A rather corroded MX5

[andy118run]

Couldn't resist a little post on this MX5 which has popped up on Gumtree local to me.

Seems a bit of a bargain at £950/£995 (depends where you look) for a 75000 mile mark 2.5 car. Plus the fella seems a bit of an enthusiast, with another MX5 in the background.

Here's the car -



With my interest sufficiently stirred, I had a quick peek at the MOT history of NU54AXV.


Nice to see it has 363 days worth of MOT (May 2020), with just one slightly dubious advisory for 'vehicle showing signs of corrosion, not excessive'.


That's until you look at the list of 11 failures on the MOT, less than 4 weeks previous to this:

Refusal Notices

1.Nearside front vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced (6.1.1 (c) (i)) - Major
2.Offside front vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced (6.1.1 (c) (i)) - Major
.3Nearside front suspension component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (5.3.6 (a) (i)) - Major
4.Offside front suspension component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (5.3.6 (a) (i)) - Major
5.Offside rear battery insecure and likely to fall from carrier floor corroded (4.13 (a) (ii)) - Major
6.Nearside rear floor excessively deteriorated (6.2.4 (a) (i)) - Major
7.Nearside front floor excessively deteriorated floor to sill (6.2.4 (a) (i)) - Major
8.Offside front floor excessively deteriorated floor to sill (6.2.4 (a) (i)) - Major
9.Nearside rear floor excessively deteriorated floor to sill (6.2.4 (a) (i)) - Major
10.Offside front anti-roll bar linkage insecurely attached (5.3.3 (a) (i)) - Major
11.Offside front lower suspension arm ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i)) - Major

Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree but is it really within the realms of possibility to correct these major faults, I assume with a bit of welding, and pass the MOT with 1 advisory a few weeks later?

[toastyhamster]

Pay a garage, they'd weld it up no bother. They could sort the mis-matched colour on the drivers door while they're at it.

If it's all been done then it looks a decent price but you'll never know until you see it.

[A1VDY]

Likely just a few minor bits of rot here and there with a jobsworth mot tester marking it down as serious. If it's had the work done and now has a new mot what's to worry about? It's just an old cheap used car..

[MG CHRIS]

Mx5 especially 2.5 rust horrificly that fail is well within the normal areas of rust. I would be wanting pictures of the work done and proof too.
Personally I would walk away either buy a mk1 or get a mk3 that don't rust we'll not to same levels.

[LarsG]

I'd be running for the hills. Wonder is someone has driven it in a beach for a laugh.

Sounds like it was a 'just get it through the MoT and I'm selling it quick'.
You could offer £300 and get a years motoring out of it, if the seat doesn't fall out onto the road or the wheels come off.

Edited by LarsG on Monday 13th May 20:47

[kuro]

A few weeks is probably enough time to sort that out tbh although even if it was fixed I wouldn't touch it. I recently came across a mk2 with a local trader and like you I ran an mot check out of curiosity. It too had failed it's mot with similar list of corrosion to the chassis legs, cills etc. Alarmingly the car went through a re-test the following day and was given a clean bill of health!

[Evolved]

Run, don’t walk. Rust, rust, rust.

[Yadizzle1]

If it's local check under the bonnet and have a look at the chassis rails, if they're showing signs of swelling or are straight up cracked then leave it well alone. They do make panels to fix all the rust and it's not a bad job if you can do it yourself but gets quite expensive to pay someone else to do it.

https://www.themx5restorer.co.uk/services/welding-...

Probably worth doubling the budget and looking for a nice one with a fresh-ish mot without any advisories for corrosion if you actually want an mx5. Mk1's are a lot less rust prone than a mk2 or mk2.5 and a bit retro to boot.

[anonymous-user]

Anyone else thinking that 'enthusiasts' don't have proper price signs for the windscreen?

Hundreds of other MX5's for sale. I wouldn't want to be paying more than £500 for that particular example in the knowledge that it probably wont be going through another test.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Run run run !

I've had too many rusty mazdas !!

I thought my mk1 was alful for rust then realised the mk2s are worse !!

[vodkamartini1]

I’d recommend checking your tetanus injection is up to date before test driving that.

[Jamescrs]

If it had had a proper rust repair done it would be worth significantly more than the seller is asking, it does sound like hes trying to sell it quick while it has a decent length ticket on it and the other MX-5 in the background suggests he has already sourced a replacement

[Andy 308GTB]

I would look at who did the first MOT and who did the second MOT - I would doubt they are the same garage/tester. Someone has turned a blind eye to the rot.

[EazyDuz]

MX5, the chocolate teapot of the motoring world. Incredibly overrated, I dont care how it drives, a car build in the past 20 years should not rust like a car build 70 years ago

[Hub]

If it passed the MOT it has been fixed - but to what standard?

New door from the scrappy at some point too?

[carinaman]

It's an MX-5 doing the classic British roadster homage properly.

[drgoatboy]

It's not a place near leighton buzzard is it? Your profile suggests not but there is a chap in that part of the world who does a bit of trading and breaking mx5s and the house looks familiar.

[1602Mark]

I bought a newly MOT'd '05 plate 'icon' model last weekend myself. (BT05 LVM) It's just had close to £1000 spent on it, including all new brakes, full service and only welding was done about 6 months ago. (slight corrosion to rear of inner sills) I paid £1050 for it.

Walk away and buy one that doesn't have an MOT history like that one does.

[designforlife]

Check the front chassis legs, they are probably swiss cheese.

[andy118run]

drgoatboy said:

It's not a place near leighton buzzard is it? Your profile suggests not but there is a chap in that part of the world who does a bit of trading and breaking mx5s and the house looks familiar.

Not sure if the ad is still up, didn't save it to my gumtree. Pretty sure the location was Hemsby (Norfolk coast) which may be one explanation as to why it seems to have rusted badly, I suppose.