1990 Mazda Miata

Convertible

1.6L 1597CC l4 GAS DOHC Naturally Aspirated

Manual

JM1NA351XL0139501

Clear

GAS

Relisting this due to a non-paying bidder. I had said I wouldn't relist this if it didn't sell, but two problems - 1) it actually "sold" Friday evening, two days before auction end as the reserve had been met and 2) I promptly purchased Saturday morning a Fiat 124 I had been watching on eBay before someone else had a chance to hit the Buy It Now (check out my purchase history, you'll see the car). So now I have to sell to both put money back in the bank and make room in my garage for the Fiat. Correspondingly, I have greatly reduced my Buy-It-Now from the previous $6500 to $5500 and to also be in-line with the previous final bids. End time has also been reduced from 7-day to 5-days, now ending at 8PM Central Time Wednesday night. I'm slightly biased, of course, but I don't believe there has ever been nor ever will be a first year Miata on eBay in better condition than this one. Please e-mail at steve@offshoreinland.com if you want additional pics or descriptions. This is a first year, 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata that my dad bought in early 1990. He owned it for 13-years and I’ve had it for 9-years. My dad is the only person on the planet, or at least that I’ve ever run across, that cleans & maintains his vehicles more meticulously than me. This Miata is as close to original and showroom condition as they come. A gorgeous 22-year old rust free, accident free, always-garaged daily driver that still gets a lot of compliments and has won some awards in local car shows. Original owner’s manuals are in the glovebox. The car is almost without blemish. It has always been garaged and only wetted by a water hose when washed or by the occasional freak rainstorm. It has never seen snow, definitely not ice or salt, and has lived in either Tennessee or Alabama its entire life. The result is NO rust ANYWHERE, even on the undercarriage. I wipe around the doors, trunk and hood every wash so all is clean and all rubber is still soft and pliable. The engine also gets a hand wipe down each wash as evidenced by the factory new appearance in the photos. It is virtually grime and dirt free, therefore, and has never required degreasing or soaking with a hose. The 61k miles are actual miles. All hoses, belts, plugs, plug wires and all fluids were changed as a preventive maintenance (PM) item just before 60k miles. I have all the “old” hoses, belts and wires and will include them in the trunk. There are NO leaks from anywhere of any kind, nor has there ever been. It burns NO oil and has been regularly changed at no more than 3000 miles. I use only full synthetic and genuine OEM Mazda filters, and do all changes myself. The transmission shifts effortlessly, clicking into place cleanly like it did in 1990. The gearbox oil was drained and refilled as part of the pre-60k PM. The brake pads were recently replaced with the ceramic, dust-free type and work very well. All maintenance and costs are recorded, including mileage, gallons and the resulting MPG at EVERY fill up. I usually take it on weekend cruises under blue skies only, meaning that it sees a combination of local and highway miles. The average is around 28MPG. The paint is original and very glossy with absolutely no fading, even on the bumpers. I’m pretty sure dad waxed it at least yearly, but I use only polish as it is and has always been inside the protection of the garage. There are no dents or dings, only very few and very minor imperfections that can only been seen with the sun hitting just right & at the right viewing angle. There have never been any wrecks or fender benders. I always park in the back of parking lots with one side to a curb to assure no door dings. The top is original. There are no exterior tears or damage evident anywhere. The plastic rear window has always been zipped down and sandwiched between two terry cloths before the top is dropped. There is no discoloration and only minor & fine scratches as seen in the photos. The zipper for the window, however, is separated for about the last inch on the driver side. This happened when the car was only about 5-years old. It doesn’t interfere with anything, however, as you just need to stop the zipper before getting to the separated section. The outside looks very, very good. The inside has areas where the cloth is wearing from the vinyl, again shown in the pics. Not a big deal & something that goes away anyway once the top is down. There is an OEM like-new black boot that both snaps and locks into a channel for covering the top when down. This is mostly aesthetic, however, and it has correspondingly spent most of its life in the trunk and looks brand-new. Everything works, nothing that doesn’t. This car has never transported pets or been smoked in. Dad removed the ashtray within the first week and installed a Whistler remote radar detector. Not that he ever sped anywhere, it was just the cool new gadget way back in 1990. The detector is still there and still works, although it’s archaic at best by today’s standards. The remote sensor is mounted in the intake area of the front bumper. This is the only non OEM thing on the car. The headrests have speakers so you can clearly hear the tunes with the top down. The seats have no rips, tears or damage of any kind. The door sills have been protected with the OEM sill plates and the carpet by the OEM monogramed mats since day one. There is no road rash (curbing) or damage of any kind to any of the rims. The tires are several years old but that’s only because it’s driven so little each year. Above the wear bars and approximately 6-7/32 left…about 5-years left in them the little I drive. No dry rot whatsoever as they’re both usually inside and under a coat of Armour-All. The gel type battery usually dies about every 5-6 years on schedule. I last replaced this about two years ago. The AC blows very cold and the heat allows you to cruise with the top down in December (at least in Alabama). The AC was converted to R-134 a while back. The only “issue” of any kind with this car is that it tends to vibrate the steering wheel between about 67-72MPH. The weird thing about it is that it only does it intermittently and has always done it since day one. Dad had the tires re-balanced early on and then speed balanced to eliminate the vibration. His second set of tires were high-end Yokohamas that also balanced out nicely. It doesn’t bother me - I’m below 65MPH except on the interstate, where I try to run just above 70MPH as part of my driving nature anyway. Just calling out for note as I believe in full disclosure (note my 100% feedback rating) and also to let you know that a good balancing job has proven to make this a non-issue in the past. The longest I’ve ever kept any vehicle beside this one is about 5-years. I’ve had the itch for another toy for a while now and have been eBaying for TR4s, TR6s, Spitfires, MGBs, MGAs, Fiat 124s and the like for a while now. I kind of don’t want to sell the Miata since it’s been in the family for so long, and am probably a little stupid for selling something that is almost ZERO maintenance for something that will probably require significant upkeep, but I’ve had a 1978 124 Spider and a 1975 MGB in the past and I’ve got the itch pretty bad regardless. I called dad to see if he wanted it back, but his garage is now occupied by a 2011 shiny red Corvette. I have the clear title in hand. This car cranks the first time, every time, and has NEVER given me any issues. I personally would have no issues with driving this car across country and back, it’s been that reliable. Given the perfect fall driving weather, consider flying to Mobile, Alabama, and driving it back. Or, as an option, I can even deliver or meet halfway, up to around 300 miles, for an additional $1.00 per mile. I’m 43 now and the car, therefore, has always been adult (age and behavior) driven. Call 251-402-1724 if you have any questions or want any additional or higher resolution pics e-mailed; ask for Steve. I prefer to talk to whomever wants this before had to have some assurance that it would be going to a good home (and prefer, therefore, that it goes the Buy-It-Now route). The reserve, by definition, is at my absolute minimum…if it doesn’t sell at this amount I’m not relisting and I’ll take that as my sign to keep the car and to ignore my Italian & British ragtop itch. Note - I couldn't figure how to add beyond eBay's limit of (24) pictures when listing tonight. I took almost (100) pics this evening and can send some additional if you're interested...e-mail me at steve@offshoreinland.com. On Nov-05-12 at 17:08:46 PST, seller added the following information: Here's some more pictures...http://s1290.beta.photobucket.com/user/swhitfield2471/library/ Also, the posting ends 7PM CST Wednesday (Daylight Savings Time messed me up), not 8PM.