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95 Miata

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I've long been interested in Miatas (a relatively popular car with LBC enthusiasts I'm sure). I ran across a 1995 today with 116,XXX on the clock. Didn't get a chance to drive it yet but I spoke with the owner and he says it runs good and everything works except the heater core was by-passed by the previous owner. The interior looks pretty darn good for 13 years. The paint is OK, faded and blemished a bit here and there - same as the top. There is one silver dollar sized dent on the Rt front fender. I don't see any rust problems - underneath looks pretty good just some relatively minor looking surface rust. He's asking $2,800.

What do you think? Any advice on what to look out for on older Miatas? What sort of gas mileage should I expect? This would share the daily driving duties of my much beloved 1992 Jeep Wrangler, be a fun tinker car, and be more economical for daily use (I hope).
 
Allen;

I have a 1990 Miata With 220k miles on it. Goes 3000 miles and uses about 1/2 litre of oil.
Gets around 40 mpg Canadian (32mpg U.S.)
This car even travels well in snow.
The biggest weakness is the T-belt (change at 100K) but they are non-interference fit so , even if it breaks, just means a tow home.
BTW my girls love it and the cost of purchase and maintenance is excellent.

Dave :savewave:
 
I like Miatas. They are pretty much bullet-proof, and with regular maintenance they are capable of enormous mileage.

Don't jump in right away, though. Research the cars, and find out a few of the things to look out for with them. Rust is not an encouraging sign however, it's an indication that the car hasn't been cared for properly. Main rust concern is where the rear fenders meet the rocker panels.

A big worry for me would be the reason why the heater core was by-passed. That's not something that someone just does on a whim, and indicates there's a problem with it leaking.

Several of our members run Miatas in conjunction with their LBCs, none of them have anything bad to say about them.

www.miatanet.com could be a useful resource.

The price seems okay, but if the car has some issues then I'd walk away, there are many more available.
 
Link should be www.miata.net . Check out the garage and the forums - there's a wealth of information, and it's as civil a forum as this one.

There are very few weakness in these cars, and most go >200,000 without issue.
 
I'm another Miata owner...'93 with 130K on the clock. For several years this was a toy, but now it's my daily commuter. Solid 30 MPG, pretty much bulletproof. Actually this is the most reliable car I've ever owned, and the sweetest handling to boot. Older cars are still way cheap but check them out carefully. I also recommend miata.net. Best!
 
Wow, thanks to everyone that responded! I did some further checking on AutoTrader and with all the great responses I decided maybe it was worth going for one a bit nicer. Found a couple of others that I wouldn't mind checking out so maybe I'll do some test driving this weekend. THANKS!
 
14dna said:
Gets around 40 mpg Canadian (32mpg U.S.)
Click to expand...

How does it know where the border is? :whistle:
 
I worked for Honda for 25 years, so I understand Japanese and I tell it when a border crossing is imminent.

:lol: :lol:

Dave
 
Ummm well, I did say I was thinking of getting one a little nicer after getting the responses . . .

.
mx5.jpg


The Evante has a new stablemate :yesnod:
 
lovely! congrats
 
New 08 from the dealer. GT retractable hardtop w/ Susp package (sport tuned, bilsteins, and LSD) and prem package (includes stability/traction control). I broke two of my own rules at the same time. Never buy a "new" car and never buy from a dealer. But they're really trying to get rid of 'em. 3.9% financing or $2k rebate from Mazda. I took the financing AND they knocked $3K off the sticker. BTW, a white one was my 2nd choice. I used flash for the photo and it makes it look lighter and sort of burgundy. Actually its a metallic gray with a clear coat that seems to pick up burgundy and blues when the light hits it right. The fancy name is "galaxy gray mica". I've used it with the top down 3 times already. There's very little wind in the cabin with the windows up and with the heated seats and the heat on its perfectly comfortable in a light jacket at about 45 - 50 degrees and 55 MPH. Even my cold-natured girlfriend loved it.

OK, I'm through gushing now :blush:
 
I loved my Miata. It was a good vehicle. It was everything you love in your LBC and it didn't break down. A nice plus is the top goes down easy. I had a 91 with about 150,000 on it. Only thing had to change was water pump and while that is getting replace you replace the timing belt while your doing the project. You can drive the Miata as hard as you want and it won't break. Which is nice. I got as high as 33MPG, then got 30MPG on average, and then it was in the high 20's.
 
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