Does anyone know this car?

[Jeff]

what do you miss about the 99? and when are you driving back?

[altiain]

'99 Sport FTW. That's a damn clean car and a really good price. I'm kinda glad I didn't see that before I bought my S2000 last week.

BTW, all that stuff that you want in the '01 that's worth having (brakes, bracing, wheels) can be bolted right onto a '99.

[POS Racing]

what do you miss about the 99?

IMHO it was just an all around better car than our 2002.

Don't get me wrong I like our '02 but the '99 just drove better and I am not a fan of the 6-Speed. I know some love the 6 Speed but I am not that person.

Premium gas wears me out at dang near $4.00 a gallon I know some will say they don't need to run premium in their VVT cars but ours has to have it or it knocks like crazy. We bought it new so I have years of experience with this particular '02.

We ditched the 16" wheels for 15" and added a big fat front sway bar and a bought a set of OEM Bilstien's with stock springs off my old '99 Sport and that has helped.

But on the plus side it has been a pretty trouble free car for 70,000 miles. It is my wife's everyday driver and she is by no means easy on it.

[altiain]

what do you miss about the 99? and when are you driving back?

The '99 Sport is the lightest and purest (imho) version of the NB Miata. It has everything you want (Hard S suspension, Torsen diff, 5 speed) without the added weight or useless power options.

With all the recent service, the Konis, and the Koseis, that's a great price for that car.

[Jeff]

I got this back on the blue car:

*RF fog lamp is defective
*Small crack in front air dam
*Recurring eng lite from low EGR flow (seems to be a common thing with the 1999 model)
*Minor crack in top of dash
*Driver seat fabric has wear
*Slight grind going into 5th gear if shifted fast
*Carpet damage on driver side (unseen until floor mat is removed)


On the 02, why would vvt require premium gas? cam's have nothing to do with compression and octane requirements. Does mazda call for premium from the factory?

[mk2tmr2]

3-car caravan back from the Florida State Meet would be awesome.

The '01+ has a higher compression ratio than the '99-'00. 10:1 as opposed to 9.5:1. Hence the premium fuel requirement.

One more thing to consider: If you ever plan on going with forced induction you'll probably be slightly better off with the '99 as well.

[Jeff]

They didn't pick up any more power with the increased compression?

[Jeff]

so for the price difference between the first car I posted (99) and the 02 i posted, do you think I should go with the white 99 from top speed?

[wrx74]

"Is one of them blue? I'd go with the blue one."

[sammm]

If you really want an NB, the '99 Sport is the one to have.

At the price of the one if Florida, you could afford to transport it here (after you have it checked out by a local mechanic).

[Jeff]

heh, the blue one is nice, but the florida part of it is making things tough on me. I want to go look at the two local cars and get a feel for them first. I am in communication with the owner of the blue car and he's getting me hi res pics of it's issues.

[mk2tmr2]

heh, the blue one is nice, but the florida part of it is making things tough on me.

I'm buying a car from Florida. What about it are you finding so tough? Booked a plane ticket today for $190. (American) If you want to ship it, it'll cost as little as $550.

Seems like the consensus here (since you've asked) is to go with the '99 Sport since it's arguably the best performing NB and the price/history of the particular one in question is an extraordinary value.

[Jeff]

The money for the plane ticket and gas as well as the time is rough for me. My son has tball games every saturday from now until mid may and I can't take any time off from work. Plus the wife isn't keen on me getting another miata in the first place since I just got my NA, and trying to convince her to let me fly somewhere without her and the kid and leaving her to take care of the house/dogs/kid alone while I go "waste" money on another car is a tough sell.

It's not off the radar, but I'm trying to be realistic with what I can pull off and what is/is not worth buying. If this white one is not worth buying then i'll skip it and wait. If I can pull off the blue one then I will. If now isn't the right time, then I'll wait for something else to come up.

[Kestrel]

I'm just not getting this. You have a couple of "options" that you are looking at:

• A fairly nice White 1999 with 148k on the clock and some added on bits for $4,900. It's local, so you can go see it.
• A nicer Dark Blue 1999 Sport with 107k on the clock for $4,995 that you'll have to fly to Florida to see and buy.
• A nice Gray/Silver 2002 with 89k on the clock for $8,800! At least it's also local, so you don't have to add in that airfare.
• Or an extremely nice 1999 listed for sale by someone on this forum, with something like 65k miles, all the goodies of a Sport package, you know it's had the 60k major maintenance done... all for a asking/starting price of $5,500?

Look, I don't know Rebel, except that I sold that car to him and he seemed like a nice guy. I don't get a commission for "selling his car", but I honestly don't understand why you (or someone) haven't taken $5k out of the bank, run (not walked) over to Rebel's place, and bought his car already. Of course, it's your money, and maybe you don't like dark blue cars... or tan interiors... or perhaps you just fancy a trip to Disneyworld. Anyway, good luck!

[ken o]

Why hasn't the FLA car sold local if it is such a great deal?

[Jeff]

Why hasn't the FLA car sold local if it is such a great deal?

That's a good question too. Also, I don't want to sound like a dick, but I already posted this:

I have a 95 montego blue 5 spd with koni yellow's and gc coil overs - I just really want an NB, and since I already have a miata I'm being VERY particular. Rebel, I LOVE the idea of your car, I just don't think I could do the tan interior. I REALLY want a blank interior NB

I've got a decent tan interior car right now, I just want a black interior nb

[Jeff]

It could also be the pictures throwing me off, some non-flash pictures might make the car look totally different. Flashes on tan interiors made then look pretty bad IMO and I'm just not getting a "wow" feeling looking at the interior in those pictures. Looks the same as my 95's 6 year old leather interior and that doesn't seem like much of an upgrade to me.

[mk2tmr2]

I've got a decent tan interior car right now, I just want a black interior nb

Swapping to an all-black interior is neither difficult nor expensive if you're willing to be patient and source good deals on cars being parted out. The most troublesome bit is the dashboard. But even that would take just a couple hours with some help from someone who has swapped dashes before.

Sounds to me, though, that you should just stick with what you have and enjoy it. Hell...spend $5k on your '95 and you'll have one hell of a stunner.

[POS Racing]

Plus the wife isn't keen on me getting another miata in the first place since I just got my NA, and trying to convince her to let me fly somewhere without her and the kid and leaving her to take care of the house/dogs/kid alone while I go "waste" money on another car is a tough sell.

LOL so basically what you are telling us is this search is still in the pipe dream phase??

Go drive some NB's!

I certainly would not base any of my research on information that comes off of this forum!

[Jeff]

LOL so basically what you are telling us is this search is still in the pipe dream phase??

Go drive some NB's!

I certainly would not base any of my research on information that comes off of this forum!

Pretty close to it, but I'm a real impulsive guy lol. I love the improved interior styling of the NB's and the more aggressive exterior look. Plus I feel like I could sell my NA for what I paid for it if not a couple hundred bucks more now that it has koni yellows and GC's.