Should i buy this car?
03-06-2015, 04:41 PM
#42
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Location: Lake Forest, CA
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Ah, wow.
Yeah. The Miata is a horrible road trip (read: freeway) car compared to... almost everything else I've owned. GTO, Jetta TDI, Saab 900 all way way way way way way way better for road trips.
Yeah. The Miata is a horrible road trip (read: freeway) car compared to... almost everything else I've owned. GTO, Jetta TDI, Saab 900 all way way way way way way way better for road trips.
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03-06-2015, 06:00 PM
#43
The op's car before the bmw was the best long drive car I've used. (g35 sedan sport 6spd) I love mine, but nothing beats my turbo NA8 at the track. My Miata is too track prepped to love on a long drive in s. texas summer heat. No a/c, no rear window, somewhat noisy exhaust, gutted doors. When I do drive to the track (3-6 hr drive) I get there hot and tired. lol
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03-06-2015, 09:12 PM
#44
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Ohio
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The op's car before the bmw was the best long drive car I've used. (g35 sedan sport 6spd) I love mine, but nothing beats my turbo NA8 at the track. My Miata is too track prepped to love on a long drive in s. texas summer heat. No a/c, no rear window, somewhat noisy exhaust, gutted doors. When I do drive to the track (3-6 hr drive) I get there hot and tired. lol
The miata is a great car, just not for long distances..I should be up and running again monday. Had to send the radiator to a shop to be repaired. I have a feeling this car will be for sale soon.
On a side note, i've discovered a cool app for android called Torque. I bought a cheap obd bluetooth adapter off amazon for $13 and have a nice little scanner\diagnostic program for less than $20. High recommend to check it out if you havent heard about it.
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03-17-2015, 01:01 PM
#46
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Anderson, SC
Posts: 146
Total Cats: 9
So, i've had the car for a little bit now. I've taken the hideous stripes and wing off of it. This car has been pretty nightmarish so far. I've replaced the CCV, valve cover gasket, clutch slave and master, O2 sensor, oil and plugs, a ton of little vacuum lines. That had the car running good for about a week with no CEL light on. I let the car sit for two days, take it on a 30 minute trip and get a CEL for the cam sensor and the radiator had something hit it and was leaking.
Very much regretting this purchase so far, Miata Is Always The Answer.
Very much regretting this purchase so far, Miata Is Always The Answer.
Go ahead and plan on that coolant expansion tank (all BMWs of that vintage, really), the plastic thermostat housing cracks (no surprise), they made the switch from partial VANOS to dual somewhere in '97 didn't they? The seals like to leak, but it's not terrible to replace them from what I can recall. If the water pump is still a plastic impeller deal, take car of that proactively.
If it needs a top, plan on getting a new top sealing from along with it, and dealing with 20 feet of butyl tape. Miata tops have me spoiled. Robbins Tops are a good call, same as always. The only issues I had were the Robbins top tensioning cables kept coming in with manufacturing flaws. They sent me four different sets and they still kept breaking right where they were pressed into the springs. I eventually just ordered the factory cables.
I spoke with Dough at Robbins and he said they finally figured out what was happening, but by that point I'd already moved on, so I can't say if their cables are working again or not. He said they'd pulled all existing tops and replaced the old flawed cables with the fixed versions, but still FYI.
If the seats rock back and forth a little, there's rubber bushings that like to wear and fail. Probably what that is.
There's other stuff, but it's a start.
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03-19-2015, 05:49 PM
#47
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Ohio
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Sounds like you've had the joy of going through several weak points already.
Go ahead and plan on that coolant expansion tank (all BMWs of that vintage, really), the plastic thermostat housing cracks (no surprise), they made the switch from partial VANOS to dual somewhere in '97 didn't they? The seals like to leak, but it's not terrible to replace them from what I can recall. If the water pump is still a plastic impeller deal, take car of that proactively.
If it needs a top, plan on getting a new top sealing from along with it, and dealing with 20 feet of butyl tape. Miata tops have me spoiled. Robbins Tops are a good call, same as always. The only issues I had were the Robbins top tensioning cables kept coming in with manufacturing flaws. They sent me four different sets and they still kept breaking right where they were pressed into the springs. I eventually just ordered the factory cables.
I spoke with Dough at Robbins and he said they finally figured out what was happening, but by that point I'd already moved on, so I can't say if their cables are working again or not. He said they'd pulled all existing tops and replaced the old flawed cables with the fixed versions, but still FYI.
If the seats rock back and forth a little, there's rubber bushings that like to wear and fail. Probably what that is.
There's other stuff, but it's a start.
Go ahead and plan on that coolant expansion tank (all BMWs of that vintage, really), the plastic thermostat housing cracks (no surprise), they made the switch from partial VANOS to dual somewhere in '97 didn't they? The seals like to leak, but it's not terrible to replace them from what I can recall. If the water pump is still a plastic impeller deal, take car of that proactively.
If it needs a top, plan on getting a new top sealing from along with it, and dealing with 20 feet of butyl tape. Miata tops have me spoiled. Robbins Tops are a good call, same as always. The only issues I had were the Robbins top tensioning cables kept coming in with manufacturing flaws. They sent me four different sets and they still kept breaking right where they were pressed into the springs. I eventually just ordered the factory cables.
I spoke with Dough at Robbins and he said they finally figured out what was happening, but by that point I'd already moved on, so I can't say if their cables are working again or not. He said they'd pulled all existing tops and replaced the old flawed cables with the fixed versions, but still FYI.
If the seats rock back and forth a little, there's rubber bushings that like to wear and fail. Probably what that is.
There's other stuff, but it's a start.
Hehe Yes, i think I've found most of the "weak spots" on these cars. Previous owner had a new top installed, he used old seals so they leak of course. Currently fighting a cam sensor issue. $115 lesson for this car is to buy only OEM cam sensors because aftermarkets still throw a code. Glory days!
I just replaced the cooling system and i think its finally a driveable daily car. Unfortunately i have lost my interest with it. I just put it up for sale. Pictures are in the ad if anyone cares to see what it looks like without a wing and stripes!
https://austin.craigslist.org/cto/4939518488.html
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