Hey there CR!
23 y/o male from Phoenix, AZ coming in. *warning: this post is relatively long*
I was looking for a new car as my former car (87' Porsche 944) overheated with the head gaskets being blown.. which I'm still a little sad about.. but as of 2 days ago I have a new NB to look forward to :) Originally I was looking into getting something simple as my dd i.e. corolla, civic, etc. but after hearing that Miatas are reliable and fun cars decided to look into them.
After searching on multiple websites I found a 99' NB on craigslist from an older gentleman, and after test driving it, fell in love. Now to let you guys know, I would consider myself somewhat of a newbie when it comes to cars, performance, etc. but think I have a decent grasp on the basics (which is also why I joined here so hopefully you guys could inform me and help me learn!).
The reasons why I bought the car was due to it having one original owner, clean title, stick shift (of course), emissions up to date, all engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, etc VERY well maintained with a long list of records to show, rust-free and a low mileage of 92K. Everything was kept stock during maintenance. I had been looking around on CL but this one seemed to be one of the rare cars online meeting those specifications, and I ended up picking it up for $2900 cash. (Do you guys think this was a good deal?)
Now the car does have some flaws, mainly cosmetic. The soft top with glass is in poor condition with nearly half of the vinyl being torn but is still driveable with the top up, paint is well fading due to being left under the AZ sun, headlights discoloration, leather seats and dashboard cracked from sun damage (see pics). Other than these issues, the car runs perfect, and is a really smooth ride and one of the funnest, most responsive cars I've driven.
Now considering the car is completely stock, I know in the future I would like to make some modifications as I see huge potential in this car. Now I'm not a fanatic of having the fastest, most eye catching car so I guess I would like to share my goals for this car, which include:
- having a good, reliable, car that is easily maintainable/affordable to maintain but still have fun driving (honestly, even driving on the stock engine is so much fun due to the light weight of the car, responsiveness, etc. so I'm not looking to add much upgrades to the engine itself too much)
- having a good, clean looking car that I can be proud of and enjoy driving around (that might even impress some females? ;D)
- Now I might also add, I am pretty big on music so I really would like to have a quality sound system in my ride (although I am aware due to the space restrictions this may be limited/hard to achieve)
As far as right now, my immediate priority is getting the soft top replaced with ideally a hardtop due to wind noise during drive, security purposes, etc. (if I can find one for a decent price as I know they are hard to come by! - which I could maybe use your help with? :D) or would it be more practical to look for a temporary used soft top while I keep on my search for a hardtop? Although I hear the installation for a soft top can be quite pricey.. any thoughts on this or links to threads to possibly help me find a hardtop or guide me in the right direction would be awesome!
Probably next on my list is getting the paint re-done or I'm even considering plasti-dipping the car to a matte white finish (due to it being so much more affordable considering I'm somewhat short on cash, and that it can be removed easily when I am able to afford a clean paint job). Any thoughts or experiences from you guys on plasti-dipping would be greatly appreciated!
As far as the cracked dash/seats, I'm probably looking into getting a simple cover for my seats/dash as replacing them may not only be expensive, but I figure the heat from the AZ summers will get to them regardless with time.
Engine-wise, I'm not looking to do anything for that any time in the near future other than the typical oil change, tire rotation, etc. as I had a pre-purchase inspection which only revealed minor PCV valve, oil pressure switch leak, inner tie rod little play but all engine/transmission work checked out in good condition
As far as my interest in getting the sound system better, the current component system I have now with the tweeter + 6" sounds decent. I know I would like to add in either a 10" sub or possibly 2 8"s? to get the lower end covered (as I do like music with bass) and after some research, heard of people adding additional speakers in the rear to help the sound stage and overall volume/quality of sound. Any links/guidance/thoughts on this would also be very helpful!
Anyway, sorry about the long post but I think that sums up my car, my interests and goals, and it's good to be here! Looking forward to your responses! Thanks guys!