Miata? (question mark)

[AutobahnSHO]

Wife was ok up to $3500.
Guy is pretty firm $3700 for it. Because he just bought the rims and tires. California kid who was going to turbo it and drift it etc... but never got to it. Would come with the stock rims & tires too.

Bad:
-exhaust "fell off" so needs to be replaced. Says it's just the rear part. Autozone for $158 has the cat back entire exhaust.
-one radiator fan stays on all the time, he disconnects the battery at night.
-aftermarket (removable) steering wheel was recently put on, the horn doesn't work right now.
-Cruise control doesn't work. (stalk is kind of hanging. I don't believe it's OEM.)

Good:
-118k miles, he bought it from an "old guy from Florida".
-rims really do look nice.
-paint is awesome. Faded and one scratch on the hood, a tiny bit of chassis rust under but no fender rust or bubbles anywhere


This is high on the pricing for KBB  but extra set of wheels/tires says "fun times".

We'd be taking money out of long term savings but the pending IRS moneys will be almost exactly replacing it (and tags/title fees).
What say y'all?

[AutobahnSHO]

OH also it has aftermarket mirrors (small chrome ones), no power locks/windows, and a black ducklip spoiler on the rear.

Black cloth upholstery, original tape deck (with adapter for his phone), a brace between the rear strut towers, otherwise it's all stock. Carpet is all good.

[Payman]

Hmmm, 118K miles is over 175K kms, so to me that's high. I'm going to guess you can't install that exhaust yourself (few have the facilities to do it at home). Definitely walk at $3500.

[MX793]

Hmmm, 118K miles is over 175K kms, so to me that's high. I'm going to guess you can't install that exhaust yourself (few have the facilities to do it at home). Definitely walk at $3500.

Not high mileage for a 23 year old car.  That would be typical mileage for a car less than half that age.

Non-functional horn and the exhaust issue means it won't pass inspection and therefore can't be registered until fixed.  The fan issue is worrisome.  I don't put much stock in KBB for specialty cars of this age, particularly considering the local rarity of old Miatas that aren't rotten with rust.  But price seems steep for a car needing work before it can be registered.

[AutobahnSHO]

The exhaust I can take to the auto skills shop, if I do the prep it costs $10-20 for the welding. I wonder if he just puts the stock wheel back on if the horn works.

The fan I'd just install a switch or relay if it's a complicated fix.

[AutobahnSHO]

I feel it's steep too, but the extra rims/tires beckon. Plus seriously the body is amazing!

[shp4man]

Looks pretty decent to me. A certain amount of mechanical ability is helpful and way less expensive with an older car, but hell, that car looks pretty good for the price. Further inspection and road test is needed.

[Laconian]

What is KBB for it, anyway? And what are similar cars going for? I'm not really in tune with that market.

[Soup DeVille]

The exhaust I can take to the auto skills shop, if I do the prep it costs $10-20 for the welding. I wonder if he just puts the stock wheel back on if the horn works.

The fan I'd just install a switch or relay if it's a complicated fix.

Its probably just a stuck relay, unless he's already done a ghetto fix.

[AutobahnSHO]

KBB says very good is $1360-3257 and Excellent is $1496-3583. With leather and power windows/locks it goes up to $3600ish.

Those ranges are wackadoodle. Such a swing.... !!

[AutobahnSHO]

Craigslist has 2 for sale near here, one with 45k miles and they want $9k.

The other is $4500, exact same mileage but stock wheels/tires= https://watertown.craigslist.org/cto/d/mazda-miata-mx-5/6556123368.html

[shp4man]

KBB would likely value the automatic cars higher when in fact the manual cars are more desirable. Special interest cars are worth what somebody will pay for them. Oddly the blue ones are the highest demand right now. The value for a good one, especially a low miles one will likely increase from here on out.

[CaminoRacer]

I don't like the fact that a kid, who doesn't appear to know 100% what he's doing, has touched it. But given the age of NAs, that's probably true of 90% of them, and the other 10% is like that 45k mile one that is super expensive.

[giant_mtb]

The bads outweigh/match the goods.  Unless he still has the stock wheels, it's a sunk cost that is hard to justify to a buyer like yourself.  If you can talk him down to 3500, great. But I also don't think another 200 should be the deciding factor if it checks out otherwise mechanically.

[Payman]

Not high mileage for a 23 year old car.  That would be typical mileage for a car less than half that age.

Non-functional horn and the exhaust issue means it won't pass inspection and therefore can't be registered until fixed.  The fan issue is worrisome.  I don't put much stock in KBB for specialty cars of this age, particularly considering the local rarity of old Miatas that aren't rotten with rust.  But price seems steep for a car needing work before it can be registered.

Not high for a daily driver, which typically this car isn't. There's lots of NAs around with far lower mileage.

[Payman]

KBB would likely value the automatic cars higher when in fact the manual cars are more desirable. Special interest cars are worth what somebody will pay for them. Oddly the blue ones are the highest demand right now. The value for a good one, especially a low miles one will likely increase from here on out.

Exactly right. My NA was a '91 BRG special edition, with the Nardi wood accessories. KBB listed its value at ~1400, when in reality its true value was at least 3 times that (given mileage, options, etc).

[AutobahnSHO]

I don't like the fact that a kid, who doesn't appear to know 100% what he's doing, has touched it. But given the age of NAs, that's probably true of 90% of them, and the other 10% is like that 45k mile one that is super expensive.

He is probably 24? He wanted to turbo it and drift it and lower it but all he's done is the rims/tires, spoiler, mirrors, and silly pedal covers. It was stored all winter.

[AutobahnSHO]

Not high for a daily driver, which typically this car isn't. There's lots of NAs around with far lower mileage.

I'm looking for a DD, not a show car. There are a few on eBay with low mileage but 2-3x the money.

[AutobahnSHO]

Its probably just a stuck relay, unless he's already done a ghetto fix.

Doesn't like like he has touched anything.

[Payman]

I'm looking for a DD, not a show car. There are a few on eBay with low mileage but 2-3x the money.

My Cabrio is neither. By DD I mean your daily car you depend on. Miatas may be DDs down south, but they aint up here. That doesn't mean they're show cars either.

I think this NA is a decent buy at $3500.

[MX793]

Not high for a daily driver, which typically this car isn't. There's lots of NAs around with far lower mileage.

118K is a little over 5K miles per year.  That's about what I put on my Mustang annually, which isn't a year-rounder.

If it was originally a Florida car, so it could have been driven year round even if not a DD, making 5K per year all the more reasonable.

[AutobahnSHO]

My Cabrio is neither. By DD I mean your daily car you depend on. Miatas may be DDs down south, but they aint up here. That doesn't mean they're show cars either.

I think this NA is a decent buy at $3500.

I mean a DD in non-winter we have the minivan and Subaru too.

Not worried about the mileage, what impresses me about those cars is the longevity. Mazda done good :) in not chasing horsepower.

This one had a spotless engine bay. It was very well maintained until current owner, who hasn't had it long enough to wreck it.

Wife seems to be more willing after I looked up other cars for sale. The tricky part is our move next winter. She won't want to sell impreza, not a great idea to tow Miata with Odyssey, but could be done. Might have to spend money to ship, or drive one then fly back to drive other two.

Or call it good and sell Miata. Should be able to get similar money out of it....

[12,000 RPM]

I'd be hesitant to buy a failed project. Looks clean but who knows what lies beneath. Price is high. There are other Miatas

[Onslaught]

What size are those rims? I personally wouldn't go over 15's on an NA. You can get stock NA's with less miles for that price if you look hard enough.

Get southern ones too. Salt roads = problems with Miata's

[Payman]

I mean a DD in non-winter we have the minivan and Subaru too.

Not worried about the mileage, what impresses me about those cars is the longevity. Mazda done good :) in not chasing horsepower.

This one had a spotless engine bay. It was very well maintained until current owner, who hasn't had it long enough to wreck it.

Wife seems to be more willing after I looked up other cars for sale. The tricky part is our move next winter. She won't want to sell impreza, not a great idea to tow Miata with Odyssey, but could be done. Might have to spend money to ship, or drive one then fly back to drive other two.

Or call it good and sell Miata. Should be able to get similar money out of it....

You won't lose on an NA. Bought mine for $2000, sold it 2 years later for $2400. I agree with the longevity, in fact I believe it's the most reliable car ever made. Swap out the timing belt if it hasn't been done, and you're good to go.

[Payman]

What size are those rims? I personally wouldn’t go over 15’s on an NA. You can get stock NA’s with less miles for that price if you look hard enough.

Get southern ones too. Salt roads = problems with Miata’s

Yup yup and yup.

[AutobahnSHO]

He asked this afternoon, "can you do it"

I replied that I'm checking with the (on-base) skills shop to see if I an work on it there with the title (they usually require registration to prove it's your car and you're not working on someone else's car- and they will NOT accept temporary registration).   the exhaust would then be parts and my prep time plus $20 for them to do the welding.

And I said, "with the work it needs I can't go over $3500". He hasn't replied in 4hrs so we'll see. He didn't seem super anxious yesterday but he asked today means he doesn't have a ton of other people looking at it. He listed it for $4200 a month ago.

[Payman]

Fell through, I take it?

[AutobahnSHO]

Fell through, I take it?

I checked today with the auto skills shop here. I CAN work on the car there for up to 30days with a bill of sale. I'm going to talk with wife this evening and offer the dude $3500 again.   he might back off.

I know it's just $200 but I have to put a muffler (maybe more) on it, figure out the horn (probably put the stock steering wheel back on), and find the fan relay (or wire a new one). If he really wants to sell then he'll just have to deal with that. I don't think he has other offers, he had it up for $4200 a few weeks back. If he doesn't bite, then I'll keep looking.

But man oh man- it was sunny today for the first time in a week and I was thinking as I toodled to the house and back for lunch it would be a gorgeous Miata day!!! 

I was browsing last night and found a couple in the $2k range but major rust or body issues and I'd have to drive an hour. I just can't bring myself to drop $4500 on a white one that's ready to go (same exact mileage, stock).

[AutobahnSHO]

Wife and I agreed, so I sent d00d a message fully offering to buy it (at $3500.)

*anxiously waiting response*