Looking to buy an MX5 NB
Discussion
Hi all,
a friend of mine is selling her MX 5 NB, a 1.6i from '99. I've always loved the MX 5, and thinking of buying it. The price seems right to me, but... She's had a little accident (the car, not the friend...), and rear panel, rear bumper and 1 taillight need replacing. Would this e expensive? Can there be other damage behind the panels? It seems to have been a light knock, someone rubbing against it when parked.
Also, it would share my garage space with an E46 M3. Won't there be too much of a difference? Will I be disappointed. I obviously know it won't have the same performance, that doesn't matter very much, but still, I wonder...
a friend of mine is selling her MX 5 NB, a 1.6i from '99. I've always loved the MX 5, and thinking of buying it. The price seems right to me, but... She's had a little accident (the car, not the friend...), and rear panel, rear bumper and 1 taillight need replacing. Would this e expensive? Can there be other damage behind the panels? It seems to have been a light knock, someone rubbing against it when parked.
Also, it would share my garage space with an E46 M3. Won't there be too much of a difference? Will I be disappointed. I obviously know it won't have the same performance, that doesn't matter very much, but still, I wonder...
I would think the damage would be relatively easy to fix - there will be plenty models with the same colour being broken for parts so you should be able to source replacements.
Before that though, if you intend on buying a Mk2 you need to check 2 main areas - the sills, especially just in front of the rear wheels and the chassis rails that are a bit more difficult to check they can be checked a bit by getting underneath around the area just inside the front wheels - they are structural abnd badly designed (multiple layers of steel with water traps inbetween) so tend to rust...badly!
If both those areas are sound, then the car is probably worth saving.
If not, move on, there are loads about so it's a buyers market!
Bear in mind, if you only see a couple of rust bubbles on the surface, they rust from the inside out so it will be worse behind the scenes.
I think around £400 per side is a reasonable price to get sills repaired/replaced. Not sure on cost for chassis legs.
Before that though, if you intend on buying a Mk2 you need to check 2 main areas - the sills, especially just in front of the rear wheels and the chassis rails that are a bit more difficult to check they can be checked a bit by getting underneath around the area just inside the front wheels - they are structural abnd badly designed (multiple layers of steel with water traps inbetween) so tend to rust...badly!
If both those areas are sound, then the car is probably worth saving.
If not, move on, there are loads about so it's a buyers market!
Bear in mind, if you only see a couple of rust bubbles on the surface, they rust from the inside out so it will be worse behind the scenes.
I think around £400 per side is a reasonable price to get sills repaired/replaced. Not sure on cost for chassis legs.
A commercial repair on the bodywork you mention will make your eyes water and may exceed the value of the car. As said, look at the sills just in front of the rear arches, any rot is bad news. You can get them welded for less than the £400 a side stated though.
Front chassis rot is more troublesome, I looked carefuly at mine but missed the rot because it is hidden under a plastic panel. The MoT tester can't see under the panel either but the rot is still there. Repairs here are trouble. Much worse than a sill repair (piece of cake, I can do this in a day) the front chassis needs the engine out if you are doing a proper job.
Be careful, an average example of a 1999 MX-5 is worth under £1k. That doesn't pay for many repairs. There are as stated plenty of others so be choosy.
Front chassis rot is more troublesome, I looked carefuly at mine but missed the rot because it is hidden under a plastic panel. The MoT tester can't see under the panel either but the rot is still there. Repairs here are trouble. Much worse than a sill repair (piece of cake, I can do this in a day) the front chassis needs the engine out if you are doing a proper job.
Be careful, an average example of a 1999 MX-5 is worth under £1k. That doesn't pay for many repairs. There are as stated plenty of others so be choosy.
Just bear in mind that a 99 1.6 is about the least interesting of all MX5s made.
And I dont know what "right" price your thinking of, but the value of that with crash damage is in the low hundreds / pocket money range.
I would strongly recommend thinking about this expecially if you are not setup and skilled to do like work required yourself for zero cost.
And I dont know what "right" price your thinking of, but the value of that with crash damage is in the low hundreds / pocket money range.
I would strongly recommend thinking about this expecially if you are not setup and skilled to do like work required yourself for zero cost.
As above a 1.6 nb is a dire car.
I'm debating the future of my 1.8 nb at the moment and deciding if I'm better off keeping it, selling it or breaking it, that's a good sound car that mainly just needs a windscreen for mot, your friends car needs a hell of a lot more than just a screen and is going to be half the car when it's done.
If you want an nb get a 1.8 is or sport or one of the rs imports.
I'm debating the future of my 1.8 nb at the moment and deciding if I'm better off keeping it, selling it or breaking it, that's a good sound car that mainly just needs a windscreen for mot, your friends car needs a hell of a lot more than just a screen and is going to be half the car when it's done.
If you want an nb get a 1.8 is or sport or one of the rs imports.
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