Low mileage BRG near Philly... [Archive] (2024)

toddnappi

27th January 2010, 16:17

Saw this a week ago, looks reasonably priced for the first special edition. Sorry if already posted, hope it finds a good home before spring.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/1565014859.html

UNIQUE 1991 Mazda Miata MX-5

RARE British Racing Green color, Numbered and Registered 2618 of 4000, ONLY 58K miles, 5- speed new clutch & flywheel, PS/PW Cruise Control, A/C, AM/FM/CD/TAPE, NEW tires, tan Leather Interior (no tears or rips), matching Removable Hardtop and Black Ragtop; Leather Seats, Walnut steering wheel and matching shifter. Includes full Bra, Rear Deck Cover, and Tonneau cover. Looking to find a loving owner for this fun gem and put a smile on your face.

This is a classic collector Miata.

MUST see and drive to appreciate.

$5400/BO. Call 610-259-0906 or email at elusivebutterfly@rcn.com.

tom4416

27th January 2010, 16:22

jmf167

27th January 2010, 17:12

mblue97

27th January 2010, 18:46

Gene-M

27th January 2010, 19:17

Just a couple more quick points: had a fair amount of hail damage on the hood, and the steering wheel was the stock leather one (I think the owner meant wood parking brake handle and shift knob), and it did not have the typical northeast rocker rust.

I'd guess (and could be very wrong) that a car with that kind of mileage that's almost 20 years old, did not see a lot of adverse weather (winter) driving. This could be especially true if you consider how little snow the coastal region around Philadelphia gets, as well as how fast it goes away if and when they do get it. Additionally, this area get a lot of rain to wash the sand and salt away, while 50 miles inland is getting snow. Both of my Miatas came from the South Jersey Philadelphia suburbs, and my first one sold with almost 140k on it and no signs of rust.

mblue97

27th January 2010, 19:22

Gene-M

27th January 2010, 19:33

Gene- Ask jmf167 about rocker rust. He lives in the Philly area and four out of five na's he has owned had it. My 94M showed no signs 4 yrs ago with 76k, but it does now!

That's why I qualified my remarks by saying that I could be very wrong.:D

Let's take a Miata from Schenectady NY that's only got 40k miles on it for our example. The owner works in Albany 10 miles away, and commutes only 20 miles (or even less) with that car through all kinds of weather. So maybe for 30 or 40 days a year, he/she drives through salty slush or sandy salty slag. Then that Miata is going to have rust issues even with those low miles.

I still contend that a vehicle from South Jersey or Philly is going to have a better chance of being rust free, even if it did have a small amount of salt/slush exposure than a vehicle that was used in the "true" rust belt.;)

That said, I have seen 10 year old Miatas from that area that have had not only rocker issues, but rust bubbles on the rear fender at the wheel well just above the bumper line, so I'm not disputing your facts.:)

mblue97

27th January 2010, 20:02

jmf167

27th January 2010, 21:16

jmf167

27th January 2010, 21:18

unless of course i can convince him to keep it and i find another

BTW - i offered $3500 for the BRG and i got no response from the seller

just me

27th January 2010, 22:32

tom4416

27th January 2010, 22:36

unless of course i can convince him to keep it and i find another

BTW - i offered $3500 for the BRG and i got no response from the seller

You are never going to get someone to negotiate to that level via email. It really takes that old fashioned instrument called a phone and even better, face to face. If I got that email, I'd simply delete it. Much harder to say no when you are face to face, politely pointing out the issues and the cost to repair ;)

SJUMBA93

27th January 2010, 23:38

Gene- Ask jmf167 about rocker rust. He lives in the Philly area and four out of five na's he has owned had it. My 94M showed no signs 4 yrs ago with 76k, but it does now!

I will attest that my South Jersey BRG has no rust :thumbs:

jmf167

27th January 2010, 23:41

Jmf167, it's no wonder the BRG owner didn't respond to your offer, that's a really lowball figure!
Bill B.

let me actually explain...

my first email back to her after David looked at the car was a thanks for her time and a simple 'pass' on the car due to it not really ending up being what i had thought it would be. i thanked her for her time and wished her luck selling

she responded, thanked me, and told me to make her an offer

i responded, listed my concerns with the car, and told he TO ME it is worth approx $3500. i told her it would need the TB/WP service soon ($3-400), and also i would be unhappy with the paint work and would need to make a considerable investment of time and money to repaint the car. so to me, it would be worth the $3500. but i also told her somebody more interested in the BRG factor/colledcability may offer her more money.

from following this forum for a while and comments often made i am surprised you feel $3500 is low?

it is hard to 'negotiate' with people outside of this community in terms of deferred maintenance, etc. they havent done it, and they dont seem to care.

for a SNC car with a hail damaged hood and non-original paint, $3500 is the best i would do.

i also think she has a considerable amount if personal value in the car possibly driving her price point.

i sold my last Miata on CL and enjoyed the large number of scams and lowball offers. the guy who bought it offered me less than i wanted, i countered, and i sold the car.

it doenst help that mblue97 offered me his 94M at a great price so anything i have looked at is being compared to said car.

now, what i really want in a replacement to my R --- so Tom if you have any leads please share;)

SJUMBA93

28th January 2010, 08:45

None of the BRGs are SNC cars. Their production run was after that issue was addressed by Mazda.

This has been discussed on this forum many times in the past.

jmf167

28th January 2010, 09:15

None of the BRGs are SNC cars. Their production run was after that issue was addressed by Mazda.

This has been discussed on this forum many times in the past.

good to know, i was not aware of that fact

Hawker

28th January 2010, 10:05

I will attest that my South Jersey BRG has no rust :thumbs:

And a fine looking machine it is. Coming to Myrtle Beach this year?

Steve
'95 Laguna

SJUMBA93

28th January 2010, 10:13

And a fine looking machine it is. Coming to Myrtle Beach this year?

Steve
'95 Laguna

Thinking about it. I have two sisters in SC and it would be fun to visit with them.

Don

just me

28th January 2010, 10:23

jmf167

28th January 2010, 10:32

Jmf167, thanks for enlightening us on the indepth explanation of your conversation with the owner, that helps us understand your thinking. So,that means you're saying the car is only worth $2500 without the $1000 hardtop that she's throwing in!
Bill B.

well, hardtop value is hard to pin. i sold a Merlot hardtop a few years ago for $1000. but when i bought the car 2 years prior i bought the whole package for $4000. did that mean i bought the car for $3000 and the top for $1000? i didnt look at it that way when i bought the car

the last 91 Red i bought was $2300 with the hard top. a $1300 car? nope. maybe a $1500-1700 car with a $5-6000 hardtop? the car had no rust, but showed its years of wear. i would say pretty close to the description Dave gave me of this BRG. a number of scratches, faded paint, etc. now it had over 90k so that would diminish the value as well. and of course it was a red car, not a BRG

i am sure there is someone out there who is willing to pay her more than I for this car. again - TO ME it is worth $3500. to someone else, maybe $4500, maybe $5000, maybe her asking price. I hope she gets what she wants for the car and it goes to a good home :)

mblue97

28th January 2010, 11:01

Jmf167, thanks for enlightening us on the indepth explanation of your conversation with the owner, that helps us understand your thinking. So,that means you're saying the car is only worth $2500 without the $1000 hardtop that she's throwing in!
Just for reference, I sold my '91 BRG/hardtop, with 92K, last year, I was asking $5000, and settled for $4700, both the buyer and I were pleased.
Bill B.

I saw the car, and while I understand Jim's offer, I think someone not as picky as we are with the appearance would pay more. BTW, I did not see the hardtop so I can't comment on the value and condition of it. My guess is that a fair price would be $3500 for the car and another $800 for the hardtop ($4300 total). The peeling clearcoat, hail damage, dings, and scratches, as well as money needed for upcoming maintenance (shocks, tb, all fluid changes, valve cover gasket, etc) made the car not very desireable for either of us. I'm sure there is someone out there that would pay more though if they just have to have a brg and puts a premium on the relatively low mileage. Personally, I put much more of a premium on maintenance and condition over low miles. I will say that the owner was very nice and the car drove well. I wish her luck finding a good home for it. She has owned it for 10 years as a second car, and she really likes it, but it was just not cared for as an mnet enthusiast would.

Gene-M

28th January 2010, 11:11

I am actually convinced that cars with hardtops tend to survive better in terms of rocker rust.That's probably not so. The water from that part of the vehicle should not get anywhere near that part of the rockers.

Many of us have concluded that the water enters the rocker area of the fenders via the not-so-tight pinch weld around the rear wheel well (a common point of entry on many vehicles) Once it gets between the fender and the rocker in front of the rear wheel well, it can only escape by evaporation.

To compound the situation, that water also carries considerable quantities of dust, pollen, salt, and ground up road sand all of which help to contain moisture trapped in that area, and which lead to very fast corrosion situations. It's shocking how fast trapped moisture will blister paint and primer, and even zinc coating will eventually give out to it.

If you want an NA that going to remain totally rust free as long as you own it, buy a Miata with less than 15k and never drive it in the rain. That's what I did.:dunno:

jmf167

28th January 2010, 11:39

Gene - the last red car i bought was an anomaly -- obviously an outside car, i would say marginally maintained -- and not a speck of rust. 90,00 miles of service. what was different? it had the hardtop. so i assumed water (at least winter water) was diverted from the top drains.

when i repaired my R package car it seemed me that the drains never really worked and just held enough water to cause the corrosion. it was pretty clean at the pinch welds, but just corroded above the drains.

just an opinion

i will keep lookin' for that barn find 15k Miata!

Gene-M

28th January 2010, 11:47

Gene - the last red car i bought was an anomaly -- obviously an outside car, i would say marginally maintained -- and not a speck of rust. 90,00 miles of service. what was different? it had the hardtop. so i assumed water (at least winter water) was diverted from the top drains.

when i repaired my R package car it seemed me that the drains never really worked and just held enough water to cause the corrosion. it was pretty clean at the pinch welds, but just corroded above the drains.

just an opinion

i will keep lookin' for that barn find 15k Miata!

I'm not going to deny that blocking off the drains by installing a hard top in winter is a good thing. :) I just don't believe that it affects the area where the fender wraps around the rocker. At least it should not, all other factors being equal.;)

Vince3

28th January 2010, 17:20

I'm not going to deny that blocking off the drains by installing a hard top in winter is a good thing. :) I just don't believe that it affects the area where the fender wraps around the rocker. At least it should not, all other factors being equal.;)

I think a good preventative maintenance for all NA and NB Miata's would be to take off the rear wheels and get in there and seal off the wheel pinch-weld with a automotive seam sealer.

That is necessary if you want to keep moisture out of the rear rocker area and rust forming.

JMHO.

Gene-M

28th January 2010, 19:54

I think a good preventative maintenance for all NA and NB Miata's would be to take off the rear wheels and get in there and seal off the wheel pinch-weld with a automotive seam sealer.

That is necessary if you want to keep moisture out of the rear rocker area and rust forming.

JMHO.That's what I've said in a number of "rusty rocker" threads Vince. Only you'd think I'd follow my own advice, wouldn't you?:rolleyes::O:D

I agree that it's probably the best preventative maintenance you can do for the rockers.