A service in its own right
The FOJI Inspection
When To Book
Buying One
A pre-purchase check. If the car can get to us before you commit, it goes on the ramp and gets the same report as any other. The known weak points for the model, on an MX-5 that means sills, arches, chassis legs and floors, read properly, with photos you can negotiate on or walk away from.
Just Bought One
A baseline on a car that is new to you. You find out what you have actually bought, the car gets its history file started, and nothing gets priced until you have read the report.
Planning Work On It
Before spending on a build, a restoration or welding. The plan gets priced off what the car actually is, not what the advert said.
The car goes up, everything gets photographed and written down, and you get the full picture before any work is priced.
The inspection is £95, booked by appointment, any make welcome. That is the full job as described below: the written report, the photo evidence, the tiered plan and the car's file.
What you receive
Four Things, Every Time
Inspection Report
Every finding described in plain language, the good and the bad. No prices in it. Pricing lives in a separate quote, and you ask for that when you want it.
Photo Evidence
Every finding photographed as it was found. The report shows you what we saw, not just what we say.
A Tiered Plan
What needs doing now, what is recommended, and what can wait. Parts and labour separated when a quote follows. You pick what gets done.
The Car’s File
The report and photos go on the car’s history file. The record builds service by service and stays with the car.
As the customer received it
A Real Report
An actual inspection report from the workshop: a 2002 Mk2.5 in for a cambelt and major service, May 2026. Owner details removed, nothing else changed. The full report covers every finding, each with its photo.
What it says
2002 Mazda MX-5 Mk2.5 · Cambelt And Major Service
Summary
The car is tidy and in good condition for a Mk2.5 of this age. Mechanically there were no items of concern underneath, and the body is largely the common MX-5 picture: panels still solid through, with some early corrosion at the usual arch, sill and underbody points. The one item flagged for welding attention is the front chassis legs; everything else is advisory.
Items to address
Front chassis legs. The front chassis legs are showing inflamed and swollen sides, the tell-tale sign of corrosion developing between the two skins on a Mk2.5. There are no exposed seams to see lifting on these; the swelling of the side panel itself is what gives it away. They will want welding soon.
Advisory
Front torque boxes (both sides). The lapped edges where the arch panel meets the floorpan are a known MX-5 rust point, and they are showing the start of corrosion both sides. Often saved by cleaning the seams back, treating them and applying a cavity paint.
Overall assessment
A tidy MX-5 in good overall condition for a 2002 Mk2.5. The underbody points up the common Mk2.5 problem areas, but the panels are largely solid and restorable rather than blown, which is a really good place to be on a car of this age.
After the work
A Completion Report
When the job is done the same car gets a completion report: everything done, every part fitted listed by brand, and the inspection items carried forward on the car's file.
From the same car's file
How it runs
Three Steps
Book It In
Email or call with the car and what prompted it. We’ll come back to you within 2 working days.
We Inspect And Document
The car goes up. Everything gets looked at, photographed and written down on the sheet as it’s found.
You Get The Report
The written report with photos lands with you. You decide what happens next, with the full picture in front of you.
Where it leads
Every Job Starts Here
Whatever the car needs, the first step is the same: look first. The inspection and the plan that comes out of it is how we work, whatever follows.
Servicing & General
From an oil service to a full mechanical refresh, planned off what the inspection found.
Welding & Rust Repair
Sills, arches, chassis legs and floors. The inspection shows exactly where the steel stands before anything is priced.
Fabrication
Exhausts, manifolds, intakes and custom metalwork, built against the car as it actually is.
Mapping & Tuning
Engine health checked first, then the dyno work. The numbers mean more when the baseline is known.
Conversions
ITBs, forced induction, engine swaps. Every build plan starts from a documented starting point.
“I cannot fault the work they completed… James takes his work to another level with his workmanship, job reporting and customer service. Will be using him again for future work. 10/10”
Read our reviews on Google or see the recommendations on Facebook.
Book An Inspection
Tell us about the car and what prompted it. Visits are by appointment, Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm.
The inspection is £95, with the full report, photos and tiered plan included.
Get In Touch