The MX-5 is back!
After almost four years of enjoying my NBFL Phoenix, rust finally started to win. It had already needed some welding for the last inspection, and at the time I went for the cheaper fix. Not exactly the perfect long-term solution, but good enough to keep it going for a little while.
Eventually I decided to let it go. Partly because of the rust, but also because I was driving around 120 km every day for my internship. As much as I loved the car, an old MX-5 in the darker, wetter months is not exactly the perfect daily driver.
The sensible daily
After a lot of research, I ended up buying a Ford Fiesta Metal. A naturally aspirated 1.6 with 134 hp, fairly reliable, fun enough on paper, and still within the budget I had in mind.
And to be fair, it was a perfectly fine car. It did everything it needed to do. But that was kind of the problem too: it became transport. I drove it from A to B, parked it, and that was it.
With the MX-5, weekends usually meant taking the long way home, finding small roads, or just going for a drive because the weather was nice. With the Fiesta, I never really felt that same pull. So for about half a year I kept saying the same thing: one day, there will be another MX-5.
Why another MX-5?
I did briefly look at other cars, but nothing really beats the fun-per-euro factor of a Miata. They are light, simple, reliable, and playful in a way that makes even normal roads feel fun.
Maintenance was also part of the decision. Most common repairs are well documented, parts are easy to find, and a lot of the work is still doable at home. For the kind of car I wanted, that made the MX-5 the obvious choice again.
The search begins
A few months ago I put the Fiesta on Marktplaats and started looking seriously again. The wish list was pretty specific: an MX-5 NB facelift, preferably black or the dark grey Phoenix colour I had before, under 150k kilometres, and most importantly: no rust!
Besides that, I was hoping for decent brand-name tyres, nice alloys, a waterproof soft top, and ideally a recently replaced timing belt. Nothing too crazy, but with these cars, the condition matters way more than the spec sheet.
After about three weeks of checking every Dutch car site I could think of, I still couldn’t find the right one. Either the mileage was too high, the rust situation was sketchy, or the car just didn’t feel like the one.
Looking across the border
So I started looking in Germany. And then, after a bit of searching, there it was. A 2002 MX-5 NBFL 1.6i 16V Touring with 110 hp, weighing just around 1000 kg. The right look, good mileage, solid maintenance, nice wheels, decent tyres, and still within budget.
The only catch? It was in Altena, Germany. Around 300 km away.
Still, it seemed worth a serious look. I contacted the seller, asked the usual questions, checked the photos about seventeen times, and did some research into importing a car from Germany.
That research quickly made one thing clear: driving it back myself would be a lot of hassle. Export plates, temporary German insurance, sorting paperwork in German, and on top of that, most of the offices you need are closed during the weekend. Not ideal.
So we went with the trailer option.
We picked up an auto trailer and made the trip to Germany. It was a long drive. The kind of drive where you have plenty of time to wonder whether you’re being smart, stupid, or exactly the right mix of both. But at that point I was already too invested. If the car was as good as it looked, it was coming home.
Seeing the car in person
When we arrived, the car looked good. Not perfect, but good. There were two small spots above the rear wheel arches that had been repaired at some point, although not very neatly. The soft top was dry, but it did show some age-related cracks.
Other than that, it was actually pretty solid. The paint looked nice, it had Hankook Ventus Prime 3 tyres with a good amount of profile left, the engine ran great, and the maintenance history was promising.
New shock absorbers all around. New brake pads all around. New front discs and calipers. Timing belt replaced around 10k kilometres ago. All the stuff you really want to see when buying an older MX-5.
Deal done
Because of the small spots near the arches, I managed to negotiate the price down a bit. After that, the decision was easy enough.
The MX-5 was back.
We loaded it onto the trailer, strapped it down, and started the long drive home. Seeing it in the mirror on the trailer felt pretty surreal. After months of looking, and after saying “there will be another one” for way too long, there it was.
The waiting game
On the way back, I immediately booked an appointment with the RDW for the import inspection. That was the responsible thing to do. The annoying part? The first available slot was July 3rd.
Almost a month away.
I checked Zwolle, Heerenveen and Groningen, but no luck. July 3rd was the first real option. So for now, the car is safely stored in Bolsward, waiting for the paperwork to catch up.
Not exactly ideal, especially because it means a few more weeks of cycling to work. But honestly, I’m just happy it’s here.
