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$5000 isn't really a steal for a '95M, but accounting for dealer markup it seems okay. It'll hold its value better than an ordinary NA, but don't be so sure you'll turn a profit selling it.
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Apr 17, 2009 16:15
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Hog Obituary posted:$5000 isn't really a steal for a '95M, but accounting for dealer markup it seems okay. It'll hold its value better than an ordinary NA, but don't be so sure you'll turn a profit selling it. I'm not worried about turning a profit. Part of the $5000 includes changing a motor mount and window motor, as well as a few other little tidbits here and there. Even if I break even or lose a few hundred when/if I sell it I won't exactly be heartbroken after the thrilling drive I just had between the lot and the mechanic. :3
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Apr 17, 2009 16:25
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Unless you're stuck on a M there's no reason to pay a bit less (or the same price) and get a nicer NA with a hardtop.
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Apr 17, 2009 16:54
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I'm thinking of buying a miata this summer, and I'm going to have around 4k to spend. Assuming I can fit in one of these little things (6'2", 200lbs), what sort of things should I be looking for in that price range? I doubt I can find a really nice specimen, but how much life do their engines have? I'm not too comfortable buying something that has over 120-150k on the clock, not knowing how well the previous owner(s) took care of them.
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Apr 17, 2009 16:55
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CONGRATULATION! Seriously, you picked a pretty bad loving time to pick up a Miata, right now you should be able to find something decent. With summer, you wind up getting some pretty hefty inflation going and some really lovely examples happening. srs post: When I bought my first Miata 2 years ago, $4k was my budget; I found a 96 with 71k on the clock and a hardtop. It wasn't pretty and it was a base model and there were a couple repairs that had to be done. Not terrible. When I bought my current Miata after getting into a gnarly wreck in the first one, I was desperate and overpaid by at least 500 dollars: $3400 for a 1994 with 146k on the clock which promptly busted a coolant line less than 24 hours of owning it. I have NO service records for this car and it is high mileage, but outside of that first hiccup, its been nothing but smooth sailing. I've become a hypochondriac when it comes to my car because of that first day of ownership, but its seriously not that bad. Things you'll probably have to do regardless of what you loving buy: heater hoses + CAS O-ring, ball joint boots, alignment, tires, and an oil change. So figure within the first 6 months of ownership, you're going to spend about 600-800 dollars (if you goto a mechanic). Phone fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Apr 17, 2009 |
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Apr 17, 2009 18:19
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Well, I'm actually looking to get my hands dirty with this, as it will be my first car and I want to learn how to maintain and work on my cars myself, so I'm not scared by labor. What does worry me is learning how to diagnose problems, which I imagine mostly comes from reading and experience. Are these cars easy(ish) to work on? I've been considering other little Japanese cars because of their reliability/insurance, since I don't have a whole lot of cash but want a fun car, and miatas have the best availability, since they are so popular. Stuff like a Mk.1 MR2 or a Celica were also options with the same budget, but with those options it seems like they are harder to find in general, and in worse condition than miatas. I've yet to sit in an NA miata, though, so they might come back on the table if it's too cramped.
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Apr 17, 2009 19:17
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Yeah, make sure you fit.
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Apr 17, 2009 20:31
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Look what happened to my hardtop.   Thankfully it's only a SnugTop and not worth $1000... but I think it's basically useless now. Think it would be safe if I bolted it on at all 4 latch points?
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Apr 18, 2009 02:44
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HEEEEEEEEEEEY GUYSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_dvInWigj0
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Apr 18, 2009 03:15
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Well I bought it. Out the door for $4850, which includes two new motor mounts installed, driver's side window motor installed, as well as some other little tidbits like lightbulbs. Also a 3 month/4500mile warranty that covers the everything I'm worried about. Tires and an alignment will sort out all the other problems. There is one odd little feature, which I suppose makes sense: If you lock the doors, then close them, they unlock. I suppose it is an anti-vandalism feature designed to keep the soft top intact. I'm aware that I ate a little bit of springtime inflation and probably could have found one cheaper, but all the cheaper ones had significantly higher miles and not as many nice features(power windows, mirrors, et cetera). I'm not worried about a hard top because it would never get used anyway, Unless it's raining or below 40ºF outside, the top is going to be down. I'm coming into this from a motorcycle and it takes a drat cold wind to chill me, anymore. There was an exciting adventure with getting keys cut, though. Apparently the guy who cut the key did not know what he was doing, because the key went in, and started the car just fine. When the time came to remove the key from the ignition, though, it would not go past the accessory position, where you push it in and turn it back then pull it out, it would not pull out. Ten minutes and one locksmith(on the store's dime) later, everything was fine. I'm going to go to Mazda on tuesday and have them cut me a shiny new mazda key. Tactical Bonnet fucked around with this message at 04:24 on Apr 18, 2009 |
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Apr 18, 2009 04:22
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Tactical Bonnet posted:There is one odd little feature, which I suppose makes sense: If you lock the doors, then close them, they unlock. I suppose it is an anti-vandalism feature designed to keep the soft top intact. Hahahahahha. Hold the door latch open when you close it. Don't worry, I didn't know either.  Hog Obituary posted:Look what happened to my hardtop. Howed you go and do that?
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Apr 18, 2009 04:23
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destructo posted:HEEEEEEEEEEEY GUYSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! syf0n goes video.
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Apr 18, 2009 04:44
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destructo posted:HEEEEEEEEEEEY GUYSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh jesus his rear fenders 
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Apr 18, 2009 04:55
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Ziploc posted:Hahahahahha. Hold the door latch open when you close it. I'm still going to leave it unlocked with nothing of value in it. Everyone I've known who has had a ragtop has had it cut and rifled through. I figure I'll leave the doors unlocked and maybe save the top.
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Apr 18, 2009 04:57
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Tactical Bonnet posted:Well I bought it.
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Apr 18, 2009 05:46
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One is actually already gone, Supposedly it "must have bounced out" after I left the shop that checked it over before I bought it, but I'll be going to work on that soon. edit: Is there a way, other than taking them off, to keep them from getting stolen? I really don't like the look of the wheels without them, but don't want to have to buy new ones to replace any than go walkabout. Tactical Bonnet fucked around with this message at 06:56 on Apr 18, 2009 |
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Apr 18, 2009 06:21
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Tactical Bonnet posted:One is actually already gone, Supposedly it "must have bounced out" after I left the shop that checked it over before I bought it, but I'll be going to work on that soon. Not really... I mean you could do something retarded like glue them on, but then I don't know how the hell you'd ever get the tire off when you needed to. New ones are like $40-$50 (EACH!) on ebay last I checked. Hog Obituary fucked around with this message at 06:58 on Apr 18, 2009 |
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Apr 18, 2009 06:54
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The one time I want my center caps to have those annoying loving 5 point star screws in them, they don't.
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Apr 18, 2009 06:57
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Double post for information: Turns out the caps were not properly reinstalled at the shop that checked it out. I was looking online at buying a new one and read about removing/installing them, so I went out to look at it. The front passenger side center cap was removable by hand, while the rear two were on so tight it took a pipe wrench(wrapped securely in two layers of towel) to remove. I think I'm going to take one of the caps up to the shop and demonstrate how loving impossible it is for them to fall off when properly installed, and see if they'll replace it or pay for a new one or something. Any idea where I could find a cheap set of knockoffs to use while the real ones sit in my closet?
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Apr 19, 2009 05:14
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ARGGGG> I need help. My NA is making a grinding noise when I press on the brakes lightly. It sounds exactly like metal-on-metal pad failure and is not related to turning. I checked out the pads and they look fine. Rotor looks good. I jacked up the car and the rear wheel doesn't wiggle so I don't think it is the bearings. I don't think this is related to the famous tanny buzzing noise since it happens in and out of gear. What in the hell is causing this? Tai-Pan fucked around with this message at 19:25 on Apr 19, 2009 |
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Apr 19, 2009 19:21
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Just to make sure (this is rather stupid), it's not just rust is it? Whenever I let my car sit for a week, the first couple brake applications are pretty noisy until it gets scraped off. Go do a couple hard stops
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Apr 19, 2009 19:28
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Here's a picture from the drive me and charliemonster went on today. I was going to capture the whole thing on my new hd camera thingy but apparently the wiring I did to the car with it wasn't sufficient and it stopped recording when the battery ran out after 40 mintues.
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Apr 20, 2009 04:33
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Eesh. I'm thinking about picking up a Miata as an AW11 replacement, but the examples i'm seeing in my price range mostly have tan interiors and wooden steering wheels. I think they're meant to be some kind of "luxury" interior on the NAs, but I really dislike the swathes of yellowy-brown Are they really as ghastly as they seem on photos? I think i'd prefer cloth...
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Apr 22, 2009 21:50
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meltie posted:Eesh. I'm thinking about picking up a Miata as an AW11 replacement, but the examples i'm seeing in my price range mostly have tan interiors and wooden steering wheels. I think they're meant to be some kind of "luxury" interior on the NAs, but I really dislike the swathes of yellowy-brown I love my black dash/wheel/trim and tan leather interior on my 95M. There's no wood at all. I think the wooden bits are tacky as hell in a cheap car like a Miata (hell, in most cars even). But it's all preference I guess.
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Apr 22, 2009 21:59
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destructo posted:Just to make sure (this is rather stupid), it's not just rust is it? Whenever I let my car sit for a week, the first couple brake applications are pretty noisy until it gets scraped off. Go do a couple hard stops I got really excited and was hoping that I was a retard and completely forgot about the rust possibility, but nope. I gave the brakes a solid work out and nothing changed. I did, however, notice that it can be intermittent. It frequently happens when I am braking, but I can still hear it when I am coasting to a stop, and every once in a while it goes away while coasting to a stop so I am thinking that perhaps one side of the calipers is stuck. Is that possible? Tai-Pan fucked around with this message at 07:06 on Apr 23, 2009 |
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Apr 23, 2009 07:04
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Is it just random squeaking when driving?
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Apr 23, 2009 07:13
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It turns out one of the horizontal bars on my soft-top is not actually adhered to the top. It has the bit of material that is attacked to the top of the cross-bar, and that wraps around the bar, but the other side of not attached to the top. It doesn't actually affect anything other than making the top inflate slightly at highway speeds, but I'd still like to get it sorted. What short of adhesive should I use to reattach the bits of material? Or should I not even bother since it doesn't actually affect anything, and the adhesive might mess with waterproofing or something?
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Apr 23, 2009 08:41
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Tactical Bonnet posted:What short of adhesive should I use to reattach the bits of material? Or should I not even bother since it doesn't actually affect anything, and the adhesive might mess with waterproofing or something? I used some sort of 3M clear epoxy I got at walmart and it's been holding for a few years now.. one of the other things I did was use some thread to get the flap that's attached to the bar to be snug. On a different note: I just put my RS-2's on and I'm getting some fairly violent vibration above ~65mph. I used to have some vibration around there but it was never bad if I went a little faster (e.g. 80mph) but it seems to be just about as bad now (albeit the vibration is faster). Is there anything aside from wheel balance I should be looking at?
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Apr 23, 2009 12:38
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I was thinking about the black 3m weatherstripping adhesive, is there any reason that shouldn't work? Also, the side that attaches to the bar is stuck there just fine, fortunately.
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Apr 23, 2009 16:30
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Wait, your top isn't supposed to inflate? 
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Apr 23, 2009 16:35
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Of course it is, but I'd rather have all the bits attached that are supposed to be attached. Call me a weirdo. v vedit: I found a centercap, new from the dealer for $24.XX after tax. 
Tactical Bonnet fucked around with this message at 16:42 on Apr 23, 2009 |
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Apr 23, 2009 16:37
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Tactical Bonnet posted:edit: I found a centercap, new from the dealer for $24.XX after tax. What really? It never even occurred to me to get it from the dealer. Do you have it in your hands or is it something you ordered at the parts counter? Cause I hope you're getting the BBS center cap and not something else?
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Apr 23, 2009 17:30
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Phone posted:Is it just random squeaking when driving? Well there was some squeaking when I first noticed it, but now it sounds more like a badly worn pad (metal on metal) which is very audible when braking and occasionally audible when just coasting to a stop.
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Apr 23, 2009 18:49
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I have/had a thing where it seems like the inner brake pad is just tapping the rotor from time to time. I was worried that my wheel bearing was going bad, but it was just the brakes.
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Apr 23, 2009 19:27
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Hog Obituary posted:What really? It never even occurred to me to get it from the dealer. Do you have it in your hands or is it something you ordered at the parts counter? Cause I hope you're getting the BBS center cap and not something else? It was the wrong one. It had the old mazda emblem in the center of a round cap, as opposed to the BBS hex cap ones. Looks like I'm going to have to ebay one. Tactical Bonnet fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Apr 23, 2009 |
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Apr 23, 2009 21:17
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Tactical Bonnet posted:It was the wrong one. It had the old mazda emblem in the center of a count cap, as opposed to the BBS hex cap ones. Looks like I'm going to have to ebay one. The old logo which is basically just 'Mazda'? I've been looking for a new centercap for one of the wheels of my '91. You can sorta see the center cap on this photo - not my car (I've got #140, dunno which one this is  ) :
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Apr 23, 2009 21:27
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This one.
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Apr 23, 2009 21:31
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Tactical Bonnet posted:This one. drat. Ah well, worth a shot.
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Apr 23, 2009 21:39
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So you got the plastic center of an allow 7 or 5 spoke wheel? Harsh.
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Apr 23, 2009 21:57
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So um, can someone tell me which parts of the softtop are actually supposed to be attached to the frame?
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Apr 25, 2009 01:01
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