Miata Mailing List: May 1994, Message #171
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   From: a.mccombs3@genie.geis.com
Subject: Prospective Miata purchase -
   Date: Sun, 8 May 1994 09:25:02 -0400

To David Doherty (and anyone else who wants to read this drivel), RE: used
Miata purchase.  I'm not the greatest authority on this, having had our '90
smurf blue A pkg. only since November '93.  Having traded a Triumph TR-8 for
it (about ANYTHING would look better after the Triumph!), my wife and I have
been extremely happy about the deal - no regrets.
 
The sloshing H2O problem you mentioned in your friend's car has been
mentioned before on the net, and I don't recall any solutions for it.  It
seems to come up rarely, but from what I understand it's pretty apparent
when you drive one, so you can easily cross that one off your list of
prospects.
 
You'll find that the shifting tends to be slightly "graunchy" w/Miatas I've
been told that RX-7s tend toward this too), and it's not necessarily a sign
of worn synchros in the transmission.  In fact, our car has over 80,000 on
it now and I find less problem if I move the stick faster than if I just
apply smooth pressure when going from gear to gear, so it's not a worn
synchro problem.  There have been several postings RE: aftermarket fluids
which largely obviate this (minor) problem; I haven't gotten around to
trying any yet.  Clutch life of course depends upon the driver and
conditions, but out of eight or ten that I test drove before ending up with
our car, I only found one with a slipping clutch.  As I recall, it had some
60,000+ miles on it.  Whether it was due to a worn clutch or a leaky rear
main seal having oiled up the clutch, I don't know.
 
There are very few recalls on these cars, and as I recall (sorry), none of
any major nature.  Something about a poor reflecting surface in the tail
light housing comes to mind, things of about that level.
 
About the only thing I can think of that I would check into if I had it to
do over, is to see if the 60,000 mile service has been done on any car you
consider, which is around or over that mileage.  Mazda recommends
replacement of the cam timing belt at 60k, as well as other routine service;
this is a major service interval.  The front cover of the engine must be
removed for access to the belt, and you're looking at around $300 and up for
parts and labor for the bare bones belt replacement.  Other service
scheduled at that time (oil, tune, etc.) is over and above the belt
replacement.  Also, you can figure on replacing the front seals so long as
the front cover is off of the engine.  The seals are only a few bucks, and
the labor isn't bad so long as the cover is off anyway.  The odds are that
those seals will begin to leak before you get to another belt change at
120k, so it's probably a good idea to do them at the same time.
 
One relatively common problem which shows up is noisy lifters on startup.
There have been a few postings about that, too.  I encountered about three
with noisy lifters when I was looking, and didn't consider any of them too
seriously (unless I could have turned such a problem into a significant
price break).  Most people on the net find that the noisly lifter thing does
not indicate any major problems in the near future (or far future either,
for that matter, apparently).  It has not led to a recall, anyway.  From the
ones I've driven, if you don't get lifter noise on startup (warm or cold),
then there's no problem here.  With hindsight, I don't know if I'd worry so
much about this problem if I were to buy a used Miata today - but I would
require the owner to come down at least a few hundred on the price to allow
for lifter replacement.  Then I'd spend the money on something else and
drive the car with the noisy lifters.  Wathehell, it's only for a few
seconds anyway, then it goes away.  If it doesn't, don't buy that one.
 
Oh, yes:  The Miata uses a special gel electrolyte battery.  If you want an
exact replacement to fit the limited space in the trunk, you can look to pay
around $120 for it at the dealer (which is the only place you can get one).
There are aftermarket gel batteries which will do the job better (because
they're a bit larger) and cheaper (like around half, or perhaps less), but
you'll have to cobble up the battery hold down area in order to make an
aftermarket battery secure.  No big deal, but if you want to keep your Miata
original, then it costs more.
 
That's about it - I can't think of any other quirks particular to the Miata
which are likely to cost you any money or grief.  We've put about 6,000
miles on ours since last Nov., and after taking care of the major
maintenance (including cam belt change, which the previous owner hadn't
done), the only thing we've needed to do maintenance wise is an oil and
filter change.  I think you'll find it to be a good, reliable car, and
contrary to the "impracticality" of a sports car, to be quite practical
transportation for a single person and occasional friend who doesn't mind
traveling light.  Plus, it's a BALL to drive - MUCH more nimble and tossable
than the TR-8, and the convertible top is pure joy - just about the easiest
top to put up/take down I've ever encountered, with the possible exception
of a Fiat 124.  (Given the choice, take the Miata.)
 
How much?  As with all things, it depends.  Spring (and convertible season)
is here, so the prices are rising slightly along with the temperatures.  WE
bought ours for $9,000 last Nov., but it had a couple strikes against it
that kept the price down, and which I figured we could live with.  The car
had 77,000 on it, and the major work noted above had not yet been done.
Also, it had about a $250 dent in the left door, and some minor hail dings
in hood and trunk.  (If you want a ballpark estimate for bodywork costs, see
how many ten dollar bills it takes to cover the area - that's about what it
costs to fix it.)  In the Washington Post, you can occasionally find a'90
Miata asking $9,000 or a bit less, but you're likely to end up with an
imperfect car which will require another grand or so (like ours) to make
right.  You may be able to find one with lower miles, which is not due for
the major work for quite a while, or one which has had the work done
recently (make sure you see the records and that the seals were replaced
along with the belt) and is otherwise in good shape, for around $10,000.
Generally, such a car will probably be asking around $10,500 or $11,000, but
there's going to be some bargaining room.  Ours has A/C, as well as the A
pkg. stuff, which is worth another $1000 or so on the used mkt.  (say $500
for the A/C and $500 for the A pkg. alloy wheels and power steering).  If
you can live without the A/C (I can't in the east central U. S. in the
summer), then you can save a few bucks - although you're limiting your
options, since a very high percentage of Miatas of all years are equipped
with air, especially those with other options like the A pkg.  I wouldn't
hesitate to buy a first year ('90) model at all; contrary to many new
designs, Mazda pretty much got it right the first time.  There are a couple
minor differences, (like a "track bar" which ties a couple of suspension
points together in the rear end; you can buy an aftermarket bar that looks
and works the same for a '90, if you want) but nothing really noticeable.
Considering that a '91 is likely to be asking $12,000 or thereabouts, I'd go
for the '90.
 
There's a lot of Miata activity all over the country, too.  I gather you're
out of Richmond - if so, there's a Miata club operating out of Midlothian
which you might contact for advice.  The contact listed (per the latest
local chapter listing by the Miata Club of America) is George E. Ferrell,
phone 804-276-7460.  You'll see other postings RE: Miata Club of A., so I
won't go into that again here.  I will warn you, however, that Miatas can be
expensive if you don't exercise some self restraint:  We've already added a
roll bar, and I've been drooling over various other aftermkt. goodies for
the car.  Watch yourself - and good luck!
                                                --Jack & Anne M. & Kansei--