Decisions decisions...to finish or sell.
 

The miata has gone from this...

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1360890274

to this...

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1360890274

in the last 6-7 months.

I have little time to wrench on it and lately have cared less and less about it. The shop's a mess and its a miracle the fucking thing has survived this long hibernating in it every winter. The longer it lingers in there, the more of a chance a 16' chute will fall on it.

The car is a BLAST to drive, don't get me wrong. I love the fuck out of this car. The issue is, its not finished. Still a dozen or so things that need wrapped up to make it driveable again.

I've also debated the idea of selling it. How much, probably more than someone would be willing to pay, but I don't need the money. It would be more so for the fact that it would be finished and enjoyed by someone else.

Everytime this happens I don't want to touch it or spend a dime on it, then after the first drive in the spring I get weak in the knees.

Part of me wants to get the ball rolling on having a motor built so I cant sell it so easily. Part of me wants to throw it on ebay with a reserve.

Just finish it and if you decide you don't want it, then sell it. Nobody has cared about that care more than you and letting someone else work on it is just plain wrong. Think of it as a final date. Either you seal the deal or let it go. In the end you already know what your going to do.

What's it need? A dozen piddly things, or a rebuild?

1. What does it need to be operational? Not "perfect" or "finished," but operational.
2. What would you do with the money if you did sell it for the reserve price you have in mind? You say you don't need the money, but do you have something in mind to do with it?
3. If it did not sell as a complete vehicle, are you prepared to part it out?

My initial impression is that, if you don't need the money and don't have something else you really want to do with the money, don't worry about whether it sits for months on end. That's as much a product of you living in the North with your shitty weather for half the year as anything else. :)

Bottom line: do you see yourself fiddling with cars in the near future? Are you still into miatas? Or are you "over" it and want to move on/wrench on something different?

If you don't need the money, still actually like the car, aren't tempted by anything else, and see yourself still in a modding state of mind, then it would be a waste to sell it.

On the flip side, if your feelings are opposite, just sell it already and move on.

Only you can make this decision.

Fix the goddamn thing already! Miatas are so damn easy to work on. Go out to the garage, fire up a spliff, put on some thrash metal and finish this fucker.

Then go drive it in anger and see if you want to sell it.

Yeah if you're not motivated to finish one of the most basic cars ever, you should probably re-consider fiddling with cars altogether.

Not really a matter of motivation, just no time to work on it anymore.

The car will run and drive as is, but it's not right. Little odds and ends that need fixed or finished. Nothing too major though.

If I sold the car I'd probably regret it and piss the money away on who knows what.

Just poking for some input, seeing that many of you have been in this position before as well.

Based on that post right there /\ I'd definitely tell you to keep it.

I agree with V.

I would think you would need a strong and compelling reason to justify selling it. Your post is pretty much devoid of that.

My miata gets picked up on sunday.

sitting it's a very expensive liability.

as a business owner, would you hold on to several thousands of dollars in unused inventory just to keep it for a rainy day or write it off and move on?

sell it, put the money into a fund for something. earn interest.

I have thoughts like this all the time, but in the end i always get re-excited and decide to keep my car, and iv barley driven it. Where there's a will, there's a way!! Find some time and fix it. We need a CT meet

I leaning toward keeping it, I just wish I had a better home for it. lol

The fact that nothing (that I know of) has fallen on it is amazing. Its really just a matter of time.

Hopefully I can find some time to get back into working on it again. :bigtu:

I could probably host a meet at the shop if everyone was down. My buddy at the detail shop would probably let us have it at his end, rather than up in our construction part of the complex.

Soulless whore post.

10 years. that's long enough for me. the truck is coming in a matter of minutes and then it will be gone.

I'd definitely sell it, the car is useless you don't drive it and probably doesn't suite your age, just being realistic. you have the desire not to let it go, but that is wrong it's just like being a 10yrs old kid. this is a challenge, you could save the money or buy something nice for your parents like a flight ticket to some nice place or anything...... bottom of the line you need to know when to let things go.

A) I'm thinking it would be classified as (possibly depreciating) asset rather than a liability? I suppose you could think of it as a liability in that at any time it could require additional maintenance or repairs, but so could a work truck or a house.

B) If he has nothing in mind for the potential money he would receive and he does get enjoyment (utility) out of the car on the occassions when there is nice weather in the frozen wasteland that he lives in, I disagree with you.

Now, if Vash said something like, "If I sell this hopped up Miata, I could be happy driving a 5-year old Honda Accord or 4WD F-150 and never think about performance cars again," I might change my position.

I think the fact that he hasn't gotten it running consistently for the past 3 years, when it never, ever, needed any extensive work or effort, basically says that he has given up on it and it would waste away in his shop for years to come. Whether its lack of time or lack of motivation doesn't matter.

if shit falls on it, is it a liability then?

I missed that info. The original post says it has sat for 6-7 months (CT winter?) and that "after the first drive in the spring I get weak in the knees."

He said the car "will run and drive as is, but it's not right. Little odds and ends that need fixed or finished. Nothing too major though."

My interpretation is that it has sat for months on end while he got his house and work life situated but the car is still functional, if not "finished."

My car probably sat for longer than that, collecting dust on jackstands, while I accumulated parts, generally neglected it and did other stuff. Then, I got the Miata driveable and went to an HPDE in October. I drove it back, parked it and didn't touch it until I was getting it ready for the next HPDE this past weekend.


I occassionally contemplate selling it but I know I would end up with another project car of some sort. Again, if Vash says he really needs to pay off the 35% vig from his bookie or pay for his grand dad's surgery and the Miata is his most viable source of funds...

Or if he says he needs capital for a new business venture, he really wants to build a Fox body drag car, he has been diagnosed with something terminal and wants to spend his last 6 weeks trying to OD on hookers and blow in Vegas, etc, etc, etc... the analysis might change. :)


Leaving it in a location where there is a reasonable probability of shit falling on it is the liability. I think.