[Keys88]

Hi

Had my 124 Spider since October 2016 and love it!

Just wanted to see if anyone has noticed any corrosion creeping from the drainage holes under the boot lid? I have a few vein like raised lines. Going to take it back to the dealer in a few weeks.

Also just wondered what the state of peoples cars are underneath. My car is my daily driver and living in the UK is susceptible to just about any type of weather but there is quite a lot of chassis corrosion underneath. Albeit surface for now but I'm quite surprised. A lot of it is on the chassis welds. I know steel bolds will rust as they aren't protected but even the shock absorber bottoms are underway.

Im not surprised to see corrosion underneath as its not just a fair-weather car but its left me wondering what other cars are like?

Any feedback/pics would be welcome

Thanks

 

[depotdan]

@Keys88. It breaks my heart to see this on a 2 year old car. Rust and corrosion don’t need much of an opening to start eating away at your car. Road salts and chemicals will quickly attack your car, if not thoroughly washed away. You need to find a way to stabilize the damage and then routine maintenance to keep on top of it. Good luck.

Dan

 

[linefeed]

Mine's only been through one winter and since you're across the pond in the UK, I'm guessing about 300 less rainy days. Nothing like that underneath... In fact, I was surprised that it was as clean under there as it was.

 

[frankmar]

You must be near the shore line, you should have done an anti rust treatment.

Even though I use mine only summer, I still did one, stealer was charging $650 + taxes. My salesman told me the place they go and paid only $300.

 

[HaZ]

You must be near the shore line, you should have done an anti rust treatment.

Even though I use mine only summer, I still did one, stealer was charging $650 + taxes. My salesman told me the place they go and paid only $300.

$650?!?!?!?! Holy....

I paid around $150 at Krown, and they are one of the best. My car's been though two winters, driven daily through snow, ice and salt, yet there's hardly any rust. I had rustproofing done every year.

I read somewhere that Mazda does not have a very good reputation when it comes to rust prevention on their platforms.

 

[GuidoVeloce]

I had rustproofing done every year.

What kind of rustproofing is it? Is it like a coat of tar? Is it applied to all surfaces, painted and not, bolts and dampers, etc.?

 

[Treetopflyer]

I wasn't planning on rust proofing my 124. No winter driving and I try not to even drive it in the rain

 

[wolf18t]

I wasn't planning on rust proofing my 124. No winter driving and I try not to even drive it in the rain

Ditto!

 

[AbarthSound]

The whole Mazda range is known for poor rust protection, even more so with the new MX5, they went a bit silly with all the weight saving when they were designing it.
Mines a summer only drive so I haven't bothered, but if it's a daily car including winter driving then I'm not suprised to see the OP pictures showing the rusting

 

[Lord_GalAthon]

The whole Mazda range is known for poor rust protection, even more so with the new MX5, they went a bit silly with all the weight saving when they were designing it.
Mines a summer only drive so I haven't bothered, but if it's a daily car including winter driving then I'm not suprised to see the OP pictures showing the rusting

Yeah but Mazda were known for the body panels rusting. Frame as far as I know wasn't any more of an issue than on other cars. The 124 is aluminium, would still rust but they should hold up a bit better than untreated steel.

 

[AbarthSound]

Not all the panels are aluminium though, the rear quarters are steel, sills and underneath have always been problem areas with MX5's

 

[sharkcohen]

I drive mine rain or shine, and it doesn't look like this under mine. 13,000 miles. But, no salted roads here, and I don't live near the sea.

 

[HaZ]

@Keys88 if you haven't already, it's not too late to rustproof it. The rust doesn't look that bad yet but you gotta stop it now before it gets worse. Some rustproofing shops have solutions that can dissolve light rust in addition to providing protection. I know Krown does.

 

[zonker]

Rust? Rain? What is that??

 

[68wooley]

Ouch. Time to exercise your anti-corrosion warranty at the dealer and have them treat that.

British roads are gritted in winter - it'll destroy any car that doesn't have good protection - hence very few roadsters from the 60's and 70's left on British roads.

 

[ellisburton3339]

I have driven across the north of England to view a 124 spider lusso plus in white , 6 years old 49k miles , and I was shocked to find the boot lid issue , I poked a finger across the surface where the paint was bubbling and it smudged off , it was wet , the paint was coming off around the boot light , locking mechanism areas , apparently the water gets in through the boot break light , the seal is poor and let's water in , needless to say I walked away gutted at the quality of the paintwork , there were other areas in the boot that were suffering corrosion too ....unfortunately I would only advise people to avoid these vehicles unless the dealer will drop the price enough to get the work done by a professional , and definitely get the underside treated .

 

[chnycs]

I have driven across the north of England to view a 124 spider lusso plus in white , 6 years old 49k miles , and I was shocked to find the boot lid issue , I poked a finger across the surface where the paint was bubbling and it smudged off , it was wet , the paint was coming off around the boot light , locking mechanism areas , apparently the water gets in through the boot break light , the seal is poor and let's water in , needless to say I walked away gutted at the quality of the paintwork , there were other areas in the boot that were suffering corrosion too ....unfortunately I would only advise people to avoid these vehicles unless the dealer will drop the price enough to get the work done by a professional , and definitely get the underside treated .

Could be more than just a bad paint job. Maybe! I had no corrosion on my dearly departed except on the scratches on the bilsteins and I daily.The “road” to my house includes 2+ miles of salty mud and then I park in a heated garage. All of that said, I also thoroughly washed the car including the full underbody at least once a week. Trunk got damp? I pulled the liner and let everything dry completely before reassembling.

Of course, my car wasn’t perfect. There were other things I did to her that were not ideal. But I think we can lay some of the blame for rust on the owner.

And I’m sorry you had that experience and wish you the best of luck in your search!

 

[napastar]

My car is a 2016 daily driver living in NW England and coincidentally I noticed a small rust vein starting around the boot lid drain holes. Thankfully last June I booked my car in for rust treatment which will be carried out at the beginning of March. The car interior will be stripped out and all box sections and underside will be treated , The process takes 5 days and isn't cheap, but as I'm aware of Mazda's poor anti corrosion performance I think its well worth it