Regardless of age, you need to check for how bad the rust is. They rot everywhere and it ranges from "probably minor" to "how is that still on the road" depending on how it has been kept and used etc.
Picked it up last October, just in time for winter. I've got a Fiammenghi Double H Pipe centre section exhaust on the way then need to look at dropping it ever so slightly and maybe some ~10mm spacers.
Picked it up last October, just in time for winter. I've got a Fiammenghi Double H Pipe centre section exhaust on the way then need to look at dropping it ever so slightly and maybe some ~10mm spacers.
Lovely!
Mine been an early car has the most aggressive suspension height wise been rather low and I can warn you now you have to be very careful with some speed bumps and inclines as it does scrape so I'd be wary about lowering it much.
I've heard, everyone's got an opinion on the 'correct' springs to go for too. Luckily we've got quite a big group of QV drivers in the SE, all with differing mods, so it's nice to be able to window shop!
Regardless of age, you need to check for how bad the rust is. They rot everywhere and it ranges from "probably minor" to "how is that still on the road" depending on how it has been kept and used etc.
As @DRZ mentioned, rust around sills is the big one although i would say that's more common with NA/NB's (MK1/2) than NC/ND's (MK3/4) but that's mainly down to age - some folk have had to replace bits of sills on NC's though.
But all eras of MX5's seem to have their own problems and quirks, so i would say you're best picking an era/budget and then scour the MX5 forums (MX5OC etc) as there are loads of write-ups and threads on what to look out for on each era.
One thing i would say, and what i should have done with my NC2, go for one that has been driven and well maintained than a low mileage one that's been sat around as a summer/weekend car as (front) calipers seizing, weeping shocks, bushes etc are all fairly common issues.
As @DRZ mentioned, rust around sills is the big one although i would say that's more common with NA/NB's (MK1/2) than NC/ND's (MK3/4) but that's mainly down to age - some folk have had to replace bits of sills on NC's though.
But all eras of MX5's seem to have their own problems and quirks, so i would say you're best picking an era/budget and then scour the MX5 forums (MX5OC etc) as there are loads of write-ups and threads on what to look out for on each era.
One thing i would say, and what i should have done with my NC2, go for one that has been driven and well maintained than a low mileage one that's been sat around as a summer/weekend car as (front) calipers seizing, weeping shocks, bushes etc are all fairly common issues.
Thanks for the info. I must be honest I didn't realise how well they reviewed in their day. Spent last night looking into them and they sound like great fun.
I'll have a look about, I think I'd like a 2009+ MK3 as am I right in thinking that would fall under the facelift model?
£5-6k not sure if that's enough to get a suitable example but I will have a good look around. I don't think that's far off.
We make parts for a company up the road that seems to specialise in installing turbo kits into mk5s amount other things (not something I'd do) but may ask them for some tips too
Fair enough, I didn’t realise the NCs went back to 2005. The rust issue with GTRs was a blow when I realised it just before I bought one. It’s not a massive issue, but one I didn’t want if spending £70k.
Since my old Ford days (late eighties, early nineties) I find myself allergic to cars with rust issues
Fair enough, I didn’t realise the NCs went back to 2005. The rust issue with GTRs was a blow when I realised it just before I bought one. It’s not a massive issue, but one I didn’t want if spending £70k.
Since my old Ford days (late eighties, early nineties) I find myself allergic to cars with rust issues
yeah rust is frustrating an expensive to sort out. I made sure when I got my s2000 that it was as rust free as possible and I can then stay on top of it and maintain it but not many people do that, underbody washes etc are not a thing thats common so salt just eats away at cars.
Specifically MK3 NC2, between 2008-2012, was a bit more than a facelift over the NC1 with interior, exterior, engine and chassis updates - http://www.roadster.blog/2013/08/the-2009-roadsters-facelift.html.
The NC3, between 2012-2015, was more a facelift although the 2ltr supposedly had a new engine map that improved responsiveness but i honestly couldn't tell the difference between them and you would be better getting a BBR map.
And this is probably more suited to the MX5 thread but a few things i was told, and have found out since, to look out for on NC's -
- Engines are fairly reliable but just pray the previous owner hasn't ran it on low oil. If you think the engine may have ran low on oil, walk away.
- Look for rust around the rear number plate light housings, common issue.
- Water ingress around top centre brake light.
- Check for rust around sills and towards the front and bottom of the rear inner arch. Then just generally check underneath and chassis and see what condition the underseal is like.
- Check for musty smells especially with AC on.
- Two cowl grommets under the scuttle panel (both nearside & offside) can perish which results in wet footwells, so check carpets and the passenger side fuse box near the kick panel for signs of water ingress. Cheap repair (<£10 for grommets and sealant like Fernox LSX) but a pain stripping scuttle panel.
- Blocked roof drainage holes and pipes can cause water to ingress around the seats, so check the carpet under and behind them. A trumpet bore brush is a good tool to clean them.
- Seized calipers, particularly front, common on all MX5's. Can rebuild them but they're around £100 a corner for recon parts, triple if you go OEM Mazda.
- Weeping shocks, especially rears. The Bilstein's are great but they're a Mazda specific part, only available from Mazda and last time i enquired, the rears were £360+VAT each. Bilstein B6's (iirc; possible PRHT specific) are a good OEM alternative and are ~£100 each.
- Suspension bump stops and upper rubber gaiters can perish; if you replace shocks, replace them at the same time.
- Play in bushes is common so check track rod ends, drop links and around the rear hub assembly (trailing + lateral arms especially). Parts are cheap-ish if you don't go OEM, sorting them is a bit of a pain.
- Gearboxes are naturally notchy especially when cold but you can still get a little play in the gear lever. Replacement plastic bushes and aftermarket bronze bushes are cheap although you've got to strip centre console out but it's all fairly straightforward.
- Gear lever upper rubber gaiters perish and become holey which causes excess heat and noise to come into the cabin; £30/40 part, easy fit but same as above with stripping console.
- Central locking door lock mechanism failure is another common issue, so make sure they work. Expensive and a royal pain to sort.
- Use a fault code reader when out looking at a car; not all errors produce an engine warning light.
- Make sure it has decent service history.
There's a load of other things to look out for but as said, plenty of buyers advice threads around MX5 forums.
They certainly have their quirks and issues but they are good little cars for B roads and track.
And you may get lucky with £5-6k but they are holding and/or gone up a little in value over the last year and you're now getting towards summer where everyone sticks on a bit extra. If you can stretch to £7k, then that will open you up to a lot more especially if you're wanting a 'pack' (sport tech pack etc), an edition (like Venture, Kendo, Kuro etc) or a PRHT.
Specifically MK3 NC2, between 2008-2012, was a bit more than a facelift over the NC1 with interior, exterior, engine and chassis updates - http://www.roadster.blog/2013/08/the-2009-roadsters-facelift.html.
The NC3, between 2012-2015, was more a facelift although the 2ltr supposedly had a new engine map that improved responsiveness but i honestly couldn't tell the difference between them and you would be better getting a BBR map.
And this is probably more suited to the MX5 thread but a few things i was told, and have found out since, to look out for on NC's -
- Engines are fairly reliable but just pray the previous owner hasn't ran it on low oil. If you think the engine may have ran low on oil, walk away.
- Look for rust around the rear number plate light housings, common issue.
- Water ingress around top centre brake light.
- Check for rust around sills and towards the front and bottom of the rear inner arch. Then just generally check underneath and chassis and see what condition the underseal is like.
- Check for musty smells especially with AC on.
- Two cowl grommets under the scuttle panel (both nearside & offside) can perish which results in wet footwells, so check carpets and the passenger side fuse box near the kick panel for signs of water ingress. Cheap repair (<£10 for grommets and sealant like Fernox LSX) but a pain stripping scuttle panel.
- Blocked roof drainage holes and pipes can cause water to ingress around the seats, so check the carpet under and behind them. A trumpet bore brush is a good tool to clean them.
- Seized calipers, particularly front, common on all MX5's. Can rebuild them but they're around £100 a corner for recon parts, triple if you go OEM Mazda.
- Weeping shocks, especially rears. The Bilstein's are great but they're a Mazda specific part, only available from Mazda and last time i enquired, the rears were £360+VAT each. Bilstein B6's (iirc; possible PRHT specific) are a good OEM alternative and are ~£100 each.
- Suspension bump stops and upper rubber gaiters can perish; if you replace shocks, replace them at the same time.
- Play in bushes is common so check track rod ends, drop links and around the rear hub assembly (trailing + lateral arms especially). Parts are cheap-ish if you don't go OEM, sorting them is a bit of a pain.
- Gearboxes are naturally notchy especially when cold but you can still get a little play in the gear lever. Replacement plastic bushes and aftermarket bronze bushes are cheap although you've got to strip centre console out but it's all fairly straightforward.
- Gear lever upper rubber gaiters perish and become holey which causes excess heat and noise to come into the cabin; £30/40 part, easy fit but same as above with stripping console.
- Central locking door lock mechanism failure is another common issue, so make sure they work. Expensive and a royal pain to sort.
- Use a fault code reader when out looking at a car; not all errors produce an engine warning light.
- Make sure it has decent service history.
There's a load of other things to look out for but as said, plenty of buyers advice threads around MX5 forums.
They certainly have their quirks and issues but they are good little cars for B roads and track.
And you may get lucky with £5-6k but they are holding and/or gone up a little in value over the last year and you're now getting towards summer where everyone sticks on a bit extra. If you can stretch to £7k, then that will open you up to a lot more especially if you're wanting a 'pack' (sport tech pack etc), an edition (like Venture, Kendo, Kuro etc) or a PRHT.
Thanks for all this info, really helpful and tbh I have found I agree. I think that budget mentioned is a bit of a stretch and £7k seems a better ballpark.
I mean I'd truly love/prefer an S2000 but that would mean looking into a loan and tbh I'm looking at getting out of the PCP cycle as it is on my current car to reduce the monthlys.
So an MX5 felt like maybe better bang for buck in that regard
Random question - when I post photos of my car here on the forums I use Postimage as a host then link to the 'direct' url, copy and paste it here into the tags. But it always posts smaller sized photos than I've seen here in this thread, such as Gibbo's marvellous Alfa above.
How do you post full size (or the same size as Gibbo has posted on this page) images?
Random question - when I post photos of my car here on the forums I use Postimage as a host then link to the 'direct' url, copy and paste it here into the tags. But it always posts smaller sized photos than I've seen here in this thread, such as Gibbo's marvellous Alfa above.
How do you post full size (or the same size as Gibbo has posted on this page) images?
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