Hi there,
I am new to buying MX-5’s and have decided that an NB is what I want, I’m making this post to ask for common faults / things I need to look out for while viewing these cars.
This is an example of what i’m looking at within my budget:
Any help or advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Welcome to the group. Take your time and look at a few examples before you commit, first thing is check MOT history, that will give you a very rough idea of how much rust has been an issue. These cars all variants, up to and including the ND, are prone to rust from the inside out.
On the NB the chassis rails in the engine bay, so not checked for MOT, can be particularly prone thanks to heat from the engine speeding up corrosion by water trapped inside them. The sills and arches front an rear should also be thoroughly checked, small bubbles of rust are usually the tip of an iceberg.
That said all of these things are fixable and you should allow a part of your budget to do so, as you should allow a part of your budget for maintenance for instance water pump, cam belt etc, these cars are nearly all twenty years old and low mileage ones, less than ten k miles a year average, will rarely have been fully serviced.
I did none of the above, I bought a shiney '02 NBFL that drove well purely because it was red. I have since spent a fortune sorting the rust out and getting the maintenance up to scratch over 5 years with no regrets. The 60,000 miles I have driven her touring, on trackdays and in competition have been priceless and I would do it all again without batting an eyelid. Be warned these can be seriously addictive cars.
Finally keep asking questions, never stop asking questions, there is a fine support network here to help you tackle the most difficult MX-5 issues.
Thank you for the advice and the welcome 
Good advice from Mr Tidesco above. Bought my 2.5 from a trader in Feb.'17. Have spent the purchase price sorting rust issues,but dont regret a penny spent. Totally reliable little car that gives so much pleasure on every journey. Buy one. You’ll be hooked
Be prepared to get down and dirty inspecting these cars. Areas for inspection are rear sill where it meets the wheel arch up to the door shut, that’s outside where you can see. Get under the car and inspect the sill for signs of rust or repair work, is it lathered in underseal? The front chassis rails are more difficult to inspect, especially the NS one from the engine bay. Probably need to twist a wheel to see it properly or take it off. Sellers probably won’t want the faff of you doing a thorough inspection, some aren’t so very friendly when asking and inspecting in real detail, been there with some myself 
Good on that particular advert they have repair pictures, ask for them to email them to you but I note there isn’t any pics of the need to see close up areas.
You really need to go see the car though, everything looks good from 20ft away.
think im going to check that one out today so will be sure to inspect the rust signs properly. thank you
I almost gave up on looking at Mk2’s, so many had rust problems, that was until I went to view a rather unloved import. It was solid in all the right areas but needed some TLC and (eventually) a new hood.
The result…
The chassis legs are particularly prone to rust because of the way Mazda designed for improved crash performance; they are designed to “telescope”, which creates a moisture rust trap in a way that does not exist in the NA.
As per the NA, buy on condition not on spec. Many people are swayed by the various special editions on offer.
Mileage is not an issue with these cars; lack of use can be. So I would not necessarily be on the look out for a low miles car that’s cheap.
As for the one you are looking at. It hasn’t been MOT’d for a while, so you won;t be able to legally test drive it. Lots of advisories about corroded brakes. The discs look shot to me, so it needs a new set of brakes all round. Its had the drinkers sill welded up. The drivers side might not be far behind. Those chassis legs should be examined very carefully. Irrelevant that its a Euphonic; has lost the original wheels, instead got some cheapies. Hardtops are not worth that much. I feel its at least £1000 over priced, but on a hot day, will no doubt have takers.
Don’t discount earlier NBs. If you budget it £3500, and you are set on a NB, I would set the car buying part to £2500, so you have that reserve for the chassis rails. Rusty chassis rails are not the end of the car, if done right. And if done right is about £1000. Some who claims repaired chassis rails and produces receipts for £200, run way from. While we can advise to check for rust here, in reality, its going to be hard to see much more than the really rusty examples.
This is an interesting £2000 example
Its had a little sill work done, but the owner hasn’t waited until its a fail to attend to. Been with the same owner for quite a while. The price is right.
This is slightly interesting, but risky:
Firstly, its repainted. These original Sports were blue or red. Came with a torsen, but I’m not sure if these were 5-speeds. MOT history indicate front legs have had repairs, but a long time ago. Short MOT. Needs 1000 knocked off.
5 speed, they were based on the UK iS model rather the JDM models from the time.
I wonder whats happened to its original side skirts, if the sills were “redone” then covered up with the later style (or a copy of) 
That one will likely have the dodgy diff, and might be due it’s big cambelt/water pump job.
The “dodgy” diffs merely revert to open diffs. Its another Torque Sensing diff with a low lockup ratio, which means in normal driving, they always act as an open diff.
The switch from Hitachi Torsen to Fuji happed during H2 2003. This car is plainly an early 2003, registered sometime in April 2003. I would not be surprised if this car was actually made in 2002.
Its on standard 1.8 brakes not big brakes (ie. still on 15" factory wheels, which I think won’t clear the big brake setup). The is not a Sport model, which was the only model with a limited slip differential. Other clues are lack of rear mudflaps (only standard fitment on the Sport) and lack of front dog lamps (fitted to sport only). So its an open diff car, unless the owner has changed it.
Cambelt and waterpump is not a big job on MX5s. £250-300, which is no longer a big job in garage job terms. Its a 2 hour job. My local garage charges £90 an hour, fairly typical. The cambelt kit is about £80-100. Additionally, its not a Mazda requirement to change the waterpump at 60k miles, but something from the community, Adds £50 to the job. Additionally, non-interferance engine, which no catastrophic result if the belt does go (not that I recommend deferring it). Also, under California law, cambelts must last for at least 100k miles. Its the same belt used in California as ROW.
The assumption is that every single NA and NB on sale is due a cambelt and waterpump. You can’t really believe a seller waving a hand written receipt. I had a MX5 which had the belt replaced by PO. The belt shredded itself after 3 years and 47k kms at 70 in the way to Goodwood.
Greetings from NB 2.5 1.8 Icon [2005] second owner since 2007 
[Don’t do Facebook so don’t know your budget]
Advice:
These vehicles prone to rust so be very wary of seller that doesn’t reflect they’ve addressed this via a recognized professional in the Service History…Invoices etc
As with every vehicle - your usual due diligence
They are ‘mature’ vehicles so may need a bit more TLC so budget that in
Depends what you want to do with your purchase…Track/Renovate & Restore/Fun Runaround etc
There will be one out there for you but you need to decide first what you want one for
AND most important…It will have to get through an MOT as they don’t get classed as Classics [no MOT] until they are 40 yrs [and even then for safety sake any sensible owner would put their vehicle through even if there is no legal requirement]
So purchase of an NB is not for the faint hearted and you’ve started the process by asking the MX-5 Club 
AND BE WARNED
They are addictive once you buy one 
Hope I haven’t put you off…not giving mine up for England regardless of her on-going issues 
Reverted to open if you think you have bought a working LSD is dodgy enough in my book, and at least a big disappointment for some.
And, as has so often been said in this very forum regarding it being outstanding work due, the cambelt change is/was always a bargaining chip up there with HTops etc. To some who cannot stretch to a 20k + ND, £300.00 (or more)is a solid wedge out their wage Saz in these tight budget salad days or motoring.
But that car would not have a Fuji diff nor is it new enough.
Most 1.6 Roadsters won’t have a working VLSD (clutch pack failed due to age). Most won’t even know. And that also extends to the Torsen, It actually doesn’t change the car that much, hence never offered on UK NAs. Interestingly, Rover used the same diff in Rover 800s.
I know there was a lot of chatter about the Fuji diff a few years ago. But its all died. There was ominous warnings of diffs exploding. Never happened,
A “dodgy diff” (maybe) is impossible to check for on a normal buying inspection. You’re not going to be able to prove its functional or not. As for using that as a bargaining chip, a new diff is in excess of £1000 I think.
The cambelt isn’t actually due for a few thousand on that car. It might have aleady been done, considering the long ownership.
And looking at prices of NB; they’re creeping up. Dross will always be dross, hence you can still get sub-2000 NAs.
Whether or not the cambelt has been replaced, its not a reason to frighten someone away from a car.
As well as buyers looking to save money, so are sellers. Summer is well underway. The seller could stick to their guns, because there will be queues of buyers.
Avoid buying NBs from dealers full stop. They will invariably be either very expensive or pure rubbish. They’re bangers now. Look for cars that have been used, and in a long period of ownership (not necessarily few owners). MOTs aren’t fool proof but look for advisories that are repetitive (nothing is fixed unless it fails) or evidence of carelessness (bald tyres, insecure bodywork etc). Matching tyres is a good sign; at this age, they don’t really have to be premium brands. 4 tyres of the same brand shows the owner has taken an interest in maintenance.
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