Having absorbed this topic thoroughly, but still far from claiming to be an expert, I will spend my max of 12K on the best motor I can find, then first stop will be a reputable specialist company pretty much anywhere in the country and leave it with them to do the full monty undersealing job. Don’t mind a night in a B&B if it is necessary whilst the work is done. I’ll be retired with time on my hands, only hope that my end of term gratuity covers the purchase without having to p/x the Astra! Thanks all. Len
Hi LilWashu. I think you’ll find that Drumtochty was referring to a claim made by Saz in Post #19 that Mazda DID underseal their cars, which was wrong. If you read my post #27 you’ll see why, facts obtained from Mazda by me and confirmed by Drumtochty in an thorough on-ramp strip-down inspection. This was also mentioned in Scottishfiver’s post #37. Nobody was having “A go” at Saz for no reason as his posts are generally very well researched, made in great detail and reliable, but in this case he did unfortunately make an unresearched, incorrect assertion which was corrected by other members, as should be the case whenever incorrect information is posted on the forum.
PS: I see that you have an ND, like me. If it’s a “keeper” I suggest you get it “underbody/cavity” protected, if you haven’t already.
My car is the ND referred to that was stripped out underneath, examined and subsequently treated. The thread is kicking round here with plenty of photographic evidence of the protection provided on delivery, I’ll let you make up your own mind as to whether that classifies as ex factory undersealing…
I had perforations in the arches of an NC professionally repaired when it was about 7 1/2 years old, it had spent all its life up here in NE Scotland where salt on the roads is a regular occurrence between November and March.
I dont know how long I’ll keep the ND (fantastic car by the way) however I do know that if/when I sell it on it will be more of a known quantity and that might appeal to someone, plus I have the peace of mind from having done it. It may be that changes in materials used in ND’s compared to earlier models will render this less of an issue. Having got rid of an NB at 4 1/2 years with bubbles appearing in the quarter panel plus the repairs to the NC above you may understand why I’m a little wary.
We’ll be looking at how well the undersealing and cavity protection (important bit too) are holding up when we hold our Area Tech Day in March, it will need to be topped up at some point as it’s not a for life thing.
Cars that have lived their life in the more southern parts of our currently United Kingdom anecdotally fare better with the elements over time.
My advice, if buying new and it might be a keeper or you care enough about its longevity generally then get it done. If buying used get an inspection by someone who is familiar with the car and depending on your plans for it get it done properly. It’s unlikely a used car with any appearance of surface rust can be treated effectively in less than a couple of days, a new car can be done in a day.
Rust damage on used cars is not the end of the world either, factor it into your buying calculations to get a proper repair from one of the many specialists, their location and prices are fairly well documented, if you don’t need to spend it then all the better and you have some money to spend on toys.
It’s worth remembering that in terms of fun for money no other sports car comes close…
As an aspiring owner who lives in Hertfordshire, the bulk of my driving is done on urban roads with the occasional rural stint. I’ve put 100k on my Ford and it should last me until the end of this year, at which point I hope to replace it with an MX-5.
How big a concern is rust for owners in the south of the country? If I need to factor a proper treatment into the purchase price (assuming it’s not been done already) then that’s great to know at this stage - but equally if it’s not a concern then that’s that.
For reference, I think the roads I’ve driven on got gritted maybe twice (that I noticed)) over this last winter.
Hello Majick,
Judging by the host of informed recommendations from many experienced members who have already posted on this thread, I would suggest you should allow for a full underbody inspection of any MX-5 purchase, and perhaps budget for around £400.00 for a complete clean / rustproofing treatment, especially cavity protection with Waxoyl or something similar.
Obviously, if you are buying a new car, then rust is not going to be an issue for perhaps ten years, especially if you look after it, and Mazdas do not seem to be any worse than a car from any other manufacturer in this respect. But if your budget is more likely to run to a five or six year old model, or maybe older, then the first thing to do, before you buy, is to have a good look underneath. And if you intend this ‘affair’ to be a long-term one, then protecting it from the dreaded ‘tin-worm’ is a good idea. If you consider the ‘big picture’, then when spending perhaps ten grand or more on a car, another four hundred for long-term peace of mind is not out of the way.
Have fun in whatever 5 you buy.
Chris Phillips.
Thanks, Chris, much appreciated. I see from another post there’s a decent place near me, so I’ll make sure to contact them as and when.
Pop quiz, which car doesn’t have any underseal.
There’s a big difference between any and effective…
Effectively the ND is not well protected in the areas that typically rust in MX-5’s
Why no plastic under tray,my merc is completely covered underneath,also improves aerodynamics.
No it wasn’t (have a look at the ND rust protection thread to see the factory underseal).
Yes they were (“Stop digging holes and making more of a fool of yourself on this matter”).
The “other members” are guilty of the accusations you are making, as anyone with eyes, common sense, or actual experience of MX-5s can see.
I will likely put some cavity protection in there, but underseal in this case likely serves no purpose except cosmetic/making people whose experience is based on 1970s cars feel better/making the underside unpleasant to work on, so I won’t be doing that.
Also anyone suggesting the use of Waxoyl for anything should be ignored on this subject.
A very interesting post you’ve made LilWashu, an excellent example of cherrypicking. It’s a shame you overlooked this:-
Just to put your mind at rest, my ND had the full Dinitrol protection.
Please don’t make antipathy where there is none. I, and the other members have great respect for Saz and his usually well researched and presented posts.
Hi Lilwashu,
Why do you infer that Waxoyl is a waste of time please ? Would you suggest that Dinitrol would be preferable ?
Chris Phillips.
I certainly felt the antipathy, with the ad hominem attack directed at me. Unlike other forums, on this forum, posters can always go back and reword their posts if it has caused offence. One can express disagreement without name calling.
Having been in the same position, I agree entirely!
Dinitrol wax applied to the inside of the sills of my S-Limited has failed to make any difference in subsequent sill rusting. Sill failure took the same amount of time as my S-Special, which received no additional protection. In that example, Dinitrol was a complete waste of time. There is a lot of nonsense marketing when it comes to presenting the performances of different wax treatments.
Thankyou for now agreeing that antipathy had been caused.
Chris, you asked …
'Why do you infer that Waxoyl is a waste of time please ? ’
Waxoyl is okay for cavity protection but no good for under body as it washes off after a few months.
It’s as bad as being called a liar by implication rather than by accusation!
Waxoyl is just wax in white spirit. Waxoyl Underseal has an additional bitumen component. When you have used Waxoyl in the past on a chassis, you have brought the wrong Waxoyl.
I once used black waxoyl as additional protection on a new car and found it soon washed off. Years later I used the thick brush on waxoyl underseal on a Mitsubishi Pajero which was better but washed off the most exposed parts in a year or so.