[NA] 96m 181k $3700 Fair price? (2024)

Toby Weir-Jones

Join Date: Feb 2002

Location: Warrenton, VA

Posts: 1,510

Yeah, it was me. I picked up the car today. My first Miata was a '96 B&T so this feels very much like coming home again.

The seller was a great gentleman. Made a real effort to highlight all the little imperfections in photos before accepting my offer to buy the car. Then I came to find out he installed a new driver's window motor/regulator in an effort to eradicate the flaky window behavior, and was mortified it still wasn't working consistently despite properly cleaning the switch assembly too. I have a new switch on order but I'll also be checking the wiring where it traverses the door/body interface.

Lots of other nice little extras too. The BBS wheels are indeed Mazda OEM 14x6, the center caps are excellent, and the wrench is included. Brand new fuel filter and oil filter on hand. A wall-mounted rack for the hardtop making use of a second set of chromed anchor plates and Frankenstein bolts, correctly spaced. Redline fluids in trans and diff, fresh synthetic in the crankcase, and a full tank of fuel waiting for me. Various receipts from his ~7 years of ownership, though in truth the car didn't need much. A new OEM battery w/spare vent tubes still in their ziploc bag.

The timing belt job is due but the car is so clean I don't expect any surprises. The A/C was evacuated and recharged not too long ago, the tires are nearly new (though 195/60-14). Brakes are fresh, clutch master and slave are replaced. Shifter was fully serviced with new boots, bushings, and misc parts.

The soft top and suspension parts are original. The rear window is uncracked and only slightly hazed. No tears in the top, zipper works great. Every latch on soft and hard tops works great. You can tell the rubber in the suspension needs a refresh but that was no surprise. Radiator is original but looks fine for now. The car doesn't show evidence of track use and has only been driven a little over 2k mi/yr for the past 7 years, on nice sunny days.

He even replaced the little rubber pads on the bottom side of the hardtop chrome feet when one tore. Tiedown hooks are present and he never disconnected the door buzzer. MPSS stereo works, the car has a new-ish power antenna, and the hardtop was supplied when the car was first purchased as part of the factory build. Seats have been Lexol'd at least annually and while the driver's shows a little wear, it's much better than most others.

The troublesome 96M alarm/keyless entry widget had been previously removed, but my intention is to re-attach the steering column box and hide the guts of a contemporary keyless entry box inside it, while also adding remote trunk release.

The bodywork is very very nice but the car isn't in concours condition. It's a "20-foot" car as far as the paint is concerned. Looks excellent for the average passer-by but if you are attuned you'll note a few minor flaws. I'll work towards making it a "5-foot" car, it won't be perfect, but a few of the little scuffs and dings will be addressed. It is my intention that the car be driven first and foremost, though the undercarriage is so clean I'll be careful to keep it that way. Seller apologized the car hadn't been freshly waxed but his detailing time-budget had been consumed chasing the power window issue.

One thing he commented upon which was interesting was that he had decided prior to listing the car to sell it to someone whose intentions were to keep it essentially stock. Clearly it won't have all original components at this mileage and age but he wanted to find someone who shared his outlook on things. No permanent and irreversible modifications, unless unavoidable. Hidden improvements are fair game though. So no roll bar, but probably other hidden chassis stiffeners.

As for the terms of the deal, I won't share the exact purchase price but it was not his original asking figure. He commented that he'd had ~15 people contact him about the car, many offering full price sight unseen, so I'm aware I was fortunate in terms of timing and price. I was the first person to speak with him directly early in the week.

So there you go, good luck to everybody on the hunt. The cars are out there.