Just sold the old Golf, because I really really want a Miata. Anyone have any experience with Miatas? Anything usually go wrong? Looking mainly at the older generation.
Just sold the old Golf, because I really really want a Miata. Anyone have any experience with Miatas? Anything usually go wrong? Looking mainly at the older generation.
No..No No No No .......................No...... you have much to learn young one.. get a solstice
Truth be told miata's are great little cars. what years are you looking at?
[This message has been edited by pontiackid86 (edited 07-10-2011).]
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06:05 PM
grkboy707 Member
Posts: 3019 From: Kingsville, MD Registered: May 2009
Haha, youre crazy Rick! The one that really looks nice is a 91 silver Miata with 82k miles on it.
...I couldnt get the link to work, but heres some pics
Not bad. another ? what are you looking to spend... if you can hold off until the winter you'll find that the nice ones get even cheeper maybe even into the 2nd gen. this is what let me buy my solstice. during the summer months anything convertible you pretty much tack on a couple thousand for the car. i bought my solstice for $11K right now you can touch one for under 15K and thats with a ton of miles. I've driven both of them (was looking at them before the solstice) i can speek on the second gen's behalf they are nice little cars very confident in turns pretty peppy for what they are and there comfortable. But the only thing that turned me off to them were its looks. For some reason i liked the look of the Sol a lot better.... another sugestion for you would be the del sol. or MR2
[This message has been edited by pontiackid86 (edited 07-10-2011).]
Iv got a 96 MX5.. Only 43k on it too.. Bought it new.. Had it in for its 2nd tune up in 15 years of ownership.. Good gas mileage too. The only problem iv ever had with it is the shifter arm came loose. (Automatic).. Like a small plastic bushing that held it steady broke, and it made it wiggle a little.. Only way to fix it was to replace the entire shifter arm, which was $400, so i just left it alone.. Great little car for getting around, and the convertable is always nice in good weather days.. Mine came with a really good sound system too.
That shifter arm is about $25, new Delrin bushing about $10 and then new upper and lower shifter boots will run you $50 or so bucks. And takes less than 20 minutes to fix in your driveway. And actually, you do not have to replace the shifter arm... Just the Delrin Bushing and the boots.
[This message has been edited by 8Ball (edited 07-10-2011).]
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07:12 PM
faaaaq Member
Posts: 3856 From: Madison WI, USA Registered: Sep 2009
not to hate on anyone, and no offense, but i dont see the appeal in miatas AT ALL. for one, there is a reason everyone makes fun of them for being girly... and another thing, they look SO PLAIN. the silver one in the link is extremely boring too look at...
but by all means go for the car YOU like. 8ball will obviously be a great asset to have on your side for miata ownership
Ever See a Miata at the Track? Once you hit the curves, no ones sees anything but it's tail lights I would like to add... That probably about 1 in 20 people that I encounter in the miata.net forums... Is a Former or current Fiero owner.
[This message has been edited by 8Ball (edited 07-10-2011).]
LOOOVE my Miata... it has a lot of pep and handles like a dream. I've had my 2007 Miata for 2+ years now and not a single problem with it... and it gets great gas milage too (30 on the highway)- much better than my 10 MPG dodge ram and 10 MPG V8 Fiero
if you get one... get ready to enjoy taking corners at high speeds... best handling car I've ever had (and I've own 23 different models) . I actually had a guy almost sideswipe me on I-35 here in Austin (the death-road) I ended up doing a 360 at 60 MPH and was able to bring it out and keep going... though I had to pull over a mile later and clean out my shorts.
I've had mine up to 142 MPH and it was handling like a dream.... would have taken it higher, but I got chicken of getting a ticket.
and by the way... 99%+ of the comments I get on the Fiero come from guys .... but ALL the chicks dig the Miata... If being a "Chick Car" means being a chick magnet... then it's definitely a "chick car"
this is my little red car during a pit stop- on a very spirited paced trip through curvy country roads with the Tejas Miatas.
[This message has been edited by boomme (edited 07-10-2011).]
Mine was no where near stock, but of all the cars I have owned, including a V8 Fiero... It was the most insane and nimble car I have ever owned. I am already planning my next one... Think SuperCharged LS1 With a 6 Speed
I loved how I could throw it into a slide any time I wanted and recover it with ease. I loved how it would hunker down and roll thru any turn you encountered too. My first week I had mine, I took a 180 degree off ramp at 95 mph!!! Mind you the FIRST time I tried it, I came out of the turn backwards. Then I learned to take my foot OFF the gas until 1/3- 1/2 into the turn and it would just glide thru it.
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07:42 PM
boomme Member
Posts: 197 From: austin texas Registered: Feb 2011
I wouldn't mind having one. They seem like they could be fun, semi-sporty little cars.
That said I would also like an older Austin Healey, and MG Midget.
Brad
They are drivers cars.....much like the MR2 Spyder, they aren't the best looking thing on the road, but they are one of the most fun to drive. I have a friend with several MR2 Spyders and a turbocharged 1st gen Miata. I love the acceleration of the Miata, but the MR2 is the hands down handling winner.
As far as Midgets & Sprites go......they are a ball to drive. They are so light that even 80 HP feels fast (stock was between 43-65 HP). I drive a '59 Bugeye Sprite and while not the fastest thing on the road it is entertaining to drive. An added bonus to driving a classic British roadster is the looks and thumbs up you get from other drivers and pedestrians as you cruise down the street.
[This message has been edited by mrfiero (edited 07-10-2011).]
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08:07 PM
grkboy707 Member
Posts: 3019 From: Kingsville, MD Registered: May 2009
No offense taken faaaaq, youre entitled to an opinion. I always used to hate how they look too, but I work at jiffy lube, so I get to "test drive" cars, and wow. The Miata just feels like nothing else. And PK, I SHOULD have waited till winter, but I was finally able to sell my Golf with 155k miles for $4k, so I'm out of a car for the time being.
8ball- was that the one on ebay and some Miata forum that I saw? Just saw a supercharged one for sale there
[This message has been edited by grkboy707 (edited 07-10-2011).]
It was not on Ebay, but it was on a couple Miata Forums. It is known as Big Gulp and is a very famous Miata in the circles. Well known, well documented history. And the guy that bought it, got it for a song.... But I NEEDED the money.
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09:50 PM
Gokart Mozart Member
Posts: 12143 From: Metro Detroit Registered: Mar 2003
We have a '97. It a very easy car to drive hard. Way easier than a Fiero. Ours, in stock trim, is damn near as fast as my 3.4 coupe was. Or at least it feels that way.
For more insanity, check out this guy's site. I've seen this car in person. The LS1 looks factory. His swap is well documented.
A dinky 2 seater vert is always a fun feeling when driving it. I remember the 1st drive in my solstice... I fell in love with it You have to watch insurance with some decisions out there but either way you go your gona like it.... Now as a solstice owner I'm proclaiming I hate miata's and many miata owners will proclaim the same back to the solstice.... Its a vicious circle.. as long as your not one of those miata punks that pulls up next to me in my solstice and flicks me off... Were good And beleave me it has happened.
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11:25 PM
carnut122 Member
Posts: 9122 From: Waleska, GA, USA Registered: Jan 2004
We have a '97. It a very easy car to drive hard. Way easier than a Fiero. Ours, in stock trim, is damn near as fast as my 3.4 coupe was. Or at least it feels that way.
For more insanity, check out this guy's site. I've seen this car in person. The LS1 looks factory. His swap is well documented.
I test drove a Solstice and a Sky before I got the Miata. I liked them both, but they felt too fat and had some blind spots for me. Now to me, a convertible should not have ANY blind spots with the top down!
My bad ass Miata cost me $60 a month to insure But they did not know what was under the hood, officially.
Around here, clean, no-project drivers start at around 3K.
To directly answer the OP... '90s had a problem with the crank snout. Most of them have probably been repaired by this time. 8 Ball may be able to expand on this problem. I think he knows more about it than I do.
'90-'93 had a 1.6 liter engine. '94-'97 had a 1.8 liter engine and 10-20 more HP. Most of the folks who own cars with the smaller engine swear that it doesn't make a difference. Others swap in the 1.8. The swap isn't quite as easy as you would expect, since a lot of the sensors and electrics are different. Also, in '96, they went OBD2, like everyone else. The '97 got sculptured inner door panels, where the earlier ones are flat.
'98 Miatas are only a little less common the '83 Corvettes.
The '99 shares a lot of platform pieces with the earlier cars, but got a fairly extensive facelift. The headlights are no longer pop-up. The dash is much nicer. They got a glass rear window in the convertible top. (Earlier cars have had glass windows installed. Not a big deal, especially when the top is replaced.
Many parts will interchange between the 1st gen (aka NA) and the 2nd gen (aka NB) but others won't. http://www.miata.net/garage/compatibility.html I know nothing about the 2006+ (ak NC) cars. I'm told that they feel more cramped inside than the NBs. Please don't take my word.
A friend of mine has a miata sitting at her house and would like to sell it, I see your from maryland so if you might be interested, let me know.
1991 Miata with 138k miles, black but bad paint and has had the two front fenders replace, mirrors were removed from the doors and moved to the fenders. The car has had a rollbar added along with full exhaust header back and a borla exhaust, hi-flow cat. AGX adjustable lowering struts, Supercharger with boost gauge, Flyin miata lower control arm brace, Panasport extra light wheels. The convertible top seems to have been replaced very recently.
Just sold the old Golf, because I really really want a Miata. Anyone have any experience with Miatas? Anything usually go wrong? Looking mainly at the older generation.
My uncle has a tuned JDM-swapped one. He's part of a miata club here in Plano or Dallas. From my understanding, talking to those guys... Miatas gas mileage isn't as great as you'd think.
But if you don't care about the gas mileage, they're saying the cars are pretty durable. And ride great too.
I do know that when I got into my uncle's miata, it made BMW z4s/z8s feel HUGE. I don't know. The miata was tiny as heck. But felt cool driving.
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10:33 PM
phreakboy4 Member
Posts: 644 From: Coatesville,PA,USA Registered: Oct 2000
Welllllll, I guess you guys probably want an update Sorry I havent been here in a while, I've had my share of work to do. I got the Miata above and once I got it home, realized it had a pretty bad leak. I checked the oil, and it seemed great. At first, the leak seemed to be clutch fluid coming from the clutch fork boot (which I've been told should have nothing inside). I looked at the clutch fluid reservoir, and noticed it was extremely overfilled. So I look around, determine that at a standstill, theres nothing leaking, so I figure its just the clutch fluid leaking out because it was just overfilled. That may have been so for some of the fluid. But 3 days later, and about half a quart of fluid being left behind, I look at the reservoir, and its still full. So the next day I take it to work (Jiffy Lube) to get a close look at the undercarriage, and I notice a bolt is out of the oil pan, so I get a few new bolts, and go to put them in, but it wont catch. Further inspection shows the bolt that was "missing" was only missing the head. So I call it a day, and put the old one (that I used for sizing) back in. It snaps. Great, now I've got to drop the oil pan, get all new bolts, new gaskets, and get the broken bolts out. So I get the parts and go home (the leak now even more severe). This morning, I jack the car up as high as it goes, get my wrench, get my parts, and slide under...only to realize the frame is going to stop the oil pan from coming off, so the engine either needs to be jacked up, or some serious metal has to come down. Four hours later, I sit from my computer typing this, waiting for Mazda to call back with an estimate. Fml. The Miata is starting to seem like another Fiero!!!
8Ball, is it a difficult process? The shop wants $1450 to replace the rear main seal, clutch, tailshaft seal, oil pan and gasket, and a new stud that holds the subframe on that was broken. I'm about to just let them do it to get it over with.
350 rwhp before the nitrous and meth on the 1.8l 4 cylinder engine.
