'02 Miata, manual, $3000

Needs head gasket and convertible top

https://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/cto/d/lutz-mazda-miata-2002/7207401407.html

How many Miata's pop a head gasket by 71,000 miles?  Is this common?  

In reply to spitfirebill :

My experience is mostly with NAs and I didn't think this was common. Also not sure if this is a decent deal even at the $2500 the ad now calls for.

Up here (Michigan) that would sell in a heartbeat just because it won't be rusty. I'm the VP of the largest Miata club in Michigan and I've never known a head gasket to go, so I have to wonder what's really wrong with it, or what did they do to make it fail. 

I'd bet that one (or both) of the fans has stopped working, causing it to overheat. Fan failure seems way more common than a blown head

Looks rather funky, but well priced for what it is.  Wonder if they did a compression test and got low readings due to broken tbelt?  Just spitballing.

I'd be all over that if transporting to PA wouldn't cost a healthy percentage of the purchase price.  Anyone in the Northeast coming home from the Challenge with an empty trailer?

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

Talk to Curtis.  I know he's going down with an empty trailer but I don't know if he is coming back with one.

The ad is now deleted but if it truly did have 71k as I read there's a chance it sat for many years leading to an untimely hg failure.