MX5 mk2 buying advice
Discussion
Hey guys,
I'm off to look at a 2003 1.8 Angels. It's done 66k miles and had it's cambelt changed at 53k.
I read that the mk2 is renowned for a bit of rust and having checked with the trader I'm told that there is some bubbling on the nearside rear arch. Is this something I should worry about or am I likely to find this on most mk2s?
Also any advice on what I should look for/check when viewing the car would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben
I'm off to look at a 2003 1.8 Angels. It's done 66k miles and had it's cambelt changed at 53k.
I read that the mk2 is renowned for a bit of rust and having checked with the trader I'm told that there is some bubbling on the nearside rear arch. Is this something I should worry about or am I likely to find this on most mk2s?
Also any advice on what I should look for/check when viewing the car would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben
The front chassis rails ( near where the ARB bush is mounted) is where the killer rust hides. You need to remove the plastic under tray to fully inspect this area. Don't buy a MK2 without doing this.
Rear sill rust is a common consequence of blocked rear hood drain and relatively easy and cheap to sort out compared to the front chassis rails.
Rear sill rust is a common consequence of blocked rear hood drain and relatively easy and cheap to sort out compared to the front chassis rails.
I do think rust on the MK2s and MK2.5s is pretty common unfortunately.
Bubbling around the rear of the cills is likely to be hiding something a little worse behind, but mine has the same and flew through the last couple of MOTs.
You can see the chassis rails from above, through the open bonnet. Feel the underside of those square section chassis rails as much as you can to see how much rust is there. MOT man will not spot this, because as said above, an undertray needs to be removed to see it. This is part of the car's crash structure though, and I would find another if this part was rusty on the one you are looking at.
Martin.
Bubbling around the rear of the cills is likely to be hiding something a little worse behind, but mine has the same and flew through the last couple of MOTs.
You can see the chassis rails from above, through the open bonnet. Feel the underside of those square section chassis rails as much as you can to see how much rust is there. MOT man will not spot this, because as said above, an undertray needs to be removed to see it. This is part of the car's crash structure though, and I would find another if this part was rusty on the one you are looking at.
Martin.
retroviz said:
Thanks for the replies. I don't suppose you have an image of where I should be looking in the engine bay? I've found a few images online when searching "MX5 chassis rail" but most of these are taken from underneath at weird angles.
On this bare shall picture, see those two parallel sections (running in the direction of travel, from the bulkhead to the front bumper crash structure, change in colour from white, to blue, to brown)?
Those are the chassis rails, and they rot underneath. You can squeeze your arm between the chassis rail and engine, and feel underneath.
Martin.
Thanks Martin, appreciated. I doubt that the trader will let me remove the tray underneath so this should at least give me an idea. In any case I'm going to make sure that they provide a warranty should I find that the rails have gone once I get it on some ramps.
Edited by retroviz on Tuesday 8th October 14:46
Have a look here
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I would inspect it very carefully before I bought it... unless you can do the work yourself It just does not stack up financially to buy one with rust and get it repaired...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I would inspect it very carefully before I bought it... unless you can do the work yourself It just does not stack up financially to buy one with rust and get it repaired...
I'm not sure about others' comments about bubbling arches being a cheap fix.
The mk 2.5 that I bought had just spots of rush on the sills and wheel arches. Within 18 months they were at the stage that would probably be an MOT fail. And that's with proper cleaning and clearing of drain holes under my ownership.
Cost to fix (from renowned traders): >£1000
The mk 2.5 that I bought had just spots of rush on the sills and wheel arches. Within 18 months they were at the stage that would probably be an MOT fail. And that's with proper cleaning and clearing of drain holes under my ownership.
Cost to fix (from renowned traders): >£1000
Hey guys,
Thanks for the advice, it has saved me buying a car that would have no doubt caused me a lot of problems.
This is the car I went to see. Unfortunately the sills had been really badly repaired - looks like they've just been patched up with filler rather than doing a proper job. Also, with the wheels on full lock I was able to see the front chassis rails which were badly corroded.
I then made the mistake of going to a Mazda dealership and sitting in a nearly new MX5 so I think I'll be saving for a bit longer
Thanks for the advice, it has saved me buying a car that would have no doubt caused me a lot of problems.
This is the car I went to see. Unfortunately the sills had been really badly repaired - looks like they've just been patched up with filler rather than doing a proper job. Also, with the wheels on full lock I was able to see the front chassis rails which were badly corroded.
I then made the mistake of going to a Mazda dealership and sitting in a nearly new MX5 so I think I'll be saving for a bit longer
.blue said:
I'm not sure about others' comments about bubbling arches being a cheap fix.
The mk 2.5 that I bought had just spots of rush on the sills and wheel arches. Within 18 months they were at the stage that would probably be an MOT fail. And that's with proper cleaning and clearing of drain holes under my ownership.
Cost to fix (from renowned traders): >£1000
Price to fix in Doncaster, by a specialist: £300.The mk 2.5 that I bought had just spots of rush on the sills and wheel arches. Within 18 months they were at the stage that would probably be an MOT fail. And that's with proper cleaning and clearing of drain holes under my ownership.
Cost to fix (from renowned traders): >£1000
GC8 said:
.blue said:
I'm not sure about others' comments about bubbling arches being a cheap fix.
The mk 2.5 that I bought had just spots of rush on the sills and wheel arches. Within 18 months they were at the stage that would probably be an MOT fail. And that's with proper cleaning and clearing of drain holes under my ownership.
Cost to fix (from renowned traders): >£1000
Price to fix in Doncaster, by a specialist: £300.The mk 2.5 that I bought had just spots of rush on the sills and wheel arches. Within 18 months they were at the stage that would probably be an MOT fail. And that's with proper cleaning and clearing of drain holes under my ownership.
Cost to fix (from renowned traders): >£1000
Most decent body shops want £150 to paint a single panel, so for £300 you will get a bodge job, they will filler the wings, weld plates on the sills and not bother about what's inside. The corrosion will come back worse in 12 months time, and you will be back to where you started.
Unless the "specialist" works for £10 an hour...
buzzer said:
But what sort of "fix"... to do a proper job, the rot needs to be cut out, plates, sections, maybe sills welded in, contours refinished... sills and wings painted, areas rust proofed to slow down the corrosion returning... Its pretty certain that once the sills are cut off there will be inner panel damage... all for £300?
Most decent body shops want £150 to paint a single panel, so for £300 you will get a bodge job, they will filler the wings, weld plates on the sills and not bother about what's inside. The corrosion will come back worse in 12 months time, and you will be back to where you started.
Unless the "specialist" works for £10 an hour...
The bill for my repair was 350. Most decent body shops want £150 to paint a single panel, so for £300 you will get a bodge job, they will filler the wings, weld plates on the sills and not bother about what's inside. The corrosion will come back worse in 12 months time, and you will be back to where you started.
Unless the "specialist" works for £10 an hour...
buzzer said:
GC8 said:
.blue said:
I'm not sure about others' comments about bubbling arches being a cheap fix.
The mk 2.5 that I bought had just spots of rush on the sills and wheel arches. Within 18 months they were at the stage that would probably be an MOT fail. And that's with proper cleaning and clearing of drain holes under my ownership.
Cost to fix (from renowned traders): >£1000
Price to fix in Doncaster, by a specialist: £300.The mk 2.5 that I bought had just spots of rush on the sills and wheel arches. Within 18 months they were at the stage that would probably be an MOT fail. And that's with proper cleaning and clearing of drain holes under my ownership.
Cost to fix (from renowned traders): >£1000
Most decent body shops want £150 to paint a single panel, so for £300 you will get a bodge job, they will filler the wings, weld plates on the sills and not bother about what's inside. The corrosion will come back worse in 12 months time, and you will be back to where you started.
Unless the "specialist" works for £10 an hour...
Does Garath do a better job? A bit, perhaps, but by the time that youve factored in a trip or more than likely two trips to Sussex and back, he will be 4x as expensive.
The price I reference was from Garath as having seen his posts, I'd trust him to do a good job.
It made sense to sell while I could rather than fix the sills only to risk chassis rails rusting to an unsafe level or anything else going wrong.
Tried contacting Mazda UK because despite having a FMSH, the body reports were not done by any of their main dealers and the corrosion could have been picked up well within the warranty period if they had been done. Of course, Mazda UK couldn't care less.
It made sense to sell while I could rather than fix the sills only to risk chassis rails rusting to an unsafe level or anything else going wrong.
Tried contacting Mazda UK because despite having a FMSH, the body reports were not done by any of their main dealers and the corrosion could have been picked up well within the warranty period if they had been done. Of course, Mazda UK couldn't care less.
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