pelucidor

Any Miata experts want to chime in here. I have always wanted a two seat convertible and perhaps next year I will be able to buy an old Miata as a 3rd car (hence limited budget).

I have driven both a 5 speed (many years ago) and 6 speed (new model) and prefer the gearchange of the older model (rationalizing the fact I can only afford an older model perhaps). I would want ABS and preferred colours are yellow or BRG. What year/condition of car could I get for my $5k and what problems should I look out for. And what would it cost to turbo or SC it later?

Sputnik

Well, you're going to have a hard time finding a NB ('99+) Miata for $5k, unless it's in bad shape, so I wouldn't expect you to be able to find a 6-speed. You're going to have to settle for an older NA, possibly needing a little TLC for $5k.

SC kits will run $2k-$3k and up, while TC kits start around $2k for basic, not too powerful kits that take some work, and as much as $8k for a full setup for a daily-drivable reliable 220 rwhp setup w/o installation (turbo, ECU, fuel, clutch, radiator and other peripheral upgrades).

---jps

Hercules

It should also be noted, that the 5 speed is reputed to being much more lively a tranny than the 6 speed in the Miata.

You might want to check Miata-specific forums for that though.

rx8daniel

If you NEED ABS, you immediately limit the models from which you can choose, and for the most part,those are still over $5K. As I recall ABS only started in 1994, as an option, and then only available with the "C" package (although one rep once said with the "B" too) - which is leather and all, so it's a high end version. If you want Yellow, that was only 92, no ABS that I know of. BRG was only a limited edition in 91 I think, no ABS. The more recent M2 has a green color similar to BRG, but you'll not see one near 5K for quite a while.

I've seen some sold with ABS but haven't really looked for that for some time but again as I recall it's only ever been an option except maybe on the more recent 10th AE and maybe 2002 or 2003 spec editions.

Miata.net has a lot of used cars for sale, and you can post a 'want to buy' as well. Plus they have a great FAQ section! Lots of reading there!
good luck on the Miata search!

Rich

Miata pricing and dealer forum:
http://www.miataforum.com/ubb/ultima...?ubb=forum;f=7

I'd read the FAQs first, then check edmunds or some other website.

BRG only existed for 2 years, '91 and '01 special editions. Emerald Mica is pretty similar to BRG without the cost. I think it wasn't available on the earlier cars you're looking at though.
Problems vary by year, and once you find a year you'll be able to afford you should be able to search through the NA forum and the garage sections to find out that year's problems. The Miata has stayed at the top of all quality surveys throughout it's life though, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Honestly, the Miata website is the best car website on the planet, IMHO, and it's not particularly close either. You will be able to find out way more than you ever wanted to know if you dig through the garage, FAQs and do a few searches. If I had that amount of money to spend on a Miata that wasn't going to be a daily driver, I'd start with the early models that came with the 1.8L engines. I think that was around '94.
Don't worry about the 6-speed. It's nice, but you won't find one for anywhere close to that price unless it's been wrecked. I drove 3 6-speeds when I was looking for mine and decided I didn't need it.
I'm not sure I'd care about ABS on a third car either. The main advantage of ABS is in the rain and snow, and why would you take the Miata out in those conditions if it's a third car?

Good luck.

zoom44

i was actually going to suggest searching Rich's posts as i seem to remember a discussion from awhile ago where he talked about shopping for a miata and trying both the 5speed and the 6speed. nice to see you around Rich

zoom44

here ya go i had some time so i found a Rich quote for you:

there were a couple of other mentions but mostly in "build a mazda6" where he talked about not being able to get abs with the 5 speed. that was when the packaging issues started coming up and a bunch of us emailed Mazda about it. i forgot that rich was the first.

pelucidor

Thanks a lot everyone - I will check Miata Forum. As I said, I prefer the 5 speed. I thought the gate on the 6 speed was crowded and did not feel as easy to slot and gave no obvious benefit, so perhaps I will live without the ABS if the two are usually mutually exclusive. A '94 or '95 with the 1.8 sounds good to me - I can live with other colours too...

This potential car is still 9-12 months away so I have plenty of time to do research.

Toadman

Miata.net. They'll hook you up nicely.

Midnight Flyer

Can't say enough about miata.net. Make sure you read the garage and faq's, especially the "buying a used Miata" guide.

I have both a 91 BRG 5 speed and an 01 6 speed. In day to day driving, I spend all my time between 1 - 4. 5 and 6 are for the highway. ABS is nice but if you take a performance driving school they will help to teach you threashold braking which is the poor man's ABS.

The 90's and early 91's had a crankshaft problem that there is a fix for. In 94 they changed to a 1.8 and in 96 they upgraded the computer.

I got the 91 with a 1.6 hoping to put in a 1200usd Greddy turbo but the compression was bad after having the car 6 months or so we have opted to transplant a 1.8 from a 94 car. Not a straight swap but not that hard either. Turbos and SC's for the 1.8 are in the 2 - 8 K range depending on how fast you want to go.

99's had a problem with the bearings and 01's had a problem with the clutch.

Great car though.

Sputnik

Well, that's a little misleading. A very small percentage of '99 engines had incorrectly sized crankshaft bearings installed. It's not an issue with all '99s like crankshaft weakness of the early '89 Miatas. There is a "danger" VIN range (which practically includes all '99s), but there is no real way to tell if the car has an incorrect bearing or not. The good thing is that by now, practically all of the engines with the incorrect bearing will have failed by now. To be honest, the odds of getting an engine with the incorrect bearing now are about the same as having other engine problems.

---jps