Cool young people digging NA Miatas = Collectable

I have a '94 R-code Miata I use for autocross....because I got it cheap, its cheap to run, and I am cheap.  But I'm noticing most of the NA Miatas I see on the street are driven by guys in their early 20s.  I'm thinking they are driving the cars because they think they are cool.  ("They" being the cars and the drivers).

A month back a 15 year old guy was at a Porsche club autocross and he was taking photos on his phone of my Miata, not all the shiny Porsches.  Maybe it was because he could actually afford a Miata in a couple of years, while the Porsches were simply too cost prohibitive.

So could the NA Miata be this generation's (xyz) version of the '65 Mustang?   I will say that I sold my '68 fastback Mustang for peanuts just before the Eleanor fad hit.  So it's really likely that NA prices will also skyrocket right after I sell mine.  :)

You can also compare them to MGs, which is a pretty similar vehicle in terms of market and production numbers. In that case, the good ones are worth money but there are still lots of inexpensive "mechanics specials".

I think what's happening to NAs is the normal rise in prices after 15 years or so. Most cars depreciate to a low point, then the nice examples start to get more expensive because there simply aren't as many of them and people who wanted them a couple of decades ago can now afford to pay money for good ones.

As for why the Porsche guy was taking pictures of your car - because it's a good example of an iconic car. It looks good. If it was ratty (at the 10 foot point) or looked ugly or had ridiculous wheels, he probably would have passed by.

I have noticed that if I want to get a lot of attention on an FM facebook post, I just have to post a V8 Miata video or a picture of a nicely done (or stock) NA. This is for a community that's based around modified Miatas, but a stock NA gets 'em going every time.

I've definitely had people nearly crash and burn trying to tell me how cool my Miata is or how much they like it. Example, had some guy come ripping through traffic on the Garden State Parkway in a turbocharged E36 just so that he could give me a thumbs up. Was driving home from a concert on I-90 and was paying my toll and the kid working the tollbooth held up traffic so that he could talk to me about the car. Had someone stalk me at my work to talk about it and then ask me advice on a Miata he was looking at and what I thought it was worth and what he should look out for. Went to a car show and got parked in the middle of some really nice musclecars and was feeling really inadequate and then watched some 12 year old kid walk right past the '69 Camaro pace car and '68 Charger with the blown Hemi and go nuts over my car, taking pictures of literally every inch of it. Something about these cars just connects with people. And yes, I know that the low-profile headlights and purple rollbar is not everyone's cup of tea, but I like it and response has been 99% positive.

They are good cars and really a throw back. Simple car. Loved my NA and love my NC. Rare to see one not beat to an inch of it's life but I do see a lot of younger guys driving them. 

Here in Texas, prices are absolutely going up, and quickly.

Two years ago craigslist was full of NA's being parted out. Now, very few are being parted.

A year ago, a running beater was 1000-1500.

Today a beater is 2500. 

Nice cars are at 5k and above and they do seem to sell.

Florida is thick with stupidly overpriced miatae. They're the go to for the kids that can't get 240s anymore. 

NA Miatas are the hotness for the flatbrim instagram bros - or at least have been the last few years.  Amazingly, they seem to have taken the place of bugeye WRX's and EVO 8s, and even 240s.  Rarely do I see someone under 30 driving one that isnt slammed to the ground on zero offset wheels, a mispainted/stickerbombed fender, and Ebay flares woodscrewed to the rotted quarters.  

Guessing the young'in photographing your car is imagining how good it would look with some Illest and Fatlace stickers and a pink plastidipped hood.  

Get off my lawn!!!

Popular becuz  Yo stance.  

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

It's because they already wrecked the entire stock of the afore mentioned cars and moved to another enthusiast platform because there's already parts available.

It's kind of like watching a plague of locusts.

In reply to NickD :

Thumbs up’d because of the headlights and purple roll bar. 

I think I'll take a more favorable view. Younger dudes (and dudettes) who are interested in driving are actually interested in driving. Many teens and early twentiers no longer see driving as a necessity so may delay getting a license until they can actually afford a decent new (or within a few years) vehicle. If they become an enthusiast after that point, it's mostly by happenstance. Contrast this with your average high schooler or early college student who's actually interested in cars (has a passion, or whatever), they probably can't afford a more enthusiast oriented newer car. Therefore the Answer, is the answer to a cash-strapped young person who's interested in getting more into the automotive scene sooner rather than later. A Miata, at the heart of it, is also just a solid piece of reliable Japanese engineering so a younger driver knows that they won't be left stranded for any particular length of time. 

Also, like the Spitfires, TR6s, and MGBs before them, they're just cool (reliable factors aside) and everybody likes cool cars. 

 I just showed this to all the 20-something dudes I am working with at the moment (some of whom have sporty cars but non of whom are "car guys" per se). They all pretty much laughed at the premise of Miatas being cool. The only one in agreement was the manager, who is about 50, and owns a Supercharged NA.

Maybe "car people" think they're cool because they know what they can do on a track (and other affordable track cars are getting fewer these days), but I hardly think 20-somethings in the general populace think so. All the hipsters want old Volvo wagons, Priuses, and public transit...

Athat said, there is a hella-stanced Miata at the other end of my neighborhood with all the same "illest" BS that previously was common on AE86s and stuff. So I'm guessing Miatas are starting to get pulled into the drift/stance scene.

In reply to NickD :

That car is beautiful. I lost after an na in that color. 

As a 22 year old guy, I am into Miatas because they are probably the cheapest way to get into a rwd car with good dynamics. I was priced out of 240sx's, AE86s, and FC RX7s long ago. I think they are cool, but if I had significantly more money I would probably try something else. 

I know a few 16 year olds with NA's who love them.  They can't afford much so they usually buy eBay purple and neochrome parts. But they're broke so....

Mndsm said:

In reply to NickD :

That car is beautiful. I lost after an na in that color. 

Thank you. When I started looking at buying Miatas, I knew I wanted Mariner Blue. Relatively rare color too, only 13,000 of them were that color. Found one the first week of searching and went and snagged it. 

irish44j said:

Athat said, there is a hella-stanced Miata at the other end of my neighborhood with all the same "illest" BS that previously was common on AE86s and stuff. So I'm guessing Miatas are starting to get pulled into the drift/stance scene.

Starting? The stance bros discovered Miatas about 5-7 years ago. People have been drifting them for a while, but they're a lot harder to drift than a 240 is so they're never going to become a mainstay of that group.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Well, I mean the stance bros have discovered everything. But I've seen more stanced Miatas actually on local street in just the last year or two. I think they're stupid, personally, but each to his own.