Should I sell?

[Foolish]

So, I'm trying to decide if I should part with my beloved Miata.

I've had it since '01 when my burning need for a convertible coincided with a strengthened financial outlook and a supportive wife. My wife and I have autocrossed it, driven it to FL and back, and generally enjoyed it as much as anyone could. I've put in a roll bar, Racing Beat intake, and some Voodoo stuff and done nearly all the maintenance myself. This car really sparked my interest in working on cars and in learning to be a better driver. It's so much fun and not so fast as to get me in heaps of trouble.

Lately, I'm thinking of letting it go, though. We've got a kid on the way, which is awesome, and we picked up a Protege for me to haul the kid around in. It was supposed to be an un-modded utility vehicle (beater) but I've done suspension and now an intake, and it's really a lot of fun to drive!

When the kid gets here, I'm not going to be driving the Miata much. I'm not driving it much right now, actually, mostly due to the weather. Also, we're moving this summer, and if we move out of state, the Miata makes 3 cars I have to transport and register and get plates for and pay taxes on. The impending kid, and my wife's return to school have me worried about $$, so not having to pay for maintainence and insurance on 3 cars is also an appealing notion. Finally, some of the money I get from selling the Miata could be used on making the Protege faster, more fun, and an even more appealing replacement for the Miata as family autocross car.

I will want a Miata again some day. However, this isn't a McLaren F1 we're talking about, they've made an enormous number of Miatas, I'll be able to replace it.

So, how much will I regret this, and why shouldn't I sell it?

Finally, I should add that the Miata is payed for (though the Pro isn't) and my wife is in no way pressuring me to sell it. We sold the RX-7 so we could get me a kid hauler and keep the Miata. That was the plan all along.

[dominoy2k1]

sell it ans and save the money for the kid.

[Mike R]

If only it wasn't red...I'd buy it.

Sell it, there are so many of those on the road. You'll be able to get a better one down the road.

Congrats on the kid! One more crazy racing kiddo for the club in a few years! ;)

[moxnix]

Keep it. You will miss RWD if you dont have it around to have fun with.

[rx7gslse]

that's really a decision that's up to you... but I'd look at it this way.. With the new body style coming out in the fall, I'd expect used prices to drop even further..

Spring's coming up.. Clean the car up, put out an add for a nice comfy asking price, and if someone offer's it to you, let 'em have it.. If not, keep it!

It doesn't sound as if it's *too* custom, so you can always pick up another one later on in life ;)

[Foolish]

It's not all that custom. Other than the roll bar I could return it to stock in an afternoon! I could probably hang on to the parts for later, too. On top of that, it's not even the best Miata for the job, autocross- and track-wise. It's the Touring Package, meaning it's got power windows, AC, and no Torsen LSD. Of course, the LX is no track monster either!

I'd really like to sell both the LX and the Miata and pick up an MSP, but I'm not sure I can make that work logistically. Plus unless I can find a poor Protege racer, the suspension on the LX could make the car a bit of a hard sell, as it's a rougher ride than most people want for a people mover.

I'm kind of hoping I can sell the Miata to my Dad. He's had two 1.6 Miatas and now has a 2001. He liked his NAs better, so perhaps I can get him to sell his '01 and take mine off my hands.

As far as missing RWD, in three and 1/2 years, Dru will be out of law school, the kid will be nearly four, and maybe I can pick up another Miata or RX-7.

Thanks for the advice, anyone else?

[Rdshark1]

Oooh...it's a hard decision. I'd keep it just because it's paid for. Also, on most insurance plans having more cars than drivers gives you a discount. Who knows though? Will you miss being able to hop in and go top down? Or will the baby take up all of your free time....hmmm....

[mazdaspeedpower]

I say, keep it...

[lagunamiata]

Everyone I know that's had a Miata and sold it has regretted it...

Mine doesn't get driven much now, about 5,000 per year, since we bought a thrid car. But every time I drive it I remember why I bought it!

Heck, unless you really need the cash, they don't cost much to insure. Depending on the year and mileage you may not get much for it anyway.

[TX Speed Demon]

Could you keep the miata as a track autocross car without insurance? Since it's allready paid off that seems to be your biggest expense.

[redwagon02]

Keep it, I made the mistake in getting rid of my '95 laguna blue miata. Well sort of, I traded it in for a 10AE. The 10AE is paid off and I will never ever get rid of it.

[kcbhiw]

In my opinion and unless you are in dire straights, I'd suggest keeping the Miata if you have room to store it. Since money is an issue, don't modifiy it (or even the Protege for that matter), register it, or insure it; don't drive it. Assuming it's paid for and adhering to my suggestion, it won't cost anything to hold on to it; just start it every month or two. Additionally, back it up and down the driveway every now and then (yeah, it'll look silly) to keep the transmission internals coated in oil.

There will come a day where you can enjoy the ol' Miata again (probably sooner than you think). :)



Congrats on the baby!!

[REMillers]

<st1:city w:st="on"><st1 =""></st1></st1:city>You have more important future concerns that are being addressed and will continue to be. It isn't a bad thing and should be a exciting part of life but it is just a car. As you mention it can be replaced easily if you should desire. See what you can get for it then go from there.

Besides there are Miaters out there that will let you sit in their's if you ever get lonely. Driving on the other hand....you may have to do some sweet talking <o =""></o>

[REMillers]

HEY its 0200, almost 0300...shouldn't you be asleep.

[Foolish]

Everyone I know that's had a Miata and sold it has regretted it...

Heck, unless you really need the cash, they don't cost much to insure. Depending on the year and mileage you may not get much for it anyway.

I listened to my Dad whining about missing his for the 4 years he was without one!

As for the cost of keeping it, insurance isn't that bad on it, but it still adds up. I'm in VA now, and you have to have insurance on it if it's registered. You also have to have annual safety inspections and bi-annual emmissions inspections, plus personal property taxes.

As for not getting much for it, that's kind of what I was thinking when I first considered getting rid of it in the fall, but I've gone looking at KBB and Edmunds, as well as Cars.com and autotrader, and it looks like cars very much like mine are selling for between $5,000 and $7,000! That would mostly pay off the Protege, or pay off half the protege and get an exhaust and new speakers, the AWR endlinks and/or a header!

I feel like I should wait until I've autocrossed my Pro before I make this decision. If I sell the Miata, and the Pro sucks on the 'cross course, I'll really miss the Miata!

I'm planning to do a road trip to Deals Gap in March. Some friends of mine are doing a 9 day motorcycle trip that will take them down that way, and I'm most likely going to zip down mid-week in the Miata, run the gap all day and then drive the twisties back to home with them. This could be the last hurrah with the little beast, or it could be the trip that reminds me of why I was planing to keep it until I could pass it down to my son to drive in High School, 17 years or so from now!

[Foolish]

Yes I should be. You want to go Karting with us tomorrow?

[REMillers]

Nah man helping my roomate move to a new apartment.

Love to go to, they dropped their membership fee to $50 now instead of a $100. :)

[Foolish]

So, I drove the Miata to the kart event yesterday. 40-something degrees, top-down, hat and gloves on, it was pretty sweet. The car really does feel right.

I'm not sure what to do.

Whenever I see a lower-model car modded heavily (and often badly) I think "why did you buy the low-end car and then blow all that money to hop it up when you could have just bought the better car?" Now I've got a Protege LX that I've modded to nearly MP3 standards, 'cause I got some great deals on performance parts and suspension, and I really wish I'd just gotten the better car! I like my LX, but if I'd sold the Miata in the fall and thrown the money into my kid hauler purchase, I could have an MP3 or an MSP and have more power, better handling, a nicer interior, disk brakes all around and nicer stying! I'd also feel better about autocrossing or tracking one of those models.

Feh, I know this is my decision, and I shouldn't bother ya'll with my random babblings, but I do appreciate the advice I've gotten so far. If I sell the Miata I'll regret it, but I can probably pick up an R package or any other Miata with the LSD down the road that will be a better track car than mine. At some point the MSM's will be affordable, too, though I'm really much more fond of NA than NB Miatas.

[Mikey444]

seriously, I would sell both cars and try to get a MSP if you can get your hands on one or a mazda 6 with sport package only if $ is sufficient for all other needs. Just what I think.

[MiaTurbo]

Eric,
Sell it to me. If I move to TN I'll be 1 hour from the Gap, and will let you borrow it when you come down/over. Of course, you gotta sell it for a good price for me to let you borrow it later :D That would be cool. Then I'd have the track Miada, the nice Miada, and the Export for daily driving.

Seriously, maybe if you move and buy a house, you'll have a place for it. i think part of the problem now is that you don't have the room. Don't mod it anymore, and just leave it for when you and Dru need to get away for a few days. Think about it, she takes the kid to the grandparents inthe P5, you come behind in the miada. Leave the kid for a few days, you and Dru take off!

Your car is in really good shape, excpet the scratched bumper :p , so unless you find one later that's been babied, you're not gonna find another example like it that will be affordable. Well, unless Dru becomes a fancy lawyer making well into the 6-figures...

[Foolish]

I think I know what I want to do.

I'm going to try to sell the Miata. It appears that people are asking $5,500-$9,000+ for cars of my year and mileage! I'm amazed by those prices, but if I can get 6-7 grand out of it I'll be very happy. I may pony up the $$ for a new top first, as the <$300 I'll spend should net me much more than that in resale value!

Once it's sold, and I'm done crying over it, I'll console myself with a shorty header and some adjustable swaybar endlinks for the Protege, pretty much maxing out the mods I can make while keeping the car STS for autocross. An MP3 player head unit and some speakers should help with that new car feeling and a set of Falkens for the race wheels will help stick it to the turns.

I've really been wanting a new mountain bike, so I'm going to pro-deal one before I leave the bike shop, and purchase a new rear shock for my full-suspension bike while I'm at it. I'll do this with some of the money from selling the Miata.

Then I'll pay off my old student loan (~$1500) and still have $3-5K to throw toward paying off the protege.

By selling the Miata and keeping my LX, my insurance will go down and I'll still only have to buy regular gas vs. buying an MSP where insurance would go up and I'd have to pay for premium gas, not to mention the cost of the car itself and the loss of the money I've put into modding the LX.

All told, I think it's the financially responsible decision. I'll miss the Miata, but I'll have a better Protege, a new bike, and a couple less debts and expenses.

So, Fadi, do you still want my "nice Miata"? $6500 for you, and you get two of the three sets of wheels, either or both sets of seats, I'll put on a new top and let you have all the stock parts I have sitting around!

If anyone else likes the sound of that, let me know!

[MiaTurbo]

I'll give you $500 cash

[Foolish]

I'll give you $500 cash

I think you forgot a zero, at least! Otherwise: (nuts)

;)

[MiaTurbo]

ok. $0500.00 That enough zeros?