I’m thinking about getting a vert for my daily driver, MX5 is top of the list as I drive round in a 2.5 alot last summer and loved it, So before I jump in I just have a few questions that hopefully you all can help with. My budget for the car is £3-5k so I have been thinking of getting an early Mk.3 especially after reading about the rust issues with the 2.5.
Is the mk.3 really less rust prone than the 2.5, what should I expect on say an 07 car?
Is the LSD and improved suspension a must and if so can it be added to a 1.8, if not I guess I should be looking at the 2.0’s?
Should high mileage put me off, seem to be a few 100,000+ cars going much cheaper?
If its any help we were in a similar postion about 3 months ago. In the end we went for a 2.0 non sport as i had read the 6 speeders in the sports were really stiff to engage, as our lass would be using it too went for the 5 speed. Too be honest even the 5 speed is quite stiff when cold. Did improve alot with a oil change tho. Wanted the lsd so had to be a 2.0. Love the diff in it nice and progressive. Previously had an accord type r and the diff in that used to click and grind in lock and be very aggressive when engaged. This one is so smooth even when getting the rear back inline. When we first got it we were surprised just how lively the rear can be.
We paid a good bit under 4k and got one with all orginal panels with all its vin labels. Nice and clean inside and out, full history with 80k on the clock.
The 6 speed box is easily improved with an oil change. It’s not a horror story without it either, just a bit notchy between first and second when cold.
An early MK3 is likely to be less rusty than a MK2.
You’ll get underbody rust, generally cosmetic rather than any structural issues at this age.
Check the wheel arches, seen a few early ones showing light perforation, not a difficult or expensive fix so far.
Quarter light post probably rusty, can be replaced or treated.
Check around indicator repeaters for blistering, again should be easily fixable.
Blistering under boot lid, aluminium part so clean and treat.
You can find good solid MK2’s, just spend more time on due diligence.
I would recommend the MK3 over the 2.5 any day and especially because of the rust issues. I bought a 2.5, sight unseen, from an eBay seller last summer. The car was in Scotland, was a one owner car and had been used as a daily driver, but had spent all or most of its life outdoors (no garage).
I took the Ferry from Ireland over to Scotland to buy it and when I arrived to collect it, I wasn’t particularly happy with it, especially the bodywork around the wheel arches. However I was committed to buy, having paid a deposit etc and so went ahead and brought the car home. It was a 1.8 Sport and was a lovely car to drive. Having had a number of Mk1’s and 1 other MK2 it was easily the nicest one to drive so far.
On arriving home and on further examination it was in even worse condition underneath that I had anticipated. I decided that if I was going to keep it I was going to have to strip it right down and “do it properly”. I removed the from bumper, wings etc and found that the front chassis legs were in poor condition as was the panel beneath the headlamps. After some welding and a few coats of body schutz it was looking a lot better. However the rear wings were much more of a problem with a badly rusted lip around them and a large hole in the N/S wheel arch. By this stage I had had enough and it seemed that everywhere I looked there was always more rust.
In the meantime a car dealer friend phoned me to see if I was interested in a 2006 MK3 that he had taken in. This was a 1.8 car but had very light damage to the front and rear O/S wing and a slightly scratched front bumper. A deal was done and I happily took the car off his hands. I got the paintwork sorted out and as I was going to have, the front bumper painted I decided to take the plunge and upgrade to a MK3.5 front end. I was never that keen on the front of the MK3 and as my budget wouldn’t stretch to a MK3.5 for a few years yet, this was the obvious way to go. I have ended up with a lovely MK3.25, as I call it, and although it is only the 1.8 I am really pleased with it. It is easily the nicest MX-5 I have had so far. Underneath the bodywork is in excellent condition with no obvious signs of rust and the way the front end of the MK3’s are designed it will be much less susceptible to the rust problems that the MK2.5 have had. The car at the moment stands me around £3K and looks like it is worth at least twice that. I would recommend go ahead with a MK3 and buy the best one that you can afford. At that age and price bracket the asking price should reflect the condition more that the actual age of the car.
Collecting ours today 2.0 ltr Sport with full leather & heated seats, Bose system, climate control etc 2007 39000 miles spotless £5995 down south. Location effects the price
Its simple isn’t it? Take your time and find the buy the best low mileage Mk2.5 or 3 you can find at the top end of your budget. Low mileage well looked after cars, like ‘bandits’, turn up regularly particularly if your prepared to travel a bit for the right car. Lets face it most MX5’s are 2nd cars with lower than average miles so why buy one with high mileage?
I’ve had both 1.8 and 2.0. I’d agree that the 6 speed is more notchy than the 5 but its not a big issue and both are indeed notchy when cold.
Swaped my MR2 roadster for a 1.8 and although she was a great car I found her a little too slow for my liking. That said the 1.8’s performance is perfectly adequate. After a couple of years moved onto a 2.0 which I prefer. With hindsight I should have test driven both versions. I’d suggest you make sure you do the same before taking the plunge you wont regret it.
My gut feel would be to go for a Mk 3 as the NB’s do suffer from rust. Personally I would avoid cars North of Derby as there is too much salt put down on the roads above there. Scottish cars seem to be a nightmare!. Drumtochty may disagree! MX5’s in the South East are more likely to be 2nd cars and low mileage. I can see myself looking at NCs in a couple of year’s time.
My only concern is the number of Mk 3’s that have had engine problems due to owners not checking the oil. 2.0 litre engines seem to be in short supply but what are the differences between the Ford Duratec and Mazda MZR engines? Are the main components interchangeable?
As IanH said, plus check for clonks from anywhere, check droplinks, no oil leaks and the usual stuff. Any rust on any seam, on any car - reject (look carefully under the bonnet) If you can drop the undershield and get someone to carefully check all the metalwork under tha car so much the better.
Vin numbers on panels - but be aware that an attempted theft by prising open the boot lid will mean the replacement will have a different vin (like mine).
Uneven tyre wear - maybe the tracking is out, maybe not. Drive it along a motorway and a dual carriageway with “surface dressing” and see if it tramlines. Clean engine oil a must. Service records for diff and gearbox oil replacement - DIY on Diff is a piece of cake, g’box is a pain without a hoist.
If not the original wheels then maybe the owner wopped a kerb and put pretty new wheels on - any strange vibrations reject the car.
Damp carpets behind seats - from blocked roof drains. Ask yourself (it’s damp today - has it just been ignored?) If its been ignored maybe the floor is corroding!
Heli5 - sorry about your troubles, but apart from buying blind you are wrong in one other respect - that is, you could have walked away. I did just once - it was an MX5 which had an out-of-balance rear end on first inspection. And it was still out of balance when the rear tyres had been replaced (at the vendors expense) and the wheels balanced, so I refused the car. The dealer was well annoyed, shame! Sometimes loss of a deposit is cutting your losses.
I am running a 2008, 2.0 ltr Mk 3 Ltd Edition ‘Niseko’ with PRHT.
I have had the car from new 2008 and she has now covered 106,000 miles. In all that time I have changed only one headlight bulb, the rear Lamda sensor and the offside scuttle deck motor assembly, (Approx £1300 by Mazda, but £300 from a good salvage yard + about 1hr to swap out). The car has been regularly serviced and still runs as sweet as a nut and the gearbox is as slick now as it was new, short & sharp.
The only body rust issues I have found was in the front offside wing at the 5 yr point. This was some bubbling around the wing repeater. I contacted Mazda who said it wasnt covered as it was not perforation, when I asked if it was a design issue caused by the repeater they said no. So when I photographed two similar Mk3s being sold by EMG Cambridge that had exactly the same problem Mazda decided to cover about 2 thirds of the repair work.
The only warning I will mention is this, I put the car back into WIM as it had been about three years since they originally did the geometry set-up. Surprisingly the settings were almost exactly as they had set her up (fast road) however every adjustment bolt has rusted and siezed into the bushes front and back. It is possible that in attempting to replace the bolts the arms may also get damaged. Looking at Mazda parts the arms alone are around £600, plus the bushes, plus the bolts, plus re-fit.
WIM are beginning to see a number of Mk 3s with this problem, and indeed a number of other vehicle makes, to the point where some owners are now having all the bolts released, greased and reset annually.
Interesting thread with good responses, I have a mk 2.5 Indiana in the garage wont ever sell, yes she had to have front chassis rails and rear sills done its not exactly major surgery. I have just sold a mk1 and put a deposit down on another MK 1 I collect her in about 2 weeks time. I have also owned 2 x 2litre mk 3’s too and I prefer MK1 and MK2 to the 3 3.5 etc. Bump what RMurphy says but do disagree with post about cars north of Derbys load of tosh imho cars are being sold up north down south etc etc so cant agree with that post
Yes about Derby, I live there. I bought mine north of Derby, Sheffield actually. The car actually came from the South of the country, so that’s blown that analysis out of water re what part of the country is best to buy.
I get mine checked every year, twice (@ swop Summer v Winter tyres) and it hasn’t needed changing for the last 4 years or so, it was out when I first bought it 5 years ago (next check due in a few weeks!)
Not being impressed with the rustproofing I’ve spent a bit of time sloshing Waxoyl all over the black and meccano-looking bits underneath, with especially the likely-looking bolts including the adjustment bolts, drop-link bolts etc. so there’s no corrosion on them (as far as I can see!). Thinned-down and applied carefully to nuts/bolts/threads with a paint brush to stop it going where you don’t want it (rubber bits etc.) I’m hoping it works as well as on other cars in the past. It’s easier to clean this off with a bit of white spirit if need be than to cope with the rust! I did this 'cos I didn’t like the look of the orange stuff that was appearing especially on the welded seams.
Having said this I didn’t do the attachment bolts for the front drop-links, so I had to get the local garage to cut the old ones off! Ho hum…
Mk3.25 conversion - a flag here to anyone thinking of buying a MK3 - beware of conversions, it wasn’t just the front-end styling that went into that version but a lot of other stuff as well! SO maybe get info on what vin nos. applied to what versions and do a quick check, not everyone will be as forthcoming as OC members on this point.
Per my earlier post and living in Northern Ireland I am not in a position to enter into the geographial debate about how far North to buy or not buy a car. My bad experience of buying in Scotland would certainly make me think twice about buying there again although I dont believe that you can generalise. The climate and salt used on the roads here in Northern Ireland can not be much different than Scotland. Obviously if you are in a wetter climate the cards are going to be stacked against you before you start. However there are so many other factors and after that it is all down to how well the car has been kept, how it has been looked after, whether it was garaged, whether the garage is a dry one and well ventilated etc etc. and ever if it has spent most of its life near the coast.
What I have noticed though and what attracted me to buy in Scotland was the difference in price. Cars in Scotland seem - on the face of it at least - to be better value than other parts of the UK. The mistake I made was to buy unseen except from a few photo’s and a less than honest description. And yes I could have walked away but having paid a deposit and having booked and paid for the ferry home this was not really an option. In the end and after a lot of hours work I sold the car on without much of a financial loss, having sold off the hardtop and another couple of bits and pieces that came with it.
So buy carefully, don’t trust all the seller tells you, do your own checks if you know what you are looking for, or get someone to do then for you if you don’t.
Happy hunting and hopefully you get the best Mx-5 that your hard earned money and budget can stretch to.
