Should I buy this car?

I'm selling the evo and Ive been offered a partial trade of a 2000 NB. There some issues with it, but I'm wondering if this is a good enough deal to overlook the issues.

It is white w/cloth interior, power windows, nardi steering wheel, 140k miles.

Bad:
it needs new top
needs timing belt
its throwing 3 codes ( 0403 - EGR system low, catalytic converter code and an alternator voltage code)
needs brakes pretty soon

Tires are decent, wheels are after market. It was a smokers car so it needs aired out.

But, for 2500 is this a deal I should consider KNOWING that it needs all this stuff worked on.

new top- every car is going to need one some day... might as well get it out of the way now. $500

timing belt- See Above, $300

throwing 3 codes- a little of a gamble here but I would be surprised if it took more than $500 to fix

needs brakes pretty soon- Pads and rotors all the way around will run under $200, but you are going to replace them regardless of the condition as you will want a performance pad so you can hardly consider this a cost unique to this car.

So, you are left with a 2000 Miata with 140k miles, new top, new brakes, timing belt done, and likely a new CAT and O2 sensor, all for around $4000. Sounds like a smokin deal to me.

Get it checked out by someone who knows Miatas I'd definably run a compression check on it at the minimum.

IMHO That is a lot of miles with emissions issues think I'd pass.

I'd pass.

FYI, car has cruise and power windows as well, so it *should* have a Torsen. Correct me if I'm wrong.

For $2500 I'd buy it, especially if the end result is going to be a track car. Brakes are going to be replaced anyway, you can patch the top for $10 if you don't care what it looks like (it's going to be a track car, remember?), and it's a non interference engine so the cheap bastard thing to do would be to keep on driving it until it breaks.

Besides, it's white. White is cool.

$2500 is a bargain IMO.

$200 for a top...easy to DIY.
$250 for timing belt, WP, idlers, etc.
$100 for OEM brake pads
The cat may be dead. If so, I think you're looking at ~$300 for a new one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by altiain

FYI, car has cruise and power windows as well, so it *should* have a Torsen. Correct me if I'm wrong.

For $2500 I'd buy it, especially if the end result is going to be a track car. Brakes are going to be replaced anyway, you can patch the top for $10 if you don't care what it looks like (it's going to be a track car, remember?), and it's a non interference engine so the cheap bastard thing to do would be to keep on driving it until it breaks.

Besides, it's white. White is cool.

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Called Mazda. No torsen. Hmm.

Hmm... not that I'd always trust Mazda, since they told us the 10AE on bought didn't have ABS (it did).

Here is a link listing all the options for an NB. You're looking for a PEP model, which should have power antenna and power door locks, as well as power windows.

I'd think the torsen is a must for you, after your experience with the evo. Of course, a torsen swap is not all that tough, and there are some on the market right now. It seems like a decent deal, but not a unique one. Question is, would you rather get a nice deal up front and spend the time/money to get the car up to YOUR standards of reliability and performance, or spend more up front and have less to fix/upgrade, but not have as much choice in the prep, or knowledge of what was done and how well? You're pretty mechanical, so I can't imagine you're bothered by some work, and you can really control cost by doing labor yourself. Then again, if someone has already done the legwork and done it well, it'll aways be a bargain.

I am positive that there are plenty of folks on here who will offer assistance, parts and experience to you (I will). Build-ups are fun, but time-consuming and not instant-gratification.

Well I bought it. Heaven help us.
http://mpghead.com/miata/miata.jpg

If it has power locks, I have no idea how to work them. It does have the door speakers though. Who the heck knows what kind of diff is under it.

Went and checked the passenger tag.

No ABS, has power steering, NC49 model (so no torsen, oh well).

The wife thinks it's fun though, which is more than can be said for the Evo ;)

When your ready to pull stuff off let me know. I can make the long drive back down to Frisco or you can come up here and use two bays of my garage.

BTW..your wife told me about this on another forum tonight but I didn't know it was gonna be so soon :)

Looks nice, congrats. Let the fun begin!

PS - I don't think any Miatae ever came with OEM power locks.

PPS - Looks like it has some sort of appearance package on it. I didn't know '00's had integrated fog lights.

Congrats on the new miata! Don't worry about the softtop, just patch it or pull it and get a hardtop.

BTW, Boisking does very good diff installs for a very reasonable price. Get a Mazda motorsports account and the mazda comp diff.

Congrats!

The Mazdacomp is a nice clutch diff, but the Torsen works just fine for 95% of applications and lasts forever.

Looks like this car has the appearance package with the fog lights and the front airdam. Does it have a power antenna? If so, it should definitely have the Torsen.

Definitely get signed up with the Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development program ASAP. Sign up under the "building a car" option, and you'll be able to get any/all OEM parts at a significant discount.

Congrats on the car. Good luck with the build.

Congratulations, welcome to Miata ownership.

Welcome to the Big Leagues.

Congrats on the new car!

"Big guy in a little car..."::Rimshot:
http://less4more.com.au/shop/images/...guy_in_car.jpg

Seriously though, nice find. I'm ready to help anytime. I don't go back to work till september. ;)

What class are you planning on racing it in?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mark52

What class are you planning on racing it in?

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I guess it depends if he puts a racing clutch in this on, too. ::Banana::

Likely T-CS for now.

nice!

NO!!! DON'T BUY IT!! j/k. Looks like you got a great deal. welcome to the NB club. If you want to get some practice working on an NB feel free to swing by my place, mine still needs a lot of TLC :-)

Found the original window sticker stuffed in a book in the glove box today. Might have been a one owner car.

Suspension looks stock, getting a P0402 code (common EGR code, so I'll get that cleaned up here lickity split), oil leak on the valve cover. Shimmys at 30-65mph, which I can only imagine being the balance of the tires. Wear on the inside of the right rear tire. I think it needs an alignment too.

So far it's been fun :) Too bad the wife keeps taking it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sammm

I don't think any Miatae ever came with OEM power locks.

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All my Miatae have had OE power locks. Next time don't buy a base model. ::Banana::

the codes are easy fixes and one wont even require any money. timing belt and acc. belts and waterpump are something you should do anyways and only about 200 shipped, fluids are easy fix. sean, bring your miata to me at tcc and we'll align it and get some things out of the way in a jiffy. the valve cover gasket comes with the waterpump/timing belt/acc belt/tensionor and all others necessary for the job, and only takes a couple hours to do. we can also diagnose exactly why your throwing a cat code and whats up with that alternator.

Thanks for the offer.

I've already cleared the codes, took care (so far) of the EGR code (cleaned the intake manifolds gnarly passage), replaced the valve cover gasket (twice, tore the first one, the post I followed didn't talk about moving the coil pack, grr), changed the spark plugs, wires, oil, transmission and rear end fluids.

I have tires on order and am still deciding what I want to do suspension wise (and it needs it badly). TCC is like 60+ miles away from me, so unless you just want to align my car for practice ;)

The cat code popped up again last night. I'd gotten a whiff of "dead cat" on the way home, so I can only assume that it's on it's way out (especially considering how crappy the old spark plugs were). This would not be it's first cat replacement by the looks of things.

If I decide to go STR, then I'd end up with a header, replacement cat and exhaust. I just have to plan accordingly, so I might live with the code (as long as I can get it to pass inspection next month).

im not asking for money just lending an experienced hand, especially since i've just done all the same as you very recently. this is chad sean. your favorite ntec member. ;) i'll even help you install your harddog bar and know a quick way to do so. you didnt replace that top yet right? hold off on the top till you do the bar, its quite a pain in the ass doing install with the top on. i even have some nicknacks and parts that will come in handy for you in the near future seeing as what went out on my miata LOL, plus a buckets worth of screws and bolts.

what about that alternator code?

my suspension has 105k miles on it and after my runs at msr the struts are even worse LOL, so im going with some tokiko struts and shocks. have you checked out the SPAZ 28 way adjustables? and see had you have contacted me i have an extra valve cover gasket here it just needs a bit more rtv peeled off of it, but brand new...its hanging in my garage so everytime i pull in i take a bit off as i walk by lol.

Man those "fancy" wheels on there (Enkei PKR) are boat anchors. 17 pounds each! Yowza.