Found a miata, trying to measure value

I found a 91 with 101k miles. White 5speed no modifications at all.

The good:
Interior is very well kept
NO leaks of any kind
Very strait and clean underbody
Top looks good from outside, havent had a chance to fold it down yet. I have learned the procedure though.
Tires are so so

The bad
There was evidence of a fender being replaced. I saw this from inside the wheel well looking foreward since there was no plastics there. It looks like someone had a minor accident in a parking lot and some of the sheet metal that mounts the fender is bent up. On the outside it looks perfect and the front bumper, headlights etc are original, all body lines are perfect.
The car has been resprayed on account of the fender bender
The guy is flipping the car and has no records, likely bought from auction. He drove it 45 miles home with the damage without issues before having the fender replaced and the car resprayed.

My opinion and needs
It looks like a very well kept car that had a fender bender and was traded in for something else and wound up in this guys hands. It was repaired with sale in mind but outwardly looks very good.
I need a reliable vehicle, which the miata in general is, with air conditioning. I am going to go drive to car when it warms up enough to confirm the ac works.

He is asking 2200 what do you guys think?

He is probably looking for $2000. Maybe offer $1800 and work back up to $2000.

Assuming that the AC works, the title is clean, and Carfax is clean, then I think $2000 is a good price.

Was the whole car resprayed or just the fender? Early white Miatas had paint issues and all of the will eventually begin to drop paint off in bug chunks leaving behind splotches of gray primer.

Ive wanted a miata for some time now as a fan of light weight sportscars. I currently drive a camry that is well cared for but very tired at 272k miles and want a daily driver that is exciting, efficent and of reasonable cost. I also own a porsche 928 that is extremely pampered and is not for daily driving.

Found a miata, trying to measure value
I found a 91 with 101k miles. White 5speed no modifications at all.

The good:
Interior is very well kept
NO leaks of any kind
Very strait and clean underbody
Top looks good from outside, havent had a chance to fold it down yet. I have learned the procedure though.
Tires are so so

The bad
There was evidence of a fender being replaced. I saw this from inside the wheel well looking foreward since there was no plastics there. It looks like someone had a minor accident in a parking lot and some of the sheet metal that mounts the fender is bent up. On the outside it looks perfect and the front bumper, headlights etc are original, all body lines are perfect.
The car has been resprayed on account of the fender bender
The guy is flipping the car and has no records, likely bought from auction. He drove it 45 miles home with the damage without issues before having the fender replaced and the car resprayed.

My opinion and needs
It looks like a very well kept car that had a fender bender and was traded in for something else and wound up in this guys hands. It was repaired with sale in mind but outwardly looks very good.
I need a reliable vehicle, which the miata in general is, with air conditioning. I am going to go drive to car when it warms up enough to confirm the ac works.

He is asking 2200 what do you guys think?

First off, you've got a nasty echo in your computer. ;-)

Secondly, careful of the white peel that Titus mentioned. If it was properly resprayed (stripped first), then okay. If not, you may get the peel anyway. JR is right on price too. You can find Miatas with no issues in that price range. This would be a good deal at $2k, not a steal though and steals do come along every now and then if you watch.

The fact that it has no "history" is worth thinking about. Not a deal-breaker at that price, but remember that Miatas MUST have the timing belt/water pump done periodically. If the car has made it to 100K without it being done, it's just begging to break and fail. A good mechanic can figure out if the belt has been done or not, but it should be considered before you buy and then have a $500+ repair to spring for.

Thanks i was going to offer 1700 if everything worked and see where that led.

I also do all of my own work on cars so thats makes tbelt change more of a bargaining chip for my benefit rather than necessity.

I am not actively looking but got the urge when i saw it. Ive Always got my eye out for deals and i think unless it really is i will pass. Is there anywhere besides this site and the typical autotrader and craigslist to keep an eye on? I live in arlington and work in plano so dfw area wise.

Under two grand would be a helluva deal if you just have the urge to play with a shiny toy. Hell, I'd pounce for that price.

Well it was a necissary urge as my daily has 272 k miles on it. :)

Thank you all for the insight so far!

Good Stuff here for the first time Miata buyer - http://www.miata.net/faq/usedmx5.html

Also the early cars may have this issue - http://www.miata.net/garage/crankshaft.html

Well i have an early 91 by the vin from that article. Seems like a long nose upgrade would really increase reliability. Anyone familiar with the loctite fix mentioned at the end of the article?

Thanks for the links

Just found out it was a salvage title.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Formula94lt1

Just found out it was a salvage title.

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Keep looking Mazda made a ton of these cars!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

Keep looking Mazda made a ton of these cars!

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+1...run away. Now.

Yup salvage kills it. For a toy or track car, it'd be worth about $1000 tops IMHO, but I wouldn't rely on it as a DD.

Done and done. Ill keep an eye out for another, i really want to join this forum.

You're in! Lots of people without miatas on here, but we're glad to have you. You'll find the right one easily enough, and it'll be worth the wait.

It used to be that you had to have a car with VTEC in order to qualify for membership, but I think the management is easing off that stance.

Rule linkie:

Why all the hating on salvage title cars?? Being in the business I know how little totals an older car these days. If the seller can't provide pics of the damage to calm your fears and you are not confident evaluating the car then go find another one. The company my employer uses to value vehicles takes 30% off of the value for a salvage title repair providing the repair is not noticeable.

Yep, getting mighty pointy in here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OZMDD

Yup salvage kills it. For a toy or track car, it'd be worth about $1000 tops IMHO, but I wouldn't rely on it as a DD.

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I bet more than a few of you have Miata's that were damaged that could have totaled.
I have seen clean title cars that just couldn't be fixed, and salvage cars with no body damage at all.
My BRG was a salvage title w/23k, hit hard.
I fixed it and it was dead reliable for another 100k.
I would put money on none of you could tell it was ever wrecked. Its still on the road. AFAIK

A salvage title means look a bit closer, and pay a bit less.
But, you should be doing that anyway.

The pro Salvage kids make some good points! But the price on this car should have been lower to compensate for the Salvage title. IMHO

FWIW - State Farm wouldn't insure the Salvage Title RX7 I bought a few years ago.

Salvage Title doesn't earn you any bonus points when you go to sell since most would not even consider buying a salvage titled car.

Mazda has made over 800,000+ of these crappy little cars in various forms. Search on and find a good one!

Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvage_title

::Banana::

Not saying salvage cars are worthless. In the case of THIS car, the salvage title makes the price much too high IMHO, and the actual damage that totalled the car is unknown. All of the points POS made come into play, and the pro-salvage guys made my other point: if you know what damage was repaired, it can be a great deal, but it is unknown on this car.

No hate for salvage titles here, but they are more of a risk.

My first Miata *should* have been a salvage twice, once before I bought it and once when I wrecked it. I discovered the damage from the first collision when I started crawling under the car to modify it. If I had known it was damaged, I wouldn't have bought it - and I would have missed out on a great car! It turns out that the damage didn't change the tremendous enjoyment I got from that car. After a few years, I wrecked it too and it should have been totaled but I got lucky and they fixed it. Once again, it was 'damaged' but continued to be a fantastic car. It finally was totaled for real when it got caught in a squeeze at a red light (rear-ended, 7 out of 10 major external panels damaged, front and rear structure damaged).

A salvage title can be a basis for negotiating a better price sometimes but it shouldn't be the sole reason you avoid a purchase.

For Sale, clean title Miata. ;) (J/K)

http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/18...500x500Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/37...500x500Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb57.webshots.com/46...500x500Q85.jpg

Amazing this mostly bolts together, alot less cutting/welding than it looks like.

Is that the one you're painting pink? I want to see pics when it's done.