1990 Miata help
 

Hey All,

Looking for a Miata in Toronto, found one for 2-3k discount from the average price here. It's a 1990 red miata that is listed for $2850 with 119k km on it. The KM are super low and it makes me very interested in the car. I'm worried about the reverse lock-out and crankshaft problems on the 90's Miatas though. Does anyone have any suggestions what to look out for when I go see this car? It states that it doesn't have much rust. I'm interested in turbo'ed Miatas but they're way too much around here- just lost my bid on the eBay Miata that I was in love with. So now I'm looking at a 1990 Red Miata with 119km on it, bone stock. Needs work on the paint and rocker panels. other than that, what do oyu guys think of the price of $2850 CDN?

For relativity sake, cars in Canada are 100000x more expensive. Other 1990-92 are going for 4-5k with 200km on them.

thanks

Cars in Canada aren't really that much more expensive. The reverse lockout is trivial thing and easy to fix, so don't even think about that. If you want to avoid any potential crank shaft failure, then you need to buy a 92 or newer, or buy a 90 and put a 92+ motor into it. There's also nothing stopping you from buying a car in the states or surrounding provinces. Look around and you'll find a good deal. Personally $2850 seems like an OK price, but nothing spectacular. Considering the fact that if you wanted to turbo it, you're going to have to replace the rear drivetrain (driveshaft, differential, axles) at the typical junk yard wrecker price of $1000 - $1400 bucks, then getting a 94+ without those problems and a bigger motor suddenly seems like a much better deal.

I would also suggest stop creating a new thread every time you find a miata you like. Just keep adding to the same thread.

What do you think about a 2002, 100k Miata for 6500? I might be able to grab it at that price.

It sounds really cheap, which more then likely means it's in piss poor condition. Have you actually gone to look at any of these miatas in person? Just speculating about mileage, price, and model year isn't going to get anyone anywhere.

Haha, I just realized it was a Florida car with 109k MILES which translates to 200,000km+. That's the reason it's so cheap. I think I'm going to stick with a 1990 and see what the rave about these Miatas are about. Anyone know where I can find parts? I need a rocker panel for this thing.

I find the Miata's in Toronto are a bit expensive too. I guess people around here are onto the fact that they are a great car with lots of potential. I did a 1.8 swap in my 90 last summer and I found the greatest place for parts. I got my 1.8 with 60,000km, 1.8 clutch, flywheel, speedo cable and some other random parts I needed for $750. The guy imports wrecked Miata's from the U.S. and has any and every part you could imagine x100. He's located at 4286 Sideroad 10 Bradford, ON L3Z 2A5 Business name is Switch European Motor Car Service. Small sign on the side of the road and it’s easy to miss if you end up going there. Good luck