Miata F.S.

I plan on getting a new Miata in the spring so my old '90 has to go. Nice
car well, cared for. Clear coat starting to go, but overall in great
condition for a 15 year old car. See ebay listing 4584939713 for more
details. If you need more pix let me know.
Alan

"Clear coat starting to go" So it's a repaint?

"Alan" > wrote in message
...
> I plan on getting a new Miata in the spring so my old '90 has to go. Nice
> car well, cared for. Clear coat starting to go, but overall in great
> condition for a 15 year old car. See ebay listing 4584939713 for more
> details. If you need more pix let me know.
> Alan
>
>

"Chuck" > wrote:

>"Clear coat starting to go" So it's a repaint?

Obviously. And not a very good one. Not quite quite, not informing
people of that, and at the same time threatening them "Remember if
you bid and win you own it."

I wonder what required a complete repaint.

I wonder whether the person who bid over 3.5k on this thing knows
what he or she is doing. A repaint would require that the cheap
peeling clear coat is first removed from the entire car.

I wonder what else this seller is not being quite forthcoming about.
Calling a repainted car with a peeling clear coat "clean" seems
to be a bit optimistic. "Car runs and drives well and is ready to
go." is not quite the same as saying the car is in good mechanical
condition. The fact that the owner acquired a second set of OE
mag wheels may indicate that the car was used as an autocross
car. (AFAIK, people who buy a second set of wheels for snow tires
buy cheap steel wheels, not expensive OEM ones. Unless of course,
the car is being shown with the "second" set of wheels, hiding the
steel set, but that would not just be unethical, it would be
a clear fraud.) "Unmolested" is not the same as unmodified, and
I do not know what it means.

There seem to be a lot of shady people on ebay.

Leon

>"Alan" > wrote in message
...
>> I plan on getting a new Miata in the spring so my old '90 has to go. Nice
>> car well, cared for. Clear coat starting to go, but overall in great
>> condition for a 15 year old car. See ebay listing 4584939713 for more
>> details. If you need more pix let me know.
>> Alan
>>
>>
>
--
Leon van Dommelen Bozo, the White 96 Sebring Miata .)
http://www.dommelen.net/miata
EXIT THE INTERSTATES (Jamie Jensen)

Man you guys are tough!! I got a second set of wheels shortly after I got
the car to mount a better set of tires. The wheels that were on the car have
a cheap set of new no name H rated tires. I ebayed a near perfect set of
wheels for a hundred bucks and mounted some top of the line Bridgestone's on
them and kept the other set as spares. This should be considered an extra
bonus, not an indication that I raced the car in WRC or NASCAR events. This
car is maintained by me, an ASE Master tech with 30 years of exp. I have
records of all work done in the 5 years I've owned the car. This does mean
all maint. has been done as it should and the new owner would have nothing
to do to the car except for and oil change in another 2K miles. As far as
the paint goes I disclosed the fact that the clear coat is peeling. Of
course this means the car will have to be painted if the new owner wishes.
It does not effect the overall great performance of the car. It does not
mean this is not a well cared for car that has not been raced or otherwise
abused. Remember this is a 1990 not a new car and for it's age it's in
pretty good condition. The funny thing is I started the bidding at $100
with no reserve. The price the car brings is what the market sees fit. Maybe
I used the wrong word "unmodified" I just wanted to make the point the car
was never owned by someone that lowered, turboed, installed 3" exhaust pipes
or modified the body of the car in any way. The statement "you bid and win
you own it" was meant to deter bidders that win and never follow through
with the auction. I don't consider myself a shady eBayer. I WANT anyone
interested in the car to come see it. They can drive it, pull the wheels,
give it a complete inspection. I would prefer they bring their own tech and
look it over. They can even use my garage to do so. I want the next person
that owns this car to be as happy with it as I'm with it. Auction is up
tomorrow and so far only one bidder saw fit to call and ask questions and
not one bidder came to look at the car. Some of the people that bid are
local to me, so I can't figure out why they don't come see the car in
person. I have purchased 3 cars myself on eBay and the ones that were close
I looked at first. Please ask some questions BEFORE you start bashing
someone. I just thought someone in this group may be interested in the car,
guess I was wrong.

"Alan" > wrote in message
...
>I plan on getting a new Miata in the spring so my old '90 has to go. Nice
>car well, cared for. Clear coat starting to go, but overall in great
>condition for a 15 year old car. See ebay listing 4584939713 for more
>details. If you need more pix let me know.
> Alan
>

Leon van Dommelen wrote:

> Obviously. And not a very good one. Not quite quite, not informing
> people of that, and at the same time threatening them "Remember if
> you bid and win you own it."

Threatening them? Seems more like a reminder to me than a threat, though
I would not put that in my auction ad. I never saw any part in this
guy's auction description where he said that the car had to be bought
sight unseen.

> I wonder what required a complete repaint.

A wreck, hail damage, vandalism, someone wanting to freshen a fading
paint job for minimal money at a cheap paint shop. I probably missed a
few possiblities there.

> I wonder whether the person who bid over 3.5k on this thing knows
> what he or she is doing. A repaint would require that the cheap
> peeling clear coat is first removed from the entire car.

I don't like cheap repaints for any reason. Maybe this person looked at
the car, found it to be perfect for them except for the paint, and can
live with the looks. They also just might not know the cost of a
properly done paint job. If you are really curious, you can try
contacting the winning bidder after the auction ends to ask them.

> I wonder what else this seller is not being quite forthcoming about.
> Calling a repainted car with a peeling clear coat "clean" seems
> to be a bit optimistic. "Car runs and drives well and is ready to
> go." is not quite the same as saying the car is in good mechanical
> condition.

Again, this seller is willing to let anyone look at the car and have it
inspected by a mechanic before bidding on it. I think that anyone who
sends any significant amount of money away for a 15 year old car that
they haven't looked at is making a very unwise decision, but it is not
mine to make.

The fact that the owner acquired a second set of OE
> mag wheels may indicate that the car was used as an autocross
> car. (AFAIK, people who buy a second set of wheels for snow tires
> buy cheap steel wheels, not expensive OEM ones. Unless of course,
> the car is being shown with the "second" set of wheels, hiding the
> steel set, but that would not just be unethical, it would be
> a clear fraud.)

I had 5 sets of OEM miata alloys at one time, one set of the 1990-1993
style, one set of 7 spoke 1994-1997, two sets of 1999+ 15" alloys and
one set of '96M Enkeis. Owning multiple sets of wheels is not that unusual.

> There seem to be a lot of shady people on ebay.

Of course there are a lot, there are many millions of people on Ebay, so
there will be a lot of rotten apples. Do you mean percentage-wise? If
so, that has not been my experience at all.

I have dealt with thousands of people on Ebay in the last 6 3/4 years. I
have had very few problems with any of them, either as a buyer or a
seller. The few problems were easily resolved.

I have met far more shady people face-to-face during this time than on Ebay.
This seller has been on for over 6 years and has a 100% feedback rating,
though it is mostly as a buyer. He doesn't look too shady to me.

Pat

Alan wrote:
> Man you guys are tough!! I got a second set of wheels shortly after I got
> the car to mount a better set of tires. The wheels that were on the car have
> a cheap set of new no name H rated tires. I ebayed a near perfect set of
> wheels for a hundred bucks and mounted some top of the line Bridgestone's on
> them and kept the other set as spares. This should be considered an extra
> bonus, not an indication that I raced the car in WRC or NASCAR events. This
> car is maintained by me, an ASE Master tech with 30 years of exp. I have
> records of all work done in the 5 years I've owned the car. This does mean
> all maint. has been done as it should and the new owner would have nothing
> to do to the car except for and oil change in another 2K miles. As far as
> the paint goes I disclosed the fact that the clear coat is peeling. Of
> course this means the car will have to be painted if the new owner wishes.
> It does not effect the overall great performance of the car. It does not
> mean this is not a well cared for car that has not been raced or otherwise
> abused. Remember this is a 1990 not a new car and for it's age it's in
> pretty good condition. The funny thing is I started the bidding at $100
> with no reserve. The price the car brings is what the market sees fit. Maybe
> I used the wrong word "unmodified" I just wanted to make the point the car
> was never owned by someone that lowered, turboed, installed 3" exhaust pipes
> or modified the body of the car in any way. The statement "you bid and win
> you own it" was meant to deter bidders that win and never follow through
> with the auction. I don't consider myself a shady eBayer. I WANT anyone
> interested in the car to come see it. They can drive it, pull the wheels,
> give it a complete inspection. I would prefer they bring their own tech and
> look it over. They can even use my garage to do so. I want the next person
> that owns this car to be as happy with it as I'm with it. Auction is up
> tomorrow and so far only one bidder saw fit to call and ask questions and
> not one bidder came to look at the car. Some of the people that bid are
> local to me, so I can't figure out why they don't come see the car in
> person. I have purchased 3 cars myself on eBay and the ones that were close
> I looked at first. Please ask some questions BEFORE you start bashing
> someone. I just thought someone in this group may be interested in the car,
> guess I was wrong.

Don't take it personally Alan, this newsgroup has it's share of arrogant
pricks, including me depending on the day. ;-)

Overall, though, it is usually one of the best, most polite and helpful
groups around, and it is the only one I have stayed with for a long time.
This time, however, the word "fraud" came up in one post as a
possibility regarding your wheels with no justification at all. That
would **** me off as well.

Isn't it funny how concerned people can get over a car that they have no
intention of buying, especially a used one?

My only complaint with your ad here was that you did not list where the
car was located in the subject line and that there was not a direct link
to the auction, but I will forgive you. :-)

Good luck on the auction!

Pat

"Alan" > wrote:

>Man you guys are tough!!

We try to be.

> I got a second set of wheels shortly after I got
>the car to mount a better set of tires. The wheels that were on the car have
>a cheap set of new no name H rated tires. I ebayed a near perfect set of
>wheels for a hundred bucks and mounted some top of the line Bridgestone's on
>them and kept the other set as spares. This should be considered an extra
>bonus, not an indication that I raced the car in WRC or NASCAR events.

Sounds reasonable.

> This
>car is maintained by me, an ASE Master tech with 30 years of exp. I have
>records of all work done in the 5 years I've owned the car. This does mean
>all maint. has been done as it should and the new owner would have nothing
>to do to the car except for and oil change in another 2K miles. As far as
>the paint goes I disclosed the fact that the clear coat is peeling.

But not that it had been repainted, and why.

> Of
>course this means the car will have to be painted if the new owner wishes.

After the clear coat has been removed.

>It does not effect the overall great performance of the car. It does not
>mean this is not a well cared for car that has not been raced or otherwise
>abused. Remember this is a 1990 not a new car and for it's age it's in
>pretty good condition. The funny thing is I started the bidding at $100
>with no reserve. The price the car brings is what the market sees fit. Maybe
>I used the wrong word "unmodified"

You used unmolested, a word that sounds impressive but does not commit you to
anything.

> I just wanted to make the point the car
>was never owned by someone that lowered, turboed, installed 3" exhaust pipes
>or modified the body of the car in any way.

Only now you are putting yourself on record that the car has never been
modified.

> The statement "you bid and win
>you own it" was meant to deter bidders that win and never follow through
>with the auction. I don't consider myself a shady eBayer.

I now do not believe that anymore, but your ad rather suggested it.

> I WANT anyone
>interested in the car to come see it. They can drive it, pull the wheels,
>give it a complete inspection.

It would therefore be nice if you gave meaningful and complete information,
so that they can fairly judge the need for doing so before taking the
trouble. And it may prevent others who would think like me from just
passing by.

> I would prefer they bring their own tech and
>look it over. They can even use my garage to do so. I want the next person
>that owns this car to be as happy with it as I'm with it. Auction is up
>tomorrow and so far only one bidder saw fit to call and ask questions and
>not one bidder came to look at the car. Some of the people that bid are
>local to me, so I can't figure out why they don't come see the car in
>person. I have purchased 3 cars myself on eBay and the ones that were close
>I looked at first. Please ask some questions BEFORE you start bashing
>someone. I just thought someone in this group may be interested in the car,
>guess I was wrong.

It is perfectly OK to post Miatas for sale for free in this group, but if
you do, you have to expect scrutiny from the regulars. There is no word
limit, so nothing to prevent you from being complete.

Leon

>"Alan" > wrote in message
...
>>I plan on getting a new Miata in the spring so my old '90 has to go. Nice
>>car well, cared for. Clear coat starting to go, but overall in great
>>condition for a 15 year old car. See ebay listing 4584939713 for more
>>details. If you need more pix let me know.
>> Alan
>>
>
--
Leon van Dommelen Bozo, the White 96 Sebring Miata .)
http://www.dommelen.net/miata
EXIT THE INTERSTATES (Jamie Jensen)

pws > wrote:

>Leon van Dommelen wrote:

>> I wonder what required a complete repaint.
>
>A wreck, hail damage, vandalism, someone wanting to freshen a fading
>paint job for minimal money at a cheap paint shop. I probably missed a
>few possiblities there.

None of which reasons has been given, and none of which sounds particularly
appealing to me.

>> I wonder whether the person who bid over 3.5k on this thing knows
>> what he or she is doing. A repaint would require that the cheap
>> peeling clear coat is first removed from the entire car.
>
>I don't like cheap repaints for any reason. Maybe this person looked at
>the car, found it to be perfect for them except for the paint, and can
>live with the looks.

And maybe this person did not recognize the ramifications or that
red Miatas were not clear coated.

>> I wonder what else this seller is not being quite forthcoming about.
>> Calling a repainted car with a peeling clear coat "clean" seems
>> to be a bit optimistic. "Car runs and drives well and is ready to
>> go." is not quite the same as saying the car is in good mechanical
>> condition.
>
>Again, this seller is willing to let anyone look at the car and have it
>inspected by a mechanic before bidding on it.

If sufficient info is given, they might be able to avoid the time and
expense. Nobody gains if a prospective buyer comes over to discover
what the buyer could have been told in the add. The only reasons to
be vague in your ad are carelessness or the hope that someone will
buy without a proper examination of what he/she is buying.

> I think that anyone who
>sends any significant amount of money away for a 15 year old car that
>they haven't looked at is making a very unwise decision, but it is not
>mine to make.


> The fact that the owner acquired a second set of OE
>> mag wheels may indicate that the car was used as an autocross
>> car. (AFAIK, people who buy a second set of wheels for snow tires
>> buy cheap steel wheels, not expensive OEM ones. Unless of course,
>> the car is being shown with the "second" set of wheels, hiding the
>> steel set, but that would not just be unethical, it would be
>> a clear fraud.)
>
>I had 5 sets of OEM miata alloys at one time, one set of the 1990-1993
>style, one set of 7 spoke 1994-1997, two sets of 1999+ 15" alloys and
>one set of '96M Enkeis. Owning multiple sets of wheels is not that unusual.

True. And one reason would be for autocross.

>This seller has been on for over 6 years and has a 100% feedback rating,
>though it is mostly as a buyer. He doesn't look too shady to me.

I would now agree with that. But the ad remains uninformative.

Leon
--
Leon van Dommelen Bozo, the White 96 Sebring Miata .)
http://www.dommelen.net/miata
EXIT THE INTERSTATES (Jamie Jensen)

Leon,
Since there is no word limit I'll give a complete description for those who
care. I purchased this car 5 years ago from a dealer in Brick, NJ. The car
was advertised in the paper so I stopped in to take a look(they had 3 in
stock). I was looking for a small sports car that I could use everyday as a
commuter car. I own a '59 Sprite and it's a blast to drive, but doesn't make
a great all weather car. The Miata seemed like a car that would be a modern
equivalent to the Sprite and it did not disappoint. Of the three Miatas I
looked at that day this one was by far the cleanest one. As I was looking
the car over a guy I know from my local British car club appears, turns out
he works there. He informed me the car was purchased from the original owner
who was just too old at that time to enjoy the car so had sold it. The car
was stored in this old guy's garage and he took no care as to what he
propped up against the car or put on it. The paint was scratched and
damaged. Too bad because this car was like new when I got other than the
repaint. Now you can take his story with a grain of salt as I did and I
Carfaxed it. The owner story matched the Carfax at least. It had 52K on at
the time. I paid $5900 for it with the hardtop. I felt this was alittle high
but after looking at many Miatas that were not as nice as this one for about
the same $ I bought this one repaint and all. As soon as I got the car to my
shop I put it up on the alignment rack to check for any accident damage.
None was found and the alignment itself was hardly out of spec. Over the
five years I have owned the car it always ran great and never needed any
work other than the normal maint. I did have to replace both window
regulators. The clutch master and slave cylinders also needed replacement.
For a 1990 I think that's a pretty good track record. This car is one of
four daily drivers cars I own. When I use it for work commuting I drive 400
plus miles a week and it never let me down. The car now has 101K on it. That
brings us to today, the auction is now over. The winning bid was $3551.
Higher than I thought it would go for, but it isn't over until the new owner
completes the auction. If the guy comes to get the car and is not happy with
it I will not hold him to the deal. He or she can walk away and I will not
leave a negative. I know I said you bid and win you own it. That was to keep
away the non serious bidders (hope it worked). I'm not going to risk getting
a negative for a $3500 car. If this eBay thing turns into a hassle I'll keep
the car and trade it in on the new one in the spring. This brings me to a
question for the group. Does anyone own an '06 here? If so any complaints or
problems? I really want a new Miata, but I can't decide if I like the style
of the new car better than the second gen. I want to get to the dealer for a
test drive, but haven't had time yet. I'm sure the power increase will be a
welcome advantage over the '90s 1.6 liter but is it really that much better
than the '05.
Alan

>> This
>>car is maintained by me, an ASE Master tech with 30 years of exp. I have
>>records of all work done in the 5 years I've owned the car. This does mean
>>all maint. has been done as it should and the new owner would have nothing
>>to do to the car except for and oil change in another 2K miles. As far as
>>the paint goes I disclosed the fact that the clear coat is peeling.
>
> But not that it had been repainted, and why.
>
>> Of
>>course this means the car will have to be painted if the new owner wishes.
>
> After the clear coat has been removed.
>
>>It does not effect the overall great performance of the car. It does not
>>mean this is not a well cared for car that has not been raced or otherwise
>>abused. Remember this is a 1990 not a new car and for it's age it's in
>>pretty good condition. The funny thing is I started the bidding at $100
>>with no reserve. The price the car brings is what the market sees fit.
>>Maybe
>>I used the wrong word "unmodified"
>
>
>> I would prefer they bring their own tech and
>>look it over. They can even use my garage to do so. I want the next person
>>that owns this car to be as happy with it as I'm with it. Auction is up
>>tomorrow and so far only one bidder saw fit to call and ask questions and
>>not one bidder came to look at the car. Some of the people that bid are
>>local to me, so I can't figure out why they don't come see the car in
>>person. I have purchased 3 cars myself on eBay and the ones that were
>>close
>>I looked at first. Please ask some questions BEFORE you start bashing
>>someone. I just thought someone in this group may be interested in the
>>car,
>>guess I was wrong.
>
> It is perfectly OK to post Miatas for sale for free in this group, but if
> you do, you have to expect scrutiny from the regulars. There is no word
> limit, so nothing to prevent you from being complete.
>
> Leon
>
>>"Alan" > wrote in message
...
>>>I plan on getting a new Miata in the spring so my old '90 has to go. Nice
>>>car well, cared for. Clear coat starting to go, but overall in great
>>>condition for a 15 year old car. See ebay listing 4584939713 for more
>>>details. If you need more pix let me know.
>>> Alan
>>>
>>
> --
> Leon van Dommelen Bozo, the White 96 Sebring Miata .)
> http://www.dommelen.net/miata
> EXIT THE INTERSTATES (Jamie Jensen)

"Alan" > wrote in
:

> Since there is no word limit I'll give a complete description for
> those who care.

I don't care. But it was a very nice description! ;-)