Well my kia is about to die out soon with almost 140, 000 on the odometer so I'm looking for a car so that i can drive to school. I came across this mx5 on autotrader.com that has 70,754 miles on it, 5 speed manual, a hard top, and the car is white.

this is what it says on the description
THE NICEST ANYWHERE THIS IS A MUST SEE MUST BUY NOW DROP TOP HARD TOP This vehicle has been detailed and garaged to keep it looking factory new. Gently used, one owner vehicle. Don't worry about that smoke smell with this vehicle. Never been smoked in!! Your search is over! We have it, but it won't last long. AM/FM Radio, Bucket Seats, CD Player in Dash, Center Console, Cloth Upholstery, Dual Air Bags, Intermittent Wipers, Rear Window Defroster, Remote Trunk Release, Tachometer.

It's at a dealership (a honda one lol). I wasn't sure if this is a reasonable price for it and i know hard tops up the value. I plan on checking the VIN also. Is there a website that you can do that for free? I know carfax is a website but you have to pay for it, not sure of the price though.

I've been looking for a car for about two months now and i wouldnt be able to afford an 8 at the moment so i don't want to be irresponsible and get one lol. So i was looking for your guys' opinion. Thanks

 

well, when compared to a lot of other's of the same year it's a rather good price. A few others I just looked up had higher prices for cars with higher mileage. The biggest thing comes down to how well it has been taken care of. I don't know much about the specific car though.

 

looks clean, hardtop ftw

 

This worries me...

... Then what makes the car smell smokey?

It looks good, but remember... you're buying a car with 70K miles... ya, it may be kinda fun, but you gotta remember that soon you'll be in a similar situation you are now. Granted, not too soon, but in a few years.

 

@ Alexb
yea i read that part twice too. I think they tried to say that it hasn't been smoked in so i don't have to worry about a smell. I'm over at the miata forums right now reading up on what to look for in used miatas and what general problems they have.

Also, yea i have realized that in a few years i will need a new car again but its either i get one now or i have to take the bus to school (university). Also this car is what i think of as temporary. I only work part time right now at an arena where i maybe only work a couple days a week for maybe 5 hours so i'm not making a lot of money to be able to afford a new car. I am looking to get another job as a life guard but we'll see. So once i graduate and get a job, i'll be in the market for a new car (or hopefully an '08 RX8 with low miles :D)

@ Mike
The car does look clean in the pictures, the interior also looks nice, lets just hope there isn't anything wrong with the car mechanically.

@8 Maniac
Yea the miles are decent because most miatas i've seen are well above 100 k miles or near there

 

You can look up values on kbb.com. It looks like the suggested retail price of that car in excellent condition is around $7,800. That number is probably a bit high since it is the middle of winter, but $6000 sounds like a good deal. 70k miles on a Miata is no big deal as long as basic maintenance has been performed. The timing belt is recommend to be done at 60k but many owners don't do it until 80-100k. So, that maybe several hundred dollars that you will have to spend in the near future. I have 102k on my Mazdaspeed Miata that I bought nearly new and I haven't had a single mechanical problem. Sure, as daily drivers Miata's are a bit small but the insurance cost is low, gas mileage is great, and the cars are a blast to drive.

 

Thats a crazy good deal! The hardtop alone almost $2k. I would grab it if it was somewhere close to me since I am looking for one too.

 

If I had the money, I'd grab it! Of course only if the car was in good condition.

 

$2k might be a bit much for a hard top... they go for 1200 and under over here in New England. My 95 has been a really solid car for me. Blast to drive, cheap on gas and insurance. However, you're obviously limited on space and with all the giant SUVs out there I can't begin to tell you how many times I've been nearly hit over the years.

Looks like a decent car and decent price. This place has everything you could ever need / want to know about the car.

 

Yea i read the timing belt has to be changed around the 60k mark. I'll ask the salesperson. I'll also ask them for maintenance records, last oil change, and there's a checklist on the miata forum for problems to look for. I'm pretty excited since it'll be my first mazda :D but i can't show my enthusiasm lol.

Also since this is at a dealer, you can still negotiate and haggle with the dealer right? like if i offered 4k and haggled to a price of around 5k?

 

You can certainly try to haggle at the dealer, but 6k for that car is a pretty fair price if the car is in good condition. The hard top alone is worth at least 1k. Trying to get him to sell the car for 4k with the 1k hard top might be a bit much.

 

lol alright, good to know. So anywhere between 5-6k is a good deal?

 

Have you checked out the Miata forums? I am sure you'll find a lot more info on what to look for than on here. A lot more Miata owners than 8 owners.

 

www.miata.net FTW!

 

Very good car butt.......................

I would get new wheels as soon as I bought it.

 

I'm a stock guy so those rims look fine to me unless you find bigger Mazda rims to put on it.

 

kbb is almost always WAY off from what cars are actually selling for in the real world -- when I bought my new leftover 8, I actually paid thousands less for a brand new car than what what kbb said it should cost used.

Having said that though, I still think this is a good deal as long as everything is in good working order.

 

I agree KBB is way off. Go by Craigslist and Cars.com. Edmunds and NADA are better.

 

NADA value is higher on a "clean" vehicle. So, I stand by my statement that $6000 is a good price.

 

I know this may be a bit far from you but if you are willing to travel. Its not a hardtop though.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/1570463377.html

 

Okay so whats the ending to this tale?

 

If it is a genuine Mazda hardtop, it is definitely a good deal. Reason being spec miata guys have to run a factory hardtop, so they are a valuable commodity. If you decide you don't need the hard top, you can get well over a grand for it.

Last summer, I bought a 92 Miata with 195K miles on it for 2300 bucks. Put about 3K miles on it so far with no issues. 75K miles on a miata is nothing.

My Mazda tech (who has been working on Mazdas since the late 80s) told me to do the timing belt about every 90K. Nice thing about this engine is that it is the type that if the timing belt breaks, it won't damage the engine. (non-interference, I believe it is called).

I would say do the carfax (I did the experian equivalent) on it and see how it looks. If it looks ok, it is probably a good deal. Wouldn't hurt to get it inspected by a mechanic that knows Miatas. Or just use that checklist from Miata.net.

 

By the way, Miatas are incredibly fun to drive. You won't regret it, especially on nice summer nights with the top down.

 

If it hasn't been in an accident and compression is good (it almost has to be) and if you actually like a white car (I hate white cars) and if you're secure in your masculinity, buy it fer goodness sake, especially since you live in Las Vegas where a drop top can be truly appreciated. With a little bit of attention these cars last forever and are a blast to drive. If you can fit comfortably in it, '99 is pretty much the best year for the 2nd gen Miatas. Cheap, so you can bolt on a turbo or cold-side supercharger and have lots of fun for many years to come. I may never get rid of my 18-year-old Miata and I have abused the crap out of it.

 

No www.miata.net is FTL unless you like hanging out with a bunch of old guys that bash on any kid with low offset wheels and slammed to the ground lol.

Go to www.clubroadster.net

I'm sure it'll fit your needs better.


As for the NB, it's a good deal.

- Hardtop. Adds about $1000 for resale value in my opinion. This is regardless if it's an NA or NB. The NA hardtop and the NB hardtop are exactly the same and are interchangeable. That's why the hardtops are SOOOOOO in demand for the Miatas. They really quiet down the whole car and make a lot of the little squeeks go away.

- White. Good luck trying to find another white NB with only 70k miles.

- NB '99 BP-ZE. The head flows much better than the 94-97 BP-ZE engine. Perfect motor for both boost or NA applications.

- B6 and BP engines for the Miatas last FOREVER. They're non-interference so even if the timing belt breaks, you just replace it and all is good.....no bent valves like you old Honda heads here. We have a few local guys running turbocharged motors pushing over 200k miles on their stock engine.


Things to check for:

- Rust

- Oil leaks. The most common areas on a Miata is the front crank pulley area (from a bad front crank seal), where the valve cover meets the head (from a bad valve cover gasket), the transmission and bellhousing area (from a bad main real seal), CAS (from a bad CAS O-Ring), and the cam gear areas (from bad cam seals...there's two of them....it's dual overhead cams).

- Clutch. They last fairly long, but drive about 50 mph in fifth gear, depress the clutch, rev to about 5,000 rpm, and let go of the clutch. If you're RPMs stay up, then you have a slipping / failing clutch. If you're RPMs drop down immediately, you have an okay clutch.

- Check Shifting. Miatas aren't too known for having the strongest transmissiong. Row through all the gears at various speeds. Make sure high rpm shifts aren't resulting in a grind - signs of a bad transmission.

- Check VIN on each panel. They need to match or you'll know that the car's been in an accident.

- Compression Test. Stock B6-ZE engine should post something like 170-171-170-169 psi. Stock BP-ZE engines should get around the same.

You're looking more for the consistency across each cylinder. A leak-down test will truly show the status of your piston rings, but that's not always easy to do. A compression test should suffice for the Miata. If you get something like 150-170-170-171.....then you know something is wrong.

Miatas are great track cars and are a lot of fun. Good luck on your purchase! If you have any questions, just feel free to PM me at any time. I know a lot about those little cars.