. We’ve even taken it to a couple of car shows. We have spent the best part of £10k on the car having it professionally restored, so what do you think its current valuation might be?
WHAT WE THINK IT’S WORTH - £5000
Russ Smith, CCW’s price expert: ‘Good early MX-5s are getting increasingly hard to find, especially ones that have had this kind of love lavished upon them. Values are creeping steadily upwards but are still being held back by sheer weight of numbers, though there is a premium on original UK cars. This is what I think you should insure it for now. Hang on to it for a while, though, and that value will only go up.’
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