Looking to buy first mx5, is this a good'un?

[Rusty1]

Hey,

I've always liked them and chatting with a mate about a euro trip and trackdays made me end up browsing the classified and gumtree.
ran an insurance quote for a 1.6 mk1 mx5 and it came out about £400 fully comp, protected ncb, 24 living in a postcode usually on fire.

I thought that wasn't bad so searched and found this 1.8l mk2(i think its mk2), so re-did the quote thinking it would go up but nope, £320 for all the same as above.

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/mx5-...

i contacted him and got this email back,

"The engine runs smoothly. It's not one of the nails that doesn't idle and only pulls when thrashed.
It's running spot on and the new plugs, coil and leads mean its revving clean and its got a lifetime Pipercross filter too so it can be taken out, washed and oiled then put back in.
Clutch is fine. Bites strongly. Usual high Mx5 action but this can be modded to suit the driver. I didn't as it didn't bother me as I'm a 6'1" and rest my foot behind the pedal on longer runs.

There's the usual bubbling on the rear arches. Even some 2004 models seem to have this as Mazda don't fit them with rear inner arches. It's not an expensive fix and I had planned to get it done but due to family bereavements its been put on the back burner as its not desperate. It doesn't have the issue that many have with the outer wing rusting next to the battery. The sills are solid. That's the important bit as if they're rotten you may as well write them off unless you're good at welding.

It's got a set of refurbed back callipers as they frequently bind solid. I had the chance of getting a set and grabbed it rather than have them go on me. The next job I was going to do was fit a set of braided front hoses. This helps with the feel and it'll get rid of the rubber ones . Well worth the £40.

The roof doesn't leak. It had a few small bits of feathering around the drivers door which is fairly standard and it'll last a another few years. I think it's the on its second hood which again is about right for its age.
The reason I'm selling it is my wife has decided that as a second car I need to get a four seated convertible so the kids can enjoy it. I beg to differ as the car was for me but I was overruled. "

then after asking a bit more and asking when i could go see it i go this reply,

"I am a bit of a saddo. Honestly I don't want to sell it but I've grown quite find of the wife and kids and I'd hate to see them go.

I meant to say that there's a full set of suspension for the car too. Springs and shocks from a 15000 mile Nevada model. I got them as I heard a knocking from the boot and chose to buy before investigating. Turned out to be the locking wheel nut in the spare wheel well had fallen loose. Kept them 'just in case' due to the state of the roads. "

sorry for the long post, but what do you think?
worth it? anything I should look for?

Cheers!
Adam

[NRS]

Depends what he counts as not expensive,

From what I understand in the UK the arches are around £2-300 per side. Need to cut rotten part out, weld in new part and repaint.

[Rusty1]

is the bubbling serious and needs fixed or is it able to be left? (like bubbling on a vx220)

at least that gives me a bit of negotiation.

Anything else?

[NRS]

Eventually it will result in an MOT failure. They rust from inside out so could be worse than it looks. In the same way you can get a car that looks good and find it pretty soon after.

The main issues are written on the guide at the top of the MX-5 forum. Have a look there and then come back with other questions or more detailed ones if you need something clarified!

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Rids64]

Rusty arches are usually just cosmetic rather than an MOT failure, it's the sills that you need to be more concerned about and, on a Mk2 like this, I believe the chassis legs are a potential big issue.

http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/forums/t/46836.aspx

[Rusty1]

Yeah i'd read the guide at the top of the forum but just wanted some friendly advice on this specific one and if it was a good price for it or not.

Cheers for the help so far. might go see it tonight!

[Munter]

Rids64 said:

Rusty arches are usually just cosmetic rather than an MOT failure, it's the sills that you need to be more concerned about and, on a Mk2 like this, I believe the chassis legs are a potential big issue.

http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/forums/t/46836.aspx

And people don't know to look for it. So OP, you'll have to get under there and poke about to know. Which begs another question. What do you do after you poke a door key/screwdriver/marshmallow through a "structural" part of someone elses car...?

[Rusty1]

say " a big boy did it and ran away"
followed by me running?

[MX-5 Lazza]

Always ask if it's ok to poke around at it first. If they say it's ok then it's their problem. If they say no then just walk away.

[NRS]

Munter said:

And people don't know to look for it. So OP, you'll have to get under there and poke about to know. Which begs another question. What do you do after you poke a door key/screwdriver/marshmallow through a "structural" part of someone elses car...?

I guess it's also interesting in regards to what do people do when they discover this on their potentially £4000 car? Pay over a grand to fix it, scrape it (depending on price of car) or sell it on? Obviously the selling on is not good, but how many people are going to do it compared to a big loss financially?

I had a bit of a poke around today and car seems fine (thank goodness)!

[Rusty1]

Thanks for all the advice,

went to see it tonight,
had a poke about, normal rust under the car for its age but nothing scary,
sills look brilliant and arches had a little bit of bubbling but nothing major.

Took for a test drive and was very impressed so it now is sitting outside my flat!