Mazda MX-5 Miata (2005 and earlier)

revdrluv

If I have the A/C on, my 95' it makes a sort of chirp or squeak at around 4000rpms or under hard acceleration. Is this a problem with the belt or I have heard something about a squeaky A/C valve under the dash? I have been putting off dealing with it cause I am currently tight on money and don't need the A/C any more, it being autumn and all.

Mr_Shiftright

You might have a worn compressor clutch. It could continue to make noise for quite some time. Also could be a belt noise, but a belt is usually a rather prolonged "screech" while a worn compressor usually gives out short chirps.

A new belt is no big deal, money-wise, but replacing the a/c compressor could get costly.
You might have the belt inspected for looseness or a shiny glazing on the interior surface of the belt.

ateixeira

Check the tension, it's easy. It should deflect no more than half inch or so.

Then grab a flash light and inspect the belts. Look for cracking or glazing.

I hope it's not the A/C compressor. It cost me $700 on my last car to replace that.

-juice

dgraves1

Ouch, in an old Miata that would be a tough expense to justify. I'd be tempted to just rip the AC out.

ateixeira

That was with labor and an expensive freon refill. Anyone know what year Mazda switched from freon to R-134? Our '95 626 has the latter, but our '91 Ford had freon.

-juice

dgraves1

I'm not sure if all cars switched at the same time but I know the Ford Explorer made the switch between the '93 and '94 model year. That was one of the selling points for the '94 we bought in October of '93.

maltb

Most cars switched at the same time. By 95 they were all R134. You can do a retrofit from R-12 but R134 is not as efficient.

lngtonge18

Curiously, would R134 be any less cool than an R12 system not operating at peak efficiency? I might have to do AC work on my 92 within a year and will probably switch to R134 due to the extremely high price of R12. But the higher price may be worth it if the 134 doesn't cool worth a crap. Anyone switched and been happy with the results?

ateixeira

If mine goes, I probably won't even fix it.

-juice

xeones

Inless you want alot of work on your hands, if run at first sight of a roof in poor condition. Anyone who allows the roof on their car to deteriate proably did 15,000 miles between oil changes and about every other type of neglect you can think of.

I think looking at the finish of the car is important. If someone couldn't be bothered to take care of the outside, its probably a good guess he/she didn't worry to much about whats under the hood.

Mr_Shiftright

Miatas often suffer the same fate as the old MGBs did. Being relatively inexpensive sports cars, they were owned by people who didn't want to spend the money necessary to keep them tip-top. Even as solid and well-built as the Miata is, you see a lot of deteriorated examples on the roads. They are vulnerable to front end damage (as an Alfa owner, I know all about this), trunk damage (people trying to stuff them) and, being small, they don't get much respect from other drivers. Miatas have a hard life, poor little guys.

WarpDrive

...driven by real car enthusiasts. Usually, these are a real find.

Mr_Shiftright

I find clean old Miatas the exception rather than the rule in my neck of the woods.

locke2c

it's california. here in the midwest / plains there are many with low miles and occasional use.

they depreciate faster here too.

-Colin

dgraves1

I don't know that looking at the finish of the paint is a reliable indicator of the genral maintenance of the car. I tend to be very fastidious in mechanical maintenance but go months between washes and years betweens waxes. I know other people who are washing and waxing their car evey weekend but haven't opened the hood in a year.

Mr_Shiftright

I never wax or polish my cars, but I wash 'em frequently. They all look great.

Sure, I've seen cars that are cosmetically great looking and complete rat-traps, because all the time and effort went into appearances.The '93 I bought is, in fact, a total wreck at 130K, but there are a fistful of service records totalling thousands of dollars. Interestingly, most are "reactive" to problems, not proactive or periodic maintenance.

So there's the key right there.

ateixeira

I see lots of used ones in good condition here in DC. Maybe the DC owners had them as summer cars and parked them during the winter.

Many have low miles, too.

Hint: if you are buying, buy now, when it's cold. Prices go up in the spring. So if you're selling, wait 'til April.

-juice

thel

I guess maybe if you lost your job or something...I want will mine to my daughter when I die.

ateixeira

Only if I were buying a newer one, probably a '99.

-juice

freddy_k

I plan on selling my '99 within the next couple of years...

To buy a new, never winter driven, anniversery edition '99 :-)

ateixeira

Well, let me know.

I'm looking at basically selling my '93, which has extremely low mileage, and gettig a '99, maybe with a few more miles, and paying maybe an extra $2 grand in the process.

Not sure I can do it, though.

-juice

Mr_Shiftright

HOw much you think a '93 is worth these days? I mean, real dollars.

maltb

Have you tried Edmunds TMV?

Sorry, I had to....

:-)

ateixeira

I think I could get $7 grand with this mileage and condition. And yes I TMV'd it.

I've seen a few '99s dip below $10 grand, so I'm close to my target.

As both age, the difference actually gets smaller because the newer '99 depreciates more.

-juice

Mr_Shiftright

That's a strong price but I hope you make it. Out this way, $5,500-6,000 would do it I think.
Plenty to choose from.

I sold the '93 I bought for double what I paid for it, but it was still only $1,400. Needed valve job, 4 tires, top, a/c repair and had been hit 3 times totalling $14,000 damage in the last 6 years.

ateixeira

I'm at 39k miles, though, and it's a C package loaded to the gills. Plus it's mint, and I have all service records.

If I actually do sell it (I'll probably chicken out), I have 2-3 buyers lined up already.

I might regret it, though. It's 100% reliable, and still seems to have a lot of life left in her. It would be a shame to sell her, years from now I'd probably kick myself.

But yeah, the idea would be to sell it for a relatively high price due to demand and mileage, and then obtain a '99 from someone who has to sell quick. It would probably have a lot more miles in that price range, though.

-juice

Mr_Shiftright

Yep, miles are worth a lot on sportscars especially.

toddi

I looked at a nice 97 Miata last night. Red, brand new top, alloy wheels, nice paint, a couple dents. It's an automatic, which I need to maintain sanity in LA traffic. Here's the catch: it's got 108,000 miles on it. Cosmetically in great shape. My question is, how much life is left in it? It seems well maintained, timing belt was changed at 75,000. Anyone have any advice? The guy will take $5500.

ateixeira

With those kind of miles, maintenance means everything. The fact that he pushed the timing belt change to 75k instead of 60k is one bad sign.

But you say the condition is good. Maybe have a mechanic look it over and do a compression test (see shifty's posts above), and if it checks out go for it.

-juice

Mr_Shiftright

Whaddya mean a "couple of dents"? Dents are expensive to fix and the estimate to repair them should come right off the book value, 100%. Especially the nose of the Miata---often you cannot repair those, so a new nose is in order....not cheap.

tt1067

Woah, I cannot believe this board, I had learned so much about the Miata which I love to own one. I am heading to an auction soon, but I need help/opinion on this vehicle:
1999
Ext/Int Colour: SILVER/BLACK
Odometer: 113271
Transmission: 5 SPD
Radio: AM, FM, CD
Power: Brakes, Steering dont know have ABS
Seats: Cloth
How much do you think this is worth (CDN $)?
The odometer seems quite high for only three years old. Does anyone have any input on this?
Thanks.

revdrluv

Odometer: 113271

thats Km right?

Mr_Shiftright

Well, see what Edmunds books it out for on a "private party" sale. Edmunds True Market value is pretty darn good on most cars.

tt1067

Revdrluv

Yes
Odometer : 113271 Km

any input?

Thanks.

freddy_k

check out www.trilliummiata.com, they have a classifieds and it is toronto based.
Also checkout www.trader.ca

I've got a '99 LS. interested?

PS. '99s that came out in '98 would actually be approaching 5 years old already, so more acurately a '99 would be 4 years old. On winter driven machines, those KM would be about average. Mine year round driver has 84k.

stangelj

I'm looking at buying a 93 Miata Limited Edition with 150,000 km (about 93,000 miles). Anyone have an idea of a fair price? I'm in Canada but would be interested in hearing from both Canadians and Americans. There were only 150 1993 LEs sold in Canada and 1500 in the U.S. I can get TMV, Canadian Black Book, etc... pricing on a base 93 Miata but don't know how much more the LE is worth. Thanks.

justin

the black leather is great, with the black cloth top. but they have RUINED the car by taking out the tan leather and putting in that off-white stuff. british racing green is supposed to be coupled with TAN. not BEIGE. yuck. thank goodness for the black leather.....:)

Mr_Shiftright

Use Edmunds True Value Pricing feature on the Home Page at

www.edmunds.com

The LE will bring a bit extra but not a huge sum. The miles are average for a car that old. I'm guessing about $6,000 should be all the money in the world for the car if it's a beauty, and a fair buy would be about $5,200.

Deduct mightily for body damage or mechanical needs.

ateixeira

A '99 with 71k miles? I'd try to get it for an even $10 grand or so. Auctions are about bargains, so pass if it doesn't seem like a bargain.

For that '93 LE, make sure it's black. I have a white '93 C package which the previous owner thought was an LE - close, but nope, even though mine has most of the options from the LE, it's not. I believe they only came in black that year.

93k is high miles, make sure they have all the receipts for maintenance. By now just about every serviceable part should have been changed.

-juice

stangelj

Shiftright, ateixeira, thanks for the info. Yes, it's black with a red leather interior, aero parts, headrest speakers, factory CD, ABS, etc... the 93 LE should have. In Canada it was dubbed the 25th Anniversary Edition, marking Mazda's 25th year in Canada.

shorty11

hello. I have a 95 miata. it is time to change the battery. I am considering getting a westco bat. instead of the factory one.

Has any one had experience w/ the westco batttery? How is it to install? I am female and I am a little mechanically inclined. i thought I'd try to install it myself.

Thanks for your input.

Mr_Shiftright

Help up, Miata owners---doesn't she need to replace the original "gel" type for best efficiency?

smars

The Westco is a gel type. The new version is a direct replacement. If you can get the correct wrench size, you can change the battery (wrench size isn't a trick question).

mellis

I second the Westco. It is a direct replacement gel type. If you go to the Mazda dealer they will sell you a more expensive lead/acid battery. Westco is the way to go.

Mark

ateixeira

Yep, that's a true '93 LE.

Go Westco. I think the OE is a Panasonic, not really any better than the Westco, and the latter is cheaper.

http://home.flash.net/~duetto/catalog.htm

$80 from them, plus $12 shipping. That price is pretty consistent from vendor to vendor, though shipping might vary a couple of bucks.

-juice

maltb

The Mazda dealers sell Interstate batteries for the Miata, not the OE Panasonic unit. At the dealer, the Interstate battery should run $85.

mellis

Neither the Panasonic replacement or the Interstate sold at dealers is a gel type battery.

The cheapest I have found for the Westco is http://www.mmmiata.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=MM093

$84.95 free shipping to the lower 48.

Mark

lngtonge18

Save the money and go for a regular battery. The one I bought cost around $60 and even had the gas escape holes to hook up the tubes provided by Mazda. I did run into a little difficulty installing it as it was a little taller, but it fit fine with a little modification. To me, the gel type didn't seem worth the extra cost.

ace10

makes a very good quality battery. they redesigned it a couple of years ago so that the terminals are properly oriented for the miata. for $90+/- it makes a heck of a lot more sense than the "new" wet oe panasonic or a generic fit interstate or diehard.

my original oe panasonic lasted 4 years, including one or two run downs. my '97 has aftermarket alarm and power everything. the westco has been good for nearly two years, and counting.

the swapout is very simple, provided that you have the proper open ended wrench. use gloves and a some safety glasses!

ace

ateixeira

Was the regular battery heavier, though? The OE and the Westco are very compact and light.

At least it helps the weight distribution even more. :-)

-juice