Would welding put you off?
Discussion
Theres a car just down the road from me that sounds OK, but the owner admits that its just had sills and floorplan welded.
I've only had two cars with bodywork in the past and both were a pain in the long term with rust coming through.
My inclination is to find a rust free car and dinitrol it, but so many are as rusty as a rusty thing.
How much would recent welding and paint put you off?
I've only had two cars with bodywork in the past and both were a pain in the long term with rust coming through.
My inclination is to find a rust free car and dinitrol it, but so many are as rusty as a rusty thing.
How much would recent welding and paint put you off?
if it was all rust proofed inside, every single bit of rot cut out and replaced with clean metal, and a thorough job was carried out, then it may be in better condition than one that hasn't been sorted. i think eventually most of them start to go.
i've just had mine done, picking it up tomorrow. i'm not expecting to ever have a problem with the sills again.
the work costs about £800. it's only going to be done on cars worth saving
i've just had mine done, picking it up tomorrow. i'm not expecting to ever have a problem with the sills again.
the work costs about £800. it's only going to be done on cars worth saving
wot 'e said, basically.
Theres a big difference in quality - I've seen many that are quite literally 'patched up' with a chunk of rectangular steel welded by stevie wonder onto the outside of the sill. This I would avoid.
But a proper repair, with replacement panel sections, cut, welded, treated and painted in, all done nicely, i wouldn't worry about it.
Just use your common sense when checking it over and try get the full details of what work has been carried out.
Theres a big difference in quality - I've seen many that are quite literally 'patched up' with a chunk of rectangular steel welded by stevie wonder onto the outside of the sill. This I would avoid.
But a proper repair, with replacement panel sections, cut, welded, treated and painted in, all done nicely, i wouldn't worry about it.
Just use your common sense when checking it over and try get the full details of what work has been carried out.
Try and find an import which hasn't been in the UK for too long? Many will be far nicer than UK examples.
My car is a 1992 mk1 Eunos and I can't find even a pinhead sized area of rust on the body.I have seen numerous Uk cars which had less mileage and were a few years newer and they looked like they had been kept underwater!
A couple of my friends who are also interested in MX5's, said that after looking around, they will now only consider an import.
My car is a 1992 mk1 Eunos and I can't find even a pinhead sized area of rust on the body.I have seen numerous Uk cars which had less mileage and were a few years newer and they looked like they had been kept underwater!
A couple of my friends who are also interested in MX5's, said that after looking around, they will now only consider an import.
buy on condition.
i bought an mx5 qith 190,000 on the clock, its has bubbles on the arches. the sills are strong as, no bad signs, mot man even commented that for the mileage / age it is remarkably good underneath.
if it has had the work done then you could be onto a winner, get underneath it, ask for it to be jacked up etc etc
you can always have the cavities protected after you buy it etc.
i bought an mx5 qith 190,000 on the clock, its has bubbles on the arches. the sills are strong as, no bad signs, mot man even commented that for the mileage / age it is remarkably good underneath.
if it has had the work done then you could be onto a winner, get underneath it, ask for it to be jacked up etc etc
you can always have the cavities protected after you buy it etc.
You don't necessarily need to buy from a specialist. Look for a recent import from Japan. I looked at two cars that were offered for sale privately recently and both were very clean and sound in the area where the rear wheel arch and sill meet. One was imported in 2003 (a 1993 K plate) and the other in 2006 (a 1992 J plate).
My own car was imported in 2006 and I spent over 12 months looking for a structurally sound car within my budget. Have some patience and keep looking, you will find the right car for you.
Supply of freshly imported Mk1s from Japan in drying up now but good cars are out there and for sale privately. Keep an open mind, paintwork defects can sometimes be easily repaired and what seems to be high mileage may not necessarily be a problem.
There are a multitude of panels that are welded together in the area inboard of the rear end of the sills and much of the structural integrity built into this area of the car relies on the metal being intact here. What seems like a simple plating exercise on the outer sill may in fact turn out to be a complex repair and impractical to eradicate all of the rot.
Look for a car where the sill drain points are clear. If you unblock them and a significant amount of contaminated water streams out of the sills then fear the worst.
My own car was imported in 2006 and I spent over 12 months looking for a structurally sound car within my budget. Have some patience and keep looking, you will find the right car for you.
Supply of freshly imported Mk1s from Japan in drying up now but good cars are out there and for sale privately. Keep an open mind, paintwork defects can sometimes be easily repaired and what seems to be high mileage may not necessarily be a problem.
There are a multitude of panels that are welded together in the area inboard of the rear end of the sills and much of the structural integrity built into this area of the car relies on the metal being intact here. What seems like a simple plating exercise on the outer sill may in fact turn out to be a complex repair and impractical to eradicate all of the rot.
Look for a car where the sill drain points are clear. If you unblock them and a significant amount of contaminated water streams out of the sills then fear the worst.
Edited by ronime on Thursday 3rd June 23:12
Edited by ronime on Thursday 3rd June 23:14
skinny said:
if it was all rust proofed inside, every single bit of rot cut out and replaced with clean metal, and a thorough job was carried out, then it may be in better condition than one that hasn't been sorted. i think eventually most of them start to go.
i've just had mine done, picking it up tomorrow. i'm not expecting to ever have a problem with the sills again.
the work costs about £800. it's only going to be done on cars worth saving
I was speaking with an MX-5 specialist the other day, a couple of years ago he would have scrapped cars in this state but now he considers some of them worth repairing due to dwindling supply of fresh imports and rising retail values for good examples.i've just had mine done, picking it up tomorrow. i'm not expecting to ever have a problem with the sills again.
the work costs about £800. it's only going to be done on cars worth saving
5harp3y said:
buy on condition.
i bought an mx5 qith 190,000 on the clock, its has bubbles on the arches. the sills are strong as, no bad signs, mot man even commented that for the mileage / age it is remarkably good underneath.
if it has had the work done then you could be onto a winner, get underneath it, ask for it to be jacked up etc etc
you can always have the cavities protected after you buy it etc.
Glad it's still going strong for you mate - still missing iti bought an mx5 qith 190,000 on the clock, its has bubbles on the arches. the sills are strong as, no bad signs, mot man even commented that for the mileage / age it is remarkably good underneath.
if it has had the work done then you could be onto a winner, get underneath it, ask for it to be jacked up etc etc
you can always have the cavities protected after you buy it etc.
Gassing Station | Mazda MX5/Roadster/Miata | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff