I’ve been bitten by the Miata bug! But I’m trying to find that one thing about miata ownership that sucks, so I can convince myself its not too bad and go look for one. Are there any agonizing repairs that sometimes have to be made? Or, aside from it being really slow by today’s standards, is there anything about ownership that really sucks?
ideally, I want a ‘94 in BRG.
I would say that the slowness is the biggest issue. And packaging is a double-edged swords: being able to squeeze it all into such a small space is part of why its so light and nimble, but it also means that space is at a premium for everything. With the Rotrex blower kit on my car, every inch of free space under the hood is consumed. Literally, to check my power steering fluid involves removing the charge pipe from the blower to the charge air cooler.
crank nose failures.
Seating position contributed to a back problem for me.
Still have mine. Chassis is on Engine #3 (1 catastrophic internal failure, 2 crank nose, 3 is plugging away)
Always needing to drive it with the top down and looking over the top of the windshield would be the worst of it. And being mistaken for this guy:
my wife is claustraphobic with the top up. So she really can't drive it to work on rainy days.
It is tiring on long highway trips.
Dumbasses in traffic don't see you, especially if you are on their right. Even if you don't make a habit of passing people on the right, sooner or later you'll find yourself in that situation (examples: you are in a right-turn lane with a green arrow passing stopped traffic, or you are on a two-lane offramp that splits), and your fellow motorist will suddenly change lanes into you as if you aren't there. It's as bad as being on a motorcycle, and you have to drive accordingly.
Someone will surely bring up the "hairdresser" stereotype, but that's only been a problem once in nine years of Miata ownership. Whereas the "dumbass didn't see me" issue happens every few months.
The 1.8L are pretty bullet proof if they've been maintained and not crashed. As usual, especially with the NAs, buy the best one you can find.
Interior space can be an issue, but can be addressed to a certain extent by foamectomies and a change of seats.
The great thing about Miatas is that the aftermarket pretty much addresses most of the "faults".
The NA’s are now 25 years old, so they will have some old car stuff going on. To make them really track ready, expect to replace a lot of things made out of rubber and plastic. Other than that, they’re pretty much indestructable if cared for properly. They’re not great for picking up chicks or impressing your business clients. They’re slow, but only until you figure out ECU tuning and turbo setups. That’s all I got, they’re great cars!
Changing suspension bushings is a PITA.
ManhattanM (fka NY535iManual) said:Changing suspension bushings is a PITA.
This is the kind of thing I’m looking for. What’s the “oh **** I have to fix this?!?!?!?”
or is everything pretty by the book?
That said, aren’t all bushings a PITA?
bluebarchetta said:Dumbasses in traffic don't see you, especially if you are on their right. Even if you don't make a habit of passing people on the right, sooner or later you'll find yourself in that situation (examples: you are in a right-turn lane with a green arrow passing stopped traffic, or you are on a two-lane offramp that splits), and your fellow motorist will suddenly change lanes into you as if you aren't there. It's as bad as being on a motorcycle, and you have to drive accordingly
I eventually sold mine due to this, but it was happening at least every other day. Honestly, I felt more visible on my motorcycle.
Mostly the hairdresser snide remarks.One in every crowd. My retort was always words to the effect of "You seem to know an awful lot about hairdressers and what they like. Explains the way you dress."
Other than the above, nothing that I can think of. I put 1000 mile plus days in the saddle a few times on the way to Florida, Dakotas and Montana. The car lived with me for 10 years as a DD in Ontario Canada, so it saw pretty much all weather conditions and much of the country. 2 of us have travel-camped for two weeks out of the car. They say you should not put a baby carrier in the passenger seat but I never read that memo.( No airbag in a 90)
I happen to know that the car is still around having been bought by a friend of a friend.
The cars really are like having a pet Cockroach.
Having said the above, if you are planning on buying an NA, they are 28 years old and if you cant do the maintenance and repairs, you will be spending money just because it is an old car and E36 M3 does wear out.
Pete
Install a racing seat that works with your roll bar.
First, remember that Miata can mean anything from a $1500 ratty 29-year-old car to a brand new RF. They share some attributes (size, power, hairdresser jokes, propensity to have LS engines installed around here) but some aspects are totally different.
Suspension bushings suck on all cars, that's a given. But if you're looking at NAs, then you're looking at cars that are 21 years old at minimum so they are more likely to need suspension bushings than something newer.
Biggest problem with an NA or NB - in my mind - is the lack of rear suspension travel. There are solutions that will help, but it's still a weak spot in the car.
Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong but the '94 doesn't come in BRG. From the factory they were special edition cars in '91 and '01.
They did in Canada and undoubtedly other countries. BRG was a normal color from 1994-97 in the Great White North.
I think i’d buy an NC if I wanted to drive the car every day. NAs are tiresome. NBs are a bit better. You can actually live with an NC.
I know it's heresy, but I'm really not a fan of putting the top down. I have a stock NA that's fun to drive, is wonderfully reliable and easy to work on. But the buffeting from the wind just kills me...so I drive it like a non-convertible, with the top up all the time. There are wind deflectors, but I've found them to be OK, not great. I don't feel like getting a hard top due to cost as well as they are often stolen around here. My dream would be a permanent hardtop Miata coupe...but it's not to be.
It also sits so berkley'ing low to the ground that it tweaks my back sometimes getting in or out.
Small gas tank, highway cruising is a misnomer in a miata. It will do the speed but it feels wrong turning 4k+ rpms on the highway in your top gear
Jaynen said:Small gas tank, highway cruising is a misnomer in a miata. It will do the speed but it feels wrong turning 4k+ rpms on the highway in your top gear
I have done 1200 miles plus on the highway in a NA miata. it was awesome and terrible all at once.
Stock they aren't bad on the highway IMO. Once you prep for STS/STR/etc. they get quite tiresome. Also tiresome around town at that point as well.
The only thing I've done on the Miata that bothered me a lot was replacing engine mounts. I was surprised at the number of components I needed to remove. It was my first time doing engine mounts on a RWD car though.
Professor_Brap said:Jaynen said:Small gas tank, highway cruising is a misnomer in a miata. It will do the speed but it feels wrong turning 4k+ rpms on the highway in your top gear
I have done 1200 miles plus on the highway in a NA miata. it was awesome and terrible all at once.
My first 4hr drive in a miata to a race track (and it was almost stock with a soft top) I really wish I had brought my motorcycle earplugs/helmet
From my experience, the biggest problem is that interior space is really, really tight. An Elise feels spacious in comparison, although the overall interior dimensions are hardly any bigger. Probably because the Elise doesn't have an enormous transmission tunnel you're cuddled up next to or doors that squeeze you in from the other side when closed. The Elise and Miata both have super-fat doors though, so watch out for that in tight parking spaces. I only drove one with the top down once, which was enough to be a nice novelty, but I wouldn't do it often.
Dirty secret: all my personal Miatas have permanently installed hardtops. If you're worried about theft, it's an easy problem to solve with some Spec Miata brackets and some security Torx fasteners.
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