1993 Miata 166k miles for $3k
 

Title says it all.

Was wondering if the car at that price and mileage is a good deal.

HAS:

K&N Cold Air Intake
Borla Exhaust
Some kind of headers, i didnt get which company
Tein coilovers
New clutch
New water pump
New timing belt
Oil change
New soft top
Passes California smog

Worrying points:

The pop up headlights are stuck up
Doesnt pull too strong on 5th gear
Some aluminum/metal wrapping on one of the tubes in the engine bay
Paint touch-ups all around

Just wondering what you guys think! Thanks!

Not your new DD.

Track project?

Not a DD.

Not a track project either.

This will be a weekend car I drive around to practice driving manual transmission. If this car survives another couple of years, I may consider turning this into a track car, but for now, I will be driving this mostly on weekends.

Expect to work on it.

$3k seems reasonable if it doesn't need anything to be livable (roof doesn't leak, interior isn't gross, all the day to day stuff works) and it looks pretty (paint is shiny, minimal dings). Deduct $$$ to fix stuff, hoses, the lights, whatever else looks effed up (seats, carpet).

Better to have the lights stuck up than down, for obvious reasons.

Seems a reasonable price for a car that could go another 60k miles or blow up on the way home. I could never quite pull the trigger on a Miata, and now that I have the FR-S, I don't have a reason to. Wait, is your FR-S an auto?

Thought that the FR-S could be just as fun with an automatic.

Obviously that wasn't the case.

I bought the FR-S already though so nothing I can do about it now. My plan is to practice driving manual transmission on the Miata on the weekends since I'm not very good at it yet. I plan on enjoying my FR-S for about a couple of more years before I trade up to a BMW M3 (I hope I'll be ready for it after a couple of years of driving stick shift Miata)

I would try and get them down on the price a little bit. The Teins are a plus but not that much. The nicest part is the new soft top. I've been looking around for a NA Miata to build a track/fun car and people are out of their minds with prices. 166k on the motor isn't bad they are good motors, as long as they are taken car of. You have to think of the other parts on the chassis that might need tending to. 166k miles seems due for new bushings, wheel bearings, etc if they haven't been changed. Use that to your advantage. If you are looking to spend 3k already, figure the price to change those in and subtract that. If it's a no, then at least you tried.

PS: the reason it doesn't pull strong in 5th is #because1.6miata :D

The person you should be asking is Amir Ghadiri... With his help, you might be able to get the seller to pay YOU to take it off his hands. Haha

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82541

Lol I saw this thread last night. It's exactly the reason why it's making me feel like I'm getting a shitty deal on my Miata.

If you're not enjoying the car with an automatic, you're probably not going to enjoy it with a manual. A manual in SF would suck for daily driving. I'd just wait and then get the M3. If it's a new M3 with the turbo, I'd get the auto. It will just be faster that way, on the road, track, or strip. You could also take the 3000 you were going to spend on a Miata and get an SBD turbo. That will open you eyes.

Don't get me wrong, I love the FR-S. I'm just tired of the slushbox.


The M3 I would be getting is an older E92. Don't have the money to shell out for a brand new M3 haha

Nah it's fine going around SF in a MT, admittedly I don't do it everyday but after the first year or so owning this car I have no worries driving SF with either of my MTs.

And that $3k spent on a Miata will pay dividends when he goes for the M3, if he can grunt that thing up the steep hills of SF an M3 will be a dream to tool around in. Also consider that the Automatic is a $2,900 upcharge on an M3 when I went and looked right now. And if he takes care of the Miata, he won't loose any money selling it, might even make money if he's lucky and hangs onto it for 3-5 years, NA's are starting to get rarer...

Yeah that's what I was thinking too. If I happen to break anything while driving, it would hurt a lot less financial in a Miata, rather than the M3. I just don't feel confident running around in a 400+ HP, rear wheel drive, manual transmission car unless I've spent a few years learning the ropes on a lower-powered car.

A big misconception with manuals is the amount of damage you can do to your car if you don't know how to drive manual. There's really little risk aside from the "money shift", which is accidentally grabbing a much lower gear than you mean to and over revving the engine. Usually on the highway, just pay attention and it wont happen.

Stalling your car 5000 times isn't going to break anything. Riding your clutch will cost you a clutch at most (hint: stop when it starts to smell terrible), but a clutch is meant to be a wear item.

I learned how to drive stick in my E46 M3. Yes I stalled it 20 times on the drive home. Yes I live in a city with terrible traffic. No I never broke anything, no I never replaced the clutch.