Valuation of low miles Miata?

If you had a 1990 Miata with around 43,000 miles on it that has been stored inside for 17 years, driven just enough to stay healthy and looks just like a 3-year old 1990 Miata, what would you ask for it? What would you pay for it?

Nothing special--no hardtop and it's red---just a basic first year Miata in excellent condition.

thanks!

Per

A year or so ago I started a discussion about a very low mileage '91 Miata (under 15K) that was for sale at the local Lotus dealer for about $13K (IIRC). I'm not sure how much it actually sold for - and it did have a hardtop, SE leather interior & BRG paint - but it did eventually sell.

Me being an auto-x wannabe ES nerd, I'd be more interested in an R model were I really in the market to buy, but for a nice, clean base Miata, probably no higher than $5K. Obviously, an automatic would hurt the value, IMHO.

I am not sure if I would play the "classic" angle as much as the "comparable" angle. To find a 43k Miata that is driven normally would likely bring you to a 2004 Miata. I figure a buyer who may just be looking for a "fun red convertable" might cross shop all the way down to your '90 Miata. That hypethetical '04 Miata might retail for $13k so at $9k you might draw in a buyer. The challange will be on the buyers part if the buyer wants to finance. Getting a large loan on a 22 year old car will not just be the typical routine.

funny thing is.. not only is a 1990 a classic.. according to the state of NJ.. in 4 years will be considered an antique.

That makes me feel old

A unique car such as this will require an equally unique buyer. This will be a person to whom the entire rarity of the situation has value in and of itself. It will also require a person to whom money is not the deciding part.

I do business some dinners in Europe where people spend quantities of money such that this car could be bought, driven home as the dogie bag, and disposed of in the trash like a paper plate.

My guess, is that it could sell for about 10k.

There's one just like that for sale in the Ottawa club. He's asking $10k Canadian. Miatas are a bit more expensive up there, but I think he's going to have a hard time selling it for that much.

It's not really a unique car. A bit rare, yes. But 43k isn't the same as 4300, and there are still a surprising number of Miatas out there that are pampered little beasties.

I was going to say what Keith said in his second paragraph. Since a Miata is small and convertible, very low mileage examples aren't nearly as rare as they are with more normal cars. However, early Miatas continue to hold their value far better than the average Japanese car, and yours is probably at the high end of value. I don't think you would sell it immediately at $8k - $9k, but I think it would eventually sell. Certainly you could get $5k for it, but that seems too low to me.

I didn't think low mile miatas would be hard to find either. I work with a guy that has a 94 with under 18K on it. It gets parked in the garage every september and comes out late may for a tuneup. That is just how he was taught that convertibles were treated and there are a lot of other folks out there that agree. I used to get a lot of grief when I was driving my Miata in the snow from people that think convertibles are summer only cars.

My '90 Miata has seen lees than 50k miles in the 17+ years that I have owned it. Most of those years it was mostly driven in parking lots for like 0:58:46 seconds at a time and just in the summer.

I did a fair amount of Miata shopping a while back and have kept my eye on prices to be sure I don't put more money into mine than its worth. Honestly, based on what I've seen, here in the midwest, it would probably sell to the right buyer for somewhere between $5 and 7K. I'm not sure there's really much of a "collector" market for Miatas b/c they are so common and tend to be a driver's car. Believe it or not, low-mile "minty" Miatas are fairly common here in MI because people only tend to drive them about 5 months out of the year. Down south, it may be a bit more "rare" to find one in that condition/mileage range. The real buyer competition is in the thoroughly flogged, high mile $2-3K range. Those sometimes last on Craigslist mere hours around here.

Hey Keith, do you mean this '93 LE, Black w/red interior with 28K km (17K miles) asking $10,500?

(obligatory hotlink)

Ottawa

Data points:

I bought a pretty clean rust-free black/tan '95 w/ torsen and 45K miles on it this summer for $5700 this summer in Michigan. It was a thousand bucks more than what I'd call a good deal, but the alternative was a fly and drive OR waiting for the right car to come along and wasting half the summer. Last year ago I got a red '90 w/ 55K on it and some scratches/faded paint for $2800 with hardtop.

An older guy showed up for a miata dinner(the local Club traveled to a nearby small town for dinner and ice cream) recently with a '91 B package automatic car with 47k that he had just paid $7000 at a local dealer. Based upon the other posts, that was a fair price although I would have run from the slush box.

I just don't see many NA miata's bringing north of 5k, the miles are low but not crazy collector low, and $10k will get you a newer NB with similar miles, I think 5k would be top dollar for it

When i was shopping, all the local dealers wanted $5-$7k for their 100k mile clean NAs.

Yep. Screw that.

Ottawa wrote: Hey Keith, do you mean this '93 LE, Black w/red interior with 28K km (17K miles) asking $10,500? (obligatory hotlink) Ottawa

I'd call that a plausible price, actually. Very low miles and I've always pegged the 1993 LE as the most collectible Miata. Interesting that this one doesn't have the rear wing that came on the 150 Canadian ones though.

No, the one I referred to was posted on the local club list. Keep in mind that it's a Canadian car, AC on a 1990 is actually a bit unusual. Given the choice between the two, I'd jump on that 93 LE. Here's the listing:

Price $9995.00
Mileage 134,000 km
Colour red
Very rare factory Air Conditioning.
Clearwater door speakers, Clearwater headrest speakers, and Clearwater ipod input, with factory radio.
Totally original and unmodified.
Original paint, upholstery, top, and rear plastic window.
Never winter driven. Meticulously over serviced.
Perfect in every way. Needs absolutely nothing.
Actually driven by and autographed by Mr. Hirai, manager of development team for the car during its gestation period.
Premium price for premium car.

Here are some more details: 1991 ( I thought it was a 1990) red Stick Shift, Has A/C Low miles under 48,000 No rust, was a garaged FL car, then a garaged good weather CT car Just had a tune up, runs great Comes with an extra glass window top $5000.

email me for pics if anyone is interested--helping the selling process for a family member.

Sounds like you're in the ballpark. I wouldn't take much less. In '05 I gave $6,300 for a clean red '92 with 31k miles in pristine shape. In retrospect I may have given a hair too much.

Update:

Well the '93 LE with 17K miles just showed up at my next door neighbour's house, its a close friend of his that ended up buying it.

Asking price was $10.5K and he bought for $10K.

It needed new tires, since it still had the original tires from 1993. Original everything else as well, makes me wonder if the suspension is a little tired just from sitting all those years.

Car doesn't have A/C, and stereo is the stock Mazda special thing. Soft top window a cloudy, no hardtop.

Surprisingly the side bolster already shows wear, the red is scuffed to white. Mazda must have really used low quality leather on those things.

Ottawa

Since "convertible weather" is over for most of the U.S., WHERE this car is right now, will be a factor, maybe a small one, but a factor. Then there is the local market. Are there lots of Miatas to be had locally, or is it located where demand outstrips supply? Finally, there is, in my opinion, always going to be a market for "plain old" / few options Miatas. Maybe not a big one, but folks like those here are always looking for a nice "light" car.

IMHO....$5K could be doable, but if it had been 6 months ago (with summer approaching instead of receding) as much as $7K could have been asked for. But again, local market makes a difference.

Per Schroeder wrote: Here are some more details: 1991 ( I thought it was a 1990) red Stick Shift, Has A/C Low miles under 48,000 No rust, was a garaged FL car, then a garaged good weather CT car Just had a tune up, runs great Comes with an extra glass window top $5000. email me for pics if anyone is interested--helping the selling process for a family member.

I paid 3k for my 90 with 75,000 miles 3 years ago at a CT auction, and that was slightly high for then. I can't believe the range of prices for these cars based on geography.

I just paid a hair over $5000 for a 1999 with hardtop and 50K miles... If that helps at all