What is a bad year to buy a mazda miata?

I heard that one shouldn't buy a used Mazda Miata either the 1990 or 1991..I'm not sure..Need to know what year was a bad year.What is a bad year to buy a mazda miata?
1990, 1991, 1992 and possibly 1993 are all plagued with crankshaft problems. According to autos.msn.com it would cost over $2000 in parts to repair and even more with labor. The 1994 model uses a new more powerful engine which wouldn't suffer from this defect.



1993 and before also have R12 air conditioners so if you bought one you would have problems having it recharged if it ran out of R12 if someone hadn't converted it to R134a.



The 1994 and up models would be your best bet since everything would be semi-modern and reliable under the hood. The 96 %26amp; 97 models are rated with 5hp more than the previous ones. The 1999 model did away with pop-up headlights (probably a good thing, pop ups tend to break over time) and gave it an additional 7hp (not to mention 100lbs of weight). In 2001 they gave it a facelift adding another 135lbs and 10hp.What is a bad year to buy a mazda miata?
The reported problems with the Miata crankshaft is not with the Miata engine, instead it rests on the mechanic. There were three different crankshafts used in the 1600 Miata engines. This crankshaft was also used in the Capri, other Mazda (including a turbo charged version), and escorts. None of the other cars had the same type of failure. It goes back to a mechanics inattention to detail. A lot of Miata cars were and are taken care of by owners. There are eight ways to put in the key that hold the crankshaft on, but only one is right.

That said, I think any year Miata is a good year. I own two 1990 Miata's and yes one did have a crankshaft failure. That was why I got it so cheap. The other I have owned 10 years now (100000 miles) and have not had any problems that are not associated with normal wear and tear (one front engine seal, a water pump, a fan relay and a temp sensor).

As for cost to repair a bad crankshaft, I put 500 dollars worth of parts in mine and 16 hours of labor to fix the one with a bad crank.

Any car approaching 20 years old could use a new engine, and if you have a pro blue print it the engines output will most likely increase by about 20 HP. This is because the Miata engine needs a little cleaning up and a better balance. At least the one I had a part did.

If you need to replace the engine and are willing to send about 2 grand Flying Miata can build you a real nice one.What is a bad year to buy a mazda miata?
keep in mind that the two you listed are 18 and 17 years old. i would go for one under ten years old