Mazda MX5

[Ashtrax]

I'm weighing up an mx5 to tinker with as a beginner as many people have recommended them for their simplicity. What I'm worried about is how big an issue rust seems to be. Can anyone give me any pointers, recommendations or alternatives?

Many thanks in advance
Ash

[E-bmw]

Rust is only an issue on a rusty car, buy a rust free one & it won't be an issue.

I would be more concerned with the Japanese propensity to use plasticine nuts & bolts that rust & seize at the first sign of an English winter causing many burst knuckles & broken fixings & additional work.

[Evoluzione]

You don't say which model, but yes they are good if you want to practice your bodywork and welding skills.

[Ashtrax]

Evoluzione said:

You don't say which model, but yes they are good if you want to practice your bodywork and welding skills.

Sorry, didn't want to give too much information as I wanted a broad picture as to which mk is best.

I'm looking at mk1 and mk2 for around £1000 or thereabouts. I'm not expecting anything mint obviously but hoping to get something with an mot and as little rust as possible. Apart from that I'm open to anything.

I'm someone who's never done anything mechanical but in last fewv months I've joined a basic mechanics course at local college which does one night a week and let's you get under a car. I'm not going to be able to do my major work on the cars but I'm hoping to be able to do alot more than I could do and hopefully keep the cost down.

If anyone has any advice/pearls of wisdom with mazdas like what to look for with rust, where to look when weighing up buying one, how much replacing rusty areas etc then please just say anything. I know very little so any information is appreciated,

Many thanks

[MRichards99]

For ~£1000, you're only gonna find rust buckets, until you can find the occasional hidden gem (they are about, you can find some gems for £1500-£2000 if you travel and snap them up quickly). ~£2000, some patience and an eager eye should get you a fairly rust free mk1/2 MX5 (much more likely to be a mk2 as mk1 prices are starting to go through the roof). As some say, there is no such thing as a rust free MX5 in the UK. If you're just interested in the spannering side of things, you can do that on any car really - normal 'boring' cars can easily be picked up for £1000 (Fiestas, Focus gen 1, Yaris, Corsa that type of thing) but obviously not like an MX5 to drive.

[justinio]

You'll be very lucky to get an MX5 for £1000 with no rust.

Mk1's rot at the cills where the drain holes for the soft top become clogged and collect water.

Mk2's rot the chassis rails.

The engines on these were pretty much bomb proof. It's the rust that kills them. Go into it with eyes wide open and a mig welder, and you'll be fine.

[feef]

justinio said:

You'll be very lucky to get an MX5 for £1000 with no rust.

Mk1's rot at the cills where the drain holes for the soft top become clogged and collect water.

Mk2's rot the chassis rails as well as the sills

The engines on these were pretty much bomb proof. It's the rust that kills them. Go into it with eyes wide open and a mig welder, and you'll be fine.

FIFY

[Ashtrax]

justinio said:

You'll be very lucky to get an MX5 for £1000 with no rust.

Mk1's rot at the cills where the drain holes for the soft top become clogged and collect water.

Mk2's rot the chassis rails.

The engines on these were pretty much bomb proof. It's the rust that kills them. Go into it with eyes wide open and a mig welder, and you'll be fine.

If I was to get sills/chassis rails sorted at a garage have you any idea how much this would likely cost? So what I'm really asking is, is it worth buying one that's a bit rusty but cheaper then getting work done afterwards?

[MRichards99]

Ashtrax said:

If I was to get sills/chassis rails sorted at a garage have you any idea how much this would likely cost? So what I'm really asking is, is it worth buying one that's a bit rusty but cheaper then getting work done afterwards?

MX5s have an inner and outer sill, making it much more complex than a typical car. A garage will likely just wield a plate on top for a few hundred (not sure on rough cost, someone correct me if I'm wrong). The plate should last a couple of years if you get a good one done however it can look a bit of a mess (you need to look at some pictures of plated MX5s on eBay and decide if you'd be happy with it). You can get an MX5 specialist (I imagine some bodyshops would do it too) to properly cut the rust out, fabricate brand new metal and respray it. My dad's mk1 had inner & outer sills at both sides, plus a bit of wheelarch for ~£1400. MX5 specialists are cashing in now every MX5 needs wielding up. In fairness it now looks pretty good under there and we've done the rust protection (add an extra couple hundred if you want the wielder to do that) so it's good now

Edited by MRichards99 on Wednesday 2nd May 10:18

[feef]

Ashtrax said:

justinio said:

You'll be very lucky to get an MX5 for £1000 with no rust.

Mk1's rot at the cills where the drain holes for the soft top become clogged and collect water.

Mk2's rot the chassis rails.

The engines on these were pretty much bomb proof. It's the rust that kills them. Go into it with eyes wide open and a mig welder, and you'll be fine.

If I was to get sills/chassis rails sorted at a garage have you any idea how much this would likely cost? So what I'm really asking is, is it worth buying one that's a bit rusty but cheaper then getting work done afterwards?

I got mine done by a local bodyshop for £600, both sides. After 5 , maybe 6 years there is some evidence of rust appearing through the paint at one of the welds, but it's still solid enough

[Belle427]

Try to find one with the sills already done, we bought a mk 1 with them already done for £1000,the invoice for the sill work was £600.
Obviously its a minefield as to what has been done properly but you will find something.

[Ashtrax]

Belle427 said:

Try to find one with the sills already done, we bought a mk 1 with them already done for £1000,the invoice for the sill work was £600.
Obviously its a minefield as to what has been done properly but you will find something.

How long ago was it that you bought the car?

Thanks for all the advice and help, I feel like I'm late to the party for mx5s that aren't a minefield.

[Ashtrax]

Also, is there a mazda specialist people would recommend, or any specialist etc? I live just outside Manchester so anywhere in the North would be preferable. Seems to be alot of places are importing them now and suggesting rust prevention methods as opposed to a UK car that's cheaper but dealing with the rust.

Would people recommend any other small two seater or similar that are mechanically simple as an alternative to an mx5?

[227bhp]

I'd recommend doing some of your own research, particularly in the MX5 section on here.
Oh and spending more money on an Mx5 if rust is not your thing.
Use the search facility also to drag out threads on the MR2 Mk3 (readers cars) and get reading.

Ditching your phone and viewing the internet via something a bit better suited to it is also a very good idea, it's easy to get bored, lazy and expectant of others when viewing what is a vast world of knowledge via a pinhole.

[Ashtrax]

227bhp said:

I'd recommend doing some of your own research, particularly in the MX5 section on here.
Oh and spending more money on an Mx5 if rust is not your thing.
Use the search facility also to drag out threads on the MR2 Mk3 (readers cars) and get reading.

Ditching your phone and viewing the internet via something a bit better suited to it is also a very good idea, it's easy to get bored, lazy and expectant of others when viewing what is a vast world of knowledge via a pinhole.

Unfortunately I dont have a PC or anything better to view the Internet. I have been reading previous threads on this site and others but as some of these threads are now several years old I wasn't sure how relevant they now were.

Re: the mx5 section of the site, I didn't know there was a section as I've only started viewing the main part of the site over the last two months but thanks I will check it out.

[Dave.]

I did this about a year ago, and wish I'd got something other than an mx5.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fun car, but I've spent double the cars value on upgrades and fixes an it's still slow and rusty...

[Belle427]

Ashtrax said:

Belle427 said:

Try to find one with the sills already done, we bought a mk 1 with them already done for £1000,the invoice for the sill work was £600.
Obviously its a minefield as to what has been done properly but you will find something.

How long ago was it that you bought the car?

Thanks for all the advice and help, I feel like I'm late to the party for mx5s that aren't a minefield.

About a year ago.

[buzzer]

There are still a few relatively rust free MK1 imports around for £1500 if you are quick. I looked at one last month for a friend and he snapped it up. Just a little bit of rust on the sills that patched up easily. When i cut the rust out i could see the inner sill was fine. He loves it!

I would steer away from the MK2 as so many have rusty sills AND chassis.

They are simple to work on, plenty of new and second hand parts around cheap and i think its a good car to learn on. I have had mine a few years now and keep a blog on it...

https://jtccc.wordpress.com/our-cars/about/

[Belle427]

Cracking cars to drive though, i find them a little too cramped for me but im about 6 foot with a heavy build!
Love to try a supercharged or turbocharged version.
As said easy to work on and and parts are reasonable.

[Ashtrax]

buzzer said:

There are still a few relatively rust free MK1 imports around for £1500 if you are quick. I looked at one last month for a friend and he snapped it up. Just a little bit of rust on the sills that patched up easily. When i cut the rust out i could see the inner sill was fine. He loves it!

I would steer away from the MK2 as so many have rusty sills AND chassis.

They are simple to work on, plenty of new and second hand parts around cheap and i think its a good car to learn on. I have had mine a few years now and keep a blog on it...

https://jtccc.wordpress.com/our-cars/about/

Many thanks, reassuring to hear! Will have detailed look at your blog but just had a glance and looks like the cars kept you busy?!

I saw this one pop up on autotrader this morning and thought everything looks pretty OK. It doesn't mention anything about rust or replacing sills but it's just been MOTd so unless it's got advisories on it it sounds OK. I'm not in a position to buy this at the moment but I'm just trying to keep my eye out just in case the Mrs gives me the go ahead :s

https://www.royscars.co.uk/used-cars/mazda-mx-5-1-...