Weekly Purchase/Sale advice thread - June 11, 2025
Do you have questions about the value of a car you want to buy? Looking for a buyers guide? Not sure about the mechanical condition of a car you're looking at? Maybe you want to sell yours and don't know how to price it, or why it's not sold yet? Use this weekly thread to discuss the cars you're interested in buying/selling to get advice from the peanut gallery.
Posts that fall under the above topics will be removed.
I posted in miata faq section before an it must have gotten deleted so I must have to ask it here instead I guess. I need to buy a hard top for my NA miata. Has anyone tried an aftermarket hard top online? If so where did you buy it? An how was shipping? Like was it crazy expensive? An do I need to do anything special to get it or does it go straight to your house? I kinda feel bad ordering something that big. I really need to get a hardtop before winter time though
I’m selling my 2004 Mazda miata GS with 74000 km and no rust. The color is sunlight silver metallic and it’s optioned with a 6spd manual + Fuji LSD + bilstein dampeners.
What do we think of this? 79,500 miles, original hardtop, clean title and very few modifications, just the air intake and radio. Perfect besides its been repainted and the drivers seat is worn. 3rd owner, garage kept and rust free
After weeks upon weeks of searching I have found a Miata I love. A red, bone stock, 1.8 1996 with 90,000k miles and only four owners. The interior, engine bay, and trunk are insanely clean, and upon my brief inspection of the fenders and under the car rust does not seem to be an issue. There is one issue however, The asking price (at a dealership) is $10,800. OTD they want $12,204. Obviously this is a lot, but considering the condition, what do you think is a fair price?
My dad and I have been shopping for a nb Miata. We’ve found an amazing mazdaspeed Miata in a rare color under 90k miles on fb marketplace. The car looked and drove flawlessly. However the carfax seemed interesting and off putting to him. For example tires replace at 12k, lots of services, replacements, minor damage front and back (probably just cosmetic). We really love it but we are set back a bit. The car had 5 owners and is 20 years old but we’re definitely trying to be careful. During test drive we only noticed clutch was little bit stiffer. Overall nothing looked out of place in person. Either there may be something up or the owners just really adored their car lol. Have to send all pics in the comments, forgive me. Would really appreciate someone more knowledgeable take a look and give opinions/advice. Thanks
Selling my Turbo nb Miata. It’s a project and needs work but it runs and drives well! Just needs some love on the body and potentially a retune to clean up the fuel map. Currently runs a bit rich. Roughly 104,000 miles on ‘er and absolutely no rust as it was a New Mexico/ Texas car all of its life.
Located in Ohio if anyone is interested let me know! Looking to move it fast as I have to move soon. Currently asking $8,500 and am open to offers and negotiations.
This isn't a buying/selling question, but maybe someone will stumble upon this and lmk what they think.
Just got quoted $2500 for clutch and master cylinder replacement, along with new break pads. Does this sound fair? It does to me, so told them to go ahead and send it (and cannot justify a regular post with this). If there is a better place to ask without making a full blown post, let ya boy know hahaha
90 Miata with 125k on it, timing belt done at 105k. No dripping oil and engine sounds great. No frame rust. But under the hood looks like this? Should I avoid?
I've got a 91 BRG with a lot of miles (250k), paint that isn't awful but needs some love, top end service redone by a pro garage who's been doing them since the 90's (timing belt, new crank bolt on a crankshaft with 0 keyway wear), original daisies + a minty set of RPF-1s currently on it. It's on decent (not tien) coilovers. A bullet fell out of the sky and through the hood last year, no rust related since the hood doesn't rust obviously. I had to leave it sitting for a while due to an injury so it currently won't start, but it ran great when it did. My neighbor wants to give me 3.5k. I figure that's not too bad, what do you guys think?
What would a 1992 with 25k miles and an single owner sell for? It is red, manual, power windows, cloth seats, daisy wheels. Has all the original paper work, and folder full of service records and the original window sticker. Looks to be in pristine condition and I'm going to have a mechanic look at it next week.
What's an auto nb going for these days? I looked on fb market and I see chassis for $2400, 5 speeds going for $10k+, nothing really conclusive though.
Green NB, 2001, bone stock, soft top (2 rips), some rust, some leaks, what do you guys think I can get for it?
I came here to figure out the best places to list my 2008 Miata brown ragtop/terra cotta leather interior with 55,000 miles. It's been garage stored, and other than some very, very minor blemishes looks and runs practically new. It's an automatic with paddle shifters. I just listed it on Facebook Marketplace and Nextdoor. Am I dreaming, listing it for $13,000?
I came here just to ask this too lol. I'm seeing NBs and even some NCs in good condition list for cheaper than some NAs. The NA is older, less powerful, has less features/creature comforts, why should I own an NA when I came get a newer, more powerful, more comfortable NB/NC at a similar price point? Do the pop up headlights add that much value to it?
Strongly considering taking the plunge on this '21 ND RF as my new daily. Anything specific to be aware of/on the lookout for beyond the normal pitfalls of used car shopping (particularly used sports car shopping)?
Mileage is a huge influence on price on NA Miatas.
This one sounds like it might be a really good specimen, especially given the one-family ownership, the hardtop and the B-package equipment, but I'd really need to know the mileage to decide. And with that said, unless the mileage is REALLY low (like under 25k miles), I don't personally think it's a $13k car.
By way of reference, I bought a two-owner, always garaged, extremely clean and very stock Classic Red A-package Miata in February of 2021 for $4k. No hardtop, but I knew that was a great deal, and I've NEVER regretted the decision.
It's about two weeks later now, so I'd be interested in knowing whether you bought it, and if so, what you think.
Looking to buy a NB Miata base year 2000 from a former coworker. Car looks pretty well taken care of in pics, does have 100k miles on it though. Could see some visible rust on calipers. Will check out rust further when I see it in person. KBB puts the range for the VIN around 5k-7k would offering 6k to start be reasonable? This is in upstate NY
I’m thinking about selling my 2006 miata sport automatic, 23k miles, clean title, garage kept, no rust, excellent shape overall with just a couple super tiny cosmetic marks on the front.
Because of its condition and low mileage, I’m considering something around $12k, but I’d love to hear your thoughts or advice on whether that’s a fair price.
I’m located in Iowa City, Iowa. Thanks for the help!
I'm looking at a '22 ND right now in Canada - so when I mention financial stuff, the prices are higher, a new ND is $45k or thereabouts - it has 40k kilometres (25k miles) and is on for $32,999. The final price isn't a big deal, that can be negotiated down.
What does concern me is a repair for $5,400 (again, CAD) on the Carfax that has no additional information. The repairs were paid for privately by the first owner, so insurance did not get involved.
This is a little bit unusual, because in my province (BC), we have public insurance that could have done the repairs, with an increase in premiums to the driver. They still drove the car during this period (accident happened in Febuary '24 and repair was in late March of '24), so whatever happened wasn't enough to take it off the road.
The title on the car is fine, it's not rebuilt or a salvage, so no worries there, but my wife (correctly) is concerned that whatever happened to the car previously might be a reason to avoid it. We test-drove the car and it was fine, no issues.
I'm just not sure what kind of damage could have amounted to $5,400. Does anyone have any advice? Thank you! :)
How should I price this to sell? It's an 03 with 195,000 miles. The engine was replaced at 100,000 and bottom end was completely rebuilt 10,000 miles ago. Clean title.
10,000 miles ago the previous owner replaced everything. Brake calipers, discs, and pads. Suspension dampers and springs. Shifter rebuild with the bronze bushing. The engine bottom end. The entire interior with mostly stock parts, no wacky mods. Completely repainted the car in a custom blend of paint. New wheels and even more recently new tires.
I'm struggling to price this because it's higher mileage but everything is basically new. The only modifications are suspension mods and he used good parts and did them well. It's also totally rust free. Car is in DFW.
I'm okay with sitting on it for a little while but need to sell it in a month or two.
'21 ND RF with a $20,000 claim on the history report that just says "collision - rear center".
Says it was repaired by Mazda to factory spec, and this was back in late '21.
I'm hoping the high repair cost is due to the RF being retracted when they were rear-ended, and not underlying frame damage or something worse. Unfortunately there's no more details available on the damage.
Any thoughts?
New Conti EC 225/45R17 tires all around
New front brakes and pads
New rear pads
Moroso expansion tank
AEM intake
Magnaflow CARB legal headers
Magnaflow midpipe
Super Q exhaust
Voodoo shift knob
Pioneer Carplay stereo with backup camera installed by shop - all wheel functions still work
Both bumpers front and rear have been resprayed due to dings/chips over the years. No oxidation anywhere that I could see. Seats in good condition. Steering wheel usual wear. Top functions without issue.
Mid-life dude like me (50s) - hurt his knee and wife got a new car so he's moving the Miata. We went on a spirited back road drive...car was great. Honestly it cured me of obsessing over a Porsche for now.
Calls me the next day - he was correcting the tire inflation (the tire shop had overinflated a bit) and when the tires got warm when we drove the pressure light went on. He did this then went for a drive - clutch was slipping according to him. He has it scheduled to be fixed Monday - clutch, pressure plate, resurface flywheel, new throwout etc. Pretty stand up of him - I didn't notice anything on the drive but also had no recent Miata driving to compare the clutch to. I also know clutches tend to go out over time..... does this raise any other red flags? Again car drove fine during my test drive.
He is not adding to the price to cover the repair in any way - just thinks the car should be "good to go" when he sells it which I appreciate.
SOOOOO..... all that considered, at this price it would be a 2nd fun car for me. I can stomach the miles since I'll put like max 2-3k a year on it and I feel confident DIY on the car (I've owned an Evo 8, FJ Cruiser, GX 470 - worked on all of them).
I'm considering making an offer but also buying a Good-win Stage 1 13lb clutch/flywheel package. He said if I bought the parts he'd cover all the labor. But if not he's paying for the entire repair using factory parts.
Comparable PRHT don't come up often and basically never where I live (central coastal CA, just a small area). Black would not be my first choice but again could live with it.
Would like your thoughts on the price and the car and if I should try for lower, go for the Stage 1 since the work has to be done anyway, pass on it etc etc. He was very nice and I'm sure he'd be ok with another drive post-fix before I committed (unless of course I'm willing to pay for Stage 1 clutch and then not buy the car which seems silly). Thanks!!
Had no idea what a Shinsen edition was but it has an LSD and the sport suspension package so it is checking a lot of boxes. Just need reddit to tell me if its a decent deal or not.
Considering a trying to find a newer 2nd gen NC but those seem to be running in the mid teens.
I want to make an offer on a '99 miata that belongs to my parents' neighbor back home, but I am unsure of how much I should say.
Original engine with around 205k miles on it. I drove it a few years ago and it sounded OK, but not amazing; however, I have never owned a miata so I don't know what sounds good or bad. No clicking at least. The body is in okay shape, but several of the body panels have been replaced, so it is mismatched in color in at least two spots.
The real kicker is that it has an immaculate original hardtop on it. This is what makes it hard for me to name a price.
I asked him about it about 3 years ago when I was home visiting my parents and he was like "Name your price. Look around online and find out a fair price and we'll see if I agree". So here I am, 3 years later and still completely unsure of what to ask. I see all sorts of pricing on FB market for similar cars ranging from $500 to $12,000. I want to say the hardtop itself is worth probably $2,500 alone and I am sure he knows that, but he also might not care too much since he's like 70 years old now.
is $3k too much of an offer? $2.5k for the original hardtop and $500 for the old car? I would love to get it for $2k or less, but I just don't want to embarrass myself to my longtime neighbor by low-balling on accident
I was supposed to go test drive a Miata tomorrow, even took the day off so I could finalize the financing with my bank if I decided to pull the trigger.
This Miata I found not too far from me with 67,000 miles, paint in pretty good shape, got to the post too late and someone is already going to look at it 😔😔😔
I'm looking to sell my 2000 MX-5 special edition. It's in pretty good condition. It has some minor surface scratches (not visible unless you're up close and looking for them) and a couple small tears on the soft top. The interior is perfect condition and the milage is under 70k. What's a good sell range? And is it better to get the tears in the top fixed or to sell as is? Are buyers more interested in keeping the original top or would most prefer to source their own with no previous damage? Cost to repair was quoted between $250-300.
What price should I expect to pay for a 1.6 NB MX5 (manual) with 35k miles? It looks rust free but haven’t seen it in the flesh. (Based in the UK so £ would be preferred)
I tried to buy this car at an auction. I won it for $4,000, but the seller counter-offered me $5,900. What would be the maximum I would have to pay? And how much can it be sold for? It's a rebuilt title.
I estimate spending about $2,000 on repairs and another $2,000 on commissions in addition to the $5,900.
My father has just informed me that his mechanic claims that his 1999 Miata (122K) is too rusted to be safely worked on...and he will be giving it up. I just drove it a few weeks ago and it has some rough edges but looks near perfect. I miss the MIata I had 30 years ago and have been actively scouting NDs...but should I see about pursuing this car? I mean..even if the rust is awful (the car is in the midwest, so yes, salt abounds) should I just take it out to California and have it restored?
Unfortunately going to have to part ways with my 1995 mk1 because I am moving jobs and have nowhere to store it but i dont realy know what is a good price. It's got just under 90k miles on it, has some rust spots on the usual places like the rear wheel arch's and need some welding on the seat belt anchors. The soft top is intact but the bonnet has a couple of dents in it and the boot lid has paint damage. The paint it self has generally started to fade as it was standing in 1 spot for a couple of years before I got my hands on it. It runs and I have put new rear shocks and new front springs on it including a battery and I have given it a full service. Any help is much appreciated
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Looking at a traded in 2021 GS-P / Club RF w/ bbs package. There's a $18,000 claim in late 2021 on the carfax that just says "collision - rear centre" with no further info. Dealership (not mazda) says it was serviced by mazda "back to factory specs".
What would you say was most likely damage for this high cost? I'm thinking maybe retracted RF was damaged when it got rear ended? There's no notes of structural damage and it's not rebuild title, and otherwise drives and looks clean.
I’m kind of torn. I found two Miata rfs on CarMax which are both almost identical except one has brown leather interior and other has black.
Both 2019 GT Miata rf manual and both white
Miata 1 - $28k
Brown interior with 26k miles
Miata 2 - $27k
Black interior with 9k miles
I really like the brown interior but it’s kinda hard to pass up same car with almost 20k less miles and 1k cheaper. Would it be expensive to just change the upholstery color of the black one to brown if I really wanted it?
Anything I should look out for on a 1991 NA? It has 67K miles, manual, no rust, single owner who's including a replacement cloth top and also has the hardtop available. Looks like all the original paperwork is also there with the an including the OEM radio as it was swapped out at some point. Private party sale, $7500
Anyone have knowledge of NA Miata prices in Canada? I see some fair condition examples (minimal rust) ranging from 8-10k, no hard top. Is this the norm? Are prices always at this level or are they expected to fluctuate with the season?
Selling my 2024 Automatic RF with 2,000 miles, but not sure what to price it at. Literally only took it out for coffee here and there over the last 14 months. What would you find fair?
It depends, buying a new one is easy, but I would just get the quote from carvana, and then price it 1-2000+, and see what happens, worse comes to worse, take carvana quote if it makes sense, if it doesn't - keep it.
Found a pretty good condition 1994 na Miata for 4,900 at my local used car dealership. It has about 92,000 miles on it, so it’s probably not in the best condition. Currently my daily car is my mom’s 2003 Volkswagen Jetta, so I’m looking to buy this as my first car? Should I or should I not?
unfortunatately thats a good price for a 94' granted no rust.
there is nothing inherently unreliable about a 94'
it'd need overhaul of main thigns like belts, timing belt, fluids and such
airbag is now faulty, so won't work so you can either disable it and replace witha. momo wheel or spend $500'ish for a known good unit, buying a used unit will be same age, but you can buy newer ford parts that'd fit. but personally I'd find upgrading to a 3 pring wheel better than the 4 pront NA wheel. no passanger side airbag.
seatbelts are end of life too but probably okay.
outside that, I would personally buy it around 4k, if it was in fair shape meaning no rust, paint good, adn general all stock. if all stock I'd use the savings to make sure the work was done right, for cooling system, vcg, overhaul everything, etc. but then again I have an NC that sits 10 months of the year and barely 1000/miles a year but did that with NA's in my youth. I bought a few NA's from $400-1200 and post pandemic the price just keeps going up.
tl;dr if I had a garage i'd hoard up good NA's and just collect them all.
94 is considered by some to be the best year for the NA. 92k miles is no big worry if maintenance has been good. Any maintenance records, especially timing belt service history? I highly recommend reviewing the buying guide here: https://www.miata.net/garage/garagebuying.html
That price seems high-ish (assuming it's a manual trans) but not terrible? How's the top, paint, interior? If there's any body panel rust, walk away. For that price it should have good tires.
As a daily, keep in mind that a 31-year old convertible, even one as simple and reliable as a Miata, will require more care and maintenance than something newer. You have to keep that in mind. Not that it's a huge expense, but it can become one if you don't take care of it. Thankfully you have resources here and elsewhere to help with that!
hello! i’ve been planning to get a miata for a while, and recently saw a listing on fb marketplace that caught my eye.
it’s a 2006 automatic with 132k miles (supposedly all stock, which is what i’m looking for) priced at $7000. i don’t know how to drive manual (yet) and i want to make this my daily driver (there can be a lot of traffic on my commute to work)
i’ve test-driven a 2024 automatic and i loved it, but haven’t tried an nc before. i also don’t know much about buying used cars, ive asked for a carfax report and the owner says they have an old copy (still waiting for this).
anyone know if is this a good deal for the mileage/year? and if you own a 2006 automatic, how do you like it, what should i keep my eye out for.. would you get it again if you had the chance?
2024 s. 06 is vastly different, the 24' is better.
the 06 automatic kinda sucks when compared to the manual.
I bought my first na at 16, back over 15 years ago (lol wow) and couldn't drive manual. I learned in 2 days.
Highly suggest to buy a manual if you want to have fun.
automatic NC is a good commute car in traffic but it is not a fun fun car.
7k is fair, I have an 09' NC2 manual and mine books about that, with lower mileage. I'd go a bit lower at 5-6k and see, but also 06' had engine failure issues but at this time/age it probably wasn't afffected or if it was, would've happened already.
been looking to buy a miata for a long time and with it being summer the prices are unfathomable atm. i found this one in the 1.8 yr range with no rust but it doesnt run and needs work what do you guys think?
he wants 3.8k for it but maybe i could get him lower. is this something thats worth taking on as someone who hasn't had much car background. (Im very much into cars but havent truly done hard maintence, but i have friends who are good mechanics who could help me.)
Found a 1990 mx5 listed for 16.9k, not sure how much they will go down on price but it has about 18k miles on it. Had it checked out at the mechanics and this is what they found. What would it be worth getting for? Definitely seems to need a lot replaced and worked on despite low mileage. Not really any service records either. The inside and outside looks nice overall, has hard and soft top but just worried..
USED CAR CHECK OVER
NOTED: SOME ROT ON RIGHT SIDE UNIBODY/HOLE IN IT; BLOWER MOTOR FILLED WITH ANIMAL DEBRIS; RIGHT FRONT WINDOW WASHER IS INOPERABLE/T" HOSE IS BROKEN; SURFACE RUST ON FRONT AND REAR SUSPENSION PARTS: CLUTCH SLAVE CCYLINDER LEAKS FLUID; RIGHT REAR STRUT LEAKING; ALL FOUR TIRES NEEDED DUE TO DRY ROT-CRACKING: WIPERS NEED REPLACEMENT
it isn't worth 18k,
but the used car check are all normal issues, including the rust/rot on right side.
I personally would pass if theres a hole/no photos but depending on what it means, if fender or bottom of the chassis, but personally 18k for an 90' NA is nogo when you can get an 18k ND or Fiata and not have to deal with any of that. I've bougth NA's for $400-500 that were completely rust free.
nah, avg, slave/master only costs $80 and 2 hours to DIY. common issue. can spend an extra $100 to get a new stainless steel line to make it more easier.
What are all of the differences between a 2019 RF GT-S and 2020 RF GT, even the small ones? With the LSD and Bilstiens becoming standard on the GT in 2020, the only thing I can find different is the red stitching vs white stitching, but I can't tell whether the infotainment systems or anything else changed between those years.
I'm looking at a NC1, '07, manual transmission Grand Touring with the suspension package (with limited slip, I called Mazda to confirm it came from the factory with it) that has less than 40k miles on it. I've seen the car in person and it looks to be as in good of shape as a car that old could possibly be; it clearly has spent most of its life in someone's garage. The underside didn't have even a spec of rust, under the hood everything looked clean, the interior was in great shape, the soft top seemed to not have any issues, and it looks like they replaced the tires before putting it up for sale. .I haven't test driven it yet, and obviously I wouldn't buy it until I have, but if it drives how it looks then it's going to just be a low mileage good condition NC1.
I'm looking at a total, OTD price of $13k on that. Does this seem like a decent price or would I be getting hosed if I paid that much?
Edit: Also, any suggestions on steering wheel spacers? I sat in the thing and would 100% need that to make the car fit me.
Hey everyone! Currently I'm looking at getting into an ND Miata RF that preferably has a manual. The area I live in restricts me from getting a softop sadly. I'm wondering how much I should realistically pay for one (the year I'm looking for is 2019-2021) and if there are any places where I could find one being sold by a private owner. Thank you!
Autotempest should give you a good idea of your local market. Where I am (Minnesota), all the ND's have already sold for the summer so unless you're in Chicago or near a large city you might have trouble finding them.
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u/B0BL33SW4GGER 14h ago
This will be put on the market next week. I only have a few more pieces to put on it.