Under what circumstances should I not buy this miata? (If it's still available)

I am still in the process of modding my 01 celica gt-s I recently purchased for a DD. I don't have a garage to keep it in, but it seems like a great deal that I don't want to pass up. What should I be looking out for?

http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/3340163266.html

If it has excessive crank end play. Even then, worst case would be a new long block.

Or a high water mark on the interior...

How else would I look for water damage? Luckily this past storm there wasn't much rain just lots of wind. How is excessive crank play defined as? 0.3mm or more?

Assuming all checks out, does this seem like a good deal?

Please tell him you thought it would be cleaner and offer him a lot less than his asking price.

It does seem cheap for an NB -- but I am looking at it from a CDN perspective. Rusty rockers in front of the rear wheels would be one thing I'd look out for.

THE CAR ISN'T LOUD! I SWEAR I DON'T HEAR IT AT ALL! HEARING LOSS? NO-WHY DO YOU ASK?

If there's nothing else wrong, aside from the rockers, I'd seriously consider it at that price. My '99 has rusted in the usual spot and I've patched it two or three times. If it's caught early enough it's usually just the outer rocker that's rusted through.

lnlds wrote: How else would I look for water damage? Luckily this past storm there wasn't much rain just lots of wind. How is excessive crank play defined as? 0.3mm or more? Assuming all checks out, does this seem like a good deal?

It won't have crank end play, it's a 1.8 NB.

I'd buy it. Wish i had found something like that instead of mine.

The rockers usually rust from the inside out, so it's not unusual to discover that the sill is rotten. Still, I wouldn't let it stop me.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

lnlds wrote: How else would I look for water damage? Luckily this past storm there wasn't much rain just lots of wind. How is excessive crank play defined as? 0.3mm or more? Assuming all checks out, does this seem like a good deal?

It won't have crank end play, it's a 1.8 NB. I'd buy it. Wish i had found something like that instead of mine.

The 1999 engines are exactly the ones that develop crank play. Although I think most of the problem engines are probably gone by now. Still, I'd check out any low mileage 1999 for it. Especially if there's a little pulsing in the clutch pedal, that means you've lost the block and crank and the head's already gone...

Keith Tanner wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

lnlds wrote: How else would I look for water damage? Luckily this past storm there wasn't much rain just lots of wind. How is excessive crank play defined as? 0.3mm or more? Assuming all checks out, does this seem like a good deal?

It won't have crank end play, it's a 1.8 NB. I'd buy it. Wish i had found something like that instead of mine.

The 1999 engines are exactly the ones that develop crank play. Although I think most of the problem engines are probably gone by now. Still, I'd check out any low mileage 1999 for it. Especially if there's a little pulsing in the clutch pedal, that means you've lost the block and crank and the head's already gone...

Oh weird... my bad. I'd never heard of that on a 1.8.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Oh weird... my bad. I'd never heard of that on a 1.8.

You're thinking of the short-nose crank issue. Completely different animal.

he's anal about E36 M3, apparently.

peter wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Oh weird... my bad. I'd never heard of that on a 1.8.

You're thinking of the short-nose crank issue. Completely different animal.

Yup. End play (aka crank walk if you own a DSM) is a thrust bearing problem, and there were some 1999 cars that Mazda claimed were "incorrectly machined". I think they put the wrong bearing in. The thrust bearing failure will start to drop oil pressure in the engine. But the oil pressure, umm, "indicator" only tells you that you have a minimum if 7 psi. First the cam seals go, trashing the (desirable) head. Then the crank starts to contact the block, machining both the block and the crank to death - that's the pulsing. By the time the car starts stalling when the driver depresses the clutch due to the crank embedding itself in the main bearing caps, pretty much the whole engine is trash. And yes, we've seen it go that far.

Want to duplicate the short nose crank problem on any B-series engine? Don't torque the crank bolt properly. Happens a lot more often than you think. It's a sloppy pulley and wandering timing. Worst case scenario is that you need a new crank and pulley.

belteshazzar wrote: he's anal about E36 M3, apparently.

So anal that he missed the first change by 12k miles (never mentiones if it was done before), and that he first says something about a clean 80k car, but then mentions 106k miles. Which is it?

If you could show up with 3-4 bulky friends, I would consider it, but something screams BS.

belteshazzar wrote: he's anal about E36 M3, apparently.

It's that line right there that says its a time bomb, and needs a timing belt as of now.

Yeah it has been up for over a month, with a hardtop and nb at this price and miles it should be gone by now. I think I'm gonna get my ducks in a row with my celica gt-s and hold off on this one.

I've dealt with sellers like this and most likely those pictures are old and the car looks much worse now and he's pissed off when everyone is disappointed when they see the car in person. I still might swing over there as I have a few days off though. Thanks for the insight guys.

Spinout007 wrote:

belteshazzar wrote: he's anal about E36 M3, apparently.

It's that line right there that says its a time bomb, and needs a timing belt as of now.

Ah, the only thing a broken timing belt does on a 1999 Miata is ruin your day. The repair is exactly the same as a timing belt change. I don't recommend deferred maintenance, but from a mechanical and expense standpoint an overdue belt isn't a big deal.

Keith Tanner wrote: Ah, the only thing a broken timing belt does on a 1999 Miata is ruin your day. The repair is exactly the same as a timing belt change. I don't recommend deferred maintenance, but from a mechanical and expense standpoint an overdue belt isn't a big deal.

I do recommend that you have AAA if you choose this method of timing belt change. No, it won't hurt the engine, but it will leave you on the side of the road when it happens.

Yes, that's why I don't recommend it. I have never suggested leaving a belt longer than the 60k interval, as I've seen too many with 80k that are broken.

If I bought a Miata with a 106k timing belt, I'd drive it home and change the belt. But I wouldn't be stressed about a big bill if the belt broke on that trip. So - don't let an overdue timing belt freak you out if you're looking at purchasing a Miata. Take as a sign of general maintenance, perhaps. But don't say "aiee, it's going to destroy the engine and cost me thousands of dollars". Because it won't.

It's more offputting because I guess I'm still at a stage of my life where this would be a rather irresponsible purchase. I do have triple. A which is very convenient for when my distributor died in my old celica.

Also the fact that it sounds like the car isn't going to be as nice as it does in pictures, but every time I open the ad I change my mind haha.

NB is definitely on my to-own list in the future.

That seems insanely cheap for something that runs with a hardtop and is an NB