Hi all,
So, as the MOT is looming, both front chassis rails need replacing. She’s an 04 1.8 Euphonic, and while pretty much everything else is sound I don’t think she’ll pass due to the front rails.
Do I just break for spares or how much to get both rails replaced / recommendations for a good welder near Southampton?
Sort of undecided whether it’s worth repairing, bit I don’t like NA’s or NC’s and can’t justify an ND yet !
Any views / comments appreciated.
Cheers all
If the rest of the car is sound and you really like the car,my advice would be to get the rails replaced and enjoy the car for many more years. Whatever the cost if repairs,I’m sure you wouldn’t get another car for that price. I had mine done last year and last week she passed her mot 1st time,so that’s another year at least I’ll get out of her. Your car,your choice though.There’s a euphonic on the fore court of a trader on my street. Red leather seats,lovely condition,but a mot history check revealed lots of underside corrosion. I fear this one will be broken
I would think maybe 1000/1200 to have rails replaced as its big structural job and paintwork. How are the rear arches/sills as they rust also and that would definitely make it uneconomical to repair. The panels for front chassis rails are cheap enough. Its the labour thats expensive
I would definitely get the rails replaced. If you were to buy another car there’d almost certainly be things that need doing. Maintaining a car you know, unless it’s becoming a money pit, is usually the most economical approach. The key thing is to get the work done to a high standard. There are quite a few companies that do these reapairs, so worth doing your homework. Good mk2 cars are getting rarer so you’ll be pleased you kept it…! Good luck.
I would say no more than £1000.
That would include ancillaries such as anti freeze as the rad needs to come out, 2mm sheet to fold the new rails from, nuts & bolts to weld in
(I used flanged nuts to weld into the new chassis members. I wouldn’t advise thinner sheet or fragile Riv-Nuts like some eBay items).
I also replaced the drop links while the ARB was off. I used a can of motor bike chain lube sprayed down the inside and rattle cans outside.
I’ve had a year out of it and I’m sure it will pass another MOT or three, so time and money well spent IMHO.
( Cost to do this myself was less than £200 but then I like working on cars, sense of achievement and all that. )
Paul G
Nice job there Paul.
Unfortunately I don’t have the space or equipment (and some would say ability ??) to repair at this level.
Takes, servicing etc no major probs - but not engine out work ??.
So now trying to find someone local who does this sort of work at a good price (not lowest, but reasonable money for a job well done, as I would like to keep this car for some time).
Regards,
Agree, NB’s are dissolving by the day. Damn annoying that our 12 year old Micra kickabout is still pristine with not even a sniff of rust despite over 4 years of “teen first car” abuse and lack of care! When will Mazda decide to properly manufacture their cars !!!
The MX5 doctor is near Southampton. They did a good job on the sills of my last NB.
Rear arches mainly OK, just a small amount of very fine surface discolouring, but no bubbling /rust flaking. Both rear sills have been welded for MOT’s previously.
So I think a trip to a specialist is on the cards for a quote and a think…any suggestions for a reputible chassis welder…??
This comes up on the forum. I don’t have personal experience of them:
Replacing the whole rail is very involved.
Mine…
Rear wings too.
The rails if OEM as mine were may cost £800.00 alone for the pair.
Then the ££££ fun starts.
£800.00 will likely cover a patch up.
This is OK…depending on who is doing it.
As said, solid rot-free Mk22/Mk2.5s…unless Carcooned Garage Queens or have already been competently remetalled AND…proofed…are essentially “Unobtanium”
Worth it? Opinions differ.
I would say definitely worth it. Lovely looking car. Wish mine looked that good
Thanks Dave.
This one has “history” insofar SWMBO’s long departed Mum part-bought it 15 years back.
The pivotal matter was mechanically then, as now, it was as new thanks to my rather OTT approaches to servicing & general care.
We decided the £****,** to include new rear wishbones, Rota alloys, an SS exhaust and major service was probably a reasonably sound idea as opposed to chasing down some else’s hidden issues when buying another. SWMBO had got so used to it, she does not and does not wnat anything else. So, fair play. The car’s original Panasonic still works fine etc etc. The only issue over these years bar service parts was the front fogs switching the engine off! Everything works as it left the factory.
This gets full circle to Toolman’s dilemma.
How solid/good is the rest of the car really?
In my view,it needs to be 90%-ish all round mechanically, and I’d strongly advise getting it ramped to have the floorpans etc “tapped”
In anycase, one man’s scrapper is often another man’s project especially these days when a cottage industry in repair sections have become readlly available.
I believe that MX5restorers are quoting £750 for both rails, job done.
As for whether or not to do it. My opinion is:
- mk2s are currently the “unloved” one, primarily because of the front chassis rails. If you exclude the rails, then both the mk1 and 2 seem to be very similar on common issues.
- Clearly we’ve seen mk1s begin to appreciate in value a couple of years ago. I think that mk2s are still clearing their way through the ones just too far gone. Give it a few more years and the only mk2s left will be those that people have made a conscious decision to save, by dealing with the chassis rails. The implications being that I see the value staying fairly static for a couple of years, then starting to rise for ones that have been looked after and given the needed remedial work
So if you’re going to keep the car, I do see it appreciating in value, but not for 2-3 years, at which point, I see the investment in the chassis rails paying for itself.
I shall get the chassis rails repaired on my 1998 NB later this year. I bought the repair sections a couple of years ago. I reckon the value of my car is pretty static providing it is well maintained and sound, ie capable of easily passing an MOT. I have owned the car for exactly 5 years now and I think that keeping the car as a sound runner is a sensible financial decision. The car does everything I want and need as a second car and it is the replacement cost that becomes significant. Including servicing and rear sill repairs it has cost me £2500 over the 5 years with no depreciation, I carry out the mechanical work myself. Another MX5 would cost me at least an extra £4000 and I know that in the first year of ownership it would cost £1000 to bring it up to a good mechanical standard and it would also be depreciating.
My inclination would be to keep the car you know and like and accept that body maintenance is as necessary as mechanical maintenance. If you get another 3 years use it will be money well spent.
Hi. Another recommendation for https://www.doctormx5.co.uk/what-we-do/
Julian & Anthony did my front chassis rails 4 months ago, along with rear sills and arches.
They charged me £700 plus the dreaded VAT along with more for the rest of the work.
Excellent job done, but depending on workload, it can can take a while.
Worth waiting for though.
Probably the best summary, whether NA or NB. Stop thinking about these cars being an investment, or “appreciating”. They never will. Rarity does not drive values. The only ones that will ever appreciate will be the ones that have never seen a welders torch and which are, essentially, never used.
If wanting to stay with MX5s, but not wishing to spend money fixing/maintaining one, probably one should think about going NB to ND, or NC3, not NB to NC1/2. Cheaper NCs are now getting long in tooth, and uncovering their own share of deferred maintenance issues. NC1/2 probably ok for first timer.
Two ways to look at the car.
Mr Normal Sensible would say “it is a Jam Jar but at the end of it’s reasonable life time to get rid”.
Mr I Love MY specific MX5 would think as has been said, I do not want to spend say £4k on a nice and clean Mk3 there are many clean cars available at the price in salty roads Aberdeenshire and some rusty ones but the rusty ones are in the minority, problems under the sill covers and the rear arches. I have a two post lift and have inspected many Mk3 cars for club members. You then want to change bits on the MK3 to suit you. Say £5k all in
The cost of leasing a new nice new car is say £300 a month that is £3,600 a year plus a deposit. Say £2k. Then te ongoing lease after that.
If you do the front and back end of the MK2.5 that is the same or less than a new car or getting a Mk3 to your spec.
In the big picture of life it make not one iota of difference what route you take.
Spend your money the way you want to but if you keep the MK2 get someone else, not you, to give it a good inspection on a lift and get it all done at once if you have that cash available, rather than the front end this year and the rear end next year and you should allow for two new front wings and a hood if you can afford to sort it in one go.
For lots of reasons you may not have the cash to do it all at once.
Do what suits you not anyone else.