Should i buy this car?
 

Hey everyone, I've been around the miata scene off and on for over 10 years. I've had a 93,94,05,and 97 NA models before. One was turboed with a t3.
I just sold my G35 6MT sedan and want another miata i can take to track days and daily drive.

I found a 1990 (im aware of crank issues) that has a JRSC m45 (older one because it has no engraving on the blower) with a full koni yellow suspension, aftermarket front and rear sway bars, exhaust, american racing wheels with decent tires. It appears to be on old technology as far as ecu management goes.

It has 125k miles and is kind of rough on the exterior, both fenders are a little gross, top may need replaced sooner than later, and trunk lid has holes filled where someone put a rice wing on. Has slotted brake rotors on all four corners, a small scooped hood for s\c clearence.

At idle the S\C sounds pretty bad grinding almost, ive read that it is most likely the coupler which is relatively easy and cheap to fix. It looks like it has small rear main leak or transmission leak, most likely rear main.

I've managed to talk this guy down to $3350 Does this sound like a decent deal? I forgot to check if it has the long or short nose crank. Would it be a deal breaker if it only has 4 blades on the front pulley? What else should i check before i pull the trigger?

pictures.

Sounds a little high to me. I'd be looking at 2900-3100, depending on how clean (rust wise) it is.


Edit: if it floats your boat, a couple hundred is nothing in the grand scheme.

No rust, its in the south. I tried hard at 2800-3000 and he wasnt budging from 3500. his original asking price was 3800 and i have him down to 3350 if i pick it up tomorrow.

Nope not worth it at all. I wouldn't pay a penny over $2000 for that.

Many times, the answer to your question is simply "It depends. How bad do you want it?" If it's what you're looking for and you want it, then sure it's worth it. But by an overall standard it sounds like you're looking at a $1000-1500 car with $1000 worth (maybe less) of stupidcharger and aids on it.

Depends on your area. If you're willing to drive south to get something rust free there's NBs to be had for the same money as that 1.6 and they'll have a real diff and approximately the same horsepower as that car.

I live In texas. The car is only 45 minutes away. I guess what confuses me is it has about $2000 just in parts. I want a daily that I can autocross is the goal.
JRSC - $700
Koni adjustable yellows $520
front and rear sway bars $227
wheels $480
slotted rotors

plus hood, front and rear factory style spoilers, turn signal air intakes.

so basically if you were to buy these separately the car is being bought for roughly $1300

That was my frame of mind when pricing this out. Apparently im way off base though haha

pics

Yep way off base. Koni's are crap, slotted rotors are crap, jrsc is crap, 90 miatas are crap. Cost of parts do not add significant value to used cars. Especially not the parts on that one.

That hood is also hideous and probably heavier than stock, and you're going to have to track down some stock side marker lights to replace the TSIs.

Alright, I appreciate the input. I will heed the advice and stay away from this one. Thanks everyone!

Honestly I would not bother looking at an 90-93, Go straight to a 94+ and be happy.

QFT

I'm with you. Looking at a 99 possibly tomorrow. Id like to get away from the HLA's every car I've owned has ticked at some point in its life. I can always add FI later I suppose.

Shuiend is completely correct on this vehicle +1

Find a non molested vehicle & profit. You'll be able to put everything you want or need to achieve the end goal without having to talk someone down because of their stupid 'parts price' inflation.

QFT.

I think it depends. I think for that price you would be better off with a 1.8L car. I found a 1990 in my hometown for $500 and made a dedicated autocross car out of it. I am up to about $3500 in the car currently and a second 1.6L, the first one had a nasty keyway and was starting to pull timing pretty badly.

I like my 1990 for autocross, and most of my expense has come from wheels and tires (15X8 with Toyo R1Rs). I compete in a local class only, which only has a requirement of 140tw tires or higher. I am usually a top 5 contender and by the end of last season I was .051 seconds from first. This is the largest field at our local events (anywhere from 15-25 people), but very diverse group. So depending on your budget and goals it could be a decent car, but if I had to do it over again. I would try and buy a car already setup and a 1.8L. The throttle response with the AFM is pretty terrible, and the diff is a ticking timebomb.


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I told the guy i wasn't interested and he kind of got mad. This car has been for sale over a month and said that he had a buyer in the course of 12 hours of talking to him that he had to turn down. To me, another red flag. He was probably more angry that he cant get out from under this car, meaning potential problems.

I understand the power and rear ends of these cars fairly well. I've been lucky and had a torsen in 3\4 miatas ive owned. the 1.6L is what it is. The 1.8 isn't blinding fast by any means so its really peanuts to compare 20 hp difference on a 20 year+ car that was under powered from the get go. Miatas speed comes from cornering not straight lines.....No matter what engine you have.

Currently looking at a...:idea:...BMW Z3 too. Found one with the 225 HP motor 6 cylinder. I know the rear end suspension is lacking compared to the miata but the naturally aspirated power kind of makes up for it. I'll report back if i end up getting something soon. Still holding hope for a boosted miata though.

Goals are pretty basic. I want a good daily driver that can be auto crossed and possibly used for track events down the road.

Good for you,

Maybe the seller will realize nobody wants a tub of crap, filled with all his mistakes/problems/issues for that price.