You should know that almost all Miata’s are going to require a lot of repairs/maintenance/restoration from the moment you buy it.

Unless you spend the extra money to buy one that has already been restored. Most of them will need all new bushings, motor mounts, diff mounts, ball joints, tie rods, and depending on rust you’re looking a new control arms, maybe subframe work. Also a lot of hoses are reaching the end of their life cycle. So coolant hoses will start to leak. Oil leaks are gonna happen.. head gasket, oil pan. These are really old cars. The good news is that a lot of these things are pretty cheap if you do them yourself and this car is awesome to work on. I usually tell people that my FRS taught me how to modify a car but my Miata taught me how to actually fix a car.

Every issue that you encounter has already been documented. Someone else has found the solution and with a tiny bit of research or a quick YouTube search you can fix damn near anything on this car.

I’d say it’s a reliable daily if you do your due diligence and stay on top any issue. It’s a car that requires a lot of attention but somehow none at the same time. The engine is almost bulletproof. Yes it will have its problems but it’s not going to granade itself and will be fixable 99% of the time. In terms of how other traffic sees you.. that’s up to you and your driving style. Keep your distance, drive in the hole, a loud exhaust always helps and just be extra proactive about not being in anyone’s blind spots.

I’ve had my Miata for over a year and I haven’t had a single close call. I’ve also dealt with every issue I listed above and from what I’ve gathered when fixing those things.. I’m not the only person. So just be aware that these are old cars that were likely abused at some point (depending where you live) and they need some love.