m edition 96' miata

Looking to pick up a 96 Miata for a town car to and from work And who doesn't like buying outright A friend found this one for sale, and since I'm new to miatas I'm looking for advice if it looks like a good buy

http://neworleans.craigslist.org/cto/3871536113.html

This is car in question, Sits at 156k Miles And he's done some heavy maintenance according to his texts.

I'm looking at it on the 4th Of july And looking for some input on it

I'd put a real valve cover back on there that doesn't leave the timing belt exposed, and put a real air filter on there, not a little pool toy or whatever he's got. Probably replace the timing belt, depending on how long it's been running completely exposed like that. The price doesn't seem stupendous to me, but I haven't been watching the market too closely lately.

I'm not thrilled by the Megan coilovers but if it's not wrecked otherwise damaged it's probably not a bad deal.

FWIW lots of people run with the Protege valve cover, and I've yet too see any problems reported because of it. Needs the OE filter box. The Megan coilovers are not that bad, I've ridden on them. Lack of AC is no good for a street car IMO. All in all I think the price is fair.

I'll sell you my '96 M edition w 85,000 miles. Located in Indianapolis. $6,000. Email me if interested.

The fact that the only pictures of the exterior are one shadowed and one wet seems weird...

I dunno what the value in your area is or how much you like M edition... I just bought a 99 with just over 100K miles on it and only minor flaws for 4700. Granted no torsen but those can be added for $400-$500 from what I have seen, cheaper if you really work for it.

That interior looks a bit used, ripped top, missing air vent, misaligned pannels (windshield defroster vents look to not fit right) and owners who have spent a lot of time messing with things from the look of it... (random semi budget looking aftermarket parts)

I'd want him to come down quite a bit... and even then if you can spend $4500, unless your area is a bit more expensive then socal, I think you can find quite a bit nicer 1.8l NA then the one shown... IMO a worn M package isn't as good a street car as a nice standard one, the torsen isn't going to be noticed too often and is most of the rest just aesthetic?

Hardtop is nice, but I wouldn't want one on a non-track car. I've only driven the miata for around 20 minutes with the top up since I got it. Can't really put the hard top down, and honestly not something I would want to be removing all the time alone. Could be done but they are big enough that you will likely mess up and scratch paint eventually.

Sorry if I am too negative here, just the opinion of a guy who just bought a miata.