Hello all, delighted to be part of the community after purchasing this NC3.5 in Stormy Blue. I’m after some advice.
I will keep this car for the very long term, as it’s my first car in my dream spec, so I’m wondering what people would advise I do as a new owner. It’s had full Mazda service history & 70k miles. I’d love to get it checked out by a specialist and potentially look at getting some professional rust treatment to at least slow down the inevitable. I’ve seen Anand Viad mentioned a few times in the forum so I’m learning towards getting in touch with him
I’m wondering what else I can be doing now, to keep it running for as long as possible whether rust work, or an extensive inspection by a specialist. I’m not sure if some of the noises I’m hearing from the car are normal or if there could be a couple of issues that I should get checked out. I’m in the NW but happy to travel to get it checked out, any thoughts welcome and appreciated,
Welcome along, sounds like a nice car. I’m sure people will give you location specific advice however one option could be to look for a dinitrol service centre close to you: dinitroldirect.com
You mention that you’re based in the NW (I’m in Manchester), so a couple of pointers to help get you started.
Firstly, if you want someone with years of expertise to give the car a thorough once-over, I can warmly recommend Paul Roddison (who is @rodders on this forum). He’s currently based in Sheffield, but moving his operation over towards Lincolnshire-ish in the coming weeks. A very highly experienced mechanic (and MX-5 racer).
On rustproofing - yes, definitely well worth the investment, for peace of mind. But it needs doing right. Anand is certainly highly regarded, but based down near London. In the NW, I’ve had a good experience getting my MX-5 prepared and undersealed by Duke Street Garage in Oldham, who are Dinitrol agents. They’d need the car for 3-4 days, and expect to pay something around £1,100. I think @Wardy5 might be able to recommend other rustproofing / underseal places in the Manchester area.
Beyond that? Get it serviced regularly. Personally, I have the gearbox and diff oil changed each year. And above all, get out in it, drive it, and enjoy it
I’ve a 2010 NC in the same Stormy Blue. First registered in June 2010, I bought it in Preston in December that year and drove it home through Cairnryan ferry port to NI, through that year’s big snow. It had 18 miles on the clock.
Approx 65K miles now, had it steam cleaned underneath and dinitrol treated in August ‘21. Lucky to have it garaged, and most of its miles - but not all, are dry ones- summer and winter. Obviously this winter has been shockingly wet….its been out about 3 times.
It gets an annual service despite doing about 4K miles per year.
Photo taken in Óbidos, Portugal- just north of Lisbon.
Welcome to the forum that looks like an extremely good example, keeping any car long term is all about fastideous maintenance and sorting out any issues promptly, this applies to the most basic things like weekly tyre pressure and all levels checks to the more expensive less regular oil and filters, fuids, belts and water pump replacement the schedule for which you should find in your service manual should you have been lucky enough to get one with your car, the dipstick is your friend. Wishing you many smiles per mile
In terms of North West/Manchester underseal options, I used Aaron who runs MX-5avage in East Manchester, Failsworth way. Facebook is probably the best way of contact, or I can get some other contact details if you don’t use it:
He had the car for a week and you get before/after photos, videos etc.
Whoever you use, it’s definitely a job worth doing but needs the right approach
You’d go for an initial inspection, and then go from there.
In terms of MX-5 specialists, consider Performance Link for upgrades, servicing, alignment etc. They’re Gloucestershire based, but always worth the trip
