I have a 2010 NC2 which I have had for a few weeks now and loving everything about it!
I went and had a shufty in the main fuse box area under the bonnet (very front of the car, passenger side)
To my initial alarm there was a large white plug (top left of the fuses as looking at them from the front of the car) which had brown gunky deposits around where the 20 or so wires go into this large plug. At first it looked burned as it was a dark brown, but upon further inspection, it didn’t smell burned, it was not singe marks, but a kind of greasy almost oily deposit, which I have left alone, but almost a lubricant feel to it.
While the car is functioning perfectly, I was wondering if a previous keeper did this by design to insulate the heads of the wires to moisture? Does this sound normal, or am I in for trouble here?
Thanks,
Richard.
Nothing to worry about, it’s normal.
Richard.
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Brilliant resource, thanks so much for sharing - Your car for sale looks lovely. Maybe I need 2 MX-5’s in my life?
You can never have too many MX5s in your life 
I’ve only half heartedly advertised it up until now as the house purchase is taking longer than expected and I don’t want to get rid of it, funny I was just thinking of gearing it up a bit and putting it on other sites this weekend as it’s not getting used at all now.
What did you spend on the getting it undersealed? Very tempted to do mine sooner rather than later and got a £700 quote to do it properly in London.
Sorry but it’s far from simplistic as an XYZ price. It depends on the state of the car to begin with and what the customer wants exactly. I’d get it up in the air for a look then discuss it with a customer.
Of course. While mine is quite decent underneath, I can see how it is a pretty labor intensive job, so will get a better idea when I show it to them, I will be using the car all year round, so think it wise at the 10 year mark before it gets ugly, still can’t believe how ■■■■ Mazda’s rust proofing is though, my boot lip rust is a surprising find in something only 10 years old, so that is a pretty big warning right there. There are also some spots on the front beam (between the headlights) where the bonnet latch clasp is, too!?! 
(It’s not like I bought a Fiat!! - but it feels like it!)
They just want to sell cars that last for up to 10yrs or so, that’s all they’re interested in. The first owners don’t give a toss either, rust and ■■■■ servicing won’t be their problem so no preventitive maintenance gets done. That’s the selfish World we live in.
From our perspective as used car buyers it is annoying though, when you look underneath you think well if you’d done the job properly and stuck another £100 on each car no-one would have batted an eye, yet now i’ve got a pile of rust to contend with.
The areas underneath where they didn’t bother to put any underseal on is shocking, just sent out of the factory with nothing but primer on and no wax injection.