WTB 93 to 97 Miata

This is my first post to the forum, so please let me know if I am out of line. I am looking for a nice, relatively stock Miata, 93 to 97. By nice I mean good paint, a top that I won't have to replace, drives tight like a Miata should, with a well taken care of interior. Suspension upgrades or a roll bar are OK, but a turbo or wing is wasted on me. In short, a car I would not be embarrassed to bring to a Metroplex Miata meeting. A DFW car would be nice.

After looking at the market I want to spend around $5,000 for a 80,000 to 90,000 mile car, up to perhaps $6,500 for one in the 60,000 mile range. I know this isn't top dollar, but it doesn't seem out of line. I will pay cash and won't waste your time.

I want to use this car to teach my sons the joys of a maual transmission, and how to take care of a car. Thank you, I have enjoyed reading your posts and look forward to meeting you guys.

Rick del Monte
[email protected]

Welcome! With that kind of budget to buy a NA (first gen) I'd be in heaven! For a little comparative info, I bought my 92 in 01 for $4500 and my 90 about 3 yrs ago for $3700. Don't remember the miles on the 92 when I bought it, but my 90 was in mint condition, always garaged, EVERY receipt (including oil filter labels! OCD Jewish architect I got it from!), and 122k miles.

Good luck finding a nice one. Great shifter & factory clutch to ::Teacher: someone how to drive a manual. I was somehow able to teach my sister and several cheerleader friends how do drive a stick in my Miata!

*Oh yeah, ::Fist:: to anyone who has seen my car and going ::Spit:: how the hell was it in "mint" condition when he got it!::Bleh:: I've added 117k miles, had a fender bender, and been to probably 30 track days and it's certianly starting to show!::Drive1::

Welcome to the board. I see Miatas for sale here from time to time, but some of the members post links to others that they find on other boards (ie Pointy board ::Batman:: )

And come to one of the Wednesday meets to see some of the fine Miatas on this board (oh and meet the owners).

Welcome aboard and good luck on your search!

Welcome aboard! ::Flag:: With that kind of budget you'll be able to get a very nice Miata. Let us know if we can help.

Sorry i'm 2 years off....I've got a 91 that i'm preparing to sell. Good luck with ur search and welcome to the board. -Wes-

also look on cars.com and autotrader.com

they will let you save your search particulars and only show new since last search

don't be afraid to travel

Welcome rickdm. I bought my '94 last summer after searching for several months. It was advertised on this forum. Check the places that nealb suggested. Members of the forum usually post cars that may not be on those web sites. Good luck.

Thanks for the welcome. I have been looking at most of the online sites. I found a few nice ones out of town, but since I have never actually driven a Miata I thought it would be nice to find one locally that I could go see.

I may try to come out to one of the meetings, it would be great to meet some owners and see what a nice one looks like. Do you guys still meet at this time of the year?

Thanks,
rickdm

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Originally Posted by rickdm

Do you guys still meet at this time of the year?

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Check in frequently in the Impromptu Events, Events and Drives, and the Event Planning forums for GTG (get-to-gether) information...

::Fruity:: Between Tech Days, Garage Days, eating dinner and/or lunch together, and the upcoming autocross season, there's always something to do and somewhere to be...

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Originally Posted by rickdm

Do you guys still meet at this time of the year?

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AX season is not far off....check the Autocross section. Chances are there will be several Miata's attending any given event.

Rick,

If we can help look over a car you are interested in please let us know. We live in Plano, if that is convenient. If necessary we can do a compression and leak down test, put her up on a lift and look for any major issues. You would be better off finding a solid car that needs a little TLC. Parts are always available at a reasonable price.

I think you are making a great choice on helping your kids to learn about cars. Mileage on Miatas is not so much a concern as long as the car has been maintained properly. Probably everyone in this Miata group can contest to how reliable these engines are. You would be better off with a 100K car that has been maintained than a 50K car that has not.

Let us know if we can help.

Gary
Cell 214-280-6172

Welcome to the forum! Good luck with your search.

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Originally Posted by trackdog

Rick,

If we can help look over a car you are interested in please let us know. We live in Plano, if that is convenient. If necessary we can do a compression and leak down test, put her up on a lift and look for any major issues.

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Is it just me, or is Gary starting to sound like the Queen of England, always referring to himself in third person? :mrgreen:

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Originally Posted by altiain

Is it just me, or is Gary starting to sound like the Queen of England, always referring to himself in third person? :mrgreen:

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Plural no less...::Banana::

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Originally Posted by altiain

Welcome to the forum! Good luck with your search.



Is it just me, or is Gary starting to sound like the Queen of England, always referring to himself in third person? :mrgreen:

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We don't see a particular problem with that... At least he's coherent these days :-)

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Originally Posted by Treibenschnell

Plural no less...::Banana::

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If you spend any time over at the dog house, you will find that where Gary is, Mike Preston is. It feels a little odd the few times I see one of them without the other.

EDIT: A box of sour milk? :confused: :confused: :confused:

First person plural, which is correct. (Clearly someone beside(s) Gary is proofreading.)

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Originally Posted by Titus

EDIT: A box of sour milk? :confused: :confused: :confused:

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I thought that was strange too... why'd you pick that?

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Originally Posted by Treibenschnell

I thought that was strange too... why'd you pick that?

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Yeah... I'm sure you had nothing to do with it. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Titus

Yeah... I'm sure you had nothing to do with it. :rolleyes:

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Alright, alright... you can change it back. I'm just making sure you remember what's important! Don't sweat the small stuff... and all that ::turd::.

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Originally Posted by Treibenschnell

Alright, alright... you can change it back. I'm just making sure you remember what's important! Don't sweat the small stuff... and all that ::turd::.

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Do you notice the irony? You picked a mariner blue box. :clap:

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Originally Posted by Titus

Do you notice the irony? You picked a mariner blue box. :clap:

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I thought that was more of an Oceanic Evening Blue... ::Daisy::

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Originally Posted by redmenace

First person plural, which is correct. (Clearly someone beside(s) Gary is proofreading.)

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I think he did that all by himself...err, by themselves. :) I've been woking with him/them on that...

Gary thank you for the offer. I went to your website. That is a scary place! I can see a lot of money dissapearing in a hurry :D

Do most people have pre-purchase inspections done when buying a Miata? These are kind of critical when buying an old Porsche (ask me how I know).

I keep thinking there must be someone looking out at the snow and thinking.....'why do I need a convertible?'.

Rick

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Originally Posted by rickdm

Do most people have pre-purchase inspections done when buying a Miata? These are kind of critical when buying an old Porsche (ask me how I know).

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In my opinion no more so than any other quality built Japanese car.

A compression test would bring some piece of mind if you don't have decent maintinance records but these cars are pretty bullet proof. I have 154k on my 95. Only basic maintence and wear an tear. I bought it with 90k and the owner did have decent maintinance records for the previous 60k. He was the second owner.

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Originally Posted by altiain

Is it just me, or is Gary starting to sound like the Queen of England, always referring to himself in third person? :mrgreen:

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Elton John?

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Originally Posted by channelmaniac

Elton John?

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So many blower jokes to make...

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Originally Posted by miataspeedracer

So many blower jokes to make...

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Well he is known as the Queen of England. ;)

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Originally Posted by rickdm

I keep thinking there must be someone looking out at the snow and thinking.....'why do I need a convertible?'.

Rick

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So you can enjoy the snow during your drive of course! At least I did a couple years ago further north! Sure got some odd looks with my Texas plates and the top down in light flurries!::Cold:: ::Drive1::

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Originally Posted by rickdm

I keep thinking there must be someone looking out at the snow and thinking.....'why do I need a convertible?'.

Rick

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Possibly.....

Cars.com dallas.craigslist.com autotrader.com dallas news classifieds

I've purchased cars through autotrader, dallasnews, and cars.com.
I was lucky enough to find my miata through cars.com just over a year ago.

There are some decent deals on cars.com right now. One of them is a '96 for $2950. Has a reconditioned title though.

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Originally Posted by rickdm

I keep thinking there must be someone looking out at the snow and thinking.....'why do I need a convertible?'.

Rick

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That would be why I have a Hard Top!

Well, I bought a car this weekend. I followed the advice of buying the nicest car I could find, and it ended up being a '91SE BRG with 79k ::Banana:: . I bought it from a gentleman in Oklahoma City who clearly loved the car, and it has been a weekend car for all of its life (he now has a Mica Red M with 10,000 miles on it). It came with a hardtop that has not seen much use (now I just have to figure out where to store it). I will look for an event where I can bring it out and get some advice from all of you.

Thanks for your advice,
rickdm

You bought this one? LINKIE

Looks like a great choice. Enjoy and bring it out sometime!

Yes, that is the car that I bought. It was in great shape and he was very upfront about every minor issue on the car. After the deal we walked out and he had his brothers M with 10,000 miles parked next to this one. It was Mica Red with a tan top and the BBS wheels, absolutely new, I looked at both cars and told him he was selling the wrong one ;)

I will keep an eye out for the next event so I can show it off. I also have a lot of questions for you guys.

rickdm

Congratulations! opps mis-read which one you bought! Still a wonderful buy. What wheels are on the one you bought?

That's a very nice car! You did good. His 95 M is my 2nd favorite miata.

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Originally Posted by Sharpie

His 95 M is my 2nd favorite miata.

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My '91 is Sharpie's first favorite... ::rock::

I've spent time in Mariner, dad still has one. I like it.

But you know it's all about the black n red for me.

The car came with the Daisy wheels, and other than a new set of Bilstein HD's, it is pretty much stock. The tires are old Dunlop all season tires that have a lot of tread but are like rocks. I think a set of Azensis will be a big help.

rickdm