Need help with MOT

William Budd

William Budd

William Budd

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Joined
9 Mar 2020
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3
Recently got my 2003 Mazda Mx-5 MOT'd and there are quite a few issues that it says need to be done. Would like to know roughly how much it will all cost?!

  • Nearside Rear Seat belt anchorage prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced OUTER SILL (7.1.1 (a) (i))
  • Offside Rear Seat belt anchorage prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced OUTER SILL (7.1.1 (a) (i))
  • Nearside Rear Seat belt anchorage prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced INNER SILL (7.1.1 (a) (i))
  • Offside Rear Seat belt anchorage prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced INNER SILL (7.1.1 (a) (i))
  • Nearside Front Side repeater not working (4.4.1 (a) (ii))
  • Nearside Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))
  • Nearside Rear Seat belt anchorage prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced INNER WHEEL ARCH (7.1.1 (a) (i))
  • Nearside Front Lower Suspension arm ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))
  • Rear Exhaust silencer insecure REAR BOX SECURING BOLT BROKEN (8.1.1 (b) (i))
  • Nearside Rear Hydraulic brake cylinder leaking hydraulic fluid CALIPER LEAKING (1.1.16 (b) (i))
  • Offside Front Suspension component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength FLOOR CORRODED (5.3.6 (a) (i))
  • Nearside Front Service brake excessively binding (1.2.1 (f))
  • Offside Front Service brake excessively binding (1.2.1 (f))
  • Parking brake efficiency below requirements (1.4.2 (a) (i))
    • Nearside Rear Tyre has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (5.2.3 (d) (ii))
    • Offside Rear Tyre has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (5.2.3 (d) (ii))
 
I mean, some of that is pretty straightforward - free off the brakes, replace the rear tyres, replace some bulbs, reattach the exhaust back box mount. But there's also a bunch of welding to do there. A) are you particularly attached to the car and B) have you got a vaguely decent bodywork shop nearby?
 
we are not too worried about transporting it its just we need to know the average cost for the welding that needs to be done. Do you by any chance have a rough idea that it may be fine if not? thakn you for replying tho! and yeah we are quite attached to the car as it was given to us from a close family friend and is also an indiana edition!
 
That is some pretty severe rust you're looking at there. Were those listed as failures or advisories?

The repair costs could vary from a couple of hundred to thousands depending on how bad the rust has gotten. The only way you'll know is to either a) post some pictures here of the affected areas or better b) take it to a bodyshop for a formal quote.

Do not do any of the other repairs until you have a quote for the bodywork. It may well be financially un-viable to repair, the MX5 is well known for rust issues that write the car off.
 
It sounds like the car is rotten throughout, in multiple places. It’s likely to need several thousand pounds of work to get it through it’s MOT. Only you can decide if it’s worth it, but MX5’s are ten a penny, even older ones. You could likely replace it and spend less than the cost of repairs.
 
William Budd said:
we are not too worried about transporting it its just we need to know the average cost for the welding that needs to be done. Do you by any chance have a rough idea that it may be fine if not? thakn you for replying tho! and yeah we are quite attached to the car as it was given to us from a close family friend and is also an indiana edition!
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As @ci_newman says, I shouldn't like to guess what it'd run to. You're going to have to find a tame body shop nearby and get a quote to decide if it's worth it. Almost anything is repairable if you're prepared to throw money and time at it. But it might be quite a lot of money and some considerable time, if that laundry list is as bad as it reads...
 
The brakes are the main thing, I'm going to throw a number and say over £1000 to fix it. The corrosion doesn't necessarily have to be a big job, but it could be depending on how corroded it is.

Also garages can vary in price. But as I said the brake problems will cost you a bit.

I'd scrap it and look for a new car, you can pick up something runable for under £2k I'm sure.

Your car is doomed for repair after repair from now on I would imagine.
 
Can you post photos of the affected areas re: corrosion?

Common problem on MX5's those areas, and if it has gone on both inner and outer sills + inner arches, you'll be lucky to get any change from a grand for a proper job.
 
As said, you need to get quotes on fixing the sills and the bodywork (front suspension area) first as the cost here would determine if you keep the car - local specialist near me charges £300 + VAT for basic mk2 sill repair work up to a few thousand to completely redo them.

Best bet is to get asking on the MX5 Owners Club (MX5OC.co.uk) forum, especially for specialists near you.

jsmoke said:
The brakes are the main thing, I'm going to throw a number and say over £1000 to fix it.
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Brakes will be fairly straight forward to sort and parts are pretty reasonable, ie - rear genuine caliper is £200 (+ fitting).
The bodywork however could run into many thousands, depending on how bad it is, and make the whole operation a non-starter.
 
jsmoke said:
There's more than that, ball joints, mountings, tires, lamps.
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Maybe a grand with labour but as said, parts are pretty reasonable and a lot of it is fairly straight forward - certainly not outside the realm of a home mechanic.
What isn't however is welding in new metal (+ bodywork/painting etc) to replace all the shagged areas, which is a common and expensive fix on MX5's.
 
I can guarantee that, once you start digging at the metal (or what's left of it), any potential bill is quickly going to escalate. Particularly with these, which tend to turn into tinfoil.

It's best you get it to a specialist and have them look at it – if you're set on keeping it, that is. There's no point doing a bodge job on it. Do it once, do it properly.
 
jsmoke said:
There's more than that, ball joints, mountings, tires, lamps.
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Sure, but you were on about just the brakes being that much.

Tyres - not mega money
Bulbs - not even slightly mega money
Suspension bits - all get-able and not horrendously expensive

But the bodywork could be huge money, and easily expensive enough to be completely unviable.
 
JRS said:
Sure, but you were on about just the brakes being that much.

Tyres - not mega money
Bulbs - not even slightly mega money
Suspension bits - all get-able and not horrendously expensive

But the bodywork could be huge money, and easily expensive enough to be completely unviable.
Click to expand...

I meant it all.
 
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