/o/ -  Auto

I've found myself in a similar situation in trying to sell my current car to get a more fun Daily Driver. Here's what I found with my research on the Miata:

PROS

>reliable

>cheap, both to buy initially and aftermarket/parts

>fun (obviously)

>great gas mileage

>one of the best RWD cars in the snow, especially with snow tires and Limited Slip Differential (although ymmv depending on the weather where you live and you might be better off with FWD/AWD if you get Canada-tier winters)

>easy to add forced induction (supercharger/turbo) if you want to do that kind of thing

>USUALLY cheap to insure

CONS

>as a daily driver its not very practical because of the limited cargo space and lack of back seats

>cramped for taller drivers and passengers (the NB is basically unusable if you're over 6 feet tall)

>le ebin gay jokes

>not at all fast when compared to other sports cars, although you wont care because it feels fast at any speed, making it faster is easy like I mentioned above, and since its your first car you won't really notice/care since you wont have anything to compare it to firsthand

If you're dead set on the Miata and the cons listed above don't bother than I'd say go for it. At $3k the Miata you buy will probably be up there in miles but I have seen examples that go beyond 225k miles so you'll be fine getting something with less than 175k miles on it assuming the owner has documented proof of regular maintenance.

embed related but the tl;dr in terms of common problems are the EGR valve, the soft top and rust.

>>10873

what's the maximum distance you have enabled on Craigslist? Sometimes you're gonna need to drive out of state to get the right car…

You MIGHT get lucky on autotrader but if your budget is $3k than CL might still be your best/only option. To be honest, depending on how soon you'll be needing your car, you might have to either wait for better options or go with your second/third choice since 200k miles on anything other than an old Mercedes diesel car wont be good for much other than as a track car since you'll probably be needing to swap the engine/transmission pretty soon down the road.

>>10877

(different anon here)

Ask about the rebuilt title and mileage on the major parts (engine, transmission, etc). Discounted labor and parts sounds nice assuming he isn't 100 miles away. I think it's worth a shot if the mileage isn't insane.

>>10877

I'd personally stay away from modified cars, especially for my DD. There really is shit for Miatas out there though. But I did find an AW11 MR2

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/5835652503.html

Also a nice V6 Mustang

https://lasvegas.craigslist.org/cto/5863200161.html

Just throwing some other options out there.

>>10880

>mods

I don't know a whole lot about this stuff but most of the mods are just swaps from other generations of miata if I'm reading that list correctly (presumably meaning those things failed/are known to fail and he replaced them). The only non-OEM mods I see are the flywheel/clutch and "modified throttle body." Depending on what that means and how much mileage is on the engine, transmission, etc. it could be ok imo.

>MR2

MR2's are expensive to maintain if you don't do the work yourself and a bitch to work on if you do. Not recommended for a first car.

>that mustang

V6 mustangs (or any other V6 american muscle car) are the most pointless things ever created. Please don't buy one. Get a fox body (meme) or any 80s GM F-body with a V8 (I think that's the one that's supposed to be cool, I don't know too much about muscle cars).

>>10891

Yes, both have reliable Japanese engineering and decent mpg when you aren't driving like a shithead.

>>10892

Guess I'm used to driving a US 90s car and all the bullshit that you get to deal with.

I'll have to look into an NA or an S2000 that was owned by an older man or proof it wasn't beat on. Or a 2.5rs, but those are a bit more rare.

>>10893

>US 90s car

That would be your issue.

>S2k

Will probably be hard to find one that isn't "built". But if you do it's definitely worth it.

>NA

Most of those I see around here actually look pretty clean. Don't know where you are though.

>2.5RS

Good luck finding one. Oregon is basically the Subaru State and I hardly ever see those on the road, nevermind on craigslist.

>>10894

I've seen at least 2-3 around and at a used car dealer I saw one. God knows whats wrong with it though. Saddly I don't see a lit of MX5 of any gen and the ones I do are all in great shape from people not looking to sell. I've seen two 2 .5rs my whole life or at least in the last 9 years.

I'm not ready for a new car yet, but I'd like on of the listed. I'd even settle for a 05 wrx.

>>10869

>Also what are your opinions on NA vs NB, and just miatas in general?

Prefer NA. More character (flip headlights) and possibility for slightly more fun 1.6.

Also found NB just ever so slightly more cramped… i think the door panel is thicker.

>Can I find a decent miata in for 3k?

Where do you live. High mileage but usable, you will easily spend another thousand within the first year or two.

>Should I get something other than a miata?

Where do you live, and what do you want to do.

As an alternative… 6spd i6 Jeep TJ or YJ, fun as fuck, easy to work on, 4wd so good for all seasons

>>11857

>are they easy cars to learn stick on?

Legitimately one of the easiest cars to learn sick on

>Are they good in the snow?

Compared to other RWD cars? Yes. Just make sure you buy snow tires and get a limited slip differential if its in your budget.

>how many miles and what price should I look for ( 90k $5k? 100+ at $2k things like that.

Miatas are a dime a dozen. If you pay more than $5k for one with over 80k or so miles than you're getting ripped off. Ones with less mileage will be more expensive, of course.

>how much is the most you would pay for an NA.

Me personally, I'd never pay more than $4k for one, granted I wouldn't mind one with over 100k miles on the clock.

>are the gen 2's better in anyway that I should look for one if I can't find a good NA ( even though I much rather use an NA

Not significantly. It's SLIGHTLY faster iirc but you'd be better off adding forced induction to an NA over switching to an NB if you want your NA to be faster.

>do you trust ebay to look for one?

Only if you can still go see the car in person. I wouldn't buy a car you can't see in person unless it was something like a Japanese import.

> why is it not more than that for a car with less than 20k miles?

because there are already a fuckload of miatas on the market on top of already being cheap when new, so they stay cheap for the same reason used Toyota Camrys stay cheap. Also, it has the benefit of (mostly) avoiding the ricer/drifter taxes that plague other cheap RWD cars.

>>11875

If I go for one with over 100k would I need a rebuild at 200k or 150k?

>>11878

>150k

Depends on how well it was maintained, but probably not

>200k

See above, albeit somewhat more likely

A good rule of thumb, regardless of what car/truck you buy, is to keep $1-2k saved up in addition to what you already have saved up to buy the car in case you need to fix/replace anything (water pump, spark plugs, bushings, etc.)