Purchasing a Miata M-Edition...Personal experiences needed

[Whitekryptonit3]

The car is currently on e-bay in Norwalk,CT.

Link to Auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270626731258&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

1995 Mazda Miata M-Edition
BBS Rims
Top is only a couple of years old.
Brand new all season tires plus a new set of Hankook summer tires.
Just did the front brakes; rear brakes done recently.
Roll bar, limited slip differential (stock on M-Edition)
Never modified or raced
New stereo with CD player
Paint is in "fair" condition -- dings and scratches noticeable when you're close up
Other than that it runs and looks great
Clean CarFax history


I'm going to meet with the person tomorrow after work to check out the car.

Buy it now is $3850.00

http://i.ebayimg.com/11/!B1I2O3!CGk~$(KGrHqEOKjkE)MkZri+yBMdR5PwK9g~~_1.JP G

http://i.ebayimg.com/06/!B1I2O1gCGk~$(KGrHqMOKiME)Vmf0cgsBMdR5Pwk5Q~~_1.JP G

http://i.ebayimg.com/10/!B1I2O9!!Wk~$(KGrHqIOKi4EwvEtig4CBMdR5QB)0g~~_12.J PG

[Whitekryptonit3]

I'd use the car as a fun weekend nice weather driver until my lease is over. Then I will slap a turbo charger and all essential items and call it a day. :lol:

But before I do that I have to check it out. Buying a car off ebay is a little iffy.

[RSX Type-Slow]

A car with a legit roll bar and was never raced AND comes with summer tires? Seems iffy right there. Make sure you go over it with a fine toothed comb is all i'm sayin'

[Whitekryptonit3]

A car with a legit roll bar and was never raced AND comes with summer tires? Seems iffy right there. Make sure you go over it with a fine toothed comb is all i'm sayin'

Car fax says no accidents and spent most of it's life in Florida. But does have 7 previous owners?! I bid 2,995.00 so it's not like I won it or hit the reserve yet. And thanks for the advise I'll def have my mechanic with me to look over it saturday. He is the lead tech for http://www.mortoncompetition.com/ :mrgreen:

[RSX Type-Slow]

7 owners?! Wow that car gets around. Better wear a rubber while driving it lol

[Bates]

Buy it and turn it into an Auto X machine!

[Whitekryptonit3]

Buy it and turn it into an Auto X machine!

That's the plan. I just started to read Ndubs post about his Miata, but I don't feel like continuing to read all the bull**** about the fiero battle discussion.

Any real information as for problems I should watch for would be a plus from current owners! ;)

[i like rice]

A lot of the older Miata owners will put on a roll bar and leave everything else stock. There's nothing iffy about that.

[fitftw]

I love those BBS M-edition wheels. If I had extra cash I'd buy those for winter instead of my daisies....


get the Miata. You won't be disappointed. Easy as **** to work/maintenance on, and the most fun you can have on 4 wheels for the price.

[MX5]

The Merlot is such a pimp color.

[Whitekryptonit3]

The Merlot is such a pimp color.

I checked it out. The car def needs some TLC, mostly because it's 15 years old and has ALOT of sun fading all over different areas of the car. Not to mention a big scratch on the rear quarter panel.

Good Point

New top is about 2 years old.
New brakes just installed up front less than 2 months old.
Clutch master cylinder/ clutch were replaced 1 year after initial purchase.


Bad Points

Excessive wear on the paint.
Numerous large noticeable dings...dents!.
Both seats the back leather cushion is coming off?
His 16 year old son learned to drive stick on it. (Clutch was replaced after)

He is selling the car to get an s2000.

[fitftw]

who cares about the seats? They're cheap, you can get covers, or you can get better seats put in. That's a non-issue.

you said he replaced the clutch, that is no longer a bad point

paint and dents are common for a 15 year old car.

It's less than $4,000 and it's an M edition, with a $400 rollbar and LSD, it's worth it.

[Whitekryptonit3]

who cares about the seats? They're cheap, you can get covers, or you can get better seats put in. That's a non-issue.

you said he replaced the clutch, that is no longer a bad point

paint and dents are common for a 15 year old car.

It's less than $4,000 and it's an M edition, with a $400 rollbar and LSD, it's worth it.

I'm going to call my insurance company and see how much full coverage is or liability. It also comes with a set of summer tires used for one summer season.

[wheresmycar]

Rust below the rear quarter panels? It shouldn't have much since it's a FL car but check anyway.

as long as it runs fine your good.
M edition is great but if the body isn't babied it's just a Leather package miata with bad seats anyway to me.
Roll bar and LSD is best thing here. Good price. Timing belt/water pump may be coming up.

[Whitekryptonit3]

Woow I didn't realize one can get so much grief from friends when buying a miata... Even my chick friends are calling me b!tch for wanting one..lol

[MX5]

Funny, all my friends respect the go-kart abilities. I did have one friend who was constantly ragging on me, but then he ended up buying one.

[fitftw]

yeah, I love the hate I get on the highways every day from kids in their FWD Hondas. Yeah, real manly car you got there *rolls eyes* that's why they go 30mph around an on-ramp and I'm up their ass trying to go WOT.

[wheresmycar]

Hate on the highways? Are they making angry faces at highway speeds?

[dudewheresmycar]

looks okay.i would look at others though.7 owners??hmmm

[underpressure02]

I had the exact car. Same year, same color, pretty much the same as that car and just sold it a few years ago. The car was solid. The only thing that would bother me is right around 3000 miles you would hear the lifters making noise. So I always knew when it was time to change the oil. Also upon first start up you would hear them. I think in 96 or so they changed the design and that eliminated the problem.

I would just do a compression test and make sure that checks out ok and just look the car over. Check underneath and ensure it wasn't hit or rammed into a curb.

The car I owned had low miles i think 60K or something.

[fitftw]

^ mine's a 96 and has the lifter tick. It's the 99-00 VVT head that you (I) want.

[MX5]

Adam, 2 words...Twisty Flush. Look it up on m.net. Did me wonders, it's been almost a year and a half of no ticking.

[fitftw]

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=243324

thanks Dave. I just changed my oil today though so next time I'll try this lol. Mine don't tick all the time though. It's like once every few days.

[underpressure02]

^ mine's a 96 and has the lifter tick. It's the 99-00 VVT head that you (I) want.

I couldn't remember the year. It was the only thing that annoyed me about the car never seemed to have any affect or problems but just wasn't 100%. Other then that the car was great. Not super fast but fun in corners.

[Whitekryptonit3]

So I got into a bid war with another person on ebay. Come to find out the person I was bidding against was probably one of his friends who backed out all the previous bids. So it went over the amount I was willing to pay.:eek:

Called ebay and they backed out all of mine expect the original one at the start.