Mazda MX5

iolanthe07

I'm thinking of buying a used Mazda MX5 as a second fun car for the summer, but I have read some fairly damning comments about corrosion, which is hard to spot unless you take the whole front end apart. Has anyone any experience of corrosion problems with these cars and whether they are easy to fix? Thanks.

AdrianC

There's plenty of buyer's guides in the mags and online. Early MX5s are now 25yrs old - so a bit of rot is no great surprise. Main spot is sills.

Retrogamer

Ons some car forums i noticed a few had moved to MX5's and most of them had rust issues. (Mk1 this is) The ones that were bought without rust issues people paid a fair amount for.

Even if the rust looks minor on the outside (it's usually the sills that get it the worst) it can be really bad in the parts you can't see.

This is what can be found lurking beneath the panels rust wise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAzzykUs1sE

motorguy

iolanthe07 wrote: »

I'm thinking of buying a used Mazda MX5 as a second fun car for the summer, but I have read some fairly damning comments about corrosion, which is hard to spot unless you take the whole front end apart. Has anyone any experience of corrosion problems with these cars and whether they are easy to fix? Thanks.

Whats your budget?

megaginge

If you buy a Mark 3 you'll be fine.

If you buy Mark 2, look at loads. Some will have corrosion some wont. Checking the arches and sills is very easy. If the buyer isn't happy with you checking sills walk away.

Mark 1 is total pot luck, more bad than good. What do you expect for the age. But treated ones are an absolute steal of a car for the money if you buy a good one. So much fun for 700 quid or less? Great cars honestly.


So how careful you need to be totally depends on budget

You can pay to have them rustproofed but costs as much as a mark 1 is worth to have it done ...

s_b

Like the video shows these rust badly in the rear quarter sills mainly i believe because of poor maintenance of drain holes by owners/dealers/independent garages
I had to weld one up last year
For mot work though those cover sills plug welded in the video would need to be seem welded and never take the door off and outer sill as the car could twist out of shape on a ramp.
More importantly the whole back subframes dont appear to have any corrosion protection so before buying an mx5 get an expert opinion on a ramp with regards rot
Not bad things but hard to get into at my age and of course that bonnet needs some getting used to when parking

Hoof_Hearted

These are the best fun for the money. Keep looking until you find a good one. There is something strange about them. I had a Mk 2 that was rust free but others seem to suffer really badly. I don't know why.

marlot

I have a mk3.5 which I had waxoyled just in case!

If your budget will stretch to a mk3 or 3.5 I'd recommend you do.

If you're buying a mk1 or mk2 you may need to look at a few before buying.

Richard53

I have a Mk.2 from 1999 (10th Anniversary edition). It's enormous fun and a great summer car - and not bad in winter too. Yes, rust is the thing to look out for. Sills go and wheelarches can be grotty, but those are relatively easy to spot. The chassis rails (from the bulkhead forward under the engine) are made of a curious laminate that can get moisture in between the layers and rust from the inside. I'm told that if that happens and the corrosion is advanced, the car is almost worthless. But it's not really possible to spot it without getting the car on a lift and looking behind the inner wings. Pot luck, really.


What I did was spend a grand on the car (total impulse buy, although I would recommend looking at lots first), and then the same again on having it serviced by a specialist, front to back, all fluids and belts, and any corrosion cut out and repaired. He then gave it a full cavity wax and underseal treatment. For two grand (give or take) I have a superb little sports car that should last me a good few years. The good thing is that they are mechanically very reliable and the engines are pretty much unburstable. If the body is good (or can be made good) they are excellent little cars. Not particularly fast, but every mile is an adventure.

iolanthe07

Thanks everybody. It is the hidden corrosion that worries me. My budget is up to £4K, so I might be able to get an early Mark 3 for this.

iolanthe07

Well, I've found one

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201511198835571

I'm looking at it tomorrow. I'm quite happy with a 1.6 - this is a 70th birthday present to myself, so I'm not a boy racer! I've researched dealership price valuations from What Car, the RAC, Parkers and others and they're all over the place, ranging from £1600 (Parkers) to £3450 (RAC).

Who do you believe? Why the huge discrepency?