Help convince me that the Answer is the answer (NC Miata questions)

A thread on here recently about a Focus ST got me thinking about my automotive situation. I went from a convertible E36 which I loved to a MS3 that on paper was perfect but in reality wasn’t. I never connected with the car the way I wanted to. It’s fast, reliable and practical but its only fun in a scary way or during those brief moments of full boost goodness. So I’m looking back to my roots and I’m thinking I can sell the MS3 and get into a fun rwd convertible for the same money. Locally, NCs are in my price range in decent shape under 100k miles. Help me decide this will work for me and answer some of my questions if you would!

Can the top be lowered from the drivers seat? Raised? I’m 6’2” if that helps. 

My MS3 has needed very little in the 30k I’ve owned it and I like that. Can I expect similar maintenance needs from an NC?

I mountain bike too, mounting one doesn’t look that fun but it doesn’t look that bad either. Anyone have experience? 

My other considerations are: 128i convertible or a DSG GTI. The GTI is for different purposes. My wife can’t drive stick and being able to swap cars with her is appealing but it’s only worth it to me if I can’t find something I’m excited about. 

1) the top can be lowered in about 1 second flat from the driver's seat. Raised in about 4 seconds for me (shuffling about with a roll bar in the way) I'm 6'1" and although it's the biggest Miata, and I just barely have room under the top to get in with a helmet on, I still wish it had more space. An aftermarket seat won't have an airbag... but it will give tall guys more space.

2)Maybe? If it's stock, and the fluids are fresh, it's hard to imagine things going horribly wrong with the under-stressed drivetrain. Parts for these cars aren't as cheap as for NA Miatas, but they are cheaper than Bimmer parts.

3) I used a typical Yakima rack to pick up a mtb...and I didn't like it one bit. the rack was only attached to the trunk lid, which is too small and flimsy to really work well... Some more sturdy dedicated mount is required, which is entirely possible to make.

This looks good

This kinda deal was sketchy for me: The bike is low, and could hit the pavement on some bumps/ramps. I stopped frequently to retighten straps and stop the bike from walking around on the arms. Lots of tape was used. (but maybe I was doin' it wrong?)

Anybody with legs and arms can learn to drive stick.  I hate this excuse, but if it must be automatic, then a DSG does sound nice.

I own a NC, and I'm also 6'2". Hopefully you find my experiences comparable....

NC vs NA/NB - Having spent plenty of time in friends NAs/NBs I never felt that I fit in the car very well. I was practically always staring at the top of windshield, and having to slouch down to have  a clear view. That alone eliminated them from my search. Many here will tell you the NC is currently in the pricing sweet spot. They are starting to get affordable, and plenty of low mileage examples exist. They also have been hit by the "drift crowd" yet.

Convertible Top - Yes the top easily is retractable from the drivers seat. I can actually put it up or down manually with my seat belt on.  Its even easier if you want a PRHT, just push a button and it'll do all the hard work for you!

Maintenance - I have never owned a MS3, but I would expect the maintenance to be less on a NC. I've owned 2 NCs (both 06s) and over the past 15k miles of ownership the thermostat (frequently get stuck open), and the coolant tank (prone to failure due to age) were the only items needing replacement. They do seem to run the batteries dead after sitting for a week or so, but a battery tender is an easy solution. Other than that the NCs have been very carefree.

Overall I'd recommend a NC as a choice for your current situation.

P.S. if you check the for sale section, theres a NC with ~80k miles just lowered to $5500. Smokin deal. I would have bought it if it was available when I was searching for a replacement a year ago. Good Luck!

In reply to tux424 :

Yeah that would be mine.  My plan was to keep it for the next 5+ years so everything mechanical was done right.   Early NCs (apparently pretty much just the 06 models) do have a higher than normal rate of engine failure due to an oiling problem on cylinder 1. Mine happily has an 07 motor so, yay.

I’d look into getting a hitch installed in order to mount a bike rack.  

They are much more “grown up” feeling than NA/NBs.   But IMO that’s a good thing.  They’re also faster and a lot torquier.  I usually drive it shifting 1-3-5 since it’s so light and grunty.

NC is a great answer. 

Might want to try a C5 Vette as well. 

The automatic is a 6-speed auto that works pretty well.  You can shift if from the steering wheel and it blips the throttle on downshifts.

They tend to be more "cruisers" than frenetic corner blasters, so the aftermarket is a bit different between the two.

That said, they move along quite nicely and there is a decent aftermarket for it still to make them better/faster depending on your budget.

When we rented one, I was able to raise and lower the roof myself from the driver's seat and I'm 5'8"  If I would buy one, I'd want a proper rollbar, so being able to raise it wouldn't be as easy.

I've not driven an ND, but so far the NC is my favorite choice as a daily driver Miata bar far.

When I had my 2011 miata, everything was wonderful. Raising and lowering the top was simple and quick (just don't try to do it at speed), and it drove wonderfully. The PRHT is a lot quieter inside at highway speeds, but doesn't have room for much of a rollbar.

For taller folks, there's a mod where you can take the driver's seat and change how the bottom seat pan mounts to the frame and get an extra 1" of headroom. See here: https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?p=5677955#post5677955

As someone who owned a track rat NA (I drove it occasionally before making it that way), has driven track NBs, and had an NC for as a DD for a long time period..............

NC > NA/NB for a DD all day, e'ry day. (I haven't driven an ND yet, and have purposefully done so because I'm not in a position to buy one at the moment)

And there is still plenty of quality aftermarket parts for the cars, just not quite as many as the NA/NB. 

You can swap on RX-8 brakes for an OEM+ upgrade, same with RX-8 sways. There is at least one S/C and one turbo option, you can buy both XIDAs or FOX coilovers overs. Header, exhaust, tunes are available. Rollbars. Wheels. Etc. 

I've had two NCs as well.  I'm only 5'9", so can't help with the height thing.  The top is stupid easy to put up and down. 

The car is dead nuts reliable, sure as the sunrise. 

They're fun to drive but are more "GT" style than the NA/NB.  They're a much better DD.  They are faster than they feel (they don't feel all that fast). 

I can't recall if they did change the seat design, but the early NCs had the worst seats known to man.  I've owned a stupid number of cars over the years and hands down they were the most hated seats I've ever been in.  They will take some "getting used to" and you still won't like them.

The seats are pretty bad... I find that after only 45mins or so they'll start to get uncomfortable.

If your interested in swapping seats Goodwin Racing sells side mount seat bracket that can get you some additional headroom. Currently while wearing a helmet for autox I have to put the top down to fit comfortably.

We owned a 2013 NC Club PRHT for ~ 4 years and ~60k miles.  Bought it a year old with 6k miles and traded it off last year with 65k+.  We also have an NA that has become a dedicated track car, and an NB street car.

The PRHT makes an NC the best "car" of the Miatas we owned, while still being able to be a fun roadster at the press of a button.  PRHT is a major issue if you have to install real roll protection for track events, however, so if it's going to get tracked regularly, I'd pass on the PRHT.  It is quieter than a soft top car, but not by a lot.  I never found the seats to be uncomfortable, but never found the NC to be 'roomy'...  honestly an NA seems 'roomier' to me (as long as the armrests are removed and it doesn't have a race seat).

NCs have enough modern tech to be usable DDs, and an aftermarket head unit takes care of most anything it doesn't have stock.

The NC chassis is really good, and it has room for lots of tire.  Decent springs, shocks and sways, and a good alignment do wonders as the stock suspension is pretty flaccid.   I put good pads, SS lines and fluid in the stock brakes and never had a need for more brakes, but we weren't running it that hard on the track.  Our NA is our hardcore track car.

We never had any mechanical issues with the car, and maintenance was limited to oil/filter changes and tires.  No experience with the auto trans, so can't comment about that.

I didn't care for the looks of the NC when it came out, but it's grown on me, especially the NC3 with some aggressive rubber...

This is all really helpful, thank you everyone! I haven’t driven one yet but I think I need to before going a whole lot further. On paper this seems like what I’m looking for. 

Follow up questions: some posts on this forum suggest avoiding the 2006 models due to engine issues. How common is this? Half of the cars for sale around me are 2006. 

Is the 09 update worth holding out for? 500 more rpm sure sounds nice, is it worth it or would I be better off finding the best condition I can independent of the year?

Thanks again everyone!

Both of my NCs were '06...ironically they were the exact same color and trim level, Galaxy Gray in GT trim.  They were both rock solid reliable, I never did more than oil changes and brakes on either of them.

In reply to spandak :

I've never heard anything specifically about the 06 having engine problems. There we're reports of wiring issues to the coils, which required new pigtails connectors to fix the problem. However nothing major enough to stop me from jumping on an 06 of it was a good deal.

In 09 they got the upgraded internals and an increased readline. Which if that's in your budget I would hold off for the newest nicest NC you can find, especially if you have no preference between a NC1/2/3.

Funny enough, I just sold my NC to buy a 128i cause I needed the back seat. If you can do without a back seat, I'd go NC 100%. It feels decently fast, is a lot of fun, and is easy to drive in any situation. Want to just cruise? Easy. Want to hang the tail out on some turns? Easy to throw it around and easy to catch and drive out. For me, it was the most predictable car I've ever driven. 

Like has been said before, the only real maintenance thing you'll have to watch out for is the coolant tank. $50 ish for OEM style plastic tank or $200 ish for an aluminum one. The 128i you'll definitely have more that needs to be done. Likely valve cover and/or gasket, oil filter housing gasket, and oil pan gasket are extremely common. I've done them all in the 2 months i've had the car.

I'm 6'4" and could fairly easily open/close the top on the NC with my seatbelt on and a harddog double diagonal rollbar.

I mountain bike as well and had similar results as gencollon. A trunk mounted rack is super sketchy on an NC, hitch mounted would be much better but I never had one. I ended up slightly modifying a truck bed fork mount to bolt on where the frankenstein bolts go, using factory hardware, and would attach the fork there and strap the rear wheel to the rollbar. It looked goofy and had some wind noise, and obviously the top has to be down, but it was really solid. 

My NC was an 06 and with a tune from Motoeast, the rev limit got raised to 7400 i think. From what I understand, the higher rev limit is ok for short stints, like and autocross, but can get you in trouble on more sustained, high revving stuff, like a track day.

All that said, I like my 128i, but would have definitely kept the NC if i didn't need the extra seat room.

I've seen more spontaneous engine problems with NCs than with other Miatas. Rod knock comes to mind. I haven't done a scientific study of it, it's just something I've noticed. That includes 2007 models, they had a higher incidence of early death at the time. 

Definitely drive one for an extended test drive if you can. They feel different after 45 minutes than they do when you first jump in. Things like the steering and the seats become more apparent. Despite the greater room in the cockpit, they are definitely headroom limited unless modified. I can't wear a helmet in one with the top up.

The platform definitely got better with time, with the 2013+ Club being the best of the bunch. If you get an NC1 or NC2, plan to put shocks on it IMMEDIATELY. Especially if it has Bilsteins. They were hopelessly badly valved.

The PRHT is a guilty pleasure. Looks goofy when up but man, it's nice to have a button-operated hardtop. It does limit your options for roll protection.

The engine, even the NC2/3 one, never really sparkles but it gets the job done.

The Fox suspension for these is the best Miata on the market for any generation IMO. I'm still trying to port the particular magic over to the other platforms. It's not that they're bad, it's that the NC Fox is really, really good and stands out over all the other high-end options. 

Otherwise, the aftermarket reflects what buyers buy.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Keith in that case should a 2.5 swap be considered "preventive" maintenance? 

Definitely :)

I have to say, I found the NC to feel cramped inside coming from an NA. I can’t remember if it was the headroom or what, but it just felt smaller inside to me. 

I’m 6’3” with a long torso, so maybe that’s why.

In reply to CyberEric :

I think it's the higher center console that gives it that feeling, but I always felt it was less roomy than an NA, and I'm 5'10"... 

In reply to Rodan :

Yeah. And there seemed to be less space behind the driver. I used that "parcel shelf" a TON in the NA.