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!

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!

In article .com>,
"Tom" > wrote:

> 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.

http://www.miata.net/garage/garagebuying.html

Also see this article:
http://www.miata.net/garage/crankshaft.html

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.

--
Lanny Chambers
'94C, St. Louis
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html

Tom wrote:

> 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!
>

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.

> 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.

? My hood is all metal, with no windows.


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


miker

miker wrote:
>>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.
>
>
> ? My hood is all metal, with no windows.
>
>
> (And I don't wear bonnets...)

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

"Zog The Undeniable" > wrote in message
news:4458ec37.0@entanet...
>
> Oh hell, another left-pondianism I forgot. Roof or top then.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pondianism

Get Real....

Not so undeniable now, huh?

<--{ LOL }-->



--
I work for the ILEC ...." stuff happens! "

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-...-pondianism%22

I stand corrected (I am standing)...LOL... correcting myself is happening
all too often these days!!!

--
I work for the ILEC ...." stuff happens! "



"Remove This" > wrote in message
news:Rl76g.9324$Mn6.5721@trndny06...
>
> "Zog The Undeniable" > wrote in message
> news:4458ec37.0@entanet...
>>
>> Oh hell, another left-pondianism I forgot. Roof or top then.
>
> http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pondianism
>
> Get Real....
>
> Not so undeniable now, huh?
>
> <--{ LOL }-->
>
>
>
> --
> I work for the ILEC ...." stuff happens! "
>
>
>