Please, can anyone help me with the name and or details of a ‘good’ garage in Shropshire. I’m in north Shropshire but able to travel a bit. Usual poblems with my Mk. 1 i.e. sticking electric window but general repairs, servicing etc. etc.
Regards
Alan
Hi Alan…I am just browsing the Forum, after a very long absence (it seems!) due to the challenge of coming to terms with our new Windows 8 driven computer, and I noticed your month old posting. We are down near Shrewsbury and have yet to find a Mazda specialist garage apart from the Ford main dealer which I would not use after we bought a new Focus and had it serviced there. The relationship lasted nearly 3 years before it was obviously time to get a divorce! One of the club members who lives at Prees uses a garage over near Newport, not a Mazda specialist, which he recommended to me, but my memory is so bad and, with the loss of access to our old files at the moment, I can not give you the details. If they turn up now that I am aware of the need, I shall get back to you, just in case you have yet to find what you are looking for. We bought our present car from Paul Sheard at Congleton, Cheshire. Paul races MX-5s and his guys should know their way around them. I have mixed feelings about the garage but they are specialists whereas other small garages, whilst able to do the basics may not have the Maxda equipment for more intricate (electronic) work. I used a local tyre specialist for doing a complete (electronic?) check and adjustment/alignment of all the steering and suspension. It would be good to find somwhere with capable enthusiasts for everything but, after 50+ years of motoring, the number of reliable garages that we have used in our moves around the UK have been very small. We use a Ford dealer in Welshpool for our MX-5 servicing now, as they ably took over the reins on the Focus when we had it. Our other car, a Volvo V50 was bought from William Lewis in Shrewsbury and they are brilliant - the very best garage that we have ever used! It may cost a little more for our servicing but we are confident that we are getting the best attention in keeping our car safe and efficient. Our local small garage was a disaster when they serviced a little Renault 4 that we used to own. The car was danger but I took it back to get all the problems rectified, and the list goes on!
I am sorry that I cannot be more positive at this stage and perhaps you have managed to find something to satisfy your needs by now. The big test for our present 5 is going to be the trip up the Scotland for the Rally on 20th May! Shall we see you on the way?
Cheers for now…Ralph
p.s. Sticky windows …same problem on our 2.5 which turned out to be the plastic rivet that held the wiring against the inside of the door panel. If you are ever this way I can show you the remedy. Have yet to learn how to post photos on the Forum!
Hi again Alan, if you are still watching and needing! Tonight, I had a stray flash of light shining into the recesses of my mind illuminating the memory of something that was on a posting/enquiry that I made some time ago about servicing in Shropshire. The garage that I mentioned before is at Edgmond, near Newport which is used by Ian of Prees(forgot the surname). He has two cars one of which, a red Mk1, wins loads of Club competitions as it is amazing! The garage is called Lea Bros and the guy to ask for is James. Ian said that between him and James they keep his 5s fit and happy, although it is not a specialist Mazda garage. He added that they are always busy and there are always lots of cars waiting outside. The test is to call in to find out what they look and feel like, as for any prospective garage. I have also just remembered that we ventured over that way to a “reputed” specialist in that area. I think that it was called MX Heaven - not the MX5 Heaven that advertises in STHT, which is elsewhere in the country. It was on a main road that ran south from Newport. When we arrived it looked like something out of an apocalypse - run down and car…cases littered about the place. When a guy eventually emerged he was most critical and very rude about our 5 - the first one we had bought from a reputable dealer in the Wirrel. My ex-teacher wife fought back and he scurried back to the dark recesses of his workshop! She is much quicker on her feet than me when aroused! It’s a teacher thing!
If the Edgmond garage seems a possibility for you, please let me know if you follow the lead up and get some success in finding someone to care for your 5. It seems a little too far for us here, west of Shrewsbury, although if it were a Mazda specialist it might have been worth the time and effort for serious stuff. There is a guy running a backstreet garage in Shrewsbury, near our tyre supplier, who said that his son has a 5 and he knows his way around them but that was not reassuring enough for me! I find the technical downloads on the Forum very reassuring and used the one on gear box boots replacement to sort out our present 5 and our previous one for its new local owner. It made a difference to the gear changing on both and is not a difficult process aided by the download. It’s back brake pads replacement next week, aided by another download, before we go to Scotand. I read somewhere that there is a squeak that develops when the pads are getting low and ours are starting to give out signals! They were 75% down at the MOT last year, so it must be time for re-shoeing by now!!
Happy hunting… Cheers Ralph
So, that’s about it from this end. I hope that there is at least one valuable or interesting thing for you in all of my ramblings.
Hi Alan,<o:p></o:p>
As you are in North Shropshire, would Stafford be near enough to you?<o:p></o:p>
You could try Broadspeed MX5 in Stafford. They are MX5 specialists.<o:p></o:p>
Tel: 01785 252423 and they have a web site: http://www.broadspeedmx5.co.uk<o:p></o:p>
I’ve not had any need to use them, so you will have to make your own mind up.
Regards,
Ralph, if I havent already said thanks, Thanks. Ive contacted one of the specialist garages who hace replied but its the distance which is the problem of course i.e. getting back home once the car has b een dropped off.
I’ll continue my search with baited breath.
Best regards and thanks again
Alan
Hi Alan…Good to hear from you after all my OAP ramblings! I guess that we are out in the sticks, so to speak, here in Shropshire. It is a pity that there isn’t a guy like the one who serviced our VW Golf. He was an ex-main dealer foreman mechanic who set up shop on his own and, although up in the hills in the Hope valley , he provided me with a “courtesy” car - well a car as a courtesy as it was questionable! He was brilliant! We just need to find the equivalent for MX-5s in Shropshire, not too far away and able to offer a courtesy car too. I keep asking around of other MX-5 owners who I meet.
Meanwhile, on the subject of sticking windows, there is(are) postings in the Forum related to this problem. One of them is the fact that the glass does not run smoothly through the guides in the door. I found that I could get at them from the top by taking off the side panel and squirting lubricant down the channel from the top without removing the plastic lining.
There are some good books by Keith Tanner, an American, on MX-5s. I have his "Mazda MX-5 Miata - Find it. Fix it. Trick it." which has a few basics amongst all the other interesting stuff with lots of good colour photos to drool over! He has a website with lots of info. on it. I have a Haynes manual (toilet paper quality and many assumptions made with the fine detail left out) and a CD that I bought on eBay with the official MX-5 data for 1s and 2s which is very detailed. If you haven't come across Mazda Mender yet (aka Wayne Bates) he has a website with additional info. and a Forum. He will answer questions by email of by telephone. He owns 4 MX-5s! After completing my first rear brake pad replacement yesterday I am feeling confident that I could tackle a few other challenges in the future - ( the rear discs look as though they are going to need changing next year) - supported by Forum downloads and postings. There is always someone to willingly give advice I have found, even though at times you may not agree with it! All that needs to be done each year is an MOT if you do the basics. Don't know why it changed to italics and it will not change back! Enough rambling for tonight.Cheers…Ralph
Ralf and others who contacted me with ideas of help. I’ve booked Max (yes I know it’s not that original) in with Broadspeed of Lichfield Road, Stafford for next week. I’ll keep you (all) posted on how I get on.
I’ve added one or two modifications to my Mk1 since I aquired it but I have to say they were due to this middle aged old farts past wants. I have to say that I really dont think, with perhaps some limited acceptions, that the 5 can be improved upon. Or do you disagree?
Best regards and Many thanks for all the help.
Alan
Ralph, please forgive my ignorance re my spelling of your name. It’s just that I had a friend, some time ago, with the spelling Ralf. Yes I believe he was of German descent.
Hi Nigel, just to let you know that I have booked in Max for the work to be carried out next week. Also, they appear to be even more ‘friendly’ than expected as they have suggested a price which appears reasonable as they are taking, in part exchange, my stainless steel twin exhaust as part payment so fingers crossed.
Again many thanks
Alan Carter
To P291, Ralph, NM and any others seeking proper MX5 servicing for their pets.
I know this is an old thread, but I hope to bring it to life again as I am in a similar dilemma.
I bought mine new in Sept 2010 and entered a 4yr contract with the Ford/Mazda main dealer in Shrewsbury referred to earlier. I have just had my last service with them & NOT taken up a new contract with them,although they have been pressing me.
I hope you guys are still motoring on and can recommend a place to service my Cariad. I live in Oswestry as north of Shropshire as you can get I suppose.
Hope to hear from you.
Gales