Times have changed I am an ex recent Volvo owner of a 2009 before the MX5, I know about the ownership changing etc. but even so my previous 2009 C30 was fine no issues with rust our facelift 2010 C30 though an absolute joke.
A trip to a scrapyard will show that in general it’s no longer rust that confines a car to the great highway in the sky but defective electronics such as ecus or intelligent electric power steering systems.
The rust problems on the MX5 are detailed elsewhere and let an otherwise great car down. I dynotrolled the underside and box sections of my mk3 the best I could. There were areas on the car where in my opinion the protection was poor or none existent, the rear subframe been a good example.
In my opinion Mazda will not be too worried. Most new car buyers keep their cars for 3 years or so with very few exceptions they will not experience rust issues. The cars will sell well and by the time they are ready to change owner again then in proportion they are well down the value level and not much in them at main dealer level. Rust issues on Mazda are not confined to mx5. The Mazda 6 also suffers badly. What will the Mazda 2 be like after four or five winters.
I do think it’s worth continuing the crusade for Mazda to take notice but reality is for them it’s probably better to deny everything rathe than admit failings.
Interesting reading on the subject of rust my 2006 Mk3 seems to be rust free bodily but underneath its starting to look a little grotty the thinly powder coated components are rusting quite well for a 7 year old car with some nuts not even recogniseable as to what they are, also as I own an RX-8 some of these on the owners club web site are now showing some horrendously rusting sills which need to be cut out and replaced, in comparison my 9 year old Freelander is completely rust free underneath.
I honestly thought the days of rusting cars was gone with modern day protection such as wax injected cavities etc but Mazda now seem to place little priority on their rust proofing operations.
Del.
I can’t see the French government ever allowing PSA or Renault to collapse (or be sold to the Chinese), no matter how badly they fare. I personally think Fiat and Alfa could be the next ones in trouble.
The MoT data is misleading because MX-5s are more likely to be welded to get them through an MoT (how many of us would wait for a fail?), whereas a crappy 306 is most certainly not - it’ll just be used until it fails the test. Which is what I said in the OP.
Also, MX-5s are often summer-only cars which biases the results further; you’d never expect the same failure rate as for a Fiat that lives outside and is driven 365 days a year without being washed.
I have never seen a rusty Saxo (they suffer death by modding, instead), and there are still enough left to make up a sample. Likewise, you can drive a modern Skoda for ten years without cleaning it and it won’t have rusted.
The facts don’t bear that out. The number one reason for a MX5 to fail its MOT is the same as for any other car; tyres, followed by lighting (burnt out bulb etc).Saxo forums are full of discussion about floorpan and strut top rot, and some rather impressive looking holes. The vast majority of MX5s are not gently driven garage queens, but are driven all year round, and usually parked in the open. Most Mk1s have quite high mileages now. Ebay is full of cars being broken because of terminal rot, which hasn’t happened overnight. The very first sill “repair” described on this forum involved boot polish.
Fiat Barchetta; you’[d think an even more occasionally used car, being LHD and all. It had a fully galvanized body. Despite, comparing like year to like year, a higher percentage received fails/advisories on structure than MX5s. MGFs; probably the most similar owners to MX5 owners, judging by the MG owners at the MX5OC rally; structure fail rate for a 1995 car is 1.5x that of a MX5. The worst car of this class; MR2, with a corrosion fail rate 3x for a 1989 car.
Still, the original comment was that French cars are fiercely resistant to rusting. The Clio probably had the longest model life. Year on year, every model year of the Clio has a worse corrosion fail rate than the MX5.
I see Z3s weren’t much cop on passing a MOT. Even Boxsters were suffering corrosion failures, albeit very low. SLKs look ok, if rusting is a worry for you.
Saxo rust can be pretty spectacular; 5" holes developing on the rear pillers, entire strut tops disappearing (the ECU falls off).
Bear in mind, the MOT data records failure certificates, but for individual criteria, fails and advisories are subsumed.
Negotiations are ongoing with DongFeng:
For what it’s worth, I took a picture in a Swedish motor magazine this summer where they tabulated their results from rust evaluation for all cars they test, including reporting back from their owners. They are obsessive about rust as that is a big issue there (rusty cars are much more common on the roads in Sweden then here).
The picture is partially fuzzy but the top half is for cars tested 2009 - 2013 and the lower half for cars tested 2005 - 2008. The grading (Betyg) is from 1 (worst) to 5 (best). “Garantiår” means “Years of Warranty”. The rest you’ll figure out ;)
From their perspective Renault comes out Really well, Citroen not so much. Mazda is deplorable for a serious car, among the worst for the “bigger” brands.
Enjoy:
Honest John (opinionated and not always right) says MX-5s are disposable cars made for the typical 7-year Japanese ownership cycle. In other words, they’ll be scrapped or exported when the 7-year shaken comes up, so there’s no point in rustproofing them any better.
What would Tom Matano think?
Another Honest John article written by that ignoramus. I guess he’s still spouting Quentin Wilson’s line that Eunos Roadsters are a lesser car than the MX5. and have less rustproofing.
Matano will also think that nitwit is spouting a load of cobblers. Both Honese John and Quentin Wilson are former car traders, a profession I don’t hold in high regard. Then both decided to become journalists, an even more discredited role.
Do you want to debate Wilsons line that grey imports are all stolen? (as I recall his tv showwas, unwittingly, part of a scam,because it provided a phonenumber, which someone could call, check if their car was stolen in Japan, and then pay an administrative charge to make the car legit…the phone number was a scam, and I recall some police officers were arrested).
The experience of Sweden is irrelevant, as they don’t have the same maritime climate as we do, nor do they treat their roads in th same way.
So why is another data point not relevant?
All it says is that in another country which also salts it roads and also has a very long coast line the Mazda’s fare poorly on rust protection. Having now spent £1000 myself on rust repairs on my car that datapoint confirms that this is a known problem, not just here but in other places too. That means my experience is not a fluke. Relevant!
Are you really serious?
I thought we had pretty much exposed the cross-model issues by now in this forum especially.
Our 02 Mk2.5.
And yes, it was pampered.
Just one of many of a similar age, spread across the UK in various locations (inland & coastal)
Ours is the only 100% rot free Mk2.5 Sport I know.
It ought to be having chucked £2,800 at it.
Some may think/hope/pray theirs are as rot free as mine. They probably will not be.
They flatter to deceive.Then you belt them with a lump hammer or better still ram a large screwdriver through them.
(At this point you may require hot sweet tea or smelling salts & a stretcher bearer.)
You cannot see in between the laminated “sandwich” chassis rails until they are are in a state of advanced corrosion.
Sticking a camera in can give some sort of idea, but it won’t tell you whats really going on “beneath the sheets”
They may look pretty enough. So does Mount Etna.
Inflamatory statements? You choose. I’ve been there big time and have done a pretty extensive study.
Do you want to drive a car or put your beloved in a car that does this in a frontal?
Do not assume that a Mk2.5s age has anything to do with expectations of potentially dangerous monocoque failure unless you are not worried about buying a complete lemon and welding is your hobby.
From what I have seen, later cars are actually worse.
To those planning on their first Mx5 I would genuinley advise by passing Mk2s & Mk2.5s unless they come with both photographic & bill backed provenence.
Go for a properly sorted Mk1 where it is clear it’s either an original & rot proofed peach , has had new cills etc, or an sound Mk3 which have their own issues too.
From my point of view this only seeks to re enforce my point of view do something about it whilst it is still reasonably fresh underseal it and get it cavity injected.
In someways you can do your best and better than Mazda’s job frankly. I love the car but you cannot always look at it rose tinted it has it’s issues. But even saying that so many cars are poorly undersealed and protected these days it is shocking. Overall, yes Mazda could improve it to better standards, but even looking at at Swedish rust picture can see the likes of Volvo going from 5 to 4’s…and I can atest to finding rust developing on our 2010 C30 and took immediate action whilst tinkering doing some further bits following the excellent job by Chassis Clean (I just added some more on the rear lips and gave some more underseal on the outer sill behind the moulding).
I must have been soooo lucky, I brought mine on a whim on ebay, I’d never even looked closely at one in my life, under the car the floors ok and it looks like its never been welded anyware, there was a few spots of very light rust when you open the doors under some sealant that had dryed and cracked so that was sorted then some rust under the metal heatsheild under the back of the car and that was it exept for light rust on the roll bars and subframes but soon treated then painted in gold smooth hammerite, I must admit the bottom of the car looks as good as the top now.
I have noticed that there are alot of good green Mk1’s around, I wonder If its the colour? maybe darker colours dry quicker in the sun 
And furthermore, they are not exactly brilliant when solid so you need all the help you can get.
Take a deep breath.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKZZXGiEywo