need info on used miata

What's your budget?

Allen:

I have a 1997 that I bought in May of this year. I am very pleased with it. It is red/black. It has 80K miles. I paid $7K for it. I am considering selling. I am way overweight and it is tough for me to get in and out of it. I have only driven it on Sunday afternoons and have only put 700 miles on it since purchase. I am in Alabama should you be interested.

Thank you. gjt

!Allen Last> Hi,

Allen,

All the info you want to read up on is at miata.net

this will tell you allot and there is so muchmore. Here you'll hear from some people that they like the 1.6 liter cars(90 to 93) because they tend to rev more quickly and freely, others(probably more commonly) say that the torque advantage of the 1.8 liter cars(94 on) more than makes up for it. I recomend driving a few of each. Onevery good thing to keep in mind is that tires and inflation rates can make ahuge difference in the percieved handling of a miata. What I did was drovedirectly to a gas station and got all 4 tires aired up to, say, 30psi sothat I'd be comparing (as much as is possible anyway) apples to apples. Youwont find that tidbit in the FAQ's! But, Lanny is right, establish your budget, then unless you have a strong feeling on the engine choice, buy the newest / best cared for car that you like and can afford. These cars are bullet proof if properly cared for so that is a BIG deal also.

Remember, the shopping process can be allot of fun, don't rush in unprepared.

Chris

92BB&T (135k)

I broke the cars down into different groups based on a few things... here was my thoughts..

I wanted at LEAST a 94 for a couple reasons. First was the R-134 airconditioning. I don't want to mess with anything with R-12 anymore, and didn't want to convert a system over. Also wanted the 1.8l motor.

96 had some significance to me because it was the 1st year for OBD2 diagnostics.... Not a real big deal, but I've come to rely on being able to plug my diagnostic computer in when my other cars have problems, CEL on, etc. also makes the smog checks faster and easier!

97 was the last year an NA could be purchased, so it's the "newest" 1st gen car that could be bought. Of course mileage, condition, etc play a bigger part than the model year.

99's interested me because I wasn't sure if I liked the pop-up headlamps, and they came stock with a glass rear window. I also like the interior a bit more (mostly the center A/C vents) a bit more, and I kinda like the *color* of the tan better than the older ones.

After 3-4 months of searching all over, I settled on a pristine 97 "M" model with 49k miles on it.He was asking 8,500 for it, and I got it for 7k. I

*really* love the car a lot, and don't regret the purchase for a second

I'm sure somewhere down the road there will be an NB in my future but I can't say when. I absoloutely adore the YELLOW that was available in (what, 03 ?) I've even considered buying a salvage car, and restoring it and having it PAINTED yellow. For now, I'm tickled with my little green baby !

I only regret not buying one sooner.

good luck with your search!

Allen, here's exactly the kind of process that you need to work through to get a great car 'for you'!

Chris

92BB&T

Chirs, thanks for tips. i woulda never thought of tire pressure. Allen

Hi "Chief_Wiggum" >

what's an NA?

What's an NB?

Thanks, and thanks for all the good advice and information, too.

Allen

The body style with the flip-up headlights.

I'll give you three guesses....

;)

1997 and earlier. Original body style with pop-up headlights. 1999 and later. Newer body style.

I would suggest making sure the tire pressure is no more than 26-28 PSI. Any more than that and you wil get a harsh ride. When I test drove my '99 Miata I thought the shocks were bad and negotiated a better deal based on the thought that it needed new shocks. When I got it home I checked the tire pressure and all the tires were pumped up close to 40 PSI. When I adjusted the tires to 26 PSI the ride improved dramatically and ruled out the need for new shocks.

Well the flipside to that, depending on exactly what tires are on the car, is that lower pressure = poor cornering/handling.

I run 34 rear, 35 front in my M2, minimum pressure that the car handles close to right with the awful Falken Ziex ZE-512 tires... last set were Pirelli P7000's at 36 rear, 37 front, they were killer. Original Yoko's took 33 front and 32 rear to handle right. 26-28psi has been awful with any of the three sets of 185/60-14 tires I've had on my M2.

That's the whole reason I suggested 30 psi, it may not be perfect but it ain't gunna cause terrible handling or super harsh ride, no matter what tires are on the car.

Once you own a car you can fine tune the best pressures.

Chris

That would be the right approach for a test drive. The correct air pressure would depend on the size of the tire. In my case, I have

195/50-15 and they require less pressure. A 14" tire may require more pressure.