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When you decide what you want and find it, act quick the good and cheap ones sell fast. If the car is junk though you just have to pass on it. It will cost too much to fix. I lost out on many cars before I got lucky and the seller scheduled me first.
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Jul 3, 2013 02:43
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Ugh, does anyone have a link to the old Miata megathred? I'm trying to find a specific post that was in there but can't even locate the drat thread 
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Jul 3, 2013 13:02
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Tanz-Kommandant posted:Look to KBB for a good head start since they will custom tailor the prices of vehicles to your area, after that factor in the condition and mileage plus extra goodies into the seller's asking price, if it's reasonable pull the trigger, if not talk them down or find something else. A big part of it is waiting for the right deal to come up and jumping on it before everyone else does. Elephanthead posted:When you decide what you want and find it, act quick the good and cheap ones sell fast. If the car is junk though you just have to pass on it. It will cost too much to fix. I lost out on many cars before I got lucky and the seller scheduled me first. Thanks guys. I contacted a few people, and will be calling a few more today. KBB puts Good-Excellent Miatas (across most years) in the 3-4k range in my area. Any thoughts on this one: http://charleston.craigslist.org/cto/3871494296.html I can turn a wrench, but I'm not a gearhead. Obviously when an engine is rebuilt, it is stripped down and parts are replaced/reworked to make the engine "newer". Is it really fair to say a rebuilt engine has "just 7,000 miles", or is that a bit of a half truth? I'm not sure how to judge rebuilt engines. And the frame still has 177,000 miles, but since its an old car that isn't really surprising. quote:A silver 1999 Miata in very good condition. 177,000 miles, but the engine was completely rebuilt by a Mazda shop at about 170,000 -- about 7,000 miles ago. And from an email reply I just got from the guy (I asked specifically about timing belts, rust and accidents): quote:As far as I know the entire engine was rebuilt, with all belts replaced. This was done by a shop where the owner also races Miatas and so I feel confident that he knows what he is doing. He is also very trustworthy. In fact when I was thinking about buying it I drove it around and loved it. I came back and the owner of the shop moved it to be near the shop office and when he came back in he told me that he wanted to replace the brakes. I told him they felt fine but he said they should feel better. He replaced the pads on all four wheels at no cost while we did the paperwork.
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Jul 3, 2013 13:58
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If I don't see receipts and payments for engine rebuilds, I just assume they are a lie, with a receipt I assume it is fake. Who would pay $4,000 to rebuild an engine then sell the car after a year? That just doesn't make sense that every high mileage car on craigslist has had its engine rebuilt 5000 miles ago. Also rebuilt could mean they changed the spark plugs or a crank seal. Don't assume it means disassembled and machined and properly reassembled. There is a reason for the saying let the buyer beware. You are buying these cars as is. Do not buy any car a teenager has ever daily driven. They break everything.
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Jul 3, 2013 14:16
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You'd have to know your local market to see if it's a good price. Watch it for a whil and see what cars actually sell. Miatas make for a small market. Here's my impression of a local market Under 3k is within a buy on the spot territory for most people if test drive goes ok. Maybe one obvious flaw like rust or bad top or high mileage. Between 3k and 5k is a much nicer shape with some maintenance records and a lot smaller and specialized pool of buyers. Very few people would pay over 5k for 15 old cars, that's no longer pocket change and buys you a lot more on the used car market in general. Exceptions are made of limited editions for collectors, very low mileage cars, etc. Now, a lot of people may be asking for over 5k, but very few people are actually buying. In general terms expect to knock the price down 10-20% in private sales from asking. People who resell a car they bought recently obviously have a hard limit preset on the price they paid, so those are hard to deal with. Cash in hand always helps and don't negotiate without seeing the car first. With all that said, that 99 is full of appearance bits while being otherwise stock and with very high mileage. I wouldn't pay the asking.
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Jul 3, 2013 14:52
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Thanks for the advice (again)! I'll stop nagging everyone here and just keep an eye on the market for a while.
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Jul 3, 2013 14:54
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Here for example is a car that'll sell fast and is a decent deal( note that mileage here is in km): http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1999-Mazda-MX-5-Miata-Convertible-W0QQAdIdZ500183112 And here's a car on sale since April : http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1993-Mazda-MX-5-Miata-Convertible-W0QQAdIdZ495320080
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Jul 3, 2013 15:07
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Elephanthead posted:Who would pay $4,000 to rebuild an engine then sell the car after a year? Someone whos engine rebuild didnt go so well, and just wants to get rid of the car and start over.
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Jul 3, 2013 15:36
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DO NOT buy a Miata with a rebuilt engine unless it's being sold for an unreasonably cheap price. There are way too many Miatas out there to settle for that, the owner is an idiot.
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Jul 3, 2013 15:48
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If it was my friend who i could vouch for, and knew what they were doing, it would certainly add value to the car. But it only takes one mistake to cause problems. Lesson learned: If i rebuild my engine on the miata, dont tell anyone i did it when i go to sell it.
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Jul 3, 2013 15:57
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For reference, you can do 10-15 engine swaps with junkyard motors for $4k. Anybody who does a factory rebuild on a BP and isn't racing is a loving moron.
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Jul 3, 2013 16:59
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Non-Engine chat; I finally got a wave back from another Miata owner! On the drive back home from work today a guy in a blue NA and I waved at each other. I've had my NC since February and it's the first time another Miata driver waved at me  It was on the 405 northbound through Bothell, it wasn't you was it 8th-samurai?
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Jul 5, 2013 21:53
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Tanz-Kommandant posted:Non-Engine chat; I finally got a wave back from another Miata owner! On the drive back home from work today a guy in a blue NA and I waved at each other. I've had my NC since February and it's the first time another Miata driver waved at me Nope sorry bro, I am rarely on 405.
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Jul 6, 2013 14:54
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Phone posted:For reference, you can do 10-15 engine swaps with junkyard motors for $4k. Anybody who does a factory rebuild on a BP and isn't racing is a loving moron. Or they have a very skewed view of what constitutes a rebuilt engine, and just slapped some fresh gaskets on it. Which still makes them a moron, I suppose.
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Jul 6, 2013 15:39
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Tanz-Kommandant posted:Non-Engine chat; I finally got a wave back from another Miata owner! On the drive back home from work today a guy in a blue NA and I waved at each other. I've had my NC since February and it's the first time another Miata driver waved at me I get other NAs flashing their pop ups (especially other 95m s) at me. Never a wave.
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Jul 6, 2013 19:00
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Sadi posted:I get other NAs flashing their pop ups (especially other 95m s) at me. Never a wave. Popping the lights at other Miatas is the best part of having an NA.
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Jul 6, 2013 19:21
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I changed the oil today and decided I might as well look into the check engine light that's been giving me an error code pointing to the O2 sensor. The PO got the O2 sensor replaced at a shop shortly before I bought the car, so I doubt that it went bad a second time, must be a dirty MAF right? Nope, looks like some rubber bit stretched out and slipped over the opening? I'll just slip off the gasket and slide it back....  Wait, is that....      seriously?   Yeah, I thought that gasket looked funny. Anyone know where I can get a replacement one of these? (or just put it back on without using gobs of electrical tape?)
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Jul 6, 2013 19:46
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NA, right? I pulled all that stuff off mine when I put the turbo on. Which bits are you looking to replace -- just that gasket, or do you still think the MAF is bad?
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Jul 6, 2013 19:57
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saint gerald posted:NA, right? I pulled all that stuff off mine when I put the turbo on. Which bits are you looking to replace -- just that gasket, or do you still think the MAF is bad? I found a part number, the stealership wants $35 for it but won't have it in until tuesday at the earliest. Since I'll have to cludge something together to hold it until tuesday, I may or may not end up getting the part depending on how well the cludge goes.
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Jul 6, 2013 20:50
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Phone posted:For reference, you can do 10-15 engine swaps with junkyard motors for $4k. Anybody who does a factory rebuild on a BP and isn't racing is a loving moron. The newest used engine is 8 years old (and pricey), the period-correct ones are 15-20 years old and getting older every day. I'd like to have an effectively brand-new engine if i knew i'd done it right.
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Jul 6, 2013 21:38
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When the CEL for the O2 sensor says unit 2, that's the downpipe one, right? I'm not gonna spend 60 bucks just to clear a code, but eventually I might sell it and have to.
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Jul 6, 2013 21:41
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It also affects fuel economy and kills the catalytic converter if too much unburnt fuel gets through. I think there is also a universal Bosch that's like 20-30 bucks and woks fine on NAs.
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Jul 6, 2013 21:50
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iv46vi posted:It also affects fuel economy and kills the catalytic converter if too much unburnt fuel gets through. I think there is also a universal Bosch that's like 20-30 bucks and woks fine on NAs. NB here. I never noticed a change in fuel economy or running power since it popped up, which is why I guessed it was the downpipe one before I even pulled the code.
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Jul 6, 2013 21:52
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They tend to die slowly, so the economy could be gone to poo poo before the computer trips the light on lower limit parameter. Least you can do is to measure some values in the plug under drivers seat. Factory manual should have the procedure.
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Jul 6, 2013 22:05
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iv46vi posted:They tend to die slowly, so the economy could be gone to poo poo before the computer trips the light on lower limit parameter. Least you can do is to measure some values in the plug under drivers seat. Factory manual should have the procedure. Hunh, I'll have to look at that. Thanks.
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Jul 6, 2013 22:09
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dpidz0r posted:It's an NB. I'm sure the issue was that 1/3rd of the intake was blocked by that bit of tape rather than the MAF, so all I want to replace is the gasket. Shoot me a PM if you want mine and if they're interchangeable. I'd be surprised if that was your issue, though -- the MAF should still have been reading correctly and the ECU should have been metering the appropriate amount of fuel for the amount of air it was seeing. Still, I've been surprised plenty of times before.
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Jul 6, 2013 22:34
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GD_American posted:When the CEL for the O2 sensor says unit 2, that's the downpipe one, right? if the airflow isn't being detected well there, it can cause weird faults further on down the system.
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Jul 6, 2013 22:41
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iv46vi posted:It also affects fuel economy and kills the catalytic converter if too much unburnt fuel gets through. I think there is also a universal Bosch that's like 20-30 bucks and woks fine on NAs. Is this true for both of them? If so, got a part number for that?
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Jul 7, 2013 01:10
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dpidz0r posted:It's also worth checking your MAF if you have an O2 sensor fault. Clean the contacts and also make sure that the previous owner didn't make modifications to it using half a role of electrical tape. That'd actually make sense, because the first time I changed the air filter I popped the old one off and there was, of all loving things to be below it, a few handfuls of kitty litter 
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Jul 7, 2013 01:22
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I can't seem to find the original discussion with part numbers right now, but here's some cheap o2 sensors used in Miatas: http://www.mazda-speed.com/forum2/index.php/topic,12295.0.html http://mymiata.paladinmicro.com/Miata4-WireO2.htm The second link spends a bit of time talking about modes of failure for these sensors, so it might be of interest. Edit: maybe it was this one http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=432521 iv46vi fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Jul 7, 2013 |
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Jul 7, 2013 02:10
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The NBs have the lovely pre-cat systems that like to fail all over the place. I know that the 99-00 has one pre-cat and that the 01-05 exhaust manifold is missing the bung for an O2 sensor. What year is your car?
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Jul 7, 2013 02:13
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2001.
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Jul 7, 2013 06:52
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I think the 2001-2005s have the O2 sensor in normal places. To all of the people who say that the Miata is not a practical car, I raise you this: 
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Jul 8, 2013 04:28
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Phone posted:I think the 2001-2005s have the O2 sensor in normal places. Let's be fair now, you are not a very practical man.
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Jul 8, 2013 05:28
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Phone posted:I think the 2001-2005s have the O2 sensor in normal places. Either way, it beats the miata I saw a few months back with a cooler strapped to the rollbar.
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Jul 8, 2013 05:49
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Needs more luggage rack and a back half miata trailer with another luggage rack. So my cheap used NA has clutch slippage when it gets hot but grabs perfectly when cool or even after just 15 minutes of cool down. I know big shock that it isn't perfect. Does this mean my master and or slave could be borked or need a bleeding or am I just dreaming of not having to replace the clutch?
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Jul 8, 2013 14:39
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The only way a master or slave cylinder could do that is if somehow heat building up in the fluid caused pressure to rise in the slave cylinder, rather than just causing the fluid level in the reservoir to rise slightly. So no, this isn't a hydraulic issue - those make it harder to actuate the clutch, rather than slipping.
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Jul 8, 2013 15:10
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Finally got a chance to take the NB for a proper drive with the roof down!  
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Jul 9, 2013 00:26
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I had fully intended on doing the timing belt myself (had all the parts lined up and everything) but I'm travelling bris->melb in a few weeks so needed to just get it sorted. $AUD1100 for complete service including gear and diff oils, all belts, inspection, patch work on a tyre and parts+labour for the timing belt and new crankshaft seal (oil has been pissing into the timing cover apparently). This is an MX-5 specialist shop so I think the price is not completely outrageous, and this is the first time it's seen a "professional" mechanic since I bought it 3 years and 60,000km ago. I wanted a new top as well but it was going to be $1500 for parts and labour for a Robbins top. Prices seem way cheaper down south so I might get it done in Sydney or Melbourne instead. Can't wait for this road trip
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Jul 9, 2013 14:03
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Well I bleed the hydraulics anyway because that only cost me 25 cents and checked the pedal freeplay. I couldn't get it hot enough to slip afterwards. I really just want it to last until the snow falls and I can drop it off somewhere and just tell them to do the whole 120K service and clutch. If I drive like a grandma I won't even notice the slip. I am keeping my eyes open for a wrecked one that just had its clutch and timing belt done and just poach the whole drive-train for cheaper then parts.
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Jul 9, 2013 14:19
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