If you’re in the market for a first-generation Miata, this is the one to get! It’s a Limited Edition model so it came with all the goodies and, according to the seller, it has only covered 9,000 miles! If you didn’t get a chance to buy a Miata when they first came out, this might be as close as you are going to get. Find it here on eBay where it’s listed for $17,900 or best offer.
The LE model came with this awesome red interior! The leather seats look like new and there appear to be many other upgrades over the base car. I don’t think the wood-look surround on the dash is original, but the rest looks good. The mats are a little faded, but I’d assume red is more sensitive to the sun than black was. Miatas were pretty basic cars, but this was like the Cadillac version!
It’s odd to me that the seller didn’t bother detailing the engine bay. It looks dusty in there and if this is really a 9,000-mile car, it would have been easy to clean up. I would give a private seller a break, but this car is being offered by a dealer and they are asking a premium price.
The LE also received front and rear spoilers, BBS rims, and a sport suspension! It looks like this one also includes a hardtop and is ready to go. As great as this car is, I would want to make the dealer work a little harder for my money. This is a lot cheaper than a new Miata, but $18k is still a lot to pay. That said, Miatas are great fun and I’d love to have this one for the summer!
Why not purchase a twenty year newer model 2014 for the same money?
http://tinyurl.com/y6ygy73f
That’s the problem Jeff people want to much money for what they have!! A good price on that car would be $9000. It’s not worth 17,k
The target buyer for this car isn’t concerned about getting the newest or highest performing Miata for their money. They’re looking for the most collectible Miata. Low mile special edition 1st gen (“NA”) Miatas are now considered collectible.
The price for this 9k-mile example is pretty reasonable, considering a higher mile (22k-mile) 1995 Mazda Miata M-Edition just sold for $17,500 (not counting the additional 5% buyer’s premium) this week on Bring A Trailer.
LarryinMA, that car did indeed sell on Bring-A-Trailer, so one could say it’s “the market”. But I don’t know how realistic of an indicator for the market BaT is anymore. I’ve been watching it for years, and it’s evolved into an on-line version of Barrett-Jackson. Most buyers there seem to be wealthy Silicon Valley types to whom money has a different meaning than the rest of the world.
If one considers Barrett-Jackson prices to be a fair indication of ‘the market’, then BaT may be as well. But we’ve all seen cars sell on B-J for prices that probably wouldn’t be reached elsewhere (except maybe on BaT). It does create a frustrating conundrum, because sellers expect to get B-J or BaT money for their cars, which is either unrealistic, or increasingly puts them out of reach for the rest of us non-Silicon Valley types.
AnalogMan, BaT has certainly expanded into some mid and even higher end collector cars, but it hasn’t lost the lower end either – many cars still sell for less than $10K. For example, of the 34 lots BaT sold on Friday, 12 (35%) sold for less than $10K, and 9 (26%) sold for less than $20K.
While there are certainly more than a few wealthy private bidders on BaT, they generally aren’t targeting sub-$20K NA Miatas. However, there are plenty of novice collectors like me, just looking for cool, fun cars like that (which we hopefully won’t lose too much money on later).
Have to agree. I know a friend that has a pristine 2006 that could be had for less then half of this, plus it is roomier, handles better, looks almost brand new, has low miles and much more power. Why do we buy old cars, for pleasure or prestige? When it is the later, then the fun starts to drain away.
I’d buy this in a heartbeat! But I 6’5″ 275lbs, size 14 feet and I don’t fit!
Nice find. I will be interested in seeing what it sells for.
’93’s were still 1.6 liter, ’94’s had the 1.8 and torsen in package. This one’s nice though, only year with the red interior that we got stateside.
Thanks for correcting that William!
These LE are real gems in the Miata NA world. 1st to get the Bilstein R sport package. Suppose to have a red tonneau cover, Miata special edition 2 book hardcover & matching serial number Miata key ring & other unique details.
I own a low mileage LE affectionately known by my son as the “Batman”car.
It’s a driver but it is garaged & only driven weekends in the nice weather months. It’s a ridiculously fun sports car with endless amounts of SPG (smiles per gallon). Miata folks have already restored 1993 Miata LE’s as a lot of the 1500 have been run into the ground with high miles (like over 200,000) totaled or junked & stripped for the loads of unique 1 year only body parts.
I hope that horrible looking non OEM wood overlay on the center dash can be removed.
Too rich for my blood but this one is a stunner. That Black paint red leather looks sharp. The woodgrain would go back on eBay if It were mine. I for one don’t mind the dusty engine. Sometimes is a plus to see the motor before it’s been detailed and any leaks washed away.
When collectibles edge far past $1000 per foot, I lose interest.
That would however, be a great price on a 66 Lincoln Continental :)
Whether a car is over or under priced is in the eye of the beholder. However, I wonder how much homework a person could ever do before bidding on a car that is represented solely by pictures and a story. While there are stories of people being perfectly happy with their purchase, the simple fact is that online buying is a gamble of unknown proportion.
Has anyone ever done a study of purchasers of cars listed online? Wouldn’t it be interesting what we could learn? I want to be wrong, but while the money we pay is certain, what is purchased, is not.
Use online sales to measure the market but physically inspect and drive the car you consider buying.
It seems to be a decent car if the mileage can be documented? The problem I have is the color combo: black exterior and red interior- the combo attracts HEAT if you drive it in the summer time. As stated the dealer/owner forgot to clean under the hood! The price a little steep for me.
Miatas are fantastic cars!! I went from hater to believer, after I drove then owned one. But, for that kind of money you can pick up a Porsche 996 that is so many levels above most cars in terms of performance.