Car died

Have you looked at all of the belts? The crank pulley is a possibility.

Pop the hood and you tell us....kinda hard to figure out from here.

In any case, I hope it's nothing too serious...

Chris

I murdered my car. Well, it was a '96 needing a top, shocks, dent repair....... Dipstick came up dry. Something is warped in the engine. With oil added, it runs, but something is banging. How irresponsible is that? I could have sworn I checked the oil a month or so ago. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

I think I need to replace my wife's Explorer and drive that myself for a while before I consider replacing the Miata, as hard as that is to say. She's having hip replacement surgery in June and needs something easier to get in and out of. I have no idea what to get. A mechanic friend suggested a 2009 Camry from a local auction. Probably a fleet or rental car. 30K around 13,000. I've heard they're peppy with the V6, but don't handle as wall as an Accord. But the local Mazda dealer has a nice looking 2006 Miata, green and tan. Hmmmm.

I am very sorry to hear that.

My parents are looking for a new car to replace their 1994 Camry. It was a rental and has served them well for 14 years.

The current attitude towards Toyota may help in negotiating the price. I will buy a Toyota, but probably only a proven design like a Camry, and I would prefer that it have as many parts as possible from Japan rather than North America.

The Camrys don't generally handle as well as an Accord, but the difference between a Camry and an Accord is not huge, nothing like the difference between an Accord and your Miata.

That 2006 MX-5/Miata sounds interesting.

Good luck to you!

Pat

A MONTH ago?! And to think 96 and 97 are rumored to have the strongest internals of most of the BP engines out there. Sorry to hear you tore yours up.

I've not done an engine swap on a Miata but it doesn't look too hard. You could probably get a used engine from a local wrecker and install it yourself, or have a shop do it, and be driving again for somewhere around $700(you do the work) to $1200(Shop does the work). Sometimes the wrecker yards will do the installs for you as well, and having their guy do it when you buy the engine from them might only cost you a couple hundred bucks plus any parts you want changed on the replacement engine(I'd do a water pump and timing belt/cam /front/rear seals at the very least since the opportunity is there).

Good luck with it.

Chris

Frank, what the heck? Has your car been going thru oil on a regular basis? You're saying you let it run dry!? You never witnessed a serious oil loss at any point? This is pretty strange.

Don't forget that you can buy a used engine and drop it in pretty easily if need be.

Chris

Given the condition of the rest of the car, I think it's time to say goodbye. I'll miss it.

Frank, Where are you located in the US ?

Bruce Haskin

That was the point I got to with the 1991 Silverstone that I had. It had body damage and a warped head. It needed many other things like shocks, a rear finish panel, the list went on and on.

It would have taken at least $5,000.00 to have it back on the road in good shape, and it might have had a total value of $4,000.00 at that point, probably less.

Good luck on finding a replacement!

Saint Patrick

I do believe that Frank is from the Dallas area. I want a prize if I got it right. ;-)

Saint Patrick

Dallas.

You win.

I have a friend who's a mechanic and buys and sells cars for a side living. He went down to the weekly fleet auction today and got me Black 2009 Camry SE, less than 30K miles, for about $15,000. This will be for my wife. I'll inherit the Explorer temporarily. I really *want* to replace it with something sportier, but I'm not sure whether it should be another Miata.

Can anyone suggest how I could lose all my oil and not have a low oil pressure warning ??????

Excellent choice! I am going to look for a similar deal for my parents soon.

A bad sender for the oil pressure light is the only thing I can think of, that or a bad bulb in the dash.

Faulty warning sensor.

Your prize is that you get to play 'saint' for a day ;-) Happy SPD by the way, Patrick!

Chris

My wife loves the Camry. Saw a 2004 Mazdaspeed (50K miles) and a 2005 Silver with 15K (!) miles listed locally. Hmmm. Drove the Explorer the last couple of days. It's nice being able to listen to music. If I don't get a Miata, that will be the reason.