Miata up to 10K budget; which ones?

So it appears we are Miata shopping, we've decided to replace the Protege and I'm curious which Miata. My son will be using it to go back and forth to his College classes, may get autocrossed (we have the F500 for that) and it will do an occasional track day. Note I had a 1990 I raced showroom stock with so the 1.6s don't bother us.

There are a couple we've found:

There is an immaculate 91 BRG with 98k but the ad says $5200 firm but this seems high.......the ad also mentions collectible....I will go look at it but I suspect the seller my not be grounded OR they really are worth this.

94 with hard top, 100K mileage with a hard top but A/C is kaput...we're in Vegas so I'd have to fix that fairly quick.

Naturally the really clean ones at good prices are automatics

OK so tell me what you'd pick.

 Tom

Never drove an NA, drove an NC, and actually an MRS before getting the 2000 NB.

Let me just say this - don't buy anything that's had life back east; I bought a really clean NB, from Nebraska - no rust (per se) anywhere on the car, looks as clean as anything here in 'zona.

But, bolts have rust welded themselves to anything and everything. I'm swapping in an 01+ exhaust manifold, and any bolt on the bottom half I cannot break loose. Ugh.

Misery.

But I digress.

There were a lot of clean NBs, and a few lower mileage 1.8 NAs for sale in the $4500 - $6000 range depending on condition, so me thinks that for us in the west, it's in the ball park.

Not sure if $10K will get you an NC, but I liked how they drove. Apparently a good set of dampers on an early NC is a good fix for the handling, later ones have better dampers, I guess (later being, 10+? 11's? Not sure the cut off).

I'll disagree with some of what OldGray320i is saying about eastern cars. Around here (SE Michigan)$10K will get you low mileage NAs or NBs that have never seen snow or salt. NCs aren't down to $10K yet.There are cars that are put away every November and don't come out until May. I've seen cars leave our local club Sunday drives at the mere sight of a rain cloud. There are cars out there that are essentially showroom fresh. My NB has been through 16 Michigan winters and it shows. Search Craigslist in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Battle Creek,Grand Rapids and you can find a few cars that have been babied. A lot of Miata owners around here are older and the car is their 3rd or 4th vehicle. I know several couples who own multiple Miatas and I usually see the husbands' cars and never see the wives' cars. Our membership lady apparently owns a 1999 NB that passed the 10,000 mile mark last year,for example. I suspect you can look for cars that have been pampered in most of the northeastern "salt" states.

Here's an example, it's an automatic, so that would be a deal killer for me but it it's an example of cars that are put away every winter to preserve it.....
http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/5082536471.html

BRG was a one year color and is considered rare and collectible. $5200 for an immaculate low mileage example (it is 24 years old) seems market correct.

3 years ago, I paid more than that for an 78K 94 Laguna Blue (my personal must have) with hard top and some suspension mods I had planned to do anyway. Prices for clean NAs are on the uptick.

I can't help on which one. I have only driven NAs (90-97). I like the style of NBs (99-2005?) best but wouldn't trade mine for one.

There are a lot of special/limited edition Miatas that some sellers feel command a premium if they know they have them. Personally, I couldn't care less but it could explain why some similar cars are priced so much higher than others.

The prices on NAs are starting to come up, as Adrift noted. There are still super-cheap ones out there, but nowhere near as many as there were 5-8 years ago. And some people will pay a premium for various special versions - the black with red interior is the standout there.

There's not much price difference between an NA and an NB anymore, they're mostly valued on condition. The MSM is at the high end, but that's partly because it's the newest.

Of the two you mentioned, I'd get the 94. Hardtops are great, the 1.8 has a bunch of little upgrades over the 94 and the AC uses 134 instead of 12 so it's a whoooole lot cheaper to fix.

If your budget is 10K I'll sell you my '97 Montego Blue Miata in STR trim and three sets of wheels/tires for $8,500 and you can fly here to Ky and enjoy a vacation road trip back west with the AC on.

117,000 miles and runs strong (for a 1.8).

Ninja edit: for the right price I'll road trip to you and fly home.

Get the nicest nb you can get with a hardtop and torsen.

Keith Tanner wrote: The prices on NAs are starting to come up, as Adrift noted. There are still super-cheap ones out there, but nowhere near as many as there were 5-8 years ago. And some people will pay a premium for various special versions - the black with red interior is the standout there. There's not much price difference between an NA and an NB anymore, they're mostly valued on condition. The MSM is at the high end, but that's partly because it's the newest. Of the two you mentioned, I'd get the 94. Hardtops are great, the 1.8 has a bunch of little upgrades over the 94 and the AC uses 134 instead of 12 so it's a whoooole lot cheaper to fix.

I would rather have a Miata with a hard top. You didn't list a price tho...

Duly noted on the BRG car, I'll keep an eye on it and see where the price goes.

A car with a 1.8 would likely be better as well as r134 A/C system. A LSD and hard top are on the list of wants also.

Tom

Up here in the Northland, most of us only drive our toys 5-6 months and put them away before snow/salt season. Since the NDs were introduced, quite a few really clean NAs and NBs are on CL. I found a exceptionally clean (the stabilizer link nuts turned by hand after breaking loose) NB w/56 K w/Torsen for 6400 last spring. Sold the rust free NA w/82 K in a week. The guy did not even test drive it.

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So hive, what would we value this Miata at? '97, 4.3 torsen diff swap, FM 2.5 suspension, JR header, FM exhaust, Hawk pads, RB intake, MOMO seat, roll bar, aftermarket stereo and speakers, new plugs/wires/belts/fluids. Trailer hitch and tire trailer. Street wheels/tires and two sets of 15" Hoosier mounted race wheels (205&275).

No rust but apparently a bad title (showed up after I bought it). AC works great. Top is ok but not perfect.

Dyno tune (advanced timing a bit) showed 115 hp to the rear wheels. Well sorted car that has gotten me into the top 10 several times locally (and if you saw my "locally" you'd know that was pretty good)

Doing a bit of envelope figuring I put recreating this car right at $10,000 but I know they aren't worth that cost so what do we say?

I'd probably list at $6k and take $4500-5000 if offered.

OldGray320i wrote: Let me just say this - don't buy anything that's had life back east; I bought a really clean NB, from Nebraska - no rust (per se) anywhere on the car, looks as clean as anything here in 'zona.

Those of us on the east coast find that you consider Nebraska "back east" mildly amusing.

jstein77 wrote:

OldGray320i wrote: Let me just say this - don't buy anything that's had life back east; I bought a really clean NB, from Nebraska - no rust (per se) anywhere on the car, looks as clean as anything here in 'zona.

Those of us on the east coast find that you consider Nebraska "back east" mildly INSULTING.

Fixed.

You should be able to get a well sorted turbo car for under 10k if you're into that sort of thing. Just like with any car, if you can find a nicely modded enthusiast owned car you will save tons of money vs doing the mods yourself. Of course finding such a car might require a bit of travel.

I've had two '96 NAs and a 2000 NB. I think the NAs are better looking on the outside, but the NB is nicer on the inside. I don't think there is a huge difference in how they ride. The paint held up better on my two NAs, but I like that I don't have to hear HLA noise on the NB.

Of the two that you've listed, I really like BRG, but I'd rather have a 1.8 and a hardtop.

Tom1200 wrote: Duly noted on the BRG car, I'll keep an eye on it and see where the price goes. A car with a 1.8 would likely be better as well as r134 A/C system. A LSD and hard top are on the list of wants also.

Don't get hung up on the LSD, if you find the right car it's not too hard to swap one in. The 1.6s are a little slower compared to the 1.8 NAs, but the difference isn't that big. The 1.8 does have a lot more headroom when it comes to turbocharging or supercharging it.

The only reason for wanting various things on the car is spare time is hard to come by. I spent the past couple of days doing upgrades the Formula 500, so I'd prefer not to have to fiddle with the street cars.

Tom

The biggest reasons to go with a 1.8 instead of a 1.6:
-stronger ring and pinion (you can bust the 1.6 one with a stock power plant if you're brutal enough)
-better LSD
-larger brakes with better proportioning
-10% more displacement, thus 10% more power/torque
-better highway gearing on the 1994-97 (4.1 instead of 4.3)
-R134 refrigerant (I wouldn't normally mention this other than the fact that it's 100F outside and my R12 system needs to be topped up)
- passenger airbag

You can retrofit every one of those attributes other than the airbag to a 1.6 - but it's a lot cheaper to get the 1.8 in the first place. This is coming from a guy who has the 1.8 rear, 1.8 engine and bigger brakes on his 1990.

Reasons to get a 1.6:
- revvier engine (the cams are more fun)
- better looking interior

$10k, NC. Hands down. They are out there.