On Mon, May 4, 2009 at 19:43, George L <glandreman@...> wrote:
>
>
> I just closed the deal on a 1995 Miata "M Edition". Purchasing from a Mazda
> dealer in Cincinnati OH. The car has 98K miles. Care is in VERY clean
> cosmetic condition very little wear anywhere on the interior/exterior. AC,
> power windows, etc all work. It even has the original floor mats in the
> trunk (never used!). It has a clean CARFAX. Was originally purchased in the
> Cincy area and has always been a local car. Only thing I can detect might be
> a weak clutch. The dealer has replaced the valve cover gaskets, tune-up and
> drive belts (~$450 of dealer work).

Welcome to the club... you mentioned drive belts... If they did not do
the timing belt/water pump/tension pulleys, cam seals, CAS O-Ring and
front Oil Seal, and you can't find documentation on the car showing
where it was done, be ready to do that... you can do it yourself, in a
weekend, if you're mechanically inclined. It's not too hard the first
time, just be sure to do it all at once.

Judging from your statement that it was $450 worth of work, I am
thinking they didn't do the TB stuff, as most dealers would charge
about twice that given the labor involved...

Timing belts are "recommended" to be changed at about 60K, some people
have gone 100+K on theirs... so no idea about yours, given what you've
said.

> I'm paying $5K out the door. They had it listed for $5995. KBB says my price
> is about right for a private sale. I feel its reasonable since its
> (somewhat) rare to come across a nice sport/convertible in this price range.

That's more than reasonable for a 95M, actually, especially one with <
100K on it. Miata prices don't typically follow KBB unless you're
buying from a dealer, or dealing with insurance... Not sure about
Cincy, but at least most areas, Miatas sell for more than what the
book says they should be worth, and if you find a good price one, they
tend to be snapped up pretty fast.

>
> I'm picking it up tomorrow. I'll probably have questions from time-to-time
> so I was glad to find your group.

You should also check out Miata.net and the miata.net forums if you
haven't. Also check out the Garage section as well...

If you have any questions, feel free to ask away :-)

Cheers
Jeff
91 BRG
91 Faded Red
http://www.jefflane.org/insanity/the-miata-chronicles