FS: 2001 Miata, 6 Speed, 125K miles

[lxpeery]

Between the caliper, the tires, and throw out bearing, even without the CEL you are looking at a $3000 car. All of those things fixed (plus painting the wheels silver again), puts you in the $4k-$5k range. It really comes down to how much effort you are willing to put into the car

Yeah, we're honestly on the same page. I sure as Hell wouldn't pay anywhere near four grand for it. Shit, as it sits, I probably wouldn't buy it at all.

Doing the required 120k service doesn't add value, but it keeps it from being deducted.

Honestly, I would argue with you on that one. To someone who knows cars, I'd say you're right. However, the vast majority of uneducated car buyers will place additional value on recently completed big maintenance. From their perspective, it's a $1200 job that they will not have to do, and that absolutely adds value. I've had multiple instances where I was selling a car for top market value, and buyers paid more for an older, more beat up or higher mileage example of the model on the basis of recent maintenance. Now we're getting into details though

Really, this sums up what I was expecting. I'd love to see the car go to someone who would take care of it, but I'll get the most money unloading it on someone with big dreams and poor impulse control.

Now it's just back to the big question: what next?