Jalopnik sucks, but i had to laugh at this one.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/why-you-shouldn-t-buy-an-na-miata-1635644323

This is incredibly good, if read as a satire/comedy piece.

Have to take it as a satire/comedy piece. His list of repairs are pretty common for any car of that age.

Really? harder to fix than an MG? more expensive? god forbid something breaks on a 25 year old sports car

I especially like complaining about paying $1000 to replace ECU OR CAS.

For $1000 if i wasn't sure, i'd replace both, then pocket $850 or so.

Breaking news, old cars are old

Jalopink is the tabloid papers of the car reporting world.

this belongs in the ignore thread

So lemme get this straight. A guy buys a 20-year-old car to daily drive, doesn't work on it himself, and is now whining about how expensive it is to maintain?!

A Miata is harder to work on than an MG, and maybe possibly more expensive. Maybe. But it's way way more sophisticated, too. And that's not saying it's hard to work on, more than an MG is about as simple as a rock.

Spent $6,795 on Miata maintenance and nothing on mods?

That's Opposite Lock, where anyone can post up an "article." The author of that post is also a bit immature, based reading his response to comments that disagree with him (which are most of them).

Seriously, though, he's put 70K miles on it in 6 years (it's at 177K now), and he acts like a 24-year-old car should run perfectly and not need any maintenance items?

I don't even have to read this. And I'm not a Miata fanboy, but it sounds like a terrible piece.

I will give him $500 since it is such a terrible car...

Swank Force One wrote: I especially like complaining about paying $1000 to replace ECU OR CAS. For $1000 if i wasn't sure, i'd replace both, then pocket $850 or so.

Unless, of course, you wanted to go with our MSPNP. And the MSPNP can tell you if the CAS needs replacing. (Shameless plug.)

MadScientistMatt wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: I especially like complaining about paying $1000 to replace ECU OR CAS. For $1000 if i wasn't sure, i'd replace both, then pocket $850 or so.

Unless, of course, you wanted to go with our MSPNP. And the MSPNP can tell you if the CAS needs replacing. (Shameless plug.)

Even going that route, then buying a CAS if your MSPNP told you it was bad, would still maybe be under $1000.

Precisely.

desperately wanted to leave Texas for good

Clearly this guy's not in his right state of mind. An automotive "enthusiast" that INTENTIONALLY moved to the Republic of California?

unevolved wrote:

desperately wanted to leave Texas for good

Clearly this guy's not in his right state of mind. An automotive "enthusiast" that INTENTIONALLY moved to the Republic of California?

We've got no rust, I have 5 world class tracks within 5 hours of me, and they run year round because the weather is always awesome. (Laguna, Sonom, Buttonwillow, Willow springs, Thunderhill)

It's not as bad as everyone says it is. A bit annoying sometimes, but no better place to be a car guy/gal.

unevolved wrote:

desperately wanted to leave Texas for good

Clearly this guy's not in his right state of mind. An automotive "enthusiast" that INTENTIONALLY moved to the Republic of California?

Having left there for Ohio, I can say I would gladly trade what few extra hoops I had to jump through car registration wise (basically just bi-annual smog checks), in exchange for access to the back roads and race tracks I had there.

Jalopnik proving once again that writing about cars doesn't mean you know about cars

How he spent $6795 on the car I will never know. Parts are dirt cheap and the car is easy to work on. If you stink at working on cars then you can find a Miata club nearby that has people who can help. He is obviously a dope for buying a 25 year old car as a daily driver at 100k miles and not expecting to replace the stuff that he replaced. Says in the comments he bought it at 100k and drove it to 177k. No surprise all that stuff needed replacing, what a jackass.

I bought my '97 from pretty much the exact same kind of guy. Broken interior clips, greased the outside of the speedo cable, worn out tires, deferred maintenance, bad alignment. He was very upset that he had to replace a fuel pump because it cost a lot at the shop.

The worst part is, he told me he was selling it so he can afford to do an LS1 swap into his other Miata.

Some of the parts are pretty pricey for Miatas (and in Canada, it's difficult/expensive to get OEM parts from Mazda unless you like paying a minimum of $30 shipping for any little thing), but I don't think I'd say they're much harder to work on than other cars (although I do tend to fight with the electrical connectors more than on any other kind of car I've worked on). I think as this guy gets some more experience, his horizons will broaden.

It takes some self confidence, and equally-stupid friends who are willing to stand in the cold and turn wrenches.

accordionfolder wrote: Jalopink is the tabloid papers of the car reporting world.

It's a gawker site, what do you expect?

I'm hoping to pick up a good later model Miata this Spring, but I can still sympathize with the "writer" on one point. Electronics . . .

I drive an '07 Mustang which starts every time I get in and I have no clue why it does. When the time comes when it doesn't start, I won't know why either.

It's may as well be a magic trick. An inter-dimensional fluke. A combination of chicken blood and cat bones in a bowl.

It starts. It's a wonder.

It doesn't. It'll still be a wonder.

I severely HATE this fact. I can open the hood at any time and look anywhere and still only see the radiator cap and windshield wiper fluid fill. Everything else may as well be an illusion . . .

I HATE that! About old Miatas or almost old Mustangs.

unevolved wrote:

desperately wanted to leave Texas for good

Clearly this guy's not in his right state of mind. An automotive "enthusiast" that INTENTIONALLY moved to the Republic of California?

Legal lane-splitting.

Texas quality pavement without Texan heat.

1000s of miles of mountain roads which make 3090, 166, and 337 look like turnpikes.

You'll have less fun in the shop but more fun on the roads provided you aren't spending two hours a day in L.A. or Bay Area traffic!