Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Miata is offered by a self-described “motivated seller.” One look at the car and you’ll realize that it was also modded by a motivated builder. Let’s see if its price motivates you to give it a big thumb’s up.
Subarus are fun because they’re different. The company offers AWD across its lineup and is one of the few to power its cars with boxer engines. Those are likely contributing factors to the company’s stellar customer loyalty. That loyalty is all the more amazing when you consider one other aspect of Subaru ownership which is a strong likelihood of head gasket failures among many of its models.
A few of you noted that as a caution against buying the 1999 Subaru Outback we looked at yesterday. At just 67,000 miles and a modest $3,450 asking, however, that caution was thrown to the wind as fully 83 percent of you anointed the car with a Nice Price win.
Are you an enthusiast? I ask this because the seller of today’s 1994 Mazda MX5 Miata has shaken their Magic 8-Ball and prophesied that it “will be bought by an enthusiast.” I just want to confirm you are in the running.
This enthusiast-targeting Miata has a lot going for it to make that case. The most notable perhaps is the Pit Crew Racing font clip. That trades the NA Miata’s pop-up lamps for an extended nose with fixed units and a gaping mouth in between. With the chrome eyebrows, this gives the car a somewhat comically “stoned” appearance. That change may not be to everyone’s tastes, although it should be noted that the re-bodying panels alone can set you back three-grand.
Out back, the car gets a similar make-over although there you might notice that the work feels incomplete. That’s because the rear bumper and its covering cap have not yet been installed. According to the ad, both are included with the sale, but the seller simply prefers the car with its ass-less chaps look. And yeah, I do know that ALL chaps are ass-less. Let’s move on.
The ad claims that pretty much everything on the car is new, and shots of the engine bay, interior, and underside seem to support this assertion. It rolls on Advanti wheels wearing also-new Hankook tires. Behind those sits a revamped suspension featuring fat anti-sway bars and adjustable Yonaka coilovers.
Everything else down there is claimed to either have been rust-proofed, replaced or both. The motor is all stock but does sport a tidy presentation that includes a root beer-hued cam cover and aftermarket aluminum radiator. It’s said to “run like a dream,” and to pass smog without being a nightmare.
The interior sports stock seats but those face a dash that houses aftermarket lights, stereo, and a repositioned rearview mirror at the top. Door cards have been updated with new hardware and some serious tuck if that’s how you roll.
Some issues of note mentioned in the ad—the A/C is intact but non-functioning, and the speedometer is for show only since its needle isn’t in the know.
The bodywork looks to have been professionally done, and while the seller does note a few boogers here and there, it looks really solid in the pics. You can see more of those on the seller’s Google Drive here. I guess nobody uses Flickr anymore.
The work is fairly recent too, with just 1,000 miles under the car’s belt since it’s all been done. There are 125,000 miles in total on the car, but with so much of it replaced or renewed do those matter all that much? Well, perhaps to the rings and valve seats in the engine they do.
The rear bumper does come with the car, if not expressly on it, as does not one, but two crates of parts just in case you like clutter. An OEM hardtop could also accompany the car to a new owner, however, that appears to be a separate negotiation. It’s hard to say for certain about that based on the conflicting mentions in the ad.
The tan soft top looks to be in fine shape so perhaps that’s less of an issue. The title is clean, and as noted, the car can pass smog for ownership change without a problem
What may be a problem is this custom Miata’s $8,500 price. That apparently was the case at least once since the seller notes in the ad that a previous deal fell through when the buyer couldn’t come up with the payment. That’s their loss, and potentially someone else’s gain.
We’ve noted that the seller is motivated and that the buyer will most likely be an enthusiast. Do you think its worth that $8,500 asking for two such individuals to meet?
You decide!
Orange County, CA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Bruce Bianchi for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOCP. Hit me up at rob@jalopnik.com and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.