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blk posted:Behold the world's most expensive Miata: To be fair, it's kind of like choosing to pay for expensive, uninsured surgery for a pet you love. 
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Apr 4, 2015 09:13
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Also had you done the right thing and amputated (removed the AC) you'd have been much better off 
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Apr 4, 2015 13:56
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Lol I was gonna say, you spent way too much on ac, do you live in Death Valley or something?
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Apr 4, 2015 14:22
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blk posted:Behold the world's most expensive Miata: Nah.
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Apr 4, 2015 15:53
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blk posted:Behold the world's most expensive Miata: Well yeah if you pay people to do poo poo it's gonna add up. If I had paid for labor on all the work I did to my Miata I'd probably be way ahead of you. Sell your Miata, then go ahead and get an S2k and see how much that costs to maintain. Or buy a Toyota corolla if you want a car that's cheap to operate.
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Apr 4, 2015 16:03
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I've had my NA going on 4 years and i'm probably over 10 grand into it including the purchase price. And i'm not sick of it at all. I do synthetic oil changes every 3-4 thousand miles and swap every wear part when its worn. I used to worry about putting miles on a future classic, now i'm just going for the high score  
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Apr 4, 2015 17:38
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A MIRACLE posted:Lol I was gonna say, you spent way too much on ac, do you live in Death Valley or something? The wife always wants it when we're riding together during the summer and was complaining when it was broken. I'm fine without it, I might not repair it this time. leica posted:Well yeah if you pay people to do poo poo it's gonna add up. If I had paid for labor on all the work I did to my Miata I'd probably be way ahead of you. I didn't do the AC myself because I've almost lost part of my hand to frostbite before and don't feel safe playing with refrigerant. I had the timing belt done because I don't have much time to wrench this year; I'm working two jobs and taking a 25 hr course load. I might have the head gasket done that way as well. The timing belt and head gasket I'd be happy to DIY if I had the time, but would probably have to wait until next winter. blk fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Apr 4, 2015 |
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Apr 4, 2015 17:57
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blk posted:I didn't do the AC myself because I've almost lost part of my hand to frostbite before and don't feel safe playing with refrigerant. Welcome to used car ownership then? Any used car that is 18 years old is going to need poo poo done, and if you don't have time to do it yourself, pay up for the labor and parts hike like everybody else does. You act like it's not normal, like miatas are exempt from this or something. [e] My water pump has been leaking for a year because i haven't had time to fix it yet, and I refuse to pay someone else to do it. Even if i could afford it I don't trust the idiots around here to do it right. But if you have a decent mechanic by all means pay the guy and be done with it if you can afford it. Also get rid of the A/C. Applebees Appetizer fucked around with this message at 18:36 on Apr 4, 2015 |
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Apr 4, 2015 18:26
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leica posted:Welcome to used car ownership then? Any used car that is 18 years old is going to need poo poo done, and if you don't have time to do it yourself, pay up for the labor and parts hike like everybody else does. You act like it's not normal, like miatas are exempt from this or something. I'm not acting like anything. Reread the contents of my post: blk posted:Behold the world's most expensive Miata: I'm not saying anywhere that is abnormal. I'm not complaining about the car. I'm not saying anything but reporting the dollars and cents, but you're getting pretty salty and reactionary about it. I do think it's funny that I've ended up at this point, but I'm not blaming the Miata, or attacking your choice of one as a car. Of course going to a shop is expensive. I know this; I also know how to breathe through my nose and wipe my own rear end. It's a choice I made (I am a bit bummed about having two AC compressors fail on me in a row, though). Imagine if I walked into your bar, you poured me a bourbon, I tasted it and said "This is pretty sweet." You think I'm criticizing the bourbon and start ranting about how it takes 20 years to age and how the barrels they choose are the best and how I don't know anything about bourbon and blah blah blah. I'm just describing what I'm tasting without saying the bourbon is good or bad, but you're jumping to the conclusion that I hate the bourbon.
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Apr 4, 2015 18:50
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Oh well, if you enjoy it, it's fine to spend some money on it. Having a/c is nice too. That isn't too much. Could be a W202 Mercedes that requires dash removal for some of the a/c components  Edit: just get a more reputable supplier for compressors. Or post in the A/C thread, what if there is some dirt in there that keeps killing them?
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Apr 4, 2015 19:00
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It's a Miata. Does your wife not realize the top goes down or something? Because that is your AC and it always works, no compressors needed.
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Apr 4, 2015 19:34
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blk posted:I'm not acting like anything. Reread the contents of my post: From the Chat Thread: blk posted:I'd feel stupid being $8-9k into a stock Miata, though, even if it is a really nice example. Part of me is wondering if it's time to jump ship and pick up an S2000, but that doesn't make much sense either. It could be that I'm over the hump and this is the last big money I have to spend on the Miata until the next timing job. It could be that whatever S2K I find would also need lots of work. I do know I didn't have much fun the last time I drove an S2000 at city/DD speeds compared to the Miata, but I didn't spend a lot of time with it. Sounds like you're complaining to me. If you feel stupid for having too much money/repairs into it sell it and buy a new ND or something.
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Apr 4, 2015 19:49
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leica posted:From the Chat Thread: Different post :P Any complaints I have are about myself and the decisions I chose to make, but if you want to continue arguing that you know me better than myself we can keep going until you're satisfied. I'm probably going to keep it based on sunk costs. It's still a lot cheaper than the alternatives.
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Apr 4, 2015 21:11
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My top does not go down and i dont have AC. What do i do? 
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Apr 5, 2015 00:38
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Guess I'll keep my Miata because *sunk costs*
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Apr 5, 2015 00:59
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MattD1zzl3 posted:My top does not go down and i dont have AC. What do i do? Kick out the windshield.
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Apr 5, 2015 01:02
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And i'm in miami.... and summer is coming up.... 
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Apr 5, 2015 01:12
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Put on a two piece soft top, zip down the rear window for bikini top action, works like a charm. I live in St.Pete and I rarely ever use the A/C, even in the middle of summer. If it ever takes a poo poo it's coming out. Applebees Appetizer fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Apr 5, 2015 |
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Apr 5, 2015 01:35
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Holy poo poo, I'm scared to put my top down now. That new robbins top is tight as a loving drum. It took me and my wife to close it. I'm going to let it stretch for a few days. I hope that canvas relaxes after a while, becuase it's pulling the tension cables away from the sides of the windows  Still, it looks pretty hot.   This writeup is gonna be huge. I think I've used up almost the whole camera's SD card in pics of all the random poo poo that it takes to DIY an NC top. I will never do this again. Holy poo poo what a pain in the rear end and a rivet hunt it's been. I ended up buying a 150 rivet set at vato-zone and some aluminum washers at Lowe's to finish this. I hope the canvas stretches out soon, otherwise, this is gonna suck hard. E: all that bitching aside, this car spits hot fire now and I wanna hump it. E2: My car was named Evinrude, I think 'Black on Black crime' is gonna be the new name, goddamn. BloodBag fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Apr 5, 2015 |
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Apr 5, 2015 04:41
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Get that guide up, I need to replace my NC's top before I sell it.
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Apr 5, 2015 04:45
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Rhyno posted:Get that guide up, I need to replace my NC's top before I sell it. Honestly... unless you're really good at this poo poo and have like 4 days to throw at it.... let a pro do it. Holy crap it was a pain in the dick to do. The interior strip was a doddle, but the whole fabric stuff, gently caress that, I don't wanna do that again. I took so many pics, I hope I can make a good guide for everyone. The lack of NC info is annoying. Any idea where to host it? I used to have my own hosting, but I let my domains lapse. I guess I could do it on imgur/reddit If someone knifes this top, this will be me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJv4n_gjoSw BloodBag fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Apr 5, 2015 |
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Apr 5, 2015 04:48
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Rhyno posted:Get that guide up, I need to replace my NC's top before I sell it. Why the gently caress would you put any money into it if you're going to sell it? Save your sanity and just sell it as is, you won't make the money back and you sure as hell won't be compensated for the suffering.
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Apr 5, 2015 04:53
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leica posted:Why the gently caress would you put any money into it if you're going to sell it? Seriously. The top alone was $664 and the rivets + washers were another $20. If you don't have a rivet gun or leather/fabric hole puncher there's that added cost too. What color is your NC anyway? Isn't it stormy blue mica? Because that's the best color, the NC is the best car, and you should sell that poo poo-clutched mazdaspeed6 instead. I cant fathom trying to drive a car with such a horrible clutch daily. NC clutch is best clutch.
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Apr 5, 2015 04:57
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leica posted:Why the gently caress would you put any money into it if you're going to sell it? I guess I should say if I sell it. I love the car but it is killing my insurance. Because I still owe on it the requirements are higher than the 6. And I think you're wrong, a lower trim '06 with double the miles sells for more here than I paid for mine. I could easily break even and that's including the top replacement.
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Apr 5, 2015 05:01
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Rhyno posted:I guess I should say if I sell it. I love the car but it is killing my insurance. Because I still owe on it the requirements are higher than the 6. And I think you're wrong, a lower trim '06 with double the miles sells for more here than I paid for mine. I could easily break even and that's including the top replacement. Aren't you under 25? My miata and my wife's mini cost me under $125 a month because we're old and poo poo. I didn't by my first NC until I was 25. I dunno. Try USAA if you can, they rock pretty hard and are really reasonable. Been with them over 15 years now.
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Apr 5, 2015 05:05
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Taco Box posted:Aren't you under 25? My miata and my wife's mini cost me under $125 a month because we're old and poo poo. I didn't by my first NC until I was 25. I dunno. Try USAA if you can, they rock pretty hard and are really reasonable. Been with them over 15 years now. 36 over here. And I have an immaculate record. Part of it is based on where I live, we reside on a road that is rampant with accidents and street racing so when we moved away from the crime ridden area we were in my rates actually went up. And as fate would have it we're moving off a road with a half dozen auto fatalities in the last two years so my rates will probably not go down next month. I can easily get $8000 if I sell it, even more if I were to replace the top as the car would be nearly flawless then. A friend in our C&C group just paid $13,000 for an '07 without leather.
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Apr 5, 2015 05:10
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Rhyno posted:I guess I should say if I sell it. I love the car but it is killing my insurance. Because I still owe on it the requirements are higher than the 6. And I think you're wrong, a lower trim '06 with double the miles sells for more here than I paid for mine. I could easily break even and that's including the top replacement. I understand that, what I'm saying is going through the PITA of replacing the top is not worth breaking even, not even if you would make a couple hundred more for a new top, it's not worth it. Especially if you gently caress it up and it doesn't fit right. If you're gonna sell it leave it alone, it's not a house and you're not gonna get any worthwhile returns trying to fix poo poo before you sell it.
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Apr 5, 2015 05:14
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I'll get a picture of it tomorrow, if I came up to buy this car and saw the top I'd lowball the gently caress out of the seller based on that alone. It looks terrible.
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Apr 5, 2015 05:17
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If that's the case, if I were you I'd find one off a newer wrecked NC in good condition with the frame off ebay or something, much much easier to do.
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Apr 5, 2015 05:24
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leica posted:If that's the case, if I were you I'd find one off a newer wrecked NC in good condition with the frame off ebay or something, much much easier to do. I hadn't thought of that. I'll keep an eye out.
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Apr 5, 2015 05:29
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Would an import shop be able to handle top install on an NA? Not sure if I feel like tackling that. Alternate option is to just replace the rear window, but I have no idea where to get one solo
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Apr 5, 2015 05:33
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Go to a local upholstery shop to have your top done, they have WAY more experience than any "import" tuner shop. You can technically have the rear window replaced but nobody does it because for a little bit more you can have the whole top replaced.
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Apr 5, 2015 05:41
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I had a glass window replaced by a no name "we replace windows" shop and about 4 years later it is starting to fall apart, but is still sealed from rain. At the rate it's falling apart it might have one more year left. I think it cost me around 150$. Depending on what a top with labor costs around you it might be worth it.
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Apr 5, 2015 05:41
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Taco Box posted:Holy poo poo, I'm scared to put my top down now. That new robbins top is tight as a loving drum. It took me and my wife to close it. I'm going to let it stretch for a few days. I hope that canvas relaxes after a while, becuase it's pulling the tension cables away from the sides of the windows So I've always been aware that the soft top replacement is a real bitch, and Robbins tops are like the main option but are still kinda lovely. My MSM's top is in great shape, and I really, really like the OEM cloth (compared to, say, my NA's vinyl.) What would my options be, eventually, when it needs replacement? Does Mazda sell new OEM tops? And what are the options for installation? When I think of an upholstery shop furniture comes to mind, not convertible tops. Taco Box posted:Seriously. The top alone was $664 and the rivets + washers were another $20. If you don't have a rivet gun or leather/fabric hole puncher there's that added cost too. What color is your NC anyway? Isn't it stormy blue mica? Because that's the best color, the NC is the best car, and you should sell that poo poo-clutched mazdaspeed6 instead. I cant fathom trying to drive a car with such a horrible clutch daily. NC clutch is best clutch. What's the deal with the MS6's clutch? I've had a thing for that car, I thought it'd make a nice alternative to something like a WRX. 
Atomizer fucked around with this message at 07:43 on Apr 5, 2015 |
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Apr 5, 2015 07:38
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craig588 posted:I had a glass window replaced by a no name "we replace windows" shop and about 4 years later it is starting to fall apart, but is still sealed from rain. At the rate it's falling apart it might have one more year left. I think it cost me around 150$. Depending on what a top with labor costs around you it might be worth it. That's a great deal, quotes I got were a lot higher than that. Atomizer posted:So I've always been aware that the soft top replacement is a real bitch, and Robbins tops are like the main option but are still kinda lovely. My MSM's top is in great shape, and I really, really like the OEM cloth (compared to, say, my NA's vinyl.) What would my options be, eventually, when it needs replacement? Does Mazda sell new OEM tops? And what are the options for installation? When I think of an upholstery shop furniture comes to mind, not convertible tops. IIRC Robbins makes the tops for Mazda now, so technically robbins is OEM. Back in the day you could get factory Mazda tops that were better quality but not anymore. When I said upholstery shop, I meant an AUTO upholstery shop, I should have specified. Most of them specialize in convertible tops and will guarantee their work, at least here in FL they do, but there are a poo poo ton of convertibles down here.
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Apr 5, 2015 07:53
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leica posted:IIRC Robbins makes the tops for Mazda now, so technically robbins is OEM. Back in the day you could get factory Mazda tops that were better quality but not anymore. Ah wow, so once my Mazda top wears out I may be out of luck.  Well, at least my current top is in great shape and I garage it over the Winters. Also I still have my hardtop.On my NA, the vinyl top was worn out and leaking, and the last year I had it, before I had the opportunity to replace the top, I had that hardtop on the whole time until I got hit. I salvaged what I could from it, and learned that you can fit a whole Miata hardtop inside a Ford Explorer!  I should've known about the auto upholstery shop thing, that's my bad. Kind of a brain fart there, although again I've never actually had to go through this process. It's nice to know that they specialize in and guarantee convertible tops.
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Apr 5, 2015 08:01
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Atomizer posted:So I've always been aware that the soft top replacement is a real bitch, and Robbins tops are like the main option but are still kinda lovely. My MSM's top is in great shape, and I really, really like the OEM cloth (compared to, say, my NA's vinyl.) What would my options be, eventually, when it needs replacement? Does Mazda sell new OEM tops? And what are the options for installation? When I think of an upholstery shop furniture comes to mind, not convertible tops. I think the two main options for the NC are autoberry and robbins. I haven't heard a thing about autoberry, but lots about robbins both good and bad. I also read the factory soft top is like $2500 and will still get those ugly stripes and bubbles and the corner straps still tear out. Robbins seems to have slightly changed a few things, but the majority of it was identical. The MS6's clutch is very on/off. I love the progressive uptake of the NC's clutch and it will ruin you for other cars. I remember wanting to test drive a MS6 when they first came out and I had my first NC. The clutch was so hard to get right and every shift had the whole car shuddering back and forth. It's like they put a CDV like BMW's tend to have. My E46 had a similar clutch. I'm just a babby and prefer the NC clutch for it's smooth uptake and large friction zone.
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Apr 5, 2015 11:40
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It was a pain in the dick but taking my time to read the instructions and having a helper made a new top do-able. I remember having a "never again" attitude afterwards though...
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Apr 5, 2015 13:10
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I've done a bunch of tops in the past with help, and remember thinking "gently caress ever doing this by myself" but when it comes to poo poo I even think I can accomplish, I just can't pay somebody else to do it, it's like a part of my brain that wants to punish me So yeah, I did mine and it took a good chunk of my two days off. I don't recommend it.
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Apr 5, 2015 16:10
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I would do it again, especially if you have the luxury of a weather-free work space and can spend a weekend on it. you save a serious amount of dough and if you have a halfway decent hardware store nearby you can make it work.
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Apr 5, 2015 16:20
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