So I bought my first MX5 last week and noticed a small bubble on the rear nearside arch.
When I say small, I mean 5p coin size. The sills have been done recently and show no signs of needing doing soon.
I sent photos to a specialist for MX5s and they said the entire arch needs replacing with both sills on each side and possibly a replacement inner lining. The quote wast ÂŁ890 EACH SIDE!
If I knew how to attach photos I would show you the car, but unfortunately I haven’t worked that out yet.Â
Please tell me that there is a way to prevent the rust from spreading to fix the current patch without taking out a mortgage. I bought the car for enjoyment, not to sink thousands of pounds into, and I would hate to see the car written off over an excessive quote. For perspective, the entire car cost me the same as their quote.
This is going to come down to how long you want to keep the car and how much you want to spend.
The wheel arch doesn’t look too bad, however you don’t know until you abrade the rust and see how big the hole is. Could be filled for a short term repair.
The cill repairs certainly aren’t the best quality, it looks like they may even be overplated and not very well. This would give concerns about what is underneath and what the inner cill looks like. Could put an endoscope into the cills and have a look.
The big question is what do the front chassis members look like? Suggest you get it up on a ramp and remove the under tray and have a good inspection. Given the state of the cills it is likely that the front chassis members are gone as well unless they have previously been repaired.
Cant see the pictures. But I wouldn’t trust a quote from someone who’s only seen pictures. Take it along to someone who can get their hands on it and have a good look, and explain what needs doing.
Yes get round to a trusted local body shop rather than sitting there sending out pictures.
You have one common problem in that you think as it is an inexpensive car that cost say 10% of a smart 4 year old car, the cost to properly repair it will be say 10% of the cost of repairing the newer car.
Yes you could do a cheap repair that will last until say October and get scabby again then.
If you want a repair that will last say three or four years it will probably be more than you paid for the car.
The reason the car was so inexpensive was that the previous owner relised that a lot of work need done to bring it up to spec and they were not prepared to spend that sort of money.
I have repaired a rear arch like that in February, rubbed down, rustt convertor, primr and topcoat. It was scabby againg in October as both the sills and the wheelarch are rustig from the inside out.
From the photos, both sills have been repaired poorly (they’ve not been “done”, just patched, and probably patched with a lot of filler), and the offside arch has blown.
No repairer can give a firm quote from photos alone, and even seeing the car in person, they’ll can only give a guide price, as the extent of damage is unknown. These cars rust from the inside out.
ÂŁ890 a side is a fair price for arch and sill repair, per side, with paint, ie the worst case scenario.
When they are attending to that bulge, they will find that bits of the outer wing will disappear. If it was my car, I would budget to have the offside arch and sill done.
Nothing there looks like a MOT failure. We are on the cusp of summer. Enjoy the car, and don’t worry about the sills (or start saving). The existing sill repairs already look pretty hideous, so a bit of rust on the arch isn’t really going to detract too much.
Its not worth checking by endoscope; its only going to indicate the obvious, that the inner sill is probably rusted, and there will be a fair amount of filler stuffed in there. Given the visible “repairs”, you can’t have been surprised that further repairs would be necessary to put right.
I would be more worried about the state of the front chassis rails than this.
I can’t comment on the car in question as when I click that link I get … (see screen grab)
Some interesting power bulges and dubious high profile “boots”, but I can’t see any sign of wear & tear.
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As a professional welder I must say that I’m often baffled why someone will pay ÂŁ80 per hour for servicing (clean car & change oil = ÂŁ200 ish) and then expectÂ
a couple or three days work, cutting, welding & painting for the same price.Â
It’s the 1st MOT on my other toy in a couple of weeks. £55 for half an hour, but at least I’m in the workshop with the car.
