Advice on Purchasing a Miata Please

I'm looking for am early model (1990-1995) Miata as a 3rd/summer car. I'd appreciate any advice on years to avoid, years to look for, things to look for as I'm looking at and test driving the car, etc. What are the commonly replaced items that I should find out whether they've been fixed/replaced? Any advice (or links to sites that would have such advice) would be appreciated! And, if you know of anything for sale in the Chicago/Southern WI area, please let me know!

Reply to
Tom
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I did search the group under "buying" and found some good info. If there are any other websites that address this topic, or if you have anything to add, I'd appreciate the input!

Reply to
Tom

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Also see this article:
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I recommend looking for '94 or '95. Condition is more important than mileage. Drive as many cars as possible, and you'll soon learn what a good one feels like.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

1) Avoid 1990/91 cars with a 4-slot crank pulley, unless you also enjoy Russian roulette. Google "LWSC" for more details. 2) Look carefully for rust. The usual place is the underside of the sill (rocker) just in front of the rear wheel arch, or the windscreen (windshield) surround. On the sill you will just see bubbles which are a little difficult to discern from the normal stonechip primer texture. Either find a different car, or if the car is otherwise a total bargain prod any bubbles with a stiff knife - sometimes it's just surface rust then hard shiny metal under the stonechip primer, and this can be fixed in half a day with a wire wheel and paint. Get $$$ knocked off the price anyway. 3) Look for uneven tyre wear, and budget for a four wheel alignment anyway. The cars don't stay aligned indefinitely, and rear toe-out can kill you. 4) Oil leaks are rare. If there's one under the sensor at the rear of the exhaust camshaft (1.8) or inlet camshaft (1.6) it's a $1 O-ring to fix, but a bit of a fiddle to do. Most cars of this age will develop an oil leak there if the timing is disturbed. Tip: 1.8 engines have raised letters on the cam cover, 1.6 engines have sunken letters. 5) Check the headlights pop up in unison. Motors are fairly expensive. If the covers aren't perfectly flush with the bonnet (hood) when closed, they just need bending back up again where a mechanic has sat on them! 6) Look carefully at the condition of the hood. Is it a genuine Mazda one, or a perfect copy? The zip should be completely invisible from outside in a good design. If the plastic window is a bit cloudy but not brown, it can usually be brought back to clarity with Renovo plastic window polish or similar. Brown windows are goners. 7) Check really, really, carefully for accident damage (ripples, panel gaps, stonechip texture not matching L/R) or paint overspray. They're sports cars and they get crashed sometimes. 8) If the wheels and tyres aren't original, are they the correct size and offset? Offset for NA Miata/MX-5 wheels should be 45mm, which is unusually high, and 185/60R14 and 195/50R15 are both acceptable tyre sizes. 9) The cambelt should have been changed at 54,000 or 60,000 miles depending on the exact model year. It is a non-interference engine, so it's not critical, but use it as a bargaining point. 10) Check the spare wheel, brace, jack and tonneau cover (boot) are all there.

Then do all the normal mechanical, paperwork and history checks you'd carry out on a used car. There are some reasonable checklists to print off, available on the web.

On any older Miata, budget for replacing the HT leads, shift dust boots and changing the clutch fluid if the owner can't prove they have been done already. They are all non-service schedule items, so don't normally get done, but they will be shot by now. Clutch slave cylinders often fail at 60,000 miles (my theory is the lack of any fluid change causes this), but they are dirt cheap and easy to replace.

Reply to
Zog The Undeniable

? My hood is all metal, with no windows.

;) (And I don't wear bonnets...)

miker

Reply to
miker

Oh hell, another left-pondianism I forgot. Roof or top then.

Reply to
Zog The Undeniable

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Get Real....

Not so undeniable now, huh?

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