Specific circumstances: Is Miata the Answer?

Background: I've got a 20 year old from the neighborhood coming to look at my Miata tonight.  Not to buy mine, but he recently lost his Impreza to an under-hood grenade explosion and is in need of a replacement.  His circumstances: College student, currently community college, likely will be headed cross country or at least cross state in a year or two to continue his education.  He wanted to know if I'd recommend an NA Miata.  My wife calls me a "Miata cult leader", and he's a good kid, so I want to give him a balanced opinion.  Here's my list so far:

Pro:  Relatively cheap to own, easy to work on if you want to learn to do some of your own work (every job has approximately 57 Youtube "how to's" of varying quality), ownership is a "life experience" you likely won't regret, pop up headlights, huge aftermarket/second-hand parts supply, capable of turning a lot of miles if taken care of properly, convertible.

Con: Not great for tall people (he's probably an even 6 feet), limited storage/trunk space, not a great long distance commuter, convertible, not a great "winter car".

Add to my pros/cons if you got something. 

If he fits, yes. I had an NB through 2 years of college and 2 after. He doesn’t need to take a ton of E36 M3 with him. Put a hitch on and tow a trailer with him, he’ll be fine. 

I would not recommend an NA since they are starting to go for money. I would recommend a NB or NC though, NC's are starting to get near NB money.

It's going to depend mostly on the kid.

With a hitch and the ability to store / rent a small utility trailer, it will do anything a 20-year-old needs to do.  With a hardtop it makes a reasonable year-round driver.

But he needs to be willing to put up with the inconvenience, lack of comfort, mechanical age, and general tiny-sports-car-ness of it on a daily basis.  If he doesn't have that kind of tolerance in him (and it is no crime to lack it), then I would recommend against it.

Miatas are kind of like cats - you don't choose them, they choose you.  If he doesn't feel chosen when he drives it, it won't work for him.

MrChaos said:

I would not recommend an NA since they are starting to go for money. I would recommend a NB or NC though, NC's are starting to get near NB money.

Agreed.  You can buy a nice NB for moderatley nice NA money.  The NA may or may not be a better Miata, but the NB is a better car.  And the NC is far better if you're only going to own 1 car.

BTW - recommend an NB/NC as an alternative was already on the "to do" list.  Personally, I feel like I fit better in an NA, so it would definitely be a "go sit in/drive all three before you do anything" sort of recommendation. 

Yeah, my first Miata was an NB; the second an NA. The NB was a much better car, frankly I wish my current one was an NB. 

People always talk about height with Miatas. It's really not height, but proportions. I'm 6'0" with no issues but I've not got a super long torso. A friend of mine who's 6'4" DD'd an NA then an NB for years with no issues.

I wouldn't recommend a convertible for college duty.  College cars sit unattended in parking lots for long periods of time, its only a matter of time before the top gets slashed to get something out of the interior.  

I'm not sure how a hardtop would do though.  Maybe better?

rothwem said:

I wouldn't recommend a convertible for college duty.  College cars sit unattended in parking lots for long periods of time, its only a matter of time before the top gets slashed to get something out of the interior.  

I'm not sure how a hardtop would do though.  Maybe better?

Yes better, but we don't know his situation. Maybe he has a garage? I kept mine in a parking garage nearby.

Don't get the issue with the soft top and winter. 10 years of  year round driving in Ontario and it was never an issue. Liked it better when I put a new top on with a glass rear window, but plastic was not an issue. Worst I recall was some door icing, but nowhere near as bad as the FRS.

Good chance you wont be the one driving people to the bar in a two seater. So put that on the plus side.

First two years I used mine as a long distance cruiser as I bombed around NA visiting friends during my breaks from working overseas. Everything I needed for 4 weeks of hobo-couch-surfing-life fit in the trunk or behind the seats. 1000 mile days were no big thing as heater, AC and sound system all worked fine.

NOHOME said:

Don't get the issue with the soft top and winter.

I drove a ragtop as my daily for more than 10 years.  It is doable.  But it's kind of nice when your car interior is not all the way down to ambient temperature on subfreezing mornings, and doesn't leak (air and/or water) when it's 43 and raining.

I've never had my car interior be warmer than ambient first thing in the morning, whether it was a soft or hard top. That's what heaters are for. But my years of driving a small RWD convertible in the winter are behind me. For a college student, they could be in front of him! It builds character.

In regards to some of the 'cons' listed:

Snow tires on a Miata makes for an exceptionally fun winter car.

If he's driving round-trip across the state/country every weekend, a Miata may not be the best...But if just doing it on occasion, it's certainly no big deal.

All vehicles technically have 'limited' trunk space...It's merely a matter of to what degree.  Same with personal height (and width) factors. 

Even more important than on tin-tops, keep anything of interest/value out of sight or not in the car at all. Lock the storage compartments, not the doors.

On the security front, I think a convertible on a college campus is largely a matter of primary parking arrangements. For instance, I doubt I would do it with street parking near campus or the bars. Covered private parking at a decent apartment I would be fine with.  Open lot parking might be bit of a toss-up, depending on other local factors.

I drove a Miata through a few university years in Ontario, including a stage where I was running Ottawa/London and back every few weeks. Works just fine. One nice thing about the small interior volume of the Miata is that it heats up really quickly, so it's actually a good cold weather car in that regard.

I've driven my NB most winters. I have a hardtop for it and I really appreciate the better rearward visibility it affords. I rarely drive it with the soft top up ,so it's top down/summer and hardtop/winter.

I had some sort of Miata throughout my college experience and it was mostly fine. My 1990 had some minor issues that I had to fix in less than ideal places, so if he should be down for that aspect. Also I didn't have any issues with stuff getting stolen when I street parked it, but no one on college campuses knows how to parallel park so you can say goodbye to the paint on the  bumpers. As far as luggage capticity goes, you learn to work with the limitations. Despite some of the annoyances, the driving experience really made it worthwhile. 

In reply to rodknock :

My concern with street parking an unlocked convertible near the campus and bars of most colleges is probably less of what might be taken out of the car by any immoral person who might give the door handle a pull, and more of what might be left in it by any drunk who might give the door handle a pull...From garbage to bodily fluids. 

Probably not the most valid concern, but one I would have a hard time shaking nonetheless. 

Thing is, a hardtop that's not bolted in is going to be worse than a soft top as it'll probably take a walk fairly quickly.

I used my 91 as my DD through college with no issues. I'm also 6' tall and fit fine. I did get all my CDs stolen once but I had vents in my quarter windows so the car was pretty easy to break into. My fault for not keeping them in the trunk I guess. Someone mentioned that you can't be DD with a two-seater. That was always great when my roommates wanted to go out.