WHY I LOVE MY MX-5

I’ve owned six MX-5s – four of them MkIs. My first, in 1991, was a competition prize from CAR magazine – a Limited Edition in British Racing Green with tan leather. In 2014, bored with my concours restored Midget, I decided I needed another MX-5. It had to be a MkI, for that original purity and simplicity of design (so right from day one) and the pop-up headlights. Knowing time and salted roads have taken their toll on the vast majority of UK MkIs, I decided to import a Eunos from Japan, enlisting the help of Autolink UK. I wanted a VR-Limited in Excellent Green Mica with black leather interior. I thought I’d have to wait months, but a promising one appeared at auction a week later. After an Autolink inspection, we bid up to £1705 and won. It arrived at Southampton docks three months later, complete with full Japanese service history. Autolink serviced it, fitted a rear foglight and MoT’d it. I paid £3640 in total to get it all legal and on the road, including the auction purchase, fees and transport to docks, shipping/customs clearance, import duty, VAT, UK registration, a year’s tax and Autolink’s fee. Four tyres and a new hood (the nicest mohair and glass window option) with replacement rain rail came to £700. The car has no rust anywhere; it’s actually better than I had hoped.