Who has bought an already-turboed Miata and what was your experience?

After making a long list of potential things I would want to do with my current Miata, making a price list, and scaring myself into the fetal position, I decided that if I'm going to tinker, might as well let somebody else spend all the money first. Case in point, for instance...

http://www.miataturbo.net/cars-sale-trade-6/1994-mazda-miata-%248000-75896/

My thought was that even if something goes catastrophically wrong, there is enough parts on there to sell to make my money back and possibly more. The FM II kit is $5300 alone, and the hardtop is, well, you know you can always sell those...

I've been bouncing turbo Miata vs S2000 back and forth for a while, but it looks like if you buy the right Miata (a.k.a, somebody else's money pit), it becomes less of a contest.

Turbo Miata's are a ball of fun to drive. Bonus if you can get one that some else "loved $$$$$" before. The "twist" in that one is weird.

clownkiller wrote: Turbo Miata's are a ball of fun to drive. Bonus if you can get one that some else "loved $$$$$" before. The "twist" in that one is weird.

I know. Anything a FM frame kit can fix?

CALLING THE TANNER. PAGING KEITH TANNER

From the pics, it looks like the VIN stickers are missing off both the fenders, indicating they might both be replaced. Hence the front end got a "twist" from a cement truck. Tough to tell without looking at the car in person, but I'd recommend a carfax/autocheck if you're serious.

It's hard to generalize on what it's like buying a used turbo Miata. They vary dramatically. I'll get to this particular example soon, but first, some overall comments.

Modified cars are rarely sold in peak condition. Sometimes, yes. But many times, the car's being sold because something wasn't working right and it's frustrating. So be prepared to do some troubleshooting.

Also, it seems to be common for modified cars to flip between several owners in quick succession after the original modifier sells it. Someone buys the car, discovers it needs work, isn't what they hoped or something goes wrong, then it gets passed along. This cycle repeats several times until the car's a bit haggard and nobody knows anything about it.

You also have to watch for the DIY guys. Don't get me wrong, that can work out really well. But most people who are doing a DIY setup are doing it for the first time, so they make mistakes. Reading on a forum isn't always a substitute. Meanwhile, a kit has been debugged for years by people who do this for a living. There IS a difference.

Now, this car? It's being sold by the modifier. That's good. It's apparently well tuned and in good shape. It's got quality parts with the arguable exception of the suspension, and all of it can be accounted for. It's the current generation of our turbo kits, so it shows the results of a couple of decades of evolution. The grille has to go unless you like overheating, but otherwise it would be nice as it sits.

However....

I'm not going to agree that "some Miatas have this problem" when it comes to a twist. That car's been in a wreck, I'd inspect it carefully. The frame rails will reinforce the structure, but they won't reshape it. It may just be the fenders. Ask the guy for some numbers at the pinch welds.

If it were me, I'd buy it and put it on a frame machine. The price for the car is pretty good assuming the motor pulls good compression numbers. $400-600 at a frame shop would tell you if it's twisted and probably untwist it.

Keith Tanner wrote: It's hard to generalize on what it's like buying a used turbo Miata. They vary dramatically. I'll get to this particular example soon, but first, some overall comments. Modified cars are rarely sold in peak condition. Sometimes, yes. But many times, the car's being sold because something wasn't working right and it's frustrating. So be prepared to do some troubleshooting. Also, it seems to be common for modified cars to flip between several owners in quick succession after the original modifier sells it. Someone buys the car, discovers it needs work, isn't what they hoped or something goes wrong, then it gets passed along. This cycle repeats several times until the car's a bit haggard and nobody knows anything about it. You also have to watch for the DIY guys. Don't get me wrong, that can work out really well. But most people who are doing a DIY setup are doing it for the first time, so they make mistakes. Reading on a forum isn't always a substitute. Meanwhile, a kit has been debugged for years by people who do this for a living. There IS a difference. Now, this car? It's being sold by the modifier. That's good. It's apparently well tuned and in good shape. It's got quality parts with the arguable exception of the suspension, and all of it can be accounted for. It's the current generation of our turbo kits, so it shows the results of a couple of decades of evolution. The grille has to go unless you like overheating, but otherwise it would be nice as it sits. However.... I'm not going to agree that "some Miatas have this problem" when it comes to a twist. That car's been in a wreck, I'd inspect it carefully. The frame rails will reinforce the structure, but they won't reshape it. It may just be the fenders. Ask the guy for some numbers at the pinch welds. If it were me, I'd buy it and put it on a frame machine. The price for the car is pretty good assuming the motor pulls good compression numbers. $400-600 at a frame shop would tell you if it's twisted and probably untwist it.

It would be a fly-n-drive if I did it, since I live 23 hours away. That makes it tough.

Keith, do you not like the coilovers or the Racing Beat pieces?

I'm not a big Tien fan.

lol, my friend bought a already turboed miata. It was a Mazdaspeed though.

If you want to be absolutely assured that the work was done properly that is the way you go. Buying someone elses build is always a crapshoot but obviously risk brings reward which is why I would consider buying a turbo project car as well.

I did it. I'll never do it again. A "ready-to-go" car has since eaten up dozens of hours of my life and thousands of dollars to even become "acceptable," and has completely nullified the plan of buying this particular car because the financial hit when time came to sell would be minimal.

HAH. WRONG.

What i've done is spent an additional $4-$5k to make the car worth what i originally paid for it. It's a great car now, but i'm pretty soured on the whole experience.

I think it depends on who you're buying from. I've pretty much modded all of my cars and anyone who bought a car from me got a really well setup car for a smoking deal.

For once in my life I was able to be on the other side and I bought my friends Stage 3 allroad that he spent over $20k modding. Of course he used the same shop I do, I'm famaliar with all the parts he used (top notch stuff) and he's my friend. I've had the car for 6 months and had no issues.

I bought a turbo'd miata from someone who bought it from the guy who did the turbo. It was done acceptably...but cheaply. I didn't know much about turbos when I bought it, and if I did I probably would have passed. I just ended up deturboing and still have the parts laying in the basement (for sale!). I may end up returboing at some point and the used stuff I have may help recoup the costs.

I'm not soured on the experience as a whole, but I've had plenty of 'wtf' moments. It looks like this car has good parts and he's on turbomiata with 93 posts. You could take a look at those too see if you can get a better idea of what you're getting into.

Bonus dyno run of my ridiculous car....writing all this makes me miss it =\

In reply to Swank Force One:

It didn't help that the ecu/tuning before switching to Haltech was garbage either.

That was part of it, and really something else to consider when looking at this car in particular.

Just because it has good parts doesn't mean that it's put together well.

And i quite literally feel as if i could assault whomever installed the stereo in my car.

If you're coming from out of state, it gets rid of the biggest problem with buying that car (in that it won't pass the mandatory transfer-related California smog check without a lot of work converting it back to stock).

Personally I think $8K is a bit high for it. It's about a $3K chassis with about $8K in parts (new cost) on it, so I'd think it should sell for more like $6500-$7K.

If you're concerned about the quality of the install, you could probably have it inspected at a reputable shop in SoCal. I have no idea if Emilio at 949 Racing does inspections, but it sounds like that car isn't too far from his shop, and he certainly knows Miatas so it might be worth looking into.

I went round and round about this for the last 6 months. I sold my regular '05 Mazda6 and bought a '06 Mazdaspeed6. They have their own set of problems, but I'm very happy with my purchase.
In the end, I decided to get a car that started as a Turbo right from the factory.

I got lucky - I bought a six year old, low mileage, one-owner, garage-kept Miata that had a aftermarket turbo installed since it was nearly new. It was in fantastic shape and the owner-installed turbo kit has never given me any issues.

In the time since I've replaced the tires & wheels (several times), exhaust (went full stainless), coil packs, and bodywork (don't ask). Driving the car is giggles and grins.

Nice looking car. The "twist' sounds sketchy. I'm incredibly leery of buying highly modified cars after experience in the past with very poorly done installs and spending more money to redo someone else's hackjobs.. I'd have someone local inspect and make sure it isn't a turd in a shiny package.

I bought mine already modified, which is something I would not normally do. However, the builder was very well regarded in the local club (built several turbo cars for other members), his shop was spotless and his documentation was extensive. I was looking for a Miata to turbocharge, and he had build exactly what I was looking to do. I bought the car (with a built motor) for about what I would have to pay for the aftermarket parts.

My good impression of the car was justified now that it's 7 years and 60,000 miles later (and many track days). You need to carefully assess the quality of the work and the builder, but it is possible to get a good car like that. Still, caveat emptor.

Sounds like this car is more of a $6000 car, since I'd have to spend a grand or two to get it sorted.