MicroD

First time posting. Great community here from the looks of it!

Wondering if I could get any opinions on my first Miata. Looking to keep it sub $4000. I looked at this one http://stockton.craigslist.org/cto/2795182939.html, and it was nice, but I'm not sure of the price. It stands at $3700 right now. Everything looked good to my untrained eyes. He recently put a new top on it and is unwilling to go below $3700.

Any thoughts?

This one http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/2841499268.html seems to be a better deal possibly, but I haven't heard a response yet.

Willing to look from Sac to Bay Area.

mysteryskittle

Welcome. do you have any pictures of the 99? The first car seems about right for East Coast, not sure about your side of the country though.

MicroD

No, I don't have any pics of the 99 yet.

On the 94, the AC needs recharging, and several badges were missing. I did like it, but I don't want to be guilty of not being patient enough.

Spettro

3700 for that M Edition doesn't seem that outrageous, high but not horrible. Did he tell you 37 was the lowest he would go in casual conversation or were you counting hundreds in front of his face making an offer? Somtimes when you whip the money out people suddenly don't care about losing another couple hundred since they're going to get paid something regardless. If you don't jump on that car I probably will, thanks for posting the link.

MicroD

I just offered $35 and he came back a couple hours later via text with 37. There are zero service records, but he says that the timing belt was changed 20k ago. If I buy it, do I need to just change the belt for peace of mind? He has owned it for around 2 months and just needs the cash. He purchased from the bay area.

Willywongka

The PO of my NA supposedly "recently" changed the timing belt before he sold it to me. The timing belt broke no more than 5-10k after I drove it around. I even made trip from San Diego to the Bay Area, I'm lucky it didn't snap during that trip or I would have been assed out!

I say unless he has a receipt, don't trust him!

Spettro

Really depends on how firm you think he is on the price based on the conversation. Also offering a price by phone, text, or email isn't always taken very seriously buy sellers. I refuse to listen to any offers unless it's in person in front of my face when I sell a car, but that's just me.

I agree with this, unless you know the owner or they're a friend of a friend and you trust your mutual friend, assume that no maintinance history or the good old "oh I lost the papers but I did it" means it's never been touched since the car left the dealership the day it was sold to the original owner. Also never trust the vehicle history report services, I had a Porsche 951 with 83,000 original miles, but some idiot smog tech didn't follow the rules requiring them to enter the exact odometer reading even if it seems too low, doesn't have a xxx,xxx milage cluster, etc. and long story short a history report showed my car had 183,000 because the dumbass assumed that no 1987 car could possibly have that few miles so the odometer rolled over, and it killed my resale value. Luckily I had other paperwork that 951 enthusiasts recognized so I got the actual value for it, but still, crap like that happens all the time.

mysteryskittle

I dont know.. I call people and tell them "This is how much money i want to give you. That's absolutely it, so we can continue talking or say goodbye." I never waist my time or anyone else's.

Spettro

If the car is way over priced I suppose, but how can you truely know the condition of a car and what it's worth without coming to look at it, test drive it, talk to the owner in person, see the history (if they have any) etc. You're usually making a multi-thousand dollar purchase, if you're not willing to drive an hour or two to see it why should I think your offer is even serious? Just my opinion from the seller's point of view.

mysteryskittle

Well yes. Go see the car first if those are the only pics. I was mainly talking about postings that have detailed photos or a particular high dollar part like a hardtop. If I have 700 to spend on a hardtop, I'll call everyone in my CL listing no matter what the asking price and tell them i'll take it for 700 today. Its an easy way to make a deal fast or move on to the next one.

Blacknb1

Lol come up with another 3k n ill sell u mine hahahahah jk

Bryan805

3700 for that M edition is way to much, keep searching youll find a better one out there. Just keep waiting for a better deal, in Cali there are many miatas out there. I waited 6 months for my Miata and I got it for super cheap with decently low miles.

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