Even the (allegedly) best repairer in the country will only put a 3 year guarantee against MOT failure (their words). Rust per se is not a MOT failure.
The repairs are 4 years old. It matters not that the car was garaged or not.
The obvious surface rusting in the last two photos is not new metal rusting, but old 25-30 year old metal. I’d probably be bothered by the skimming of filler over the seam.
The new (4 year old ) forms against the 30 year old jacking lip, but its not actually the lip.
When you take on a 30 year old car you are not buying a new car. You are buying a car that will need ongoing maintenance, and extra intensive inspections and ongoing repairs tp the metal, both new and old.
A boroscope is going to be a waste of time.
You form a view on the longevity of the repair through looking at a repair file. Did the repairer take photos of the repair in progress. Did the repairer replace or patch the inner sill. Most will cut out the rotted metal and make up repair bits, with will likely make the “boroscope” inspection more difficult given all the welding wire etc in there.
Typical inner repair. Note the lip being the original metal. Also note the jacking points, which are also so called “drain points” (I think more likely condensate relief, and actually a way for water to flow through. Water should not be in the sills full stop). Over the years, attendant owners may have opened these up a bit, Use of a jack can mangle the metal, scratch the paint.
The zinc weld through primer I have no idea how long it “lasts”. It cannot offer the same protection as galvanization, which was never part of the Mk1 MX5. It cannot last as long as the electroplate zinc-promer Mazda used (according to its patents). It buys you time only as the next custodion of the car.
The blebs by the mudflap, new or old metal?
I suspect if you went to a certain business, starting with “M” and complained about minor rusting on a 4 year old repair, he’d say wise up.
I’ve no idea of the rest of the car. Is it low mileage, is the trim in good order, is it UK spec or JDM etc etc. But, after trying to understand the state of the recent NA market, based only on asking values, £4500 is now towards the lower end of the market. If you are expecting completely perfect condition, to Mazda standard, you are looking now at £10-15k.
The repairs 99% of repaired cars get are patch repairs. They’re only removing rusty metal that they can see. Someone on the forum divulged the costs of a true restorative repair. Thats not £1000-2000. More like £6-8000. Not just the end of the sill patched up, but the entire sill replaced (including outer panel). Probably getting to a point now where such a repair is viable. ie finding a £1000-2000 rotted car (with full FSH and provenance) and turning it into a £10,000 car is potentially realistic with some prospect of a margin.
Bare in mind now the trajectory of “modern classic” values now. Some numbers out there are getting crazy (not just MX5s; a 1991, pre-face lift Austin Metro automatic is on a forecourt fot £7k, Mk4 Escort Cabrio (a pretty awful car in tis day); £6.5k, Vauxhall Rascal van; £11.5k). But maybe these are fair prices. £4500 is not so much. Provided there are photos to show a decent underlying repair, its a fair price given the age of the repair. If there is no evidence of the approach to the repair, or you cannot speak to the repairer, then I assume its a plate over and filler job, which owners with rose tinted glasses think was a lovely repair and expensive at £300 a side. Many of them out there.
Such is the effect of inflation (ignoring all other model-specific factors), £4500 in 2023 money is £3800 in 2019 money, I spent a lot of time “restoring” a S-Limited, but when it came to sell, as usual too many cheap charlies out there. The £5500 asking price for a car with brand new full arch and sill repairs, new carpet, new hood, new coilovers, new wheels/tyres, exahust, trick engine dressing and provenance, became £3500. It did feel like a kick in the teeth at the time.
If I was the seller, I would resist taking offer. Clocks have gone forward, some sunny weather, buyers will be lining up.
There is nothnig in these photos that would concern me on a £4500 purchase, bodywise. If you are intent on ownering a 25-30 year old car that has been welded for another 5 years, it is reasonable to assume that in those 5 years, you will be investing in more patch repairs, including to the 2019 repairs. You will have to spend more time, and money, in those sill areas compared to if the car was brand new. I’d probably be more focused on the mechanics. If the mechanics are in good order, £4500 is a fair price.
