I had an ‘01 LS 6-speed.

FUN car to “drive it like ya stole it”!

If you are a ‘spirited driver’, definitely / very strongly consider putting high performance summer tires on it.

I always had Toyo Proxes T1S’ on mine.

Lots of used Miatas on the market so why buy one that's not exactly what you want especially if the price is a bit high? I'd look for a Miata with a stick at a price yiu want to pay instead of setting for a Miata that comes up short.

I can't comment necessarily on the particular model year you're considering, but overall I would say yes to getting a Miata. They are a blast. Get good rubber all around, the stick, and enjoy driving on curvy roads!

The hard top is a significant plus.

That you can fit inside without any spinal fractures is even better!

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
Used sports cars tend to hold value, if good. EG, a really nice Viper, etc probably won't cost you any money to keep as a toy.

Yes, with any luck, you may get offered twice what you have put in to it. Suspension tuning can make it even more fun.

Also consider extra goodies like long tube headers and exhaust cut outs (those work well on a Viper also).

Now unless you are holding out for a Super Seven...

quote:

Originally posted by calugo:
Lots of used Miatas on the market so why buy one that's not exactly what you want especially if the price is a bit high? I'd look for a Miata with a stick at a price yiu want to pay instead of setting for a Miata that comes up short.

Nothing wrong at all with an auto if like me your hard driving has been diminished by wisdom and age! I have had two. A '00 NB and have a 17 ND now... skipped the NC body. Both manuals but would settle for an auto now. I hopped up the first one and beat on it but I'm past that now!

Yes you can find used but many have been beat on...

Three trim levels available to consider... IIRC from the past. I bought mine in 2017...

Sport... Most basic.
Club... Sportier version, better suspension, limited slip
diff, bilstein shocks, etc
Grant Touring... More comfort and high tech options.

Miata.net is one of the largest most active car forums on the internet...


We once did a 12 state 6,000 mile 16 day road trip out west in the NB! Only had to sleep in the car one night! In a Wall-mart parking lot! No rooms for 300 miles. Man that sucked big time.

So unless you are not so hardy you can lengthen the top down season... top down and AC on high in summer, and top down heat on high in winter...

Mine:


And my wife as model can produce some fun shots!


Cades Cove, Smokey Mts.


Sunday afternoon drive.


Let her drive the Tail of the Dragon... once LOL!
She needed a cushion!

Very cool with pictures above, thanks.

I had a new idea last night, may be a little difficult to convey. My son in the military is driving up from VA in a week, the wife with. In my yard he has a car hauler trailer, and an old mid 70’s Ford F-150. He’s had the Ford here for 2 years with plans to ‘work on it’.

The condition of this truck is TERRIBLE, besides being mostly smashed up, virtually every inch is rusted badly. It lived a hard life in the heavily salted U.P. of MI. He knows my opinion, this project isn’t worth trailering to VA. The rear axel is frozen, flat tires don’t rotate, need to drag it anywhere. It’s in terrible shape, did I mention that?

He’s in the Coast Guard, married, they may try the baby thing soon. His mechanical ability is mid+, but not exceptional. As you would expect, ‘fun $$’ is limited.

I have been funding his Roth IRA with 529 $$, new thing allowed a few years ago. His brother had college paid for.

I’m thinking of having this Miata on the trailer, already loaded for transport, offering it in place of that junker pickup. He likes to stick to a plan, but I think he may reconsider. I already have a junkyard bookmarked to take the truck.

What do you think, mid 70’s F-150 in terrible shape or a Miata requiring minimal attention? What does the average bloke choose?

quote:

may be a little difficult to convey

Yeah, I don't get what you're saying. Are you going to give him the Miata?

I think he's getting ready to say to his son, "I got a Miata, you're getting a baby, and I got your truck out of my yard. 2-1, I win!"

I just bought a manual 2011 PRHT a couple week ago. Find a manual.

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:
I just bought a manual 2011 PRHT a couple week ago. Find a manual.

Fun! A PRHT was on my short list before I got the NA.

The weather's starting to warm up - waiting for the snow to melt completely before I take the NA out...

Let's see some pics

Miatas are the bomb. I have had 3 of them. They hold there resale value so if you don’t like it you will at least break even. I paid $6k for my last one with 25k miles. 02 in Icy Mist had it for 7 years and sold it last summer for $9k.We would still have it but it wasn’t getting driven much because my wife’s therapy dog didn’t fit in it and she was the primary driver.

I just got back, trailered the Miata from near Kalamazoo, MI. It’s off the trailer, topping off the one year old battery, aired up the tires. I’ll do an oil change & a few other similar things.

It’s minty, cool. I still plan to offer it to my son, with a previous trade, I’m only about $9k into it. Yes I like it, but here are my reasons.

Two boys, both never a problem. The older went to a high $$ college, good job now, no college debt. The younger went into the military, no college costs. I plan to fund his Roth IRA from the 529 plan until I get to the cap of $35k. After that I’ll likely liquidate, pay taxes on the gains.

Yes, I’ll get rid of that piece of trash truck on the edge of my yard. It’s way too far gone for recovery, that’s the obvious truth. My other relative says I need to let him learn that lesson himself? I see some of that, again he doesn’t have extra $$ to waste on an endless project.

This Miata is just enough to fiddle with, while being drivable. He is a little stubborn, he may dig in & say ‘watch me fix it up’. In that case, I’ll keep it.

It’s easy to give away something one doesn’t like or want. To me it’s a somewhat easy choice. He is married, I think she’d vote Miata.

My sister thinks modern parents help kids too much. Again if they are on a good track, I don’t mind helping a little. He’ll be home next weekend.

OBTW, this son doesn’t drive a stick, only the other one.

I always liked their front end styling, far better than Toyotas that look like a fusion of the Predator movie character and a largemouth bass.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:

OBTW, this son doesn’t drive a stick, only the other one.

It took less than an hour to teach my stepson to drive a manual. The old Mercedes 240D, with a whopping 62 horsepower, so you really had to learn how to handle (footle?) the clutch.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:

OBTW, this son doesn’t drive a stick, only the other one.

It took less than an hour to teach my stepson to drive a manual. The old Mercedes 240D, with a whopping 62 horsepower, so you really had to learn how to handle (footle?) the clutch.

Used to teach stubborn kids with a 4x4 truck that had low range.
They learned the clutch and shifting much faster when they didn't have to mess with the gas pedal too much.
Then put it in 2wd high range and they adapted pretty quick.

In my former work I had occasion to work on a few of these cars, which of course entails road tests. The stick cars tend to have a "hair-trigger" (i.e., short pedal travel and abrupt engagement) clutch. The exhaust system has to come out before the drive shaft, which complicates this step a little.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
In my former work I had occasion to work on a few of these cars, which of course entails road tests. The stick cars tend to have a "hair-trigger" (i.e., short pedal travel and abrupt engagement) clutch. The exhaust system has to come out before the drive shaft, which complicates this step a little.

The worst factory clutches I've experienced
1st generation Cadillac CTS-V
8th Generation Honda Accord V6 6MT

Both had very on/off engagement

I've driven multiple of all 4 generations of Miata, amd don't recall any having touchy factory clutches.

Here's my new to me Miata.

What year? Miles?