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Seeking the CL good buy and Miata experts advice... I've been considering grabbing a Miata and have been reading up on them as much as possible the last few days. I'm thinking about checking out this 1990: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...8-84a2190c4a63 It's no AC, clean title, and seems to be in well-kept condition. I have zero Miata experience whatsoever, so would greatly appreciate if anyone can flag for me any reason to stay away from this particular car or variation. I've got a sense of the things to keep an eye out for and inspect if I go look at the car. Any insight is welcome! Thank you |
Look up shortnose crank issues for 1990-1991 models. Symptoms of this will be crank pulley wobble. From my perspective it's not super common or a 'ticking timebomb' issue, but can be a big hassle if the crank nose shows sign of wear. |
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The 1.6L NA will feel rather slow. All NA / NB will eventually have rocker panel rust issues -- it's just a matter of age and how much salt the car has been exposed to. With the NA's being the oldest cars, that means they are the most prone to rocker panel rust. |
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Maybe when i go full senile il buy one Quote:
Slow, basic interior if you dont care about the above two, then go for it [url=https://flic.kr/p/o7Rgz3]https://live.staticflickr.com/5531/1...1c51677911.jpg |
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re:rust - figured as much, from speaking with the owner it seems it's always been garaged. I'll only have it out in summer on good days, otherwise in a garage as well. Hopefully that defers any potential rust. Quote:
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I'm gonna 2nd the NC recommendation. I bought one a few years ago and had it for about a year and sold it to a friend. It was awesome and it had enough power. Car is modern enough and doesn't have known issues. Also the trunk is livable. The other thing is I don't fit in a NA/NB very well because of my long torso. I don't fit in a NC with a helmet either, but I can drive it fine with the top up on the street. |
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Driving an NA with the top down during the summer is still by far one of my favorite driving experiences of all time, so I would highly recommend owning one for a bit. This looks similar to one the one that I saw when it had a hardtop. I recognize the genuine GV lip and unpainted black under the hood. The front bumper also does not have the Mazda sticker, so I suspect it's had some sort of frontal damage. The panel gaps looked fine though so its not too bad. I think 1-2 years back this was 6500 bucks with a hardtop. The body was nicely detailed but had some issues. The passenger side quarter panel had a dent with a bit of a crack paint because one of the previous owners used an oversized battery and didn't tie it down properly, so it dented the metal. The interior was also missing random parts. It had test pipes so the cabin from what I recall smelled like gas when you drove it. Soft top was also toast at the time. This was a while ago though, and the car might be in a different state now. I also second (or third) the NC route. The NA's are new collector cars, prices have been going up quite a lot. I'll probably side with the RS'ers and say that the NC would be a good option if you are not set on that body style. If you get one at the right price, they won't depreciate too much (though not appreciate like an NA will, but at least you don't have to deal with old car problems). I'm looking for an NC2 in the mid teens. |
^Thank you, super helpful! I'll take a peek into the trunk and keep an eye on everything you mentioned if this happens to be the same car. I think I stumbled across mention of that posting for 6500 in this thread from a couple years ago and was wondering if it was the same car. Everyone seems to prefer the NC haha - I'm just not too partial to them, I do appreciate the recommendations though. If I skip NA Miatas I'll probably steer away from Miatas all together. edit: was mistaken, the one I saw was this one: https://www.usedvictoria.com/classif..._35462310.lite looks to be similar, but a different car. black door molding and spoiler on the more recent one. |
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^Thank you! Had a read through that last night, lot's of great tips and have the checklist printed and ready to go. Heading over to check it out shortly. Thanks again everyone! |
I miss my NB =( |
If anyone is interested, quick(ish) summary of my thoughts on that miata. Spoiler! |
^ yea won't let me test drive the car? No thanks |
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I used to get tire kickers who would come see the car, play the role of judge, jury, and executor and tell me it wasn't as described, find a small scratch and ask for $8000 off asking price, or not to their expectations, but still want to test drive it. My question to that is "Why?" If the car doesn't meet your expectations or you decide that the car is not for you, is a test drive going to drastically change your mind? Personally, I don't think so. On the flip side, if someone looked at my car, and was genuinely interested, and made a conditional offer upon a test drive and a pre-purchase inspection, with a deposit, yeah, I'd be happy to entertain a test drive. But given COVID and such circumstances, it would have to be a serious buyer who is determined, and not just a tire kicker looking for a Revscene special. |
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Sure the seller may feel it's a waste of their time, but the onus would be on the seller to be more transparent with the condition of the car so prospective buyers aren't going to be disappointed like Jgresch was. |
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is this a good way to sell a car? no. but the buyer shouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't even have gone to see it. Seller has no idea how to sell car, I doubt they know how to take care of one either. :pokerface: |
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The test drive might be what it takes to convince you to make an offer. |
why would anyone make an offer on a used car before test drive lol, unless it’s quite underpriced people that pick your car apart for its flaws are usually the most serious ones ready to commit could you maybe get a bit more elsewhere, possibly, but my time is worth more than that..note I’m talking about the average used car not ones rising in value like the NA miata in question those that are too polite and just gonna think about it and never hear from them again |
Sorry to hijack a full page of this thread! With the whole test drive thing - I definitely see both sides and don't hold anything against the seller. I made it clear this was the first Miata I've looked at and as Sonick mentioned, driving it wouldn't have pushed me over the edge in that moment to buy it - although I wouldn't consider myself a tire kicker as I wouldn't waste my time looking at a car I'm not serious about - I asked a ton of questions prior to viewing and paid for 2 history reports (carfax was a waste). On the flip side, it would have been nice to drive it to know exactly what to expect should I continue to pursue the car. I'm still trying to evaluate if this is just where the market is for these cars now and just accept that this is a good car for the money related to other NA Miatas, knowing I would need to/want to put some money into some things that need fixing. Short of the great deals that pop up but only last minutes/hours, of course. There's not much else out there right now that currently catches my eye as something I'd consider. I put up a WTB ad on FB to see if there was anybody else considering selling soon. I guess I'll take another look at current listings with a bit more of an open mind as well. I generally avoided body rust, 250+km, obvious poor condition, and heavily modded. Not a fan of silver or tan interiors (sorry BRG). Thanks again everyone - hope we can continue with good buy posting again! |
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people that pick your car apart for its flaws should go buy a new car Out of all the cars ive sold, when someone shows up, and nit picks at every scratch, bump, issue, etc, for a USED car, i roll my eyes Its 3k, or 10k, or 20k for a reason, if you pay me an extra 20k il repaint it for you, and fix all the problems Want a perfect car? Go buy a new one |
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