1996 Mazda MX5 Miata

1.8L 4 Cylinder Gasoline Fuel

Manual

JM1NA3536T0700567

1996 Mazda Miata with 5 speed manual. I purchased the car recently and decided that it needs more work that I am willing to do. If you are looking for a cream puff that has not been smoked in, this certainly is not it. With that said, the engine seems sound and has good oil pressure. It does have an oil leak from the engine. I left it running in my driveway today to mess with the engine timing, and it left a puddle of about an inch in diameter. I don't know where it is coming from and haven't looked. I do have records that seem to indicate the oil was changed regularly. The steering wheel was in very bad condition, so I put an expensive Momo on it that I had laying around. The engine does not have good power and it has difficulty revving past about 4,000 rpm or climbing a steep grade. I believe that the catalytic converter is plugged. I was going to take it off to check it out, but found the bolts to be rusted. I went to put my torch to it, and ran into torch problems. One of the electric fans on the radiator does not work (the primary) although the AC fan works. I purchased the car and drove it home about 40 miles without incident. I have driven it two or three times since then just tinkering, and again had no problem getting home. The prior owner advised that they had a new clutch and AC compressor put in it about a year ago. She also advised that she had the brakes done. Clutch and brakes work fine. Haven't tried the AC. It does have cruise control, although I don't know if it is working. There is some rust on the driver's side, right in front of the rear wheel (see photos). The rest of the car seems solid. It appears that there has been pain on various areas of the car. I haven't' run a car fax, so I'm interested to see what e-bay says about the title history. Although this car runs and drives, it needs work. The person that I purchased it from is a client that I have known for years and she was driving it daily when I bought it, although I wouldn't recommend buying it with the expectation of it being an immediate daily driver. I think if the catalytic converter is repaired, it will run much better and might be good transportation. Please e-mail me with questions before bidding. Thank you. I just noticed that I didn't put any interior photos in. The seats are not in good shape and will need to be redone. The carpet appears okay, although dirty like the rest of the car. Remember that the buy it now will disappear when the reserve is met. The reserve is significantly lower than the buy it now.