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I am in the market for a "beater" Miata under $5k. Rust seems to be a big issue for these cars, and I have no clue what level of rust is safe and what should send me running. I live in the city and am too poor to pay for off-street parking only (Cambridge, MA-- its $200/month for off street uncovered). I'll probably find somewhere to stash the Miata for the winter, but this car is going to live on New England streets most of the year. So I know I wont be helping at all with the rust situation, and given that I'm totally fine buying something that isn't 100% rust free now. That said, I don't want to die in a crash because the car is actually swiss cheese underneath. Are there any basic things to look for to separate out the deathtraps from just cosmetic, or at least cars that wont be deathtraps for at least a few years? For example, does some evidence of rust on the rocker panels suggest any structural or safety problems? As a first step, I'm not looking at New England cars at all, my dad is checking out cars I find in the MD/DC/VA area and will drive one up for me. I found a nice NB on Craigslist that otherwise looks great, but the seller sent me the following picture when I asked about rust:  Is there a way I can tell, in pictures or in person, if this kind of rust is evidence of something much more serious? I've read that the seat belt mounts are first things to go in this area, which is pretty horrifying. mcgreenvegtables fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Mar 8, 2017 |
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Mar 8, 2017 15:27
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Awesome, thanks for the advice. And very interested in checking out your car! I have been dreading the idea of doing the timing belt on the street and getting heckled by uppity neighbors. You don't have PMs but you can email me at da green at gmail.
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Mar 8, 2017 15:47
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destructo posted:If you're going to keep it on the street, go even lower on price and get one you can live with. Cars with rocker rust aren't going to fall apart. The easy/janky way to deal with it is just to cut it out and flare over it. I ended up following this advice. Just scored a 2003 in Garnet Red with 130k. $4300. Came with a hard top, leather, 6 speed, and LSD. Some rust on the inside of one of the rockers next to the tire, but it doesn't seem structural and isn't visible unless you crawl under the car. This was the best car for the price I found on craigslist, and I looked in Atlanta, Nashville, Richmond, etc as well.   My dad picked it up in Maryland this afternoon. Will post more in the Miata thread when I get it up to Boston.
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Mar 11, 2017 20:34
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puberty worked me over posted:get a roll bar Is it unsafe without one?
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Mar 11, 2017 20:43
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destructo posted:No? And on the street it's pretty much pointless and more of a liability if you get rear ended (I have a rollbar :v) Definitely no place to keep the top. Luckily it already came with top locks. I was thinking it might do me good to actually keep the hard top on as much as I can when I'm parking on the street. To deter theft via slashed soft top and make it look more like an actual car. But if hard tops are really getting stolen maybe this is counter-intuitive. Low deductible comprehensive was pretty cheap on the car, but not looking forward to fighting with insurance about the value of the hard top and if its covered or not.
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Mar 12, 2017 01:35
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