SOLD.
Now that I have the Focus ST, it's time to part with the Miata some of you saw last year.
1999 Mazda Miata LS, 96K miles, black over tan leather, set up for ES: $5500. Backstory:I bought this car in March of 2014 from a used car dealer in Raleigh. He'd picked it up from a large dealer who had taken it in on trade from its original owner. It was in decent shape, had a brand new roof, and had never been in a wreck. I verified this with a paint meter, so I know with confidence that the car has never been in a paint shop for body damage.
I'd been looking for either a 99 Sport, or a 10AE, and eventually gave up after looking at three cars, all of which were hours away and had been misrepresented in online ads.
The car had been well cared for, but was very original. Since it didn't come with any maintenance records, I updated everything I thought it would need for years of reliable daily driving and autocross use. I only ended up doing about 6 events in it.
The good:- Never been wrecked
- Strong engine with ~180psi of compression across all four cylinders, measured cold.
- Five speed manual with Torsen differential. Great corner exit dig. IMO, the 5-speed is the car to have because 2nd gear is good to around 58.
- New top installed by the previous owner.
- Very well detailed by yours truly, including a very tidy engine bay
- I had all of the door dings taken out, at a cost of close to $300. The body is nearly perfect.
- ALL maintenance is up to date.
- Gets an unusually good alignment for a stock Miata. A spec sheet will come with the car if it didn't get lost in the move. Cliff's notes: 1.6L / 1.7R on front camber.
- 100% ready to go get clobbered by Chris, Eric, and Jennifer in ES
Recent mechanical improvements: keep in mind I bought this car with 85K miles on it. So all of this maintenance is, at the very oldest, 10K miles old.
- Three (!!) oil changes, all with Pennzoil Ultra 5W40 and K&N oil filters
- New timing belt, water pump, valve cover gasket, cam seals and crank seal.
- New radiator and radiator hoses
- Redline fluids in the differential and the transmission, both according to popular Spec miata wisdom
- New brake master cylinder
- New spark plugs and wires
- New accessory belts
- New air filter
- Updated cruise control module that cured the problem of the hunting cruise control. It's a box in the driver side kick panel.
- Headlights polished and covered with clear Lamin-X film. Putting that stuff on was a giant PITA.
- Both power window tracks have been cleaned and lubricated, and the windows work nicely
- New Mazda OEM engine mounts
- New rubber boots for the shifter
- New leather gaiter for the shifter, plus one for the handbrake
- Eight new OEM Mazda alignment cams
Autocross stuff:- A '99 Sport conversion has been done, including the shock tower brace, springs, rear spoiler, and rear bar. The front spoiler is sitting in my garage awaiting paint and installation.
- Bilstein shocks custom valved by Hendrick Racing Shocks in Huntersville. Plenty of compression and matching rebound, both with a digressive curve. They've been fitted with schrader valves, and are currently holding 150psi of nitrogen.
- Four new RE Suspension bumpstops, ES legal and functionally identical to Fat Cat Motorsports soft/medium
- 1.125" hollow Racing Beat front sway bar, with the "blocks and bolts" reinforcement kit and all metal, rubber boot proteccted, adjustable length Racing Beat ball joint endlinks. Quality endlinks, not junk.
- RoadsterSport axle-back exhaust. It's a GREAT exhaust for a street car. It's not terribly light, but it sounds awesome and isn't at all annoying to drive around with, even on the highway.
- Raybestos semi-metallic brake pads at all four corners. I really like these and run them on my other car too.
- One set of 15x8 6UL Racing wheels. The finish quality on these is not great, because they weren't as nice as they were represented as being when I bought them. When I removed the plasti-dip from the previous owner, I saw that the original "Nickel" finish was chipping up, and had been cut all the way around the lip of the wheel so the guy could get that "polished lip" look. I painted them silver. They're nice 10' wheels and give the car a cool stance.
- Essentially brand new Kumho AST all season tires on the 6ULs. These are the tires which were on the stock wheels when I bought the car, and have maybe 5000 miles on them.
- Dunlop ZIIs on the stock wheels. Two are a season old, two are down to the wear bars. They've got a few events left in them but not many.
- For everything I've modified, I've kept the original pieces. I've even got a spare set of low mileage 99 Sport Bilsteins that go with the car, in case the revalved ones aren't your thing.
- A printed copy of the factory service manual.
Not so good:- The A/C is probably weak. It's the condensor. I put dye in the system and looked with a UV light. As a temporary measure, I put in some professional stop leak stuff, called "Cliplight." I bought it at an HVAC supply store, and it really did make a difference. In fact, it might be totally fine. It was fine all summer, and it's fine now. But full disclosure and all that, it's worth pointing out.
- Front bumper has a scrape on it, up high and on the passenger side. Looks like someone got it with a trailer hitch receiver. It was like that when I bought the car.
- The stereo is the original Bose, and it sucks.
- The trunk doesn't stay open. The weight of the spoiler causes the trunk to fall closed. If the buyer cares deeply about it, I'll split the cost of a Moss Miata trunk lift kit. They're not expensive and I'll help put it in.
- Speaking of the trunk spoiler, it's black. But it wasn't originally. I wrapped it with black vinyl. It looks okay, but in some places down low, you can tell that I don't know how to apply vinyl wraps.
- One door ding, under the passenger side door mirror, which was too deep for dent guy to remove.
- The wipers are slow. I guess all Miatas are this way? I took them apart and cleaned/lubricated the pivots and plastic bearings. It didn't do much good.
- I don't know how old the battery is, but it's got a Mazda sticker on it. I've always thought it sounded weak, but it always starts the car.
- The windshield has one small spider crack in it, low and on the driver side. It's also pretty badly pitted. I'm sure it's original.
- The single most annoying thing: the new top is developing a pin hole behind my head.
No idea why. I have a feeling that whoever put the top on didn't do it totally right - it's always been tighter than I thought it should be, and maybe that's part of the problem. I've put some tape on the inside of the top to stop it from getting worse, but it has, just barely, started. I'd say it's the only disappointment with this car.
- The power windows slow down when they near the top of their travel while closing. It's like they're popping into the weatherstripping somehow, but I haven't figured out what, if anything, is wrong. This is the only Miata I've ever owned, so maybe they're all like that.
- The Dunlop ZIIs aren't the hot tire anymore, and two of them are on the wear bars.
- It's not as light as a "real" 99 Sport, and it won't be unless you convert to crank windows, manual locks, and no A/C. Honestly I just don't have it in me.
Why selling?I bought a Focus ST. I feel like I'll be better in a FWD car, and besides, I can carry the family in it if need be.
Is the price firm?Yeah, pretty firm as a complete package.
Will I take trades?Sure! I'll trade you for $5500.
Otherwise, no.
Will I part it out?Not yet.
This is a great car, has been very reliable for me, and well loved. It's just not a good fit for me.
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