HOW MUCH HISTORY?

Service history is an important indicator of how well a car has been looked after and how much life is likely to be left in it. Don’t pay top money for a car whose service history has unexplained gaps. MX-5s are popular for drifting, track days and racing. Be wary of worn clutches, tyres, swapped or welded diffs, hydraulic handbrakes and all manner of bolt-on ‘improvements’ – or signs that they have been there in the past, such as loose wiring, holes and bracketry.