Miata as a daily driver/commuter, thoughts?

[Matt V]

Hey guys, I am thinking of selling my Protege5 so that I can pay off some debt and pay for school. I was thinking of getting a Miata. I've been wanting one for a long time so this might be a good time to get one. Basically I just want to know if these cars can be reliable enough as a daily driver and commuter car back and forth to school and work. I appreciate your inputs.

-Matt

[sammm]

They are definitely reliable enough. How long of a commute do you have? Do you easily fit in a Miata?

[motorollow]

I have been commuting to work (40 mile round trip) in a Miata for 3+ years. No problems yet. My first Miata had over 216k miles when I bought it and I drove it for 2 years. You just have to maintain them like any other car.

[Matt V]

I am 6 foot. School is 20 miles away and work is about 25. I don't think I'll have any issues if the Miata is as reliable as my Protege5 was.

[sammm]

Miata will be more fun to drive, that's for sure!

[Philipio]

I bought mine a few weeks ago to be my daily. I have to say, it does an incredible job.

[POS Racing]

Nah I don't think I would want one as a daily driver. I drive mine quite often but it is nice to have other options available.

On the other hand my wife has been running her '02 Miata as a daily driver since '02.

[trickyrix]

The Miata will be a blast as long as you fit reasonably. I bought mine as a "toy" almost four years ago, but it was too fun not to be my daily. It came with about 93K on the clock, but I've racked up almost 60K ridiculously reliable miles since October '06. Those miles include lots of worry-free long road trips - including a 4,200 mile road trip to a track day at Laguna Seca, along with a few other hard track days.

Yes, these little bastards are reliable and durable and FUN!

Get one and you'll figure it out...

[gabkwong]

I have been using my Miata as DD for 10 years. It has not let me down even once (well I did got stranded once after a track day with a broken alternator. A couple good guys from this board came and we put a new one in on the side of I30 with simple hand tools!). The key is maintenance and get to know your car. It is a simple car (NA and NB) and almost anyone can do his/her own maintenance. The best of all is that Miata is a TCB DD!

[OZMDD]

One of the more reliable motors made, imho. Definitely able to rack up more miles than even a lot of honda and toyota motors. It seems I see more 200K+ miatas than is common for most cars. I had over 190k on my NA.
I DD my NC and love it, but be prepared for some things not fitting. Date a girl with an suv or p/u and you'll be golden.

[cwisenheimer]

I agree with gab. My current one isn't completely a DD but could be and I've had two that were. A Miata is as reliable as you could hope for and it is cheap to own, operate, repair, and insure. There are enough of them that the only problems there are have been discovered and the fixes are known and easy, except for the dreaded short-nose crank of the very early ones. Even then the fix (replacement engine from a junkyard) is relatively easy and cheap comared to most cars. Add in how fun they are and it's darn hard to beat 'em.

[Matt V]

Can you guys give me some opinions on these 2 cars?

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ctd/1853249402.html

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

What do I need to look for? What are the best years to have from each generation?

[POS Racing]

On a quick look the white one has had paintwork on the front the '96 looks fair why only 3 picture???

Good stuff here http://www.miata.net/faq/usedmx5.html & here http://www.miata.net/faq/inspection_list.html

[Matt V]

How about this?

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/1854053991.html

[Treibenschnell]

I'm 6'2" and over 300 lbs... its not my daily but I fit in it just nice.

[CHeavin_2006]

Red one looks best especially with the hardtop.

[sammm]

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

That one looks like a possible candidate. I'd want to see more pics (under the hood is always a plus) and eventually see it in person. Read those FAQ's.

[altiain]

I'm 6'2" and over 300 lbs... its not my daily but I fit in it just nice.

It's easier to fit when you remove everything from the interior...

I bought mine in '01 as a weekend car. Over the next five years it turned into my primary daily driver. These cars are definitely durable and economical enough to use as a daily driver, as long as you can live with the relatively small interior space.

[TurboDuane]

Plenty reliable for sure. I've been driving Miata's since 2001 as a daily and have never been stranded. Also very easy to work on and handle maintenance by a do-it-yourself-er. I currently drive just over 80 miles a day, so I fill up every four days. The only problem I've had is being rear-ended. Apparently people are so enamored with the car, they start day-dreaming about having one themselves and forget that they are driving and ....Boom!

[Radio-Active]

Personally, I would rather have the '99-05 NB Model for trunk space reasons, but if you are looking for an earlier model, I would look for a '96-'97 for the OBD-II. There is a lot of info on the pointy board for info on differences between year models