I’ve been considering getting an MX5 for some now, really as a fun car that I would probably not use during the winter months. Had been thinking about an NB but what has made me reluctant to take the plunge is the serious corrosion issues that the NB seem to suffer from. Watched quite a few videos and read a number of articles and the recurring theme seems to be the major rust problems that affect so many MX5 NB’s.
I came to the conclusion that finding a decent NB was going to be very difficult, so have started looking at NC’s which seem to be as much fun to drive as the earlier models but in a more modern package. I am finding that the NC too seem to be affected by rust issues which is often evident when checking the car’s MOT history. My question is, is the NC less prone to rust than the NB? When looking at an NC what areas of the car should I concentrate on? I always start by checking the MOT history but realise that it can’t be relied on to provide a full picture on the level of rust on a car.
In terms of prices early NC’s seem to start at under 2K but go up to over 5K, often for similar age cars. I have seen a few earlier NC 3.5’s on sale for 4K or a bit less but often with high mileage - are these worth considering and are cars with 100000+ miles on the clock likely to be more problematic? Assume this may be down to service history and how well they have been cared for? Thanks for any advice.
The NC has two engines 1.8 and 2.0 ( the 2.0 has the limited slip diff )
And two models SE and Sport ( plus some limited editions ) - SE is 5 speed, sport is 6 speed
Sport has the 17" wheels, SE has 16" wheels
Plus two tops - soft top and folding hard top.
Some have air conditioning - some don’t
I decided the sweet spot for me was a 2.0ltr SPORT soft top
6 speed with lsd
17" wheels
leather heated seats
air conditioning
BOSE stereo
Seen a few of those videos from the restorers, not good are they👎
Yes NC’s can rot quite quickly left unattended underneath especially if the car has been a daily driver, driven through winter too.
If I was buying one now I would be looking for at least one that has been driven as a weekend type car and has had a little TLC shown to it over the years. Keep an eye out for a members car, they do come up for sale, most likely within the next month or two as they bring them out of hibernation. You’ll probably pay more for a well looked after car, unless of course you’re after a project or prepared to do work on a car.
Best buy I guess is a 2 ltr NC PRHT sport tech facelift or as the called NC2, or one of the special editions, something a little different. Post 2009 NC2’s will probably start around £7k upwards for average to higher miles good condition cars. Lower than that and you’re dropping down to decent NC1’s.
NC1’s a still a decent buy if well looked after and kept maintained with regular oil changes etc, it all depends on your budget of course
I looked and enquired about a lot of cars when I brought my NC1 (2006 2.0 sport ).
Every NB I enquired about and the few I went to see were all very bad with rust, I’m sure there are some good ones but i didn’t find any.
I concentrated on NC’s , there are lots of good cars and some bad ones, anything with visible rust on the wheel arches will be shot underneath, and the first place they go is at the front of the rear wheel arches where it meets the sill, if it’s good there then thats a good indication but a good look underneath is ideal.
Depending on your budget, good 1.8 cars with cloth seats start at about £3k, my preference would be a 2.0 sport, which will have heated leather seats ( excellent for cold days ), probably air con, better bilstein suspension etc.
Better ones with 60k+miles start at about £4k, But most good early NC1’s are around £5-£6k.
You must also check the engine, hear it start from cold and make sure no smoke when revved, some use oil, some have been run low and cause damage.
I paid just over £4k for mine, it’s very good underneath, but it needed a good service , brakes and tyres so really cost me £5k in total, but its been great (after a bit of tweaking), it doesn’t use any oil and has been 100% reliable over the last year and 5000miles.
Yes, agree with all the comments you’ve had. The main rust areas on an NC are where the rear wheel arches meet the cills and the cills themselves. Bracings and suspension linkages can also be heavily corroded. Also, the inside of the boot lid at the number plate lights. NA and NBs are much worse for rust than NCs because they’re older, obvious I suppose. I would go for an NC2, a 2 lt Roadster Sportec with the folding hardtop; one that’s low mileage and been well looked after and be prepared to pay £6 to £9k.
Dave
I was in a similar situation and budget last September. After looking at a load of NC1s I was struck by how bad they were despite none having rust in their mot history. The area behind the rear sill in each vehicle was shot and could be discovered within 5 seconds. I ended up spending well under 3k for a relatively good early 2L Sport (I think anyway!) which I chose to spend some significant money on with the assistance of the mx5 restorer. I ended up spending my full budget, but at least I know what has been done and what may need doing at some point in the future. Definitely buyer beware.
Mine’s clean underneath because it only saw one winter (2013-14), during which it was washed underneath regularly. It hasn’t seen salt since, and has probably only been out on wet roads a handful of times. The brake discs and suspension bolts aren’t even rusted.
For some reason the NC has a reputation for being very heavy but this isn’t true. My 1.8 Venture is only 60kg heavier than my old 1.8i NA, which had no PAS, A/C, stereo, satnav, heated seats, electric windows, strut brace, or ABS. It’s only 49kg heavier than the current 1.5 ND, a car too small for many drivers to comfortably sit inside. It may be that the PRHT models were overweight, I don’t know.
I’m a big fan of the NC because it feels enough like an NA to drive but is much better built. The bonnet doesn’t vibrate on the motorway and you can’t see the whole scuttle twist when the nearside front wheel hits a pothole!
