Having sold my NB back in 2019 I’ve now decided it"s time to get another MX5 back into my life!
Looking for an NC preferably 2 litre with folding roof and powershift. Do these cars suffer with the dreaded rust like the NA/NB cars? What else should a look out for?
Looking for a late car, around 50 to 60k miles max. Unmodified and original as possible. Budget up to 10k max. Advice appreciated on models to consider and any pitfalls. Also, specifically how easy is it to upgrade the audio to an up to date double din unit without it looking like a dog’s dinner!?
Thanks
Roland
The NC rusts as happily as earlier models - it’s just newer, so there are more good ones about. Be wary of diff noises with the 2.0, as some have trashed their LSDs. The 1.8 diff can whine, too, almost from new. If it’s April 2012 or earlier, the coolant should have been changed by now.
The NC drives a lot like the earlier cars (good) but is more refined. The soft top 1.8 is within 5kg of the NB 1.8 but a 2.0 PRHT is a bit lardy compared to earlier cars.
Brakes often seize if left standing around.
If you’re over about 5’9", the seat doesn’t go down far enough to get the sun visors out of the way of the road ahead. That’s my biggest niggle!
Rusting, when it occurs, tends to be more extensive, on sills behind plastic covers and on subframes.
Thanks for the replies. A bit disappointed that Mazda haven’t cracked the corrosion issue! Basically I’d need to get any prospective purchase up on a lift to check the underside and also hope there’s nothing lurking behind plastic covers. Not something most sellers willing to do I guess? If I get a good one then best get it to the rustproofers asap.
I’ve recently been doing some maintenance on my daily driver, it’s 9 years old this year. Amongst the jobs were brake renewal, stripped down and replaced. Having a nosy underneath there is still black paint on the suspension parts, springs too and the sills are absolutely sealed with thick underbody sealant from new. Now one particular area of note are the brake dust shields, they are rock solid and still covered in paint.
Pic of same model colour etc…
Turning to my lovely Recaro, same age as the one above. Let’s say she’s had some love over the years, part of that is a full underbody rust treatment by a pro outfit. I’ve recently topped that up with some treatment of my own as it was beginning to show a few areas that needed work. Suspension parts have needed treatment although the actual suspension units have been changed to MeisterR’s so look good.
The front brake dust shields are actually dissolving with rust, the rears needed de rusting too. Was going to replace the fronts but they are out of stock. A job for the summer.
Thankfully the car overall is in good shape but needs a check every year on the undersides, you have to with a Mazda.
It’s a garage queen, if it’s been a daily driver that you buy then do check that underside.
On the other hand my daily hasn’t seen a garage in 9 years and it’s parked outside throughout and driven in winter too.
I know which one I like to drive best though, no contest.
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The two brands that seem to rust worst are Mazda and BMW. I’ve had both! VW Group cars were galvanised for years and may still be; it’s rare to see any rust on a 20-year old Skoda.
If you can keep an MX-5 out of the winter salt, it does much better.
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