Never driven one. They look kinda fun. A friend was posted North just as his dad died. He is going to gift his Dads Miata to me for the two years he is gone so he will have it when he returns. Downside is I have to insure it and we already have quite the fleet. What to do.....
Don't insure it. Trailer it to auto crosses?
Get everything in writing from him to prevent a friendship from going south. Who is responsible for what. How/where it can be driven. Who's responsible for what? Maybe he should provide the insurance.
Park it. Seriously. If he's a valued friend and he really wants the car back when he returns, I don't see a lot of good that can come out of it if you drive it. Heaven forbid something happens to it, or it's not as he remembers it, etc... It belonged to his father, it has sentimental value. Put it in safe storage, start it from time to time, move it around, etc...do what you have to do to keep it from rotting while sitting. But beyond that, just store it.
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I would not like to be in your situation. I do not want someone elses car for two years. Especially a friends car.
Wow, you guys sure plan on destroying stuff. I'm a glass half full kinda guy.
Free Miata to drive for a couple of years? Excellent! Enjoy it and take care of it like it belongs to someone else. Use your brain. Everybody wins.
I think acknowledging our lack of omnipotence is a better way to put it than 'plan on destroying stuff'. I think if you took a survey you'll find that most people who destroyed their friends' stuff on accident didnt actually plan to, but somehow their good intentions did not magically make it right afterwards.
If there is sentimental value here i would just sit on that thing (and try to put it in a safe place, etc. Ive had a tree fall on a car i never got to drive in my yard).
If, on the other hand, he treats it like what it ultimately is (a $2000-3000 toy) and yall are at the point in life where you can lend a friend a $2k object and not hate him if something happens, then sure, go ahead and race it or whatever. My cars are similarly not worth much and ill happily lend them to friends in need and not be too bummed if accidents happen. If, on the other hand, i lend them to someone not particularly in need and they get trashed from under/oversteering into someone elses property on the street i will be pretty miffed on principle.
That's the "use your brain" part. Don't drive in such a way that you end up over/understeering into someone else's property on the street. It's really not that hard. It's quite possible to drive a car for two years without getting into an accident or damaging it in any way. Driving and racing are not the same thing.
Tree fall on it? Can't be helped. Well, other than making sure you don't have sketchy trees overhanging your parking area, such as the one I cut down last year before it fell on something.
Also, care for it. That's not hard - wax it once in a while, maintain it and give it back in better shape than you got it. If the offer was made, this is liable to be what the owner expects. And it's what he should expect. If you're not willing to stand up to it, then definitely turn the car down.
I'm with Keith. I'd be happy to drive someone else's car for two years, and I'm pretty sure I could do so without wrecking it. Free car = an opportunity to do major work on my car, or thin out the fleet (if my fleet were big).
I'm not thinking of destroying it, I'm thinking of being blamed for everything that's wrong with it right now, and everything that happens with it after the friend comes back and starts driving it.
It's right up there beside selling cars to friends and family members.
If someone gave me a Miata that I was supposed to tag, insure, and drive for two years, I'm not sure what I'd do. Sell my Mustang convertible? No, I fit in that, and I have plans for it. Sell my Olds? No, it carries the most stuff, and is pretty good in snow/heavy rain etc bad weather. Sell my VFR? Ha. Yeah, good one, keep trying.
Also the logic is pretty sketchy here, "I was loaned a car I didn't ask for so I had to sell a car of my own to make room for it". Unless I've got cars worth their weight in scrap, and no more, selling doesn't make sense.
And I don't have garage space to just park it and leave it on a battery tender for two years, so I guess it sits outside and I cross my fingers? I don't know the OP's exact situation, and mine is probably quite different from his, but this sounds annoying.
pres589 wrote: If someone gave me a Miata that I was supposed to tag, insure, and drive for two years, I'm not sure what I'd do. Sell my Mustang convertible? No, I fit in that, and I have plans for it. Sell my Olds? No, it carries the most stuff, and is pretty good in snow/heavy rain etc bad weather. Sell my VFR? Ha. Yeah, good one, keep trying. Also the logic is pretty sketchy here, "I was loaned a car I didn't ask for so I had to sell a car of my own to make room for it". Unless I've got cars worth their weight in scrap, and no more, selling doesn't make sense. And I don't have garage space to just park it and leave it on a battery tender for two years, so I guess it sits outside and I cross my fingers? I don't know the OP's exact situation, and mine is probably quite different from his, but this sounds annoying.
Ditto. In my exact situation i'd just say "Thanks but no thanks."
It sounds as if we all have very different relationships with our friends 
If someone's the sort of person who will foist a car off on me and blame me for any perceived defects when he gets back, well, he's not a friend of mine. He might be one of my wife's relatives though.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
I'm not even considering that. If I got blamed for something that wasn't my fault, and I wouldn't tear around in the thing (since I don't know the service history, how safe is this thing again?), but the tree example or some accident that was clearly not my fault then if he was pissed at the end that's his problem.
I'm talking about a car I am told by the internet I don't fit in, that doesn't obviously fit into my plans. Let's say I had a single car and it blowed up somehow, then this MX-5 would be a gift from the heavens. Two years to save up for a different car, that's fantastic. But if that's not the case, this is a hassle.
Sure, then you don't take it. Although don't trust the internet to tell you that you don't fit. According to the internet, I don't fit either. But, well, I disagree with the internet.
If it's a hassle, then say no. If it's an opportunity to drive a car that you want to drive, then say yes. If someone asked me to take care of their classic 911 for a couple of years, I'd make it happen. If someone asked me to take care of a Buick Reatta, well, not so much. Only bearmtnmartin can decide if the opportunity overcomes the hassle. Everyone else is just bringing their personal baggage to the table.
I'm with kieth. It's a beat up old miata, not a priceless heirloom, and my wife and I will just tool around on sunny days in it. I don't plan to thrash it because I already have a race car for that.
If you can spare the space and it will be reasonably sheltered, and aren't likely to have to relocate for the next 2 years, I say go for it. Get it out on sunny days occasionally, which would be good for you and the car.
Insurance varies by state, but my liability policy covers me in other cars. For an occasionally used old Miata I would just take the risk driving it with liability. If it was $40k car, maybe another story. He needs to keep it tagged.
All this depends on your relationship. If this guy is a close friend, then all of this should be fine. There are none of my close friends that just about any scenario involving an old Miata could sour. OTOH, if this guy is motivated more by the need to dump this car somewhere than friendship, I would recommend a U-store-it lot or he should sell it and move on.
Keith Tanner wrote: Wow, you guys sure plan on destroying stuff. I'm a glass half full kinda guy. Free Miata to drive for a couple of years? Excellent! Enjoy it and take care of it like it belongs to someone else. Use your brain. Everybody wins.
And then someone backs into it... You don't ask for that of course, but ka ka occurs...
I'm with kieth. It's a beat up old miata, not a priceless heirloom, and my wife and I will just tool around on sunny days in it. I don't plan to thrash it because I already have a race car for that.
Ok, then it sounds like the major points of possible contention dont apply here. As long as the guys knows its a beat up old miata and not a priceless heirloom, you should be good.
And all this stuff about it being possible to not wreck a car in 2 yrs, or otherwise possible to do everything right that you can actually control, well, totally irrelevant to my point.
Dude, I've loaned a friend a car that he's been borrowing for over a year now. I just made sure it's insured and if he wrecks it, he knows he bought it. No big deal.
It might help if you establish a dollar value for a totaled car ahead of time, but if not, whatever. He's obviously a good friend, you can work it out.
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