Purchase Advice (Rust)
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Purchase Advice (Rust)
Hello, I am basically looking for a bit of advice here on the DE Mazda 2. I have an NA 1991 MX5 at the minute and i'm looking for a reliable and fun daily driver. The MX5 has spent the last number of years off the road as I dropped both subframes, cut out a tremendous amount of rot/rust, blasted all the suspensoin etc and got it back to tip top condition. After doing all of this work I have little to no interest in carrying out this level of remedial work on a new daily and what I saw today shocked me.
I took a 2012 Mazda 2 Sport (1500cc) for a test drive and absolutely adored the drive, it felt fantastic and tight, revvy, fun and responsive so it has shot to the top of my list of potential cars (alongside 1.8 SR Yaris, Swift Sport etc). The paint work was in stunning condition, just one very small stone chip on the bonnet which was conducive with the low miles (80k). The interior too was absolutely immaculate. The underside was in considerably worse condition than my 91 MX5 though. I've never seen a car of this age with that amount of surface rust over literally every portion of the floor pan, subframe, suspension components etc. The last time I saw a car anywhere near this bad it was a Honda Jazz that had been parked beside a beach for 15years and this was worse. I would say in the next year or two the car with either be scrapped or it will require extensive welding, new arms and subframe etc.
Are the DE Mazda 2's generally this bad at this age? A large amount of the chassis rails, inner arches etc have factory plastic coverings/splashguards which to my eye would trap salt/water against the steel which is a terrible idea. Am I better off striking this car off my list or was this a particularly bad example?
Thanks!
I took a 2012 Mazda 2 Sport (1500cc) for a test drive and absolutely adored the drive, it felt fantastic and tight, revvy, fun and responsive so it has shot to the top of my list of potential cars (alongside 1.8 SR Yaris, Swift Sport etc). The paint work was in stunning condition, just one very small stone chip on the bonnet which was conducive with the low miles (80k). The interior too was absolutely immaculate. The underside was in considerably worse condition than my 91 MX5 though. I've never seen a car of this age with that amount of surface rust over literally every portion of the floor pan, subframe, suspension components etc. The last time I saw a car anywhere near this bad it was a Honda Jazz that had been parked beside a beach for 15years and this was worse. I would say in the next year or two the car with either be scrapped or it will require extensive welding, new arms and subframe etc.
Are the DE Mazda 2's generally this bad at this age? A large amount of the chassis rails, inner arches etc have factory plastic coverings/splashguards which to my eye would trap salt/water against the steel which is a terrible idea. Am I better off striking this car off my list or was this a particularly bad example?
Thanks!
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