Today a car has hit my nearside wheel area and caused that safety features on front of car to activate two rods have popped up lifted whole of rear bonnet up .
Slight nose cone moved no cracked panels . already insurance are saying possibly uneconomical repair .has anyone one else been through this as car is stunning and I really don’t want to lose her
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I know it’s pretty expensive to fix the bonnet safety feature, the rest looks ok. Even the wing bumper looks likely it could clean up or very little paint needed.
So really for a possible £10k-£15k car(I don’t know the year or model) I don’t how they could say it’s a write off?
Aviva are arranging to collect and take to repair shop for a full check .and then confirm next step I was a bit surprised at email saying possibly uneconomical repair as they have only seen two pictures?.
I’m just hoping that a repair is possible as no real damage else where.
Sadly it was another 15 plate mx 5 that’s involved you couldn’t make it up .
Repairs to the bonnet seems t0 be £3-4000. Given the other damage to the car, I can see the butchers bill being £6000+. And is a car is worth £10000, that’s write off territory.
That’s my fear I’m wondering if it’s a repair that good body man can do or if the safety features might be a problem.
There are certain electronic modules that cannot be reset and must be replaced I think which adds to the cost and complexity of this type of incident…
They also take into accounts costs of hire car while vehicle off road.
Just had the same thing happen to my BMW 2 series when a deer ran into it. The bill for the bonnet reset, including new hinges, painting and realigning the bonnet was just under £1000. Seems surprising that repairing a Mazda would be so much more expensive.
Do all NDs have this bonnet thing installed?
I understand Miatas do not (?)d
If so, between that and stuff like wilting rear hubs etc…I doubt I’ll be putting SWMBO in one next year frankly…with the state of our roads around here as I’ve read even a medium to bad pothole can do it.
Fantastic wee cars, by 'eck Mazda dropped the ball with them on too many high risk financial levels for me.
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And the later NC’s.
On the A134 to Thetford today, early morning start, lost count how many deer were laying at the roadside, many other animals too.My speed immediately dropped for a few miles.
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Mine had no bumper damage apart from scratches but altogether the repairs were over 4K 
Blimey I’m now thinking that if they say uneconomical repair that I’ll not claim and get done elsewhere, thanks for the info everyone.
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Just a thought but if this sort of thing becomes an increasing problem then are the insurance companies likely to start to increase premiums as this particular model now represents a potential high risk?
Is there any evidence from other makes or the NC 3.75 with a similar system of increasing premiums?
System used on sports cars with low fronts,mazda started on the 3.75 I think,strange though they don’t have it in the USA ?
On mine the bonnet was one of the cheapest items !
They’d likely still write them off anyhow if the fix was more than the acceptable % of the so called forecourt value.
Not allowed to use spares or recyled parts so the fix bills are based on full OEDM parts prices and VAT etc etc.
Unless, you buy back or do not claim…
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While the 3.75 was short lived, without the active bonnet on that model, it would have lost Type Approval, and Mazda would have had to take the model off the market in Europe. If you look at the history of the MX5, its clear that Mazda has an army of bean counters, busy at “value engineering” the car (eg, the changes between the 1995 and 1996 MX5; cheaper carpet, and the elimination for unknown reasons (except to save money) of a single exhaust hanger.
The active bonnet is one of those vehicle safety features, like the safety impact bumper, that will have a relatively short life. It exists because of the mass of a motor under the bonnet. Injuries to pedestrians occur because of contact with a big solid lump. Once new cars no longer have such a motor, it goes away.
The Miata in the US had a driver airbag from the get go, because the law required it. For ROW, Mazda fitted a spindly, impaling 1960s design Momo or Nardi steering wheel; looked good, dubious safety, cheaper than an airbag because it was just a generic part produced in vast numbers. Active bonnets are not required in the US (for various reasons, none of which are good), and hence are not fitted, as they reduce profit per unit.
Active bonnets might increase repair costs, but they reduce other costs (pedestrian deaths, costs).
Stats can be dug up indicating 20% of traffic fatalities are among pedestrians, and 60% hitting a bonnet when the car is travelling at >40mph are killed or seriously injured (life changing injuries etc). In the UK, the NHS recovers costs from the insurers via the Injury Cost Recovery scheme. The change adds a £3-4000 charge to a repair bill. Serious pedestrian injuries, even before the question of compensation for loss of earnings etc, can easily reach six figures. Treatment of head injuries are at the upper end of the range.
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Believe safety bonnet system is only active above 20kph or 12 mph so shouldn’t go off dropping off a kerb etc but a previous MX5 ND owner had a small bump in stop start traffic and it fired. His repair cost was £5k from memory.
As ND’S get older, there will probably be a lot of “write offs” on the road! Maybe with or without the safety feature enabled, which is a worry as an accident where the safety feature isn’t there could cause more severe injuries and, maybe, invalidated insurance.
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In 2019 the Soft Top was Slashed on My NB 2.5 Icon [2005] 
My Insurance Company Started Sending Info that She Was a ‘Write Off’
What 
Long Story Short
Got the Crime Number and Claimed [First Time In 30 yrs]
Only Paid £200 Excess for Top Notch Mohair New SoftTop & Fitting
AND due to No Claims Bonus Protection
Insurance Didn’t Increase…Indeed the Insurers ‘Zenith’ started Advertising Directly so Didn’t Have to Go Through Broker and Now Pay £13.61 pcm INSPITE OF CLAIM WITH THEM for Fully Comp…Go Figure That Result 
Guess What I’m Saying Here Is
[What My MX5 Expert Advised Me Recently on Her Corrosion Issues]
How Much Is This Particular Vehicle Worth to You Personally viz
“This Car is Stunning and I Really Don’t Want to Lose Her”
My Girl was Owned By a Car Lease Company for 18 Months…Then I Got Her
With Have History…I Know Her…I’ve Used Mostly Trusted Mechanics etc
Hope This Helps & Good Luck in Your Decision Making
Kindest
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Really sorry to see your first post here and the damaged ND. Can’t really say more than what’s already been said by other MX5er’s… If you can find a really good repair shop and sort it privately, that may be the answer to getting your pride and joy back on the road…
Rob
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