Holy smokes Miatas are hot right now.

I listed my rust bucket rallycross short nose 1990 for sale at 10am today, for $1500. Nearly 200k miles and every body panel has rust or huge ass dents. I think the hood might be straight? Maintenance up to date but that's not exactly a huge deal in the 1500 dollar market. Its not like I had any receipts to prove it.

So naturally I had 16 texts, 6 calls, 4 emails and 6 Facebook messages. Three people wanted to haul it off right now. 12 hours later I had a deposit in hand at asking price.

Geez. What a day. Last time I sold a miata it was an immaculate rust free car that needed a front Main seal and nothing else. Otherwise perfect. I couldnt even get two grand for that!

Was it warm and Spring-like where you are today?

Was it equally warm and Spring-like last time you tried?

Yes and mostly. However I figured the $1500 beater market isn't quite as responsive to things like that as the $3000 'nice car' market is. Apparently I was wrong.

Lots of folks have tax refund money in hand and are ready to spend.

In reply to RedGT:

The number of buyers in the sub-challenge price brackets is easily 5x the number in the $3-10k bracket, in my experience. I rarely have trouble selling cheap stuff, but it tends to take a while to sell more expensive things even if they're a better deal.

The $3k 'nice Miata' market is now the $5k 'nice Miata' market. NAs, anyway. NBs can actually be bought a little better right now, from what I'm seeing out here in AZ.

It is always nice to have a fast sale.

Whatever you do never list one for $1000 or under. Once I listed one for $500 firm not running, over 60 different calls, emails or texts within 2 hours.

I should have waited for spring!

If you mentioned the term rallycross in your ads, that may have been the secret sauce at work here. I've been hearing more and more people mention having an interest in it, especially from young guys. Being in Florida, with the FIRM, and an active SCCA rally cross program, I'm shouldn't be surprised. The FIRM has done an excellent job of promoting themselves in the right ways, in the right places. And the SCCA participants certainly preach the awesomeness of it.

This is EXACTLY why I jumped on this a few months back.

'96, automatic, $800. I asked the gf if she'd like her own miata to drive.

Needed shifter bushings, a battery and a rear window.

Battery - $100

Rear Window - $25 from home depot plus $5 in glue

Shifter Bushings - $33

So far, into it for $960. lol. There's no way we could lose money, even if she decides she hates it (she doesn't).

So is now the time to list my semi scruffy 2000 with a salvage title, 86k, from California with a new top and all the maintenance done for 4k?

Dusterbd13 wrote: So is now the time to list my semi scruffy 2000 with a salvage title, 86k, from California with a new top and all the maintenance done for 4k?

That would be an easy sell around here. I sold my busted up '92 sunburst 2 years ago for $4500. Rust and all.

Then bought it back for $1500 a year later?!!??!

The prices of Miatas (around here at least--MidAtlantic) seems to vary wildly with the season. It's kinda crazy.

This doesn't surprise me at all. I've been considering whether I need to turn my Miata and winterbeater into a single car for insurance/plate/driveway space issues. I went to the local Ford dealership to drive a used Focus ST. The salesman asked if I would be selling the Miata and made a very fair offer on the spot. I think its the combination of the NA market being hot (NB values actually seem to be dropping locally) and the time of year. The salesman I was talking to didn't say he'd been looking for a Miata for ages or anything like that, I think it just struck him as an interesting car. The fact that it was 75 and sunny at the time probably helped. There just aren't that many convertibles at that low of a price point that aren't total piles of junk or ridiculously ugly/uncool (looking at you Sebring). Add to that those who want them for some sort of motorsports or even general hoonery and you have a pretty broad customer base.

Similarly, now is the time to buy big nasty 4x4s with broken air conditioning.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: Similarly, now is the time to buy big nasty 4x4s with broken air conditioning.

And winter tires.