Rare Miata?

Not mine. Discuss: http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/1565014859.html

Rareish.

The first of the limited editions. Public reaction was so delirious that special editions became de rigeur from then on. You should see how many they had in Europe!

Typical production numbers for the later special/limited cars was around 4500, the 1991 BRG had 4000 in the US. So this one isn't any more scarce than, say, a Mazdaspeed or a 1995 M Edition. There's been more attrition over the last 19 years though. I know I cut one up for my Locost

Keith wrote: The first of the limited editions. Public reaction was so delirious that special editions became de rigeur from then on. You should see how many they had in Europe!

Standard ones are almost rarer than a special edition . And that's before the grey imports from Japan turned up - they had their own set of special editions over there, on top of what everybody else got.

The green V-Spec (which is what this one was called at least in Japan) is actually quite nice as long as the seats or the wood isn't worn too badly.

If that BRG limited edition model is the same as in Australia, the steering wheel is a neat wooden Nardi item.

Yes its rare, but nothing too special. Somebody may correct me on this, but to the best of my knowledge the only "special" special editions (not including NC's) are as follows:
1993 LE
1994-97 R
1999 10 AE
Mazdaspeeds.

Other than that, it was just a pretty color or nameplate or something similar.

One of our local Spec Miata builders got one a year or so back. They checked with the club of enthusiasts to see if there was any interest in preserving it. "Save it or race it?" they asked, and nobody really spoke up to save it (not knowing or recalling now how far gone it may have been). It's a race car now.

I don't care much for any of the LEs, although my dad bought a Sunburst new in '92 and still has it, and the wife has a Mazdaspeed. I have a BRG hardtop off a '91 on my white '90 and it's not a bad color if you have to go the non-matching-hardtop route, which all of us cheapskates wind up doing.

I'd only hold out for a 93LE, or a Mazdaspeed, in terms of special editions. Nothing else is that special. Miatas were meant to be raced, so I'd have no objection to any Miata being turned into a spec-racer.

Special or not it seems fair priced if it really is as stated.
$5400 should easily mean a $5000 sale price.
Factor $750 for included hardtop = $4250 for what should/could be a well maintained, garage kept, low mileage clean car that was kept away from winter driving. You could do a lot worse.

Look at a NB for the same money and you could well be over 100k miles.

Side note. it claims to have a black soft top. Shouldn't that been tan from the factory?

I've seen several over here with black soft tops and the couple that I saw with tan ones had aftermarket tops on them. Of course this might be different in the US.

I want 5 NA Miata's in my collection someday. Not because I think they are going to be worth a lot but because I like them.

1990 early VIN, 91 BRG, 93 SE, 95 M, 97 STO

I like the early VIN and the STO because it would be the first and last. I like the BRG color, I like the 93 SE because it was the first NA that had unique parts on it and was the predesessor to the R setup. I like the 95 M because of the color and the unique seats.

I thought about the R's and the yellow but they don't do much for me (I thought about buying a yellow new in 92 when dealers were heavily discouting them but passed). Also though about the 99 anniv edition but not a NB fan.

I like the BRG's and STO's. I have NO interest in an early VIN. M's only appeal to me as parts cars.

The 1991 BRG came with a black top. In Canada, BRG came back as a regular colour in 1994-97 and when ordered with a tan interior, had a tan top. So ironically, the non-limited edition is better looking than the limited one. And produced in lower numbers because Canadian Miata sales were pretty bad in that time period. Did you know that in 1990, Miata sales were higher per capita in Canada than the US?

Luke, the US car had a big ugly airbag wheel.

If you only count a special edition as "special" if it has a mechanical difference that had never been seen before, then the 1993 LE (rough Bilstein suspension) 1999 10AE (6-speed gearbox) are the only special ones in the US. That 1993 LE suspension returned in the R and the 6-speed became more and more common in the NB.

The Mazdaspeed was never marketed as a special edition, interestingly enough, even though it has production numbers on par with most of them and is the Miata that varies the most from the norm from a mechanical standpoint. There are lots of little tiny detail touches that got modified on that car. The R was also never marketed as a special edition, only a trim level, and didn't include any parts that hadn't been seen before. They were just mixed up differently.

I'm pretty much immune to special editions myself. If I want a certain Miata, I'll build it In (almost) stock form, the one that interests me the most is the Mazdaspeed but I'd love to drive a bone stock 1990 in as-new condition at sea level someday, just to remind myself what they're like.

Not to threadjack but I have a 94' Laguna blue R package. How "rare" is that?

the truly rare NA is the "rust-free edition"

that's really the only one i'd pay extra for.

Buzz Killington wrote: the truly rare NA is the "rust-free edition" that's really the only one i'd pay extra for.

I'll make you a deal on my '96 M Edition, sitting in my garage right now. Totally rust free, and only 75,000 miles.

dankspeed wrote: Not to threadjack but I have a 94' Laguna blue R package. How "rare" is that?

http://www.miata.net/faq/production.html#How%20many%20of%20my%20color%20Miata%20were%20built?

Looks like there were 1788 Laguna blues made that year. Don't know how many were Rs. That's a pretty color.

Then they are all rare in the south. I'm under Miata's all the time and have never seen a spec of rust on the body, chassis or suspension on any car from the south east or south west.

About 6 months ago I bought a $600 Miata here in Georgia that had sat in a back yard in the mud and uncovered for over 2 years. No rust anywhere. The lower control arms has a slight dusting of rust from being so close to the mud but it essentually wiped off with a towel. The biggest problem was several of the plastic pieces (notably the bumper covers, mirrors and rear finish panel) were starting to get stained from black mold on them.

^ Your experience would be somewhat different if you were in Ontario...or Michigan.

Keith wrote:

dankspeed wrote: Not to threadjack but I have a 94' Laguna blue R package. How "rare" is that?

http://www.miata.net/faq/production.html#How%20many%20of%20my%20color%20Miata%20were%20built? Looks like there were 1788 Laguna blues made that year. Don't know how many were Rs. That's a pretty color.

I've seen different numbers depending on where I was looking at the time. Wouls love to know an exact number of LGB R pakages for 94'. Wonder if Mazdo corp. would know? I do love the color. The second I saw it i knew I had to have it. Never plan on selling it either.

I seem to remeber that the rarest was last year R models. I am not sure if that was '96 or '97 (what ever was the last year) but something like 57 of them left the factory.

Sure, you could put the same options on after sale.

1997 and there were 47 made. As Keith said R models are not something that interests me as they are basically stripper regular cars with a manual rack and Bilsteins. The only thing really unique was the +1mm, 20mm front sway bar.

Now if Mazda North America had ordered them with the 1.9L B spec BP engine (to match the Z3 1.9 engine) or offered a steeper 4.3 ratio then it would have been a different story. But they didn't.

dankspeed wrote: Not to threadjack but I have a 94' Laguna blue R package. How "rare" is that?

Interested in selling?

In reply to mtn: Never

IIRC, the BRG limited edition had a plaque with the original owner's name on it ("Built Especially For Jeff Hoon," for example). I would look at that as a negative, especially if I can't get it off without damaging something.