I saw this pop up on Facebook Marketplace and figured it was worth a look, so I messaged the owner. He spoke in full sentences and understood how life is supposed to work, so after work on Friday, I drove from Raleigh to Concord, NC to check it out in person.
The front/rear damage apparently comes from a slight tap on the rear that sent it into the car in front of it. The side damage is from an unknown assailant in a parking lot.
It was located down Dusterbd13-michael's way, so he agreed to act as the sane wingman the inspection and beat me to the location due to ridiculous traffic along I-40. He graciously offered to start looking it over until I could arrive a short while later. When I did arrive, I gave it a quick looking over, and then took it for a drive.
It dives wonderfully. It's a real gentleman on the road and I was grinning from ear to ear around every corner. Michael and I had a short conference, where he said (paraphrased): The only thing wrong with the car is that it looks like crap cosmetically.
And it does. It's objectively shabby looking. But it's got a fresh battery, fairly fresh clutch and fresh shocks and struts all around. There is no appreciable rust. It has a solid, unbent pinch weld on both sides of the car. It has a stock muffler. In fact, aside from the KYB suspension, it's all stock.
So, I hauled it home for $3200.
The previous owner said the top doesn't leak. Given the sleet, snow and rain that fell all day (and continues to fall) we'll check that over tomorrow.
The BMW325is will be for sale as soon as I can get some photos. This one's a keeper.
To do list:
Clean out the drains
Drive it a bit.
Repair the front bumper cover
I'm pretty sure I have some stock NC Bilstien's around here if you want them. Mildly modified to fit coilovers for Challenge purposes.
In reply to Stampie :
I'll take any and all freebies. This might wind up being an over $2000 Challenge entry, mainly because I want to do the Challenge and I want to build a car I want to keep around afterwards.
Im still glad you bought. Cause my wife would have been PISSED when i did.
It's stupid decent.
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) :
I'll round them up and put them in the Suburban for the next trip up to NC.
Cheap NCs are good fun. The parts aren't as plentiful and cheap as the earlier cars, but the capabilites are much higher out of the box. Ironically, I did the inverse from you by selling an NC and ended up in an E36.
In reply to Stampie :
Thanks! This is a 6 speed car, and apparently it had the suspension package, so having "original" Bilstiens can't hurt.
I am madly jealous, that's a fantastic deal on an NC!
Who isn't able to get it inspected because of the fresh battery and it not being ready? Who screwed up and told their insurance agent to begin coverage on the renewal day a few weeks away?
This dumbass. The second issue is easy to fix. The first will involve going to the DMV to get a temp tag, driving it around a bit, getting it inspected, then going to the DMV a second time to finish the permanent registration.
Based on options (DSC, Stability control, Advanced Keyless Entry and Go, Bose, etc.) it's supposed to be a Grand Touring with the premium package. However, it's got cloth seats in it, so I'm guessing they were swapped in at some point.
The Advanced Keyless Entry and Go doesn't work so well, either. I've been using the actual key to start it, and the unlock features of the key fob work... sometimes.
Mr_Asa
UltimaDork
3/16/23 8:16 p.m.
Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:
I've been using the actual key to start it, and the unlock features of the key fob work... sometimes.
Change the battery in the fob yet? It can make them real finicky.
Both key cards for my car weren't working so I had a regular key cut for the car and it worked just as it should. I used the original slim keys to let the car program a third key and off I went. I recall something about popping off some trim around the column so the regular key would slot in as well. An MZ34 style key blank is all you need.
https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=728506
In reply to Mr_Asa :
Not yet, I'll get fresh batteries.
I got a license plate. Extended driving impressions to follow.
I drove it around a bit today. Total driving time was probably 30 minutes in total, and the smile factor was real.
I've got to get used to having a manual trans that isn't attached to AWD again.
We got some rain today and the drain tubes are fairly well stopped up. I rigged up the shop vac so I could get the standing water out, but I wasn't able to get a piece of flexible metal down in the hole. It looks like I'm going to be taking the trim apart back there to get better access to clear out all of the debris.
Given the sheer quantity of trees and crap they shed in the area, a car cover may be in order.
And now the speakers are blown. I blame Spring, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, and top down driving.
I wouldn't be in a big hurry to install a set of 2006-12 spec factory Bilsteins in the car. They were not well valved IMO.
Fun thing about the front bumper cover: you can retrofit the later nose fairly easily. I think it's just headlights and the cover. We did it to the shop 2006, it now looks like a Winning Blue NB2, which is not a thing.
Join Mazda's Team Support program - you have to do two HPDEs or autoxes a year, and you get unbeatable prices on stock parts. Front bumper cover will run about $500.
https://www.mazdamotorsports.com/get-started/team-membership/
Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:
And now the speakers are blown. I blame Spring, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, and top down driving.
What size? Ill look in my box....
Keith Tanner said:
I wouldn't be in a big hurry to install a set of 2006-12 spec factory Bilsteins in the car. They were not well valved IMO.
Fun thing about the front bumper cover: you can retrofit the later nose fairly easily. I think it's just headlights and the cover. We did it to the shop 2006, it now looks like a Winning Blue NB2, which is not a thing.
Join Mazda's Team Support program - you have to do two HPDEs or autoxes a year, and you get unbeatable prices on stock parts. Front bumper cover will run about $500.
https://www.mazdamotorsports.com/get-started/team-membership/
Thanks, Keith. Your Fox suspension is the long term goal for the car, but having OEM originals might be handy to have as spares. I had Mazda Team Support before, I'll have to get that going again.
My initial plan is to repair the front bumper cover, if possible. It can't be much harder than fixing a boat.
Dusterbd13-michael said:
Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:
And now the speakers are blown. I blame Spring, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, and top down driving.
What size? Ill look in my box....
Crutchfield says the following:
Dash: 3 1/2" round
Upper Doors: 1" round
Lower door: 8" round (these are the ones that are sounding really mushy)
Back wall: 3 1/2" round
Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:
Keith Tanner said:
I wouldn't be in a big hurry to install a set of 2006-12 spec factory Bilsteins in the car. They were not well valved IMO.
Fun thing about the front bumper cover: you can retrofit the later nose fairly easily. I think it's just headlights and the cover. We did it to the shop 2006, it now looks like a Winning Blue NB2, which is not a thing.
Join Mazda's Team Support program - you have to do two HPDEs or autoxes a year, and you get unbeatable prices on stock parts. Front bumper cover will run about $500.
https://www.mazdamotorsports.com/get-started/team-membership/
Thanks, Keith. Your Fox suspension is the long term goal for the car, but having OEM originals might be handy to have as spares. I had Mazda Team Support before, I'll have to get that going again.
My initial plan is to repair the front bumper cover, if possible. It can't be much harder than fixing a boat.
The bumper cover repair will be interesting reading, looking forward to it.
That is a fantastic deal! I paid 4500 for my base model w/110k miles a few years ago. Congratulations on the find.
Nc Miata is the best Miata, but I might be a bit biased.
You got this car for a great price. We found my mum an '07 awhile ago, and it's an excellent car. Hers is auto unfortunately, but it's still tons of fun.
I can't speak to the Bilsteins, but the base model factory suspension feels very under-damped to me. They also tend to have a large wheel gap. My mum's car will be remaining 100% stock, but if it were mine a set of adjustable shocks (or coilovers) would find their way on there.
Biggest I've got is a couple of six and a half inch speakers. Sorry I can't be much more help than that Brett
