Just Bought an MX5 :D
Discussion
Hey everybody,
I have to wait until Friday to pick it up, but here she is:

It has 91000 miles on the clock. I was worried that was a bit much but after a few miles of test driving everything felt pretty tight.
The gearshift is so damn lovely too.
Also, I've been looking for a wind deflector on Ebay. Can anyone point me as to which one is best?
The car is a 1998 1.8
Kind regards,
Matt
P.S. Can't wait to take it to North Wales for a test drive and the PH shows on the South Coast.
I've ordered a smiley so those of you around Southampton may spot me sometime
I have to wait until Friday to pick it up, but here she is:

It has 91000 miles on the clock. I was worried that was a bit much but after a few miles of test driving everything felt pretty tight.
The gearshift is so damn lovely too.
Also, I've been looking for a wind deflector on Ebay. Can anyone point me as to which one is best?
The car is a 1998 1.8

Kind regards,
Matt
P.S. Can't wait to take it to North Wales for a test drive and the PH shows on the South Coast.
I've ordered a smiley so those of you around Southampton may spot me sometime

Munter said:
Nice. It's a colour that I really like and 90k is barely run in!
I really like the colour too. I passed my local Audi dealer the other day and the cars on the forecourt consisted of:Black
Silver
White
Grey.
In a world of 50 Shades of Drizzle, The Mazda's colour looks great

RE: The mileage: I was surprised at how nicely the car drove with the amount of miles it has. It felt tight. Are the water pumps an issue with these cars? How do examples with over 100k miles get on? I looked into the engine design and it comes across as relatively solid.
The sills are fine, brand new MOT. There is a tiny surface rust patch on the drivers side underneath near the rear wheel. It's on a cosmetic part at the moment but risks spreading to the structural members. It's being fixed before I take delivery.
It's been a very, very long week so far. I need Friday now!
Edited by BeirutTaxi on Tuesday 26th February 21:48
Looks like a nice example and 91k miles is nothing for these cars.
As for the best wind-blocker, the Oris Windstop is the most effective closely followed by the Classic Mesh one. There are other that fit on "style bars" but personally I'd just get a standard Mk2 MX5 windblocker (I'm surprised there isn't one already on the car. I thought all Mk2 1.8 came with them).
As for the best wind-blocker, the Oris Windstop is the most effective closely followed by the Classic Mesh one. There are other that fit on "style bars" but personally I'd just get a standard Mk2 MX5 windblocker (I'm surprised there isn't one already on the car. I thought all Mk2 1.8 came with them).
The standards Mk2 windblocker works really well, sure you'll get one off ebay etc cheaply.
Ref waterpump - they do go eventually, but not catastrophically. If the belts coming off, change it, but I wouldnt do it prematurely.
If you notice any coolant loss, leaks from the waterpump can be seen by coolant residue down at the very front of the sump, near the crank pulley. Ignore the where any drips are on the floor, as sometimes leaks drain onto the undertrya and drip off somewhere else.
Good buy, so long as the chassis is sound, not a lot (in fact, absolutely nothing in my experience) will go wrong!
Ref waterpump - they do go eventually, but not catastrophically. If the belts coming off, change it, but I wouldnt do it prematurely.
If you notice any coolant loss, leaks from the waterpump can be seen by coolant residue down at the very front of the sump, near the crank pulley. Ignore the where any drips are on the floor, as sometimes leaks drain onto the undertrya and drip off somewhere else.
Good buy, so long as the chassis is sound, not a lot (in fact, absolutely nothing in my experience) will go wrong!
snotrag said:
Good buy, so long as the chassis is sound
Thanks for the replies everyone 
I had another poke around underneath today and there is more corrosion than I first thought. It's not drastic though.
The main point of concern is on the drivers side near the rear wheel. With minor points of concern being a few bubbles of corrosion spots just starting to appear along the sill.
I'm thinking about stripping back all of the paint/underseal on the sills, re-undersealing and painting. Not sure if this is a necessary route though? I really don't want corrosion to eat into my new investment!

Matt.
BeirutTaxi said:
Thanks for the replies everyone 
I had another poke around underneath today and there is more corrosion than I first thought. It's not drastic though.
The main point of concern is on the drivers side near the rear wheel. With minor points of concern being a few bubbles of corrosion spots just starting to appear along the sill.
I'm thinking about stripping back all of the paint/underseal on the sills, re-undersealing and painting. Not sure if this is a necessary route though? I really don't want corrosion to eat into my new investment!
Matt.
Usually it's coming through from the inside. So if you can see it, there's not much you can do to stop it. It's not a stone chip situation.
I had another poke around underneath today and there is more corrosion than I first thought. It's not drastic though.
The main point of concern is on the drivers side near the rear wheel. With minor points of concern being a few bubbles of corrosion spots just starting to appear along the sill.
I'm thinking about stripping back all of the paint/underseal on the sills, re-undersealing and painting. Not sure if this is a necessary route though? I really don't want corrosion to eat into my new investment!

Matt.
I'd take some photos and put them up here if you want to know if the rust you can see is the usual.
If you can see rust on the sills then they will need cut out and welded unfortunately. Good thing is that it's pretty common and should only cost a few hundred to be put right by a body shop. Just don't leave it too long. This is what I did before fixing and the rust had started to eat the inner sill that is structural. It's all good now though.
What's the front chassis legs like? I believe the mk2's can go there as well.
What's the front chassis legs like? I believe the mk2's can go there as well.
If you can see rust on the sills then they will need cut out and welded unfortunately. Good thing is that it's pretty common and should only cost a few hundred to be put right by a body shop. Just don't leave it too long. This is what I did before fixing and the rust had started to eat the inner sill that is structural. It's all good now though.
What's the front chassis legs like? I believe the mk2's can go there as well.
What's the front chassis legs like? I believe the mk2's can go there as well.
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