I have a 2007 MX-5 soft top that I bought used with 57K for $10K in 2015. Dealer sprung for new tires. No spare at all. A pleasure to drive but not comfortable for a trip. I put new rear brake pads on myself and the die cast passenger outside door handle broke off, which I replaced myself. No other problems. The handle was available on eBay but was actually less expensive at the dealer. Qualifies for Hagerty classic car insurance which is only $385 per year. Now have 65K on it and timing belt is good for 100k so probably will never get there. Corvette would probably cost a little more to own.
Pretty sure you have a timing chain, not a belt.
You are right! Timing chain, not a belt. That’s a relief. I had purchased and downloaded the shop manual and could look it up. I had purchased the car from a lot associated with a large service operation and they told me that they had brought the car up to date on its service needs. Because it was close to 60k miles at that time, I asked about the timing belt and the salesperson told me that it should be good for 100k miles. Also when I test drove it, I told the salesperson that the transmission shifted like a manual, smooth but abrupt, and he said that it was a 6 speed dual wet clutch transmission that did not have a torque converter. But the shop manual shows it as having a a torque converter. The only thing I have needed the shop manual for was to look up the part number for the broken door handle. Otherwise the car is just trouble free. All I do is just check the fluids and tire pressure every few months. Oh yeah, it needed a new battery. One day it cranked slower than normal. The battery voltage was a little low and it was a few days past the expiration date on the battery.
I’d get the trans fluid changed with Mazda-spec fluid, which I’d buy from the Mazda dealer, just to be sure.
Short Story , Several Years ago I got to Drive a Ferrari F430 , and a Lamborghini Gallardo , back to back .
The Ferrari is a Beautiful Car with fantastic Handling, But the Lambo is like a Giant Go Kart that I could not push hard enough to get into trouble. So if you are not the Best Driver then you need to look for a car with AWD . Think Mini Cooper S AWD , Audi RS ( whatever you can afford ) Subaru WRX, you get the idea
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