How much would you pay for a first-year Mazda Miata? How about $27,000? That’s the recent selling price of a stock early example with only 3000 miles on the odometer over on Bring a Trailer.
To put that into perspective, similar money can be commanded by the iconic MGB, to which the Miata can trace its roots.
First-year examples of the MGB have been a little all over the place on Bring a Trailer, though at least three sold for $20,000 or more. Hagerty says that $20,100 will currently get you a No. 2 example, while No. 1 condition will cost you $30,300.
What does all this mean for you, the potential classic car buyer? Clean, low-mileage examples of the first-generation Mazda Miata—a true youngtimer in the making—are worth just as much as well-cared-for examples of the first-generation MGB—an icon of the classic car world.
What would you rather sink your money into: an early Mazda Miata or an early MGB?
Miata over MGB for sure..... parts availability, build quality, reliability....it's all same reasons the Miata was invented. Mine's got just under 300,000 miles.....still runs great and I autocross it regulalarly in the ES class. Miata Is Always The Answer.
Miata _ A modern classic you can actually use without the fear of failure that the MGB would always elicit. The cars provide a tremendous lot of fun and are so damn good, and that has to count for something beyond what a an MGB offers.
I'm an old Gear Head who has driven new & used nearly everything of interest from the Post-War years. I drove the MGB's, MGB GT's when new and they were fun and good looking(Not MGA good looking), but a bit delicate and prone to reliabilty issues. My Miata of nearly 28-years and 200,000 miles still makes me smile when I look and think of it, and still delivers on a nearly daily basis, gobs of fun. It has never left me on the side of the road and has had nothing but tires, and brake pads and a radiator, not even a new timing belt or water pump, or, clutch and muffler. I first put new spark plugs in it at 117,000 miles and they are still in there. It still runs fine and I have detected no loss of performance. The fun and reliability components, and the huge following make it a classic. One to grow in value over the years.
Despite all of the above, there are a lot more of them then MGB's. So it is a tough call this early in.
Bottom line for me... is that I will never sell mine. And the painless performance motoring pleasure it has given me over the years is priceless and that tangible and visceral value will continue for years to come.
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By Colin Wood
