Today’s Nice Price or No Dice special bodied Miata is listed under “auto parts” rather than “autos” which may explain why it’s been on Craigslist for almost a month. Or, on the other hand, maybe it’s the price?
Praise was heaped on the build of yesterday’s 2008 Nissan Frontier Nismo, but not so much on its price. Quite a few of you noted in your comments that $18,000 Canadian (about $14,807 U.S.) may be the new normal for such things but that you were not yet comfortable with such a notion. That reticence resulted in the Nissan falling in a 64 percent No Dice loss.
As we leave our Canadian Craigslist friends to figure all that out, let’s head back down to the U.S., but not to the cars for sale portion of the U.S. Craigslist. Instead, let’s detour to the “auto parts - by owner” section. Specifically that of the Atlanta, Georgia Craigslist. That’s where we will find this 1991 Mazda MX-5 Miata with a Simpson Design Italia Classic body kit.
Now, we don’t need to go into depth on the specs of the Mazda under the revised body lines. We all are most likely intimately aware of what the 1.6-liter, five-speed drivetrain is capable of, as well as how its taut suspension feels. Instead, as a toupee maker once said, it’s what’s on top that counts.
That’s the Simpson Design fiberglass body kit that wraps the Miata’s nose and tail in smooth, sexy lines. Those are intended to approximate the looks of a ’60s Ferrari 275GTB/4 NART Spyder. The Miata is obviously a smaller canvas than the original Pininfarina-designed car, but I think it pulls off the look adeptly nonetheless.
There are only about 90 Simpson Miatas out in the wild, which makes this a fairly rare car. With 177,000 miles on the clock and 30 years of action seen, it also has enjoyed some updates along the way. Among those, are a timing belt/water pump replacement and a new top over a revised 10th-anniversary interior sporting JDM seats. Other additions include bullet-style side view mirrors and a billet fuel filler that, in the pictures at least, looks comically large. The car rides on real Panasport wheels but comes with a set of Sixties-style wire wheels as well.
The silver paint looks terrific in the pictures, especially in contrast to the blue canvas top. The seller notes in the description, however, that it could use a respray, but tempers that by saying that it currently sports a “wonderful patina.” The ad claims the “runs good, shifts great and stops as designed.”
Normally, there would also be information in the Craigslist ad’s right rail regarding title status. Unfortunately, the seller has miscategorized the car in the auto parts section, and for obvious reasons that doesn’t feature such information. That’s one important bit of missing info, but we’ll still have to soldier on regardless.
To that end, let’s talk about this Miata’s $10,500 asking price. That’s a lot of cabbage for an NA edition MX-5 with an odometer that’s working overtime. That being said, this is a rare Miata by dint of its Simpson body kit and aside from the patina issues, looks to be both aesthetically and mechanically sound. Could those plusses add up to the seller’s $10,500 asking? Or, is that as big a miss as the placement of the ad?
You decide!
Atlanta, Georgia, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Stuart Lachs for the hookup!
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