Newbie looking at a car, need opinions
 

1994 Mazda Miata, Turbo, 89k miles, VERY FAST!!

Ive been a mustang guy forever, but the more I read about miatas the more I want one. I enjoy the hitting the corners more than flat out acceleration. Plus the low price and low weight of the miata are very appealing. Plus its something different.

I was looking at this car on craigslist. Im wanting it for occasional street, but mostly for track use. Its seems its in good shape with lots of good aftermarket stuff. Only downside I see is the stock motor and trans (minus new clutch). If it can take going to the track for a couple years with normal wear i would be happy. Problem is the car is 5 hours away so I cant just go look at it. Is anyone nearby or does anyone know about the car? If I do go down there what should I look for besides the usual?

...hopefully no one on here will buy it first, lol.

I find that car very "MEH" for $7k. 94 is a good year, but the old FM stuff is IMO not so desirable any more. The hardware and engine management from the last 2 years or so is much better than the old stuff. The link is basically garbage compared to anything modern.

There have been some better deals in the classifieds here. If Joe's car is still listed, you should consider it.

What's wrong with a stock motor and transmission? It's a '94 so you've got a 1.8 and the 7" rear end. Looks like a nice condition car for a good price. Even if you have to spend a little getting a good working tune, it should be a good deal.

EDIT: Whoops, somehow I had a $4600 price in my head. Yeah, $7k is too much.

LOL, 4.6K wouldn't be too bad. I think I got 5.5K for my old car, which was a 1.6 but with a comperable mod/equipment list and lower miles.

If you could talk him down to even $6200 or so, it would be a decent buy with the low miles that are one it. The ad tells me that the owner knows the car and can comprehend English. If it were post up like "Yo I has this fast as hail Miata! All da gurls like it and I put a turbo on it so it goes fast and beats Vipers on the street."..then I would run away laughing. If you're looking for a car and care about looks, it does not hurt to pay a little more for a car with a clean exterior. Few things scream "I don't care about the car" more than a dented up, mis-matched faded paint car. Sure, everything under the hood might be neat and tidy, but are you really going to think of that if the outside looks like shit? Besides, it's the first thing you see when you look at the car, it's the first thing when others see the car and is usually one of the most expensive areas to fix.

Laguna blue is nice though...I wouldn't mind having a LB NA one day. Although the Link is old, it is fun for the 200-230rwhp range, you could sell it for a couple hundred and get a MS for more flexability..if you're one of those "gotta get every las HP out of it" kinda guys. It's also a b-pkg car so it has a LSD, power windows and a/c. Engine bay is clean..also showing that the owner takes his time to keep things under check.

But the big question is, is the price worth it to you?

I think most of you guys have that 1.6 that is for sale at 4.6k.. which sounds like a better deal that this one. 7k is too high

Offer him what you think its worth. When he starts talking about how its so nice, ask him if he's seen my car, lol. It will be very entertaining.

Im not sure if hes got some wiggle room in the price. I havent gotten quite that far yet. I can afford up to about $9k right now.

When you say some of the stuff is "older" FM are you referring to just the engine management electronics? About how much would I be looking at to get it upgraded?

Offer 5k. 3k for the car, 2k for the crap on it.

It's Laguna Blue OMG RARE!

the LINK is one of the first EMS for the miata; it's old and outdated and leaves little to be desired, every new ECU on the market is better than the link.

If you sell the Link for a couple hundred and buy MS and a wideband, you would be looking to add $600-800 to the sale of the Link.

From the add:

Even better! I didn't read the ad. OK, sell the Link and add $500 and you have MS.

This guy probably knows that when selling a car the money he put into for aftermarket parts will not really transfer to what the car is worth. This is why most people put their cars back to stock before selling, then sell the aftermarket stuff separate. He is most likely trying to give a good starting price so he can go down a bit and make the buyer feel good, and still get a good amount of money for the car.

I'd say the car is worth around 3-4k, assuming the body and engine are good. The parts cost him ~$9k, so $5k-$5.5k total is reasonable.

Is the suspension stuff he listed decent?

(-Flyin’ Miata Stage 3 suspension kit: front and rear sway bars, front strut tower brace, stiffer springs at all four corners and KYB-AGX adjustable shocks.)

Or you could built your own and cut the price in a little more than half.

define "decent". The answer is that its worse that stock but it will bounce and suck going down the road so you can tell people that its a racecar.

Flyin' Miata : Chassis : Suspension

2.5 is the highest I see, but agx are whatever.

7k? way too much

If you are a Mustang guy and have $9K to spend, you can just stick a 5.0 in a cheap Miata like I am. If you can fab, you can do it for $9K assuming a cheap donor car.