Miata Hunting parts 2 & 4

Pt 2

I have the awesomely addictive app for my Android phone called Craigsnotifier.  I have it set to notify me on Miatas, among other things.

I get a buzz. Miata, unknown milage, then the pictures.  Dreadful black stripes on red paint, horrid chrome aftermarket wheels, and mentions of a bump on the front fender.  Ok, he’s asking $1400, might be worth it.  I call up, and the seller quickly strikes me as a legit guy.  He’s a cop, got the car on trade, tells me the milage is unknown, tells me about the bump in the front, and said someone called him just before me and has first dibs.  Fair enough.  I tell him to give me second dibs, and he does, tells me to roll over at a specified time.

I get there a bit early, and the gold wheels, bright blue, and boy racer wing of the STi is noticeable, so after everyone looking at the car eyeballs me I go ahead and turn around to park.  Getting out I see a rifle case, and cash, the seller tells me the guy is taking it.  I give it a look-over, notice a busted tail light, finish panel, and the atrocity of the wheels.  The car is running, and sounds slightly off, not ‘on its last legs off’ but off.

..oh well, it’s sold.  This was Sunday.

Pt 4

Back to Craigsnotifier, I see a Roadster, no price, figured I’d call.  Call the guy up, ask him to tell me about the car ‘Red, black stripes, chrome wheels...’  I interject, and ask if he just bought it, then tell him I’m the guy that rolled up.  Alarm bells go off, either this thing has bigger problems, or he’s flipping it for profit.  He then tells me he didn’t realize it was so small, and he’s not comfortable in it.  Ok, buyers remorse.  The guy then tells me he was just looking for wheels, not a sports car, and not the rather austere, very small, and epically trackable car that is a Miata.

…I know at least some of the issues with the car, it’s cheap, but now I need to figure out if it’s worth it. This was Tuesday.