It's probably a bargain for a reason... I would leave it and keep looking as there is plenty available.

I went and saw a cheap priced TVR chimaera last week. Photos looked great. Turns out it has paint work issues, chassis corrosion and the mileage has obviously been repeatedly clocked as the wear on the car is a lot more than 35k miles...

It's probably a bargain for a reason ...

 

Hi Dan,

I thought as much, thanks for your help.

Paul

 

Been driving in the sea?

 

looks like surface rust to me. The pictures have been taken using a strong flash so the rust will show up more

 

How much is the car and how many miles?

Mine has a fair amount of rust, but I paid £1700 for it so it's not the end of the world - well worth it for a year and 20,000 miles driving!

 

Hi Guys - thanks for the help.

Its a 2006 2.0 Sport - 109K for £3000

Although I should mention it will need the wheels refurbing and possibly new discs and pads all round...

 

Yikes, it may only be surface rust but that would worry me, particularly at less than 10 years old. As a point of reference my car's an '89 and looks FAR better than that with just a smattering of very light surface corrosion beginning to show on subframes etc.

 

The Mk3s do look shocking underneath but as has been mentioned looks surface ask Rodders to comment he has broken 100's for race cars so knows them inside out.

The suspension arms etc all do this.

Whats your top budget?

 

Hi Steve,

I'm looking to spend around £4K so definitely in the 1.8 range when I got the offer of the 2.0 for a reasonable price. How would I go about asking Rodders his opinion?

Thanks

 

at 9 years old, and 109k, it's probably been used as a daily, and i'd say lived outdoors too looking at it.

It looks horific, but get under with a screwdriver and you'll probably find that it's solid.

A low mileage minter will probably cost you £2000 - £2500 more.

Wheel Refurb about £300

Pads and discs all round about £200. (if you do it yourself)

A weekend with a wire brush, and Dinitrol/Waxoil £100

The 109,000 miles would put me off, but for the money, i'd say it's priced competitively.

 

I've just bought a 2007 mk3 with 56k and full mazda history for 6700, I would be more concerned about the arches and around the side repeaters. Mines brown on the suspension arms and drop links but that's just what UK cars do, find me one that's used daily and is clean underneath, you wont be able to.

 

Does it have to be a mk3? You get similar performance from a m2 1.8 sport - 0-60 in 8.1 and
146hp vs 7.9 and 157hp...

Nice 44k one on sale for £3,250 on autotrader