Buyer Research

2013 Mazda MX-5 Miata — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $11,000–$17,000. This is one of the more reliable vehicles in its class — here's what to watch for anyway.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 13 Mazda MX-5 Miata years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

A late NC Miata, and NHTSA holds exactly two complaints and no recall campaigns for the year. That is a statement about how few of these were sold and how rarely their owners file, not a reliability rating — read it as a thin file, not a clean bill. Judge this one with your hands instead: cycle the roof twice, pour a bottle of water into the windshield corners and go looking for it in the footwell, and get underneath to check the rear arches and sills. The 2.0-litre MZR and the six-speed are proven parts; the roof and the bodywork are what age on this car.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 2 owner complaints for the 2013 Mazda MX-5 Miata, and no recall campaigns.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under throttle and cruise control (1), airbags (1). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2013 Mazda MX-5 Miata

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Blocked roof drains put water in the cabin, and the soft top's rear window seam lets goMedium

Every folding-roof Miata drains through small tubes behind the seats. Leaves and grit block them, the water backs up, and it ends up under the carpet in the footwell and in the spare-wheel well. The tell is a musty smell with the windows shut and a damp carpet edge you can feel with your knuckles. On the fabric top the stitching around the glass rear window also lets go with age. Clearing drains is cheap; a new top is not.

Repair cost (estimate): $150–$400 for clearing and resealing the drains; $900–$2,400 for a replacement soft top

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Power retractable hardtop can stop partway through its cycle (PRHT cars only)Medium

The folding hardtop runs on an electric motor, a set of linkages and several position sensors, and any one of them out of adjustment halts the cycle with the roof half-stowed. Ask the seller to open and close it twice while you watch and listen — it should run in one continuous, quiet sweep of about twelve seconds with no clunk or pause. A roof stuck open in the rain is the expensive version of this problem.

Repair cost (estimate): $500–$2,500

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Rust at the rear wheel arch lips, the sills and around the fuel fillerMedium

On cars that have lived where roads are salted, this generation corrodes from the rear arch lips inward and along the bottom seam of the sills. Run a fingertip inside the arch lip and look for a rough, scaly edge rather than smooth paint; look at the lower door edges and behind the front wheels too. Bubbling paint means the metal underneath is already gone. Bodywork is the single most expensive way to be disappointed by a cheap Miata.

Repair cost (estimate): $600–$3,000 depending on how many panels are involved

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Brief rattle at cold start from the variable valve timing actuatorMedium

Owners across Mazda's 2.0-litre MZR family describe a one- or two-second rattle from the front of the engine on a cold start that clears as oil pressure comes up. It is usually the variable valve timing actuator on the intake cam. We have not confirmed a Mazda bulletin for it on this year, so treat it as an owner-reported pattern, not a documented defect. Start the car stone cold — a car warmed up before you arrive hides it.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$1,100

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Damp or musty carpet under the seats, or a tide line inside the sill
✗Bubbling paint at the rear wheel arch lips or the bottom of the doors
✗A hardtop that hesitates, clunks or stops partway through its cycle
✗Vinyl separating from the stitching around the soft top's rear window
✗A rattle at cold start from the front of the engine that clears after a second or two

Good Signs

✓Roof drains cleared and a hose test run in front of you with a dry footwell after
✓Receipts for a replacement soft top or a documented reseal
✓Solid, smooth metal inside the rear arch lips on a car from a salted state
✓The hardtop cycled fully open and closed twice while you watched
✓Oil changes on the sticker and on paper, at sensible intervals