Mint of the Polo variety.
3 Likes
Looks like itās very rotten and the others are right, itās virtually certain to be much worse than you can see, the MOT history is a horror novel, if it were me Iād wouldnāt take it as a gift, unless you plan to plough a few thousand + into it which you may never get back when you sell it, someone said there is one on this site, probably worth a look.
1 Like
I did offer Ā£500 but heās not responded. I feel a bit a bit of a dick now, stupid and naive now. I could have easily parted with Ā£1800 this morning. Oh well whatās yours wonāt pass you by. Thank you all so much for your help, advice and support. Iāll be in touch again as I will be getting one.
David
As everyone has pointed out above, run away as fast as you can and take Spencer Davisā advice and āKeep On Runningā.
These arches and sills rot from the inside out so there is a lot more work than just sanding and filling to make it road worthy and not just make it ālook niceā.
If you are in the market for one of these, wait and take your time. With Ā£2000 available, you will find one that will give you loads of smiles per pound.
1 Like
Certainly not stupid or naive David - you had the sense to post onto this forum & ask for advice, which youāve taken.
4 Likes
Absolutely!
Please come back when youāve found another one and weāll help as best we can - donāt hand over a penny until youāve had a second opinion!!
Letās just say you did the right thing in asking for advice, advice from those that know these cars.
Youāll most likely view 10 cars and nearly all of them will need work of varying type but mostly rust. Some buyers will be completely honest, some will be ignorant to the fact their car is rusty and not admit to it. Look at all the pictures closely, ask for more if youāre unsure, especially underside shots but thereās no substitute to actually seeing the car for yourself.
Donāt travel far if you think the car looks good unless youāve been sent loads of positive pictures, by experience Iāve wasted a fair few miles doing so, lesson learnt.
Keep asking for advice, only happy to help.
2 Likes
Incidentally David, whereabouts in the country are you?
Most of us, myself included, would be more than happy to view a car with you to make sure youāre not buying a lemon if weāre able to 
1 Like
Thatās definitely one to avoid. As youāre in Cardiff get in touch with Mark at TotalMX5 repair in Barry, heāll be able to give you plenty of advice.
1 Like
Thanks all. Im in Cardiff. Very much appreciated.
1 Like
I offered to look at a car for someone who lived in Glasgow. The car was 12 miles from me in Derbyshire.
It was admitted in the advert a Cat D repaired, it turned out a poorly repaired Cat D.
I found filler, badly aligned panels and parts missing all around the rear end.
Lovely looking car actually but upon closer inspection and crawling underneath all was revealed.
Saved the prospective buyer a long and wasted journey.
Phew you have had a lucky escape. Donāt feel bad about yourself as has been said you did the right thing and asked for advice, thatās good sense, even if he comes back and accepts your offer donāt buy it!!! When I started looking for my car in January I used the MOT history checker as the first tool when I was looking through Autotrader just put the reg. number in and you get years of MOT HISTORY for that vehicle, if your not sure what some of it means ask on this forum, as your finding out there are knowledgeable friendly people here keen to help. Good luck there is one out there with your name on it 
Dave
As others have said,you did the right thing by asking for advice. It was good to talk to you earlier and good luck with your search. The right car is out there
David,
Iām sure it was not lost on anyone here what your profession is. Thankfully, thatās where your genius lies and right now you deserve a bit of reciprocal support.
Donāt think twice about showing us your next 5 prospect.
Weāll dive in, I expect, and super sleuth that as well. Itās what we do.
Meantime, keep helping to save us, and we will try and save you from yourself 
when buying a 5, bit the final choice is always going to be yours.
3 Likes
Others have commented on the rust, but Iād make one further comment - if the owner ignored that many advisories over the years about how the car was rusting, thereās a very good chance that he has also scrimped on other aspects of maintenance, so there may be other non-rust bills on the horizon.
Also, I wouldnāt be swayed by it being a āSpecial Editionā, unless thereās something about that particular Special Edition that you really must have. Mazda have produced so many different Special Editions of the MX-5 over the years that it may be more of a challenge to find a car which is not a Special Edition 
5 Likes
I bought a mk2 about 4 years ago with a little bit of rust on the rear sills. It cost about Ā£600 to repair, my dad has the car now, and itās still looking good.
The car I bought looked a lot better than this one, which I donāt think is even worth a second look, there are plenty of others out there in much better condition.
1 Like
When I bought my Mk2.5 the MOT advisories for rusty chassis rails meant it wouldnāt pass another MOT. They wanted Ā£1,000 but accepted Ā£800. They knew it was effectively worth nothing.
The chassis rails cost about Ā£800 I think.
Since then it failed an MOT on rusty sills. Lots more money spent.
So, yes - Mk2ās are going to rust. But the way I saw it was there are going to be many scrapped because itāll cost more to repair than their value is. Which will mean less remaining, which will (hopefully!) mean an appreciating classic.
Some dayā¦ š¤·
i bought this for way less Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£ last friday
wants a bit of work but nothing serious , when its all sorted it still wont be as dear 
3 Likes
I think this is the second rustiest MK2 rear wing Iāve ever come across! Good grief, Iām so glad we were able to help with this, thanks team, good workā¦
the rustiest was spotted a few years ago now and featured a huge hole in the wing revealing the inner structure in the section between the wheel arch and the door. Itās all sobering stuff for those of us with NBs and especially facelifts.
3 Likes
I very much appreciate your help thank you.
164225963998
What about this then on ebay?