93 Mazda Miata

So I took the plunge. Last week I went against my instinct and I bought a 1993 Mazda Miata. But why did I hand over my man card and buy this "girls car", you might ask? Well I'll tell you why. I bought it because I'm monumentally sick of driving "compact cars" like my wife's Elantra and the 3 previous Corollas I've owned. I'm sick of driving to work and school and to the grocery store in a car that's so boring I feel like I'm watching re-runs of 60 minutes. But you see this created a huge dilemma because while I'm sick of suffering from car depression I also don’t have a fat wallet that enables me to drop big bills on the new Mustang Shelby GT500 I’ve been lusting after. And while I could have purchased an old 5.0 or even a 300ZX I drive a lot so I need a car that’s not going to break down every other Tuesday. So there you have it. And while I’ve taken a lifetime’s worth of crap for buying this car in the past week alone, I still don’t regret it. Hit the jump for more...

I saw the car on ksl.com and was instantly curious. I had been looking at 5.0’s and Miata’s the past week or so but didn’t see anything too promising until this one. It looked beautiful in the pictures but I’ve purchased enough cars from online ads to know that pictures are about as reliable as a Land Rover. So I took a break from work and called the guy to ask some more questions. An older man answered the phone which was a very good sign. As I asked him more detailed questions about the car it just kept getting better and better. A 1993 Mazda Miata with 59000 miles, never wrecked, completely original body panels and even stereo which is further proof that this car had never been rallied by a younger owner. He also informed me that it had a couple upgrades including cold air intake and cat back exhaust. I couldn’t resist, I had to at least go look at it in real life. I got home from work and informed my wife that we needed to go look at a car that we might end up buying. My wife trusts me a lot and we’ve been married long enough that she believes me when I say things like that, so she got ready and we headed out. When we arrived at the seller’s house I was happy to see that it was a larger house in a nice neighborhood. Older gentleman with money = properly taken care of car. I introduced my wife and myself to the seller and he proceeded to take us through his house down into the garage. When we walked into the garage my eyes instantly became attached to the spotless little red Miata before me. I examined every square inch of it like a forensic scientist examining a murder scene, almost in disbelief at the condition of this 19 year old car. Aside from some tiny chips in the paint on the hood it was completely perfect. He handed me the keys and my wife and I proceeded to take the dwarf sized car on a test drive. We got out of the neighborhood and headed straight for the freeway.

Obviously the freeway isn’t the best place for a car that’s known for its superb handling but when buying a used car it’s necessary to make sure it drives ok at higher speeds. As we hit the onramp I opened it up and was more impressed than I thought I’d be. Stock the first generation Miata had 116 HP which isn’t anything to brag about but the cold air intake and exhaust provided the extra 15-20 hp necessary to make it a little more fun.  Everything checked out at 80 mph so I took the next exit. When getting off the freeway I decided to put the car’s reputation to the test. As the road in front of me curved to the right rather than slow down like the sign cautioned me to do, I maintained speed and turned into the corner. The pint sized Miata hugged the corner like a mother who hasn’t seen her child in 10 years. I looked at my wife with a huge smile and she knew that we had just purchased a 1993 Mazda Miata.

I’ve owned the car for 2 weeks now and put over 1000 miles on it, many of which have been on twisty back roads in the beautiful desert of Southern Utah. I still don’t deny that the Miata looks more like a girls car than a guys, but for under $5k I can’t think of a more fun and reliable car than a used Mazda Miata. So haters can hate but I'll willingly admit that I love my little 93 Miata.