A friend of the wife is going to look at a 10yr old MX5.

Can't find anything obvious (specific) faults for her to look out for. Any suggestions? Its done 100K+ miles but its *supposed* to be fully serviced, on at £2K. Not even sure if its a UK car. I am not chief adviser but anything helpful from me would be welcomed.

I did mention the roof and plastic rear window but I find out its supposed to be glass. Oh well

Eunos (Japanese imports) have rear number-plates in two lines of text whereas UK-spec MX5 number-plates are wider with only one line.

Edited 5 January, 201115 yr by AnotherGareth

Eunos (Japanese imports) have rear number-plates in two lines of text whereas UK-spec MX5 number-plates are wider with only one line.

I know that but I doubt she would know that there's quite a few non-UK models about unless I had said.

At least someone else had already told her not to look for any more MGs.

A good few MX owners on here, many very knowledgeable about them. I'm sure some will come along shortly.

A Mk2 (NB) will have a glass and heated rear screen. Pretty sure an import will have too, but a UK car definitely will.

Have you a link to the car?

Have you a link to the car?

Midnight Blue and at a garage in Stockport is all I know.

Not a lot goes wrong on the MKII, but check the clutch when cold for juddering and that the cam belt

has been changed when needed.

Also, I think/thought most of the imports were MKI's.

Agree with Len, not noticed any imported Mk2s around, but might be wrong. They're still importing other JDM-based motors, so why not the loveable MX as well?

I own a Mk1 and love it! the Mk2 had subtle changes to the Mk1 mainly the headlights, and tail lights. I believe the engines were still similar using the 1.8 from the Mk1.

In respect to the Mk1 - probably similar applies to the Mk2, check drainage holes in the sills, which is where the water runs down from the roof. If they get blocked they tend to rust from the inside out. I found a lot of useful information when helping my sister look at the Mk1 (which I now own) - here

Sorry I know alot more about the Mk1 than Mk2 - though I do believe there is only styling differences between them, most of the car is the same!

I seem to remember the MKI being lighter.....

There seems to be a lot more info about the original than the mk2 which is why I resorted to asking.

I don't recall seeing an import mk2 compared to the mk1 but I assume there must be a few about esp. round a big city. Plenty of import jap stuff round Mcr.

SWMBO's had two mx5s, both mk2s.

First one was a 1.6i bought new. Nice car, had a plastic hood and cloth seats, no options. Not much performance but still a nice car. Came with 14" steels as standard - lots of these had very naff aftermarket alloys added by misguided owners. For ours we added 4 x 15" OEM mazda wheels.

Second one was a 1.8i Sport. This had a mohair hood, heated leather chairs. 16" wheels, hardtop, in-dash cd changer plus being a "sport" it had bilstein dampers AND a LSD. This was a MUCH nicer car to drive and live with.

First one had a clutch replaced under warranty (juddering) and the exhaust re-fitted after it developed a rattle. Second one had no mechanical issues at all BUT did have very badly corroded wheels when we bought it (used at around 18 months old). We had these sorted FOC by the local mazda dealer before we sold the car even though it was out of warranty.

Overall, very reliable cars IMO. Not really a firecracker to drive as they are just not powerfull enough, but still fun at low speeds.

As above, there's a BIG difference between a boggo 1.6 and the top spec 1.8iS so make sure you know what you're buying.

HTH.

Mk1 and Mk2 are basically the same car with new exterior panels to remove the pop-ups, an updated interior, a bit of additional strengthening to the floor pan and, on later models, variable valve timing and occasionally a six speed gearbox depending upon spec.

So the same things apply to Mk1's as apply to Mk2's, especially as they were all built in the same factory in either Nagasaki or Hiroshima to the same basic quality levels, regardless of point of sale...

I have a 1995 mx5 1.8is and have had for the last 11 years so am probably pretty qualified to comment...

Basically thay are solid cars if looked after but a few pointers...

100K+ isn't bad and many do go for much longer - the engines are strong as they were basically a Mazda Familia turbo engine without the turbo. They do need regular oil changes though - at least every 6k mls with an engine flush and semi-synthetic (not fully synthetic) to stay in good nick.

Spec wise UK cars don;t tend to have AC (A/C was an expensive option on UK cars but generally standard on imports).

Does it start easily, run well and tick over steadily when coming to a halt. If not the problems are usually sorted by plugs, leads (they go at 20k mls due to heat) and resettig the base idle.

Paint work is usually good but is thin. The plastic nosecone and rear bumper should be exactly the same colour as the rest of the car as Mazda spent a lot of time sorting the paint match. anythng else points to accident damage.

Check for rust on the lower sills just in front of the rear wheel arches. this is usually the first place to go and they rust from the inside out. mostly, if caught early it's cosmetic and can be cut out and replaced (there are three layers of steel there and the outer layer is non-structural).

The engine may rattle on startup - it's the Hydraulic Lash Adjusters and they all do it after being sat - the Mazda oil filters have a pressure retaining valve in them to help with this but clean oil and a flush normally sorts it.

Gearbox should feel tight and mechanical with an engineered in "snick". The clutch slave cylinders can go but are easy to replace and only a few quid.

More often than not an oil leak at the rear of the head is the camshaft position sensor - a 20p seal but can be awkward to replace and if left too long can lead to the heater hoses disintigrating which can be a pain to replace.

The heater should come up to temp quickly and hover about half way on the scale with the fan kicking in regularly (the underbonnet temps get very high at up to 80degrees C)

Oil pressure should be steady at idle and on the earlier Mk1 cars was a proper gauge rather than a dummy gauge that was really a telltale. If it has a real one it should come up quickly, drop as it warms and then move with revs.

New hoods are pretty cheap and can be fitted by a good DIYer. If fitted right they will not leak. older cars often need the doors adjusting by brute force to stop some leaks but it's easy to do when you know how with no tools needed.

The interiors are solid except for the gloveboxes which can be flimsy at the hinges. Mk2's are smaller inside than Mk1's.

Condensation in the boot is pretty common if left stood and same goes for the inside.

Om Mk1's the pop up lights should come up together and go down together and should line up well with the bonnet - again easy to adjust but many owners don't and they get leant on at service time.

Brakes should be good but are not as highly servoed as modern cars - they stop well though and shouldn't pull. Sticking calipers are about £120 to replace and hot wheels after a run are the giveaway.

Slow electric windows probably need the rails greasing - they dry up and will snap the cables if your not careful.

On 100k+ mls it should be on it's third set of dampers or if not it may be close to needing them - they generally last about 60k mls - budget £450 ish plus fitting for something decent like Koni's

Box sections under the car about 12" inwards are anti-drum rails and are not structual. They stop the floor resonating but can get clobbered on speedbumps with the car being low and can start underbody rust.

Same applies for the catalyst but replacements on Mk1's are about £120. mk2's are much more expensive due to a flexible connection.

Listen for a sloshing noise in the sills - this is a sure sign of sill drain holes being blocked - an opened out paper clip in the right place will sort it and give you a face full of water.

Check the hood drain holes for being blocked. If you feel below the carpet behind the seat belt towers you'll feel a small cup - this is where the hood drains to (inside the car - hence some of the condensation issues) - if there is water there then the hood drains are blocked and will need rodding out with a piece of mains flex otherwise the inside will get damp and put water iside the sills.

Also does the car track straight and feel stable? - take the car on a normal country road with a standard camber ( ie with a high point along the centreline). Try crossing over the centreline as if overtaking - if the car shimmies a bit then the chances are the alignment needs sorting. They are full adjustable front and rear via eccentric bolts on the wishbones but you need someone with a proper four wheel kit to do it properly.

Also check what tyres it's on and what the wear is like. They work best with 14" or 15" wheels - anything else will ruin the handling but these sizes can be difficult to get good tyres for. They are also tyre sensitive and can be tail happy on the wrong ones.

On a UK car some rust on the rear suspension is to be expected but usually it's nothing major.

Finally if the boot has water in the well then it could be either the hood not fitted properly, the rear lights needing re-sealed, the aerial drain tube disconnected or the seal under the hard-top frankestein bolts.

Otherwise... GET ONE AND ENJOY!

Edited 7 January, 201115 yr by skomaz

Sorry - double post!

Edited 7 January, 201115 yr by skomaz

Thanks, that's a very helpful summary. Shame its not me buying one :(

I also found the engine slow to turn over due to the battery being located in the boot.

Always started in all the years we had it though

Echo everything said above...

Dont bother with the 1.6 as itll be epically slow.

Rust round the rear arches and sills is the main issue... if there is any, walk away.

Great post from skomaz above - it's all you'll ever need to know really

Definitely think we should have an MX-5 section on here, and that post should be a sticky

Great post from skomaz above - it's all you'll ever need to know really

Definitely think we should have an MX-5 section on here, and that post should be a sticky

I agree! Thats is a brilliant post by skomaz and definitley need an MX5 section

I agree! Thats is a brilliant post by skomaz and definitley need an MX5 section

I have mentioned this before......

Thanks for the comments guys

MX5 section would be good - especially as I spend more time on here than the MX5OC forum...

Anybody fancy a Broskoda MX5 meet?