Learn me 1997 Miata's

I just went and looked at a 1997 Miata. Here are pictures!

It has 157K on the clock. CARFAX is clean. No rust, body was straight, no weird seams. Car had just been repainted, and the paint looked good. And as far as I could tell, there wasn't any accident damage. Interior was in very nice condition, top was good. Engine started up fine, idled without issue, and pulled strong. Transmission shifted smoothly through all the gears, didn't feel any clutch slip. Brakes felt good from several hard stops, firm pedal, not much travel. The only thing that felt a little out of place was the steering. It felt very heavy. I have I just been spoiled by power assisted steering? Because the NB doesn't feel nearly as heavy to me. But it wasn't anything extreme.

The lady is asking 5k for it. That's nearly double KBB value, but it appears to be a good car. Thoughts GRM?

thats a bunch of money for an NA miata, around here they go for anywhere from 2500- 4000 with similar miles and with original paint that you know won't be peeling like bad tint in a year.

Looks clean although red is not my favorite color. I love seeing some of the asking prices on Miatas since I plan to sell my 96 in the next month or so for similar money... although mine has twice the power, lower miles, Konis, and Volks. That being said, I think you can find a better deal for that much money.

Sounds expensive, particularly for one with a repaint and trunk luggage rack.

Nice original NA8 cars with about the same mileage sell for $3500-4000 all day long in Texas. I just bought a fantastic NA6 with hardtop for $3000.

Also, the repaint is obvious. The rockers have been painted red and the emblem (and holes) is missing from the front nose. In fact, it looks like there aren't any dents in the front nose. It might be a replacement piece. '97 models also have the hated "bulge" door panels.

Seems to me that the luggage rack is missing a part, that being the raised bar across the back. Maybe it does not matter but the reason I point it out is so that you can inspect and look for filled in holes. I am not sure how these hold on, maybe just adhesive but i would think there could be some bolts.

Interesting rims. If they are only 14" then I would be suspect as to what happened to the originals. Sure, if they are bigger than stock then it seems logical. If they are same as stock then what I see is maybe a factory rim or two were damaged and 4 aftermarket rims were cheaper than 2 factory versions. How is the car optioned?
Would it have come with 14's or 15's?

EDIT: Some research into www.miata.net shows that the car would have been delivered with 14" steel rims so an aftermarket alloy upgrade would be normal. This is evident by the fact that it does not have power mirrors. This also means that the car could be a true base model and not have power steering.
Also did not leave the factory with a Torsen limited slip.
See options and packages listed in link below.
http://www.miata.net/faq/brochures/1997/Back.jpg

I am not sure if they were only sold in sets but rear mudflaps and no front mudflaps. Add that to the missing nose badge and I wonder if the front clip was replaced. Upon opening the hood, each fender should have a VIN tag in line with the top bolts. No tag means a replaced fender.
See the two white tags in the picture below?
These are the VIN tags associated with each fender. the tag may be there but also verify that the VIN on the tag is the same as the car. Different number just means that they used a junkyard part off a different Miata.

Well I've already decided to pass on this one. The lady is very firm on the price, hoping to get the money back for th paint job. I'm actually about to go look at another one right now now!

Well second Miata I looked at was worse than the first. Paint was peeling on the hood, front passenger side fender had a huge dent in it. Dents and scratches on every single panel. Engine bay looked great. Interior was nice. However it made a horrible clicking sound when turning, sound like it was coming from the back right wheel. Kid is asking $2500, didn't have the heart to tell him I wouldn't pay a dime over 1k for it.