I can’t help thinking that if the dealer had a flashy showroom with several staff in expensive suits, squishy sofas and a big chrome coffee machine you might feel reassured.
Question is, who pays for that?
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I saw that, but couldn’t find them as an approved dealer on the AA’s site
To talk to?.. Typical used car salesman. He tried hard (sent me a video and underseal docs) and told me a story about the background of the car I didn’t know if to believe. Could be true… “Previous owner had an earlier MX5 and found this one had too little space so traded it in for an older one again.”
50% bad reviews here, but sample size of only 4
And here, not as bad
Can’t expect 100% ok reviews. Interesting is that both those sites point to a web address that’s abandoned, but I think it’s the same company. Were they trying to dodge some bad reviews?
Anyway, I get the comment about a flashy showroom and kind of agree, but also the one about ‘if it doesn’t feel right’. Doesn’t help that I’m based near London so visiting them isn’t the easiest just to see if I get a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Again, thanks for all the opinions.
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The description and pictures would indicate that this is the very latest model. Have they been available for over a year? It mentions a ‘fresh mot’ but it doesn’t need one.
That could be also quite true. An NC owner moved up to an ND the back to an NC
It’s a 2023 spec. Not with USB-C ports nor the 8" display in the cabin
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Thank you, I can now see there is no front number plate plinth.
Still doesn’t need the MOT.
The mention of an MoT looks like boilerplate text that they probably use on all their adverts.
No harm in having an MoT done on a “new” car, though.
If you do buy it do so on finance so the financier has joint responsibility with the dealer for the product being as described and suitable for purpose etc etc.
Check with Mazda that it has the balance of their warranty.
If the underseal is exactly that, you’ll want to have it removed and some proper rustproofing done to replace it. This is because mere underseal is a very old product and is porous and allows water through. It then holds the water against the metal, causing it to rust more quickly than unprotected metal. Worse, you can’t see the rust, so one day you just have a bad crash when the chassis disintegrates. The rustproofing you need takes several days to do because each of the three layers of protection needs to cure overnight. Expect to pay £1,500+ for a proper job.
If you make part of the purchase on credit card, (at least £100) you get an added level of protection. Here are the details on section 75 protection when making a purchase on credit card: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-your-purchases/
The ‘underseal’ was a £990 job described as “Carry out full cavity wax & underseal rustproofing treatment on Mazda MX5 using Dinitrol products.” by a company called JR Classics, for what it’s worth.
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That sounds like a properly done rust proofing
Firstly never do a bank transfer! You have no recourse.
I would run a mile if I were you. There are plenty of really nice MX5s for sale all the time.
Happy hunting!
JR Classics did my Sport Black last year. They had it a week and they do a proper job.
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As long as 1 penny is paid for on credit card, the whole purchase is covered under section 75 if anything goes wrong. Even if the rest is by bank transfer. So long as it is a single item between £100 and £30000.
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Never had a problem in all the cars, caravans, motorcycles, motor homes that I have bought over the decades doing it that way.
Distance selling also plays a part in protecting the consumer too.
I will say “avoid” those companies that do not accept credit cards.
The good news is that it wasn’t underseal. Dinitrol is quite good. £990 for the job with Dinitrol is a fair price. Other options exist where the five different products used cost £600 for the products alone and the job includes going back to bare metal rather than coating what’s already there. This will result in a better, longer lasting job, and will cost 50% more. Each option is probably equally good value for money, unless you want to keep the car for a very long time, in which case the more expensive job is better value.
When I spoke to them, they said basically that car had the underside done, but not inside doors and so forth, which is also an option.
So… decided to go for it after all. Excited to be joining the fold 
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Geeze. So dealer sent it to Mazda for its first service to maintain warranty. Mazda dealer screwed one of the alloys and attempted to say they’d refurbish/repair it, which is not on in my book.
Now have to wait for a new replacement to be delivered…
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