Hello Everyone,

I've recently found someone willing to sell a 1995 miata for 600 dollars. The body is in okay condition and it is currently not running due to sitting for a long time.

For this reason i would love to renew this machine ( My plans are learn by getting it back up and running, maybe its as simple as a dead battery, rebuilding engine and get everything built for turbo in the near future. I am newb but very determined to do this myself.)

Just wondering what everyone else thinks about this - is it worth buying or am i better off buying a running miata?

The car will certainly need some work cosmetically to get back up to par. new top and one fender, new tires most likely. besides that everything else is intact and has been sitting.

Appreciate any responses or advice. Thanks.

 

Location? Sitting how long?

For that price, it's a fairly safe bet. Even if the engine is blown you could part it out for almost that. Miata's are easy to work on, and a good base for street, autox or track.

Go for it.

 

As long as there's no crazy underbody rust, I would do it.

 

Mine had been sitting for five years in a shop with the top down. Runs and drives great now. They're pretty easy to bring back.

 

Really depends on where in the US it is. I wouldn't touch one in Michigan for that, unless it was pretty damn nice

 

Can't go wrong for $600 as long as it isn't a rust bucket.

 

So I'm officially in it.

Didn't think i was going to as on the way to pick up the car and test drive it was already on the road being test driven by someone else. However it was pulled over due to the battery dieing and needing to be replaced. The guy test driving it passed on it So i hopped in anyways.

I have found a 1996 with about (SINGLE OWNER) 252k miles for 1000 dollars and i have purchased it, proud to be the second owner and hoping to bring the car back to life. The car is running and has a few rust spots in the typical places like the rocker panels. However there is also a huge rust spot on the passenger side fender which i am looking forward to replacing and also fixing all the rust spots.
The passenger side mirror is also broken, and the battery will need to be replaced. ( That is being taken care of tomorrow by the dealership that i obtained the car from in NH. )

My only concern so far with the car is that i hear some noise not sure if its coming from the engine or not around 2800 rpms. i am looking forward to upgrading the suspension as the stock one doesn't stick to the ground as-well as i'd like - during the test drive i felt one of the wheels lift during a turn, quite scary at that moment didn't realize how light the car is.


let me know what you guys think about it.

 

I've seen a lot worse. If you can do body work then it's a good deal. If you have to pay full price for someone to fix it, then you'll probably have $1000-1500 in body work and paint. Or maybe, depending on the state, leave it as is and get a few years out of it.

Which state do you live in? New Hampshire?