Let me introduce myself! I’m located in the St. Louis, MO area, and have been reading GRM for the past couple years now, and have loved the variety of projects. I finally felt I had a project worthy of starting a build thread. Come along as I get you caught up on the last year of NC1 ownership.
After speeding an inordinate amount of time trying to decided what should replace my aging MKIV VW Golf (2.slow). I came to the most logical conclusion. Miata.
At the time I was living in Cincinnati, and began looking for a NC Miata since they seemed like the best value for performance. Especially since most NAs had been battered by the rough winters (salt), and clean/low mileage NBs were close to NC1 money.
After a few months of searching I found a 2006 Silver NC1 with 63k miles for $8k in Central KY. It wasn’t perfect, but was rust free, and cleaned up pretty well.
January 2017
So Why Take Two?
Fast forward a few months.
I had relocated to St. Louis, and was getting ready for work on a Sunday afternoon, as one of the neighbors knocks on the doors and I was greeted with this…
May 2017
Someone had smashed into the rear of the Miata, and drove off. A hit and run left a low mileage NC1 totaled. After fighting with the insurance company over 30+ emails, and 15+ phone calls, we agreed on a reasonable settlement. A settlement that included me keeping the totaled silver NC1. With the insurance check in hand it was time to start searching for a replacement.
The NC Miata market is one the hardest to understand. Prices are completely unattached to reality, and have no ties to mileage or age. NC2s with high mileage (150K+) are listed for over $15k, and rusted NC1s needing transmissions for $5k. Originally, I was searching for a NC1 that needed a heart transplant, since the silver NC1 was a perfect donor, but wasn’t able to find any candidates.
After some searching I found another 2006 with only 60k miles. It was a bit rougher with some surface rust on the rear suspension, hail damage, and a faded interior. However, I was able to pick it up for $6.5k which I thought was a steal! With the bronze Sparcos, it cleaned up pretty well.
August 2017