Yet another dud. The search for a clean NA Miata continues...

I've been searching since January for a clean NA Miata to replace my current A/C-less beater, a death sentence in Oklahoma with a 20-mile town commute.

I've checked four or five Miatas in the past couple months. They all fell through for various reasons. Starting to get to the point of desperation, which is not a good place to be in the car-buying process. Hopefully GRM will help prevent me from making a stupid purchase...hopefully.

My next victim:

https://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/4957578195.html

Pictures that he sent me of the paint, rockers, wheels, everything look fantastic. It is truly clean. The underside of the trunk carpet is spotless. The interior looks great. The A/C blows cold but he said it might be a tad weak, i.e. not ice cold. No timing belt or other major maintenance done (at least not to his knowledge), so it's coming up on the 60k mile service interval. New tires w/less than 300 miles, Hankook ventus, hardtop, rollbar, stock suspension besides the swaybar. No rust whatsoever.

My one holdup is the stripes, which I'm not in love with, but are at least clean, and I could learn to appreciate! :D The hardtop is the wrong color, but can be painted, sold, vinyl wrapped, or whatever. It's just an additional $1000 value that can be recouped and I don't intend on stiffing the seller on that.

Am I crazy for thinking of a $5k offer? I saw a comparable mileage '90 NA on Miata.net just sold in Arizona for almost 5k, and this is not as original, although the hardtop, rollbar, and wheels are nice goodies that I would want.

I barely missed a '93 LE in Wisconsin with hardtop and 63k miles for $6750, so paying slightly over a grand less for this one is a little too close for comfort. But - the LE did not have the rollbar, wheels, or tires.

It's a four hour drive, so I need to nail down my offer before I go any further. The seller has been incredibly helpful so far, which is always a good sign.

I hate that its a '90. I'd prefer '94 or later, but thats just me. But honestly, for the hardtop, miles, how clean it is, and time of year, I think 5k is about on the mark. I mean from the outside looking in, its high. Its really high for a cheap roadster made in the 90s, but from the enthusiast point of view, yeah, 5k is neither a good or bad deal.

It's fairly priced all things considered.

If it falls through and you feel like wrenching, I have a 1.6 Miata that I'm parting out that has a/c.

Buy one in California and take a week-long drive through the mountains back home. Food and lodging will be paid for with the money you save on the car. Seriously, they're like weeds here.

Kreb wrote: Buy one in California and take a week-long drive through the mountains back home. Food and lodging will be paid for with the money you save on the car. Seriously, they're like weeds here.

I definitely thought about that. It would have to have great pictures and no surprises. If you see one, let me know!

Meanwhile, the seller said he would do 5k. Time to decide...

The guy around the corner has a 1991 with 120,000 miles. Box stock other than a nice stereo, a small crease on one fender and and a small rip in the roof. He's a doctor and the car belonged to his daughter. $2k. Why buy a car that's already modded that you have no idea how much has been thrashed? Or there's the guy with the nice spec Miata for under 7 grand. Just saying.....

edit: I just took a long look at the one you posted. That's pretty damn nice.

I'd wait for a 1.8 if I were you. I've owned both.

I've got a 1.8 AC system, maybe a cheaper option :).

The extra pictures he sent me:

http://imgur.com/a/rbrpN

I don't see what's so special about it. I was just searching this today. Similar (if not better) are out here in Oregon for 3k, Aaaaaallllllll day.

The best reasons to pay a premium for a NA Miata is:

1. You don't want to buy an average or good one and spend the time and a few bucks making it really nice.

2. You won't do a fly and drive.

3. It has features and/or a few mods that you're really looking for like a roll bar, hardtop, Torsen LSD, etc.

4. You really value low miles.

Since you probably check a couple of these items, you should probably purchase it. I passed on a Miata that was ok but with a hardtop and Kosei wheels with Direzza ZI tires on Ebay for a cheap price last month. I wasn't really looking for a Miata then, but I regret not buying it because it was a great price, especially with the hardtop.

Desmond wrote: I hate that its a '90. I'd prefer '94 or later, but thats just me. But honestly, for the hardtop, miles, how clean it is, and time of year, I think 5k is about on the mark. I mean from the outside looking in, its high. Its really high for a cheap roadster made in the 90s, but from the enthusiast point of view, yeah, 5k is neither a good or bad deal.

I agree. Like many, I'm not thrilled with the stripes but they're OK. Assuming the car is idling, it appears to have good oil pressure as well. And the hard top is a weird color to go with red, but can be easily painted.

If I were in the market, I'd probably pull the trigger. I've seen worse go for more this time of the year.

A few years ago, I'd say "crack pipe" all day long, but the clean, low mile NA's seem to be getting fewer and farther between. Add the $1000 "spring premium" and his price isn't out of line in today's market. I'm not saying I would pay it, but someone probably will. Truth is, I picked up a $2300 beater a few years ago and probably now have about 5K in it to get it where I want it, and it isn't NEARLY as clean underneath. If its a "must have" and you've got the money, go for it. You just won't get to be "that guy" who brags about how he picked up a 30,000 mile cream puff NA Miata from some old lady for $2,500. Since we all hate "that guy", its probably OK.

BTW - is it a long or short nosed crank? I think 90's came with both depending on build date.

Looks really clean. For essentially 4k (if you sell hardtop) you get a low mile clean miata. Clean is always worth the premium to me.

I'm starting to feel better about the '90. I like the rollbar, hardtop, and the wheel/tire combo. If I find something I like better down the road, I'll pull those items off and re-sell the car. It's the cleanest example I've found in a 4 hour radius in the last three months.

Then, I can sit back, relax, and browse stress-free and if I find a car I fall in love with, I'll grab it too. Maybe keep the '90 as a DD, and start looking for a more heavily modified example that I can afford to keep disassembled in the shop, if necessary, for periods of time.

I love that car. I wouldn't change a thing, except for putting on 15" Enkei RPF1 wheels;)

I'd rather have a '90 1.6 than the later 1.8. Owned a few of each and to me, the 1.6 feels more rev happy. My favorite Miata was a '90. Simple and cheap to bring brakes up to '94-97 specs as well as add on the later suspension braces. The biggest issue (other than the crank snout problem) was they had issued with paint adhesion. One of my '90 Miata had big patches of paint flaking off the primer. White ones seemed to be the worst offenders.