11-02-2006, 10:42 AM
finding a hardtop is usually a hassle and normally around $1000. so if it already has one, thats definitely a plus. panasports are also awesome wheels and can be had for probably around $600 or so. as RJ said, koni doesnt make x-way adjustable shocks. its just a knob that you turn without clicks. the price is decent considering all the extras you get. i'm not positive on most groups/track's rules, but a roll bar is usually needed (but definitely recommended) so its history on track may not be extensive even if it does have a hardtop.
the things that you wanna keep an eye on is that mazda recommends replacing the timing belt at 60k. see if he's done that in his recent service. also, coilpacks are known to fail on those cars. if its a california emissions car, it will have two cats. if a coilpack goes bad, it'll throw a CEL if unburnt fuel gets on the precat. then again, the car seems to throw a CEL for anything, so dont be too alarmed if you do buy it and it comes on. regardless, the 99-00 miatas have cast iron exhaust manifolds which are very restrictive and a tubular replacement can be had for pretty cheap wether its a stock piece from 01-05 or an aftermarket one, both of which show pretty good gains over the crappy cast iron one. if it is a cali emissions car, the newer header wont have the precat, but you can get an electronic eliminator for the extra O2 sensor from baker electronics which i plan on doing fairly soon. i'm sure there are other things to look out for, but those are the only major things that come to mind. if the car is in good shape, then its not a bad deal at all
the things that you wanna keep an eye on is that mazda recommends replacing the timing belt at 60k. see if he's done that in his recent service. also, coilpacks are known to fail on those cars. if its a california emissions car, it will have two cats. if a coilpack goes bad, it'll throw a CEL if unburnt fuel gets on the precat. then again, the car seems to throw a CEL for anything, so dont be too alarmed if you do buy it and it comes on. regardless, the 99-00 miatas have cast iron exhaust manifolds which are very restrictive and a tubular replacement can be had for pretty cheap wether its a stock piece from 01-05 or an aftermarket one, both of which show pretty good gains over the crappy cast iron one. if it is a cali emissions car, the newer header wont have the precat, but you can get an electronic eliminator for the extra O2 sensor from baker electronics which i plan on doing fairly soon. i'm sure there are other things to look out for, but those are the only major things that come to mind. if the car is in good shape, then its not a bad deal at all
1994 Ford Ranger
2004 Honda S2000
2007 BMW X3
2004 Honda S2000
2007 BMW X3