Mazdaspeed Miata is valued as a Regular Miata

I'm attempting to buy a very will setup Mazdaspeed Miata but unfortunately nearly every bank and KBB seem to value the car as a regular Miata. Is there something I'm missing when it comes to getting a loan on a MSM? 

My 02 was just wrecked thanks to a driver turning in front of me. The price for the car I'm chasing sadly is out of the range that most will lend as it seems whenever I get a quote for a Mazdaspeed, the quote is the same for a regular Miata. Heck the price of the one I'm looking at is the same as the price of most dealerships, its just a personal sale.

They don't seem to have much of a price premium over regular Miatas. I've had my MSM since new and if I were going to sell it, I would ask more than the going market prices for non-MSMs. That being said, these cars are at now at least 14 years old. I personally wouldn't buy a used car, much less a 14-15 year old one, that I could afford to pay cash for, but that is just me and not really helpful to your situation.

If you have a good credit score, check out Lightstream.   They’ll lend at a reasonable rate with no restrictions on age or mileage. 

I got a loan at 3.69% for my ‘07 Cayman.

You can get an auto loan for something over 10 years old?

I got a personal loan when I bought the S60R, even though they said they'd stretch the rules a little and give me an auto loan for an 11 year old car.  The reason was, the difference in interest only amounted to a couple bucks a month, and I get to have the title in my hands.

(It's almost paid off, btw.  Will have knocked a 36 month loan down to under two years)

Knurled. said:

You can get an auto loan for something over 10 years old?

You can from certain lenders. PenFed being one mentioned on here before, it just has to be for less than NADA.

In reply to T.J. :

Thats a good adage to have. Sadly being in Vegas, I don't trust anything without some measure of gap. I lost 2k on the last one which is a bit depressing as it was one of the cleanest miatas I could find. 

Here is some very recent GRM chatter on nearly the same topic that you might find helpful.  

BoxheadTim said:

Knurled. said:

You can get an auto loan for something over 10 years old?

You can from certain lenders. PenFed being one mentioned on here before, it just has to be for less than NADA.

PenFed will loan up to 110% of NADA which in theory means up to 10% more than its worth. 

On NADA I just ran a 2005 Mazdaspeed w/ 100k miles w/o hardtop and the retail value came up as $6,500. At 110% that would be $7,150.

So, in this example the most PenFed would loan you is $7,150.  If your seller is asking $10,000 than you can still buy the car but PenFed will only lend you $7,150 so you have to come up with the rest in cash like a down-payment when buying a new car.  So, $2,850 needed in cash. 

FYI: on NADA, a plain Jane, non Mazdaspeed 2005 Miata with 100k miles came out to a value of $5,050

The bank may not know the difference but my insurance company sure knew how to charge me more for my MSM over a non-turbo Miata.

Yeah, it's funny how the insurance cos are always on the ball with stuff like this...

I (mis?)remember Keith writing at some point that if you want a turbo NB you're usually better off turboing a regular NB as the MSM wasn't that great in the first place.

I wrote that back when the MSM was new. Boy, did the MSM owners not appreciate that...

It depends on your power goals. The MSM is really easy to bring to right about 200 rwhp with the Little Enchilada package. Going further than that, you'll end up replacing all the parts that make the engine any different. It'll still have the unique body and interior, though.

BoxheadTim said:

I (mis?)remember Keith writing at some point that if you want a turbo NB you're usually better off turboing a regular NB as the MSM wasn't that great in the first place.

He wasn't wrong. The MSM's strength, and the reason I bought one over an LS, was that you were given the choice of a 140hp Miata or a better looking 178hp MIata with a bit more 'personality' for basically the same price. As noted though, once you deviate substantially from stock, the performance and personalities between them quickly merge.

I valued it as more than a regular MIata, but even when new the general (Miata buying) public did not. With the prevalence of aftermarket turbo Miatae available on the used market, I wouldn't expect that to change much until/if it eventually reaches some threshold of collectability. 

jharry3 said:

The bank may not know the difference but my insurance company sure knew how to charge me more for my MSM over a non-turbo Miata.

That's weird, because I know that most insurance companies don't recognize a Mazdaspeed3 as different than a Mazda3. I have known several people who have bought Mazdaspeed3s and the insurance is exactly the same as a Mazda3. I presume that also applies to the Mazdaspeed6,

In reply to NickD :

It also applies to the S60R, even though with its specific bumpers and suspension pieces, by all rights it should be much more expensive.