Is this 1991 Mazda Miata worth the money?

I am planning to buy a 1991 Mazda Miata with 115 K miles on it for about $1100. It has a 5 speed manual transmission. The radiator and engine valves were recently replaced. The AC needs to be replaced. The car drives good and paint is ok.



Please guide me!!!!Is this 1991 Mazda Miata worth the money?
you really should check the following things.



ask the current owner why the car needed both a new radiator and valves. If he replies that the radiator went bad and the car overheated then you might want to take it to a mechanic and have a compression test done. This will tell you if the rings were compromised. Worn and leaking rings are costly to replace.

Ask the owner to provide you the maintenance records, showing who did the repairs to the engine. Ask if there are any warranties on the repairs that have been done and if it extends to the new owner of the car.

the A/C might be costly to replace as well. The A/C compressor more than likely is the older version and would need to be replaced to accept the newer HCFC refrigerant.

If the car has 115,000 mile I would also ask about the transmission, and see if the clutch has ever been replaced. If not that too will soon need attention.

With all that done when the car is in the mechanics shop, ask the mechanic to look at the front and rear brakes and suspension. The brakes and suspension parts can also get pretty costly if they are nearing the end of there life cycle.



If you would like a super complete list of things for the mechanic to look at please feel free to ask me and I can make one up for you and e-mail to you.



Good Luck.
$1100 doesn't seem bad if it looks %26amp; runs okay.Is this 1991 Mazda Miata worth the money?
don't get much for $1100 sounds like a good deal to me
$1100 for that kind of mileage on the engine is pretty good. Make sure the top is not all shredded though.Is this 1991 Mazda Miata worth the money?
That is a good price. I bought my 1991 Miata 2 years ago, it had about 91,000 miles and I paid $1,700.00
This sounds too good to be true. Stay away. A 1997 Miata was bought by a friend for 5000.00 with 115,000 miles and is running good as a weekend convertible. No more.
1100 for a clear titled Miata is a good deal.

I have seen more then that asked for total wrecks.

The deal gets better if you have mechanical skills and can read.

I know the reading part seems sarcastic, but Miata's suffer from "Terminal Mechanic" . Many owners try to do the maintenance on them with out a manual and as a result botched the job. Repairing the mis-repaired items can be a night mare.
$1100 is very low for a miata, among the lowest Ive seen, and I buy and sell cars frequently online.



I would drive it and as long as it drives and shifts smoothly, go ahead and get it.



at $1100 you cant get hurt.
1100 is cheap for a mazda miata. but considering the a/c does not work then the price may just be right. find out why the radiator and engine valves were replaced and take a mechanic to check for accidents and other repairs. i hear carfax gives pretty good history reports. you may want to check it out and factor those into your desicion making
not a bad price those are fun little cars. in fair shape on kelley blue book it is worth 1600. so that is about right.

happy wheels 2