Hi all,

My wife is pregnant with our first, and we're trying to move into a new home. Move-in costs are high, and I'm considering letting go of my miata, which hasn't been my daily since 2018. I've loved this car for decades, put countless hours into maintaining and driving it, and generally just feel wobbly about the whole affair. Has anyone here had to make a similar move in the past? Any thoughts on how the value of NA 1.6's have changed over the last few years? If I let go of this car now, only to see their values go up in coming years, that'd only compound the sadness of not having it to drive any more.

Have any of you ever had to sell a car in a situation like this, only to regret it later? Anyone willing to yell at me and say I need to get rid of the car?

I'm being a little silly, I know, but the thought of actually losing this thing breaks my heart a bit. And since I've lurked on this site for, like 13 years, I need to up my post count if I decide to actually sell... so.... banter banter banter?

Cheers!
Ingannilo

 

How much money would you gain by selling it compared to how much you need? How long would it take if you are able to work some overtime, maybe a side job, or pinching pennies elsewhere? It sounds like you should hang onto it.

I've never regretted selling previous Miata but I'm not in the same situation and each was sold to upgrade. I'm single and bought my house a few years before buying my first, '99 base Miata. It was in sad shape, misrepresented by the son of the deceased father that owned it and I was too eager with little Miata knowledge at that time. I fixed most issues and sold it at a $1500 loss after finding a 40k mile, 2001 Sunlight Silver LS. I just wanted it gone as I didn't want to insure three cars, especially one I wasn't driving. I drove the '01 for seven years and sold it last Fall after finding a 22k mile, 2004 MSM modified almost exactly as I would have wanted. I sold the '01 for about $2250 less than I paid or roughly $500 cost per year. That includes maintenance but not insurance.

My MSM upgrade cost about $7750 extra and I've already spent $1000 in cooling system upgrades (crossflow radiator, FM reroute) but I expected that as I want to get it tuned to a reliable 250 WHP. If you're caught up on maintenance and don't expect to gain much money in selling it, also consider how much it will cost to find a similar mile/condition Miata in the future as most people don't keep up on maintenance. If you want to upgrade to a newer model in the future, maybe selling is a good idea to focus on home and family...makes me a bit sad I'm a single guy but that also means no difficult Miata decisions.

 

I wouldn't keep a car as an investment. There's just too much ongoing expense. And, while early Miatas are now appreciating, I don't think they'll ever set records at Barrett-Jackson.

Keep the car because you love it. If there are enough stressors in your life that it is a burden rather than a joy, well, maybe time to let go.

I can't speak from experience. Bought my 1990 in 2002 and have since added a 1995 race car and 2015 to the stable. Eyeballing 2019/2020s. I'm a hoarder and keep all of them. I'm fortunate to have the space and means to do so.

 

Bought and sold maybe 25 Miatas. No regerts on selling any. Some mild regert on a few builds that I really liked but converted to some other config I liked less. Those few, I wish I hadn't messed with. But that's the cost of always experimenting and innovating. Sometimes you go backward.

In your case, I guess it comes to need vs want. If you need the space and cash, then it has to go. If you don't "need" either, keep it. You still, and will probably always love it. If you don't have space or budget to keep it, then the decision has been made for you.

.. and congrats on the baby

 

I was just thinking about this.
i bought an el-cheapo crashed NB with the intent of a partout and ended up repairing and reselling it. I regret it because OEM originality has a certain type of fun to it that a modded out rattletrap doesn't have, but mostly just air conditioning...also maybe I regret starting with an NA chassis but that's not the point. It helped me get out from under some debt and paid for some shiny new parts for the NA i still have, but I do kinda miss shuffling two miatas around my garage sometimes.

 

Although I was forced into it at the time by my landlord, I regret selling my NA. Mainly because it was the V6 KLMX5 (build thread on miata.net) and I put a lot of time and effort into that build. It was doubly sad seeing it go because it was lifted onto a flatbed by its soft top. No car deserves that.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4dYtbWns7BLHaKUd6

I can't see myself selling my NB2, as it's been a long term "friend" and I have an infinitely long list of projects I want to do with it.

 

What. the. hell. I mean, who even thinks that's a safe way to lift a car?

 

Only Miata I truly miss was my 1990 that was lost in Hurricane Irma. Mostly because my dad bought it new in 1990.

 

That was me going "Oh ****, man... wtf...?" as the cars drove underneath the dangling NA. I was standing there with the lads at the garage opposite where I was living because I wanted to watch what this guy was going to do. We had just exchanged cash and keys and he told me to "mind [my] own business". So I thought I'd catch it on camera...

 

A little over 20 years ago, I had a '66 Bronco that I had bought completely stock, and was slowly working on. At one point it wasn't really fitting into our lives, and I sold it. I've regretted it ever since, and will probably never own another because of the way the values have skyrocketed over the last few years. Miatas are not going to go as crazy, but values on clean NAs are up, and they're not going down.

A few years ago, we bought a C6 'Vette, and I sold my NA (traded actually) to acquire a '92 Bronco since we needed something that could deal with snow. Long story short, I ended up buying my NA back from the dealer... essentially, I got free storage for 7 months. Kept the Bronco, got rid of the C6 (total POS). And now 90s Bronco values are on the rise.

I guess my point is that if you love the car, and it doesn't cost you anything to keep it, try to keep it. It will only cost more in the long run to replace it later. If you absolutely need the money from selling the car to buy the house, do what you need to do for your family.

 

I think I could sell it for all the money I need (around 3K is needed beyond what I have saved to move in to this house), mostly due to the value from the factory hardtop. The car itself is maybe worth 2k (it's clean outside, but has no PS or AC, interior is a bit rough),

The main thing for me is the sentimental value. It was my sister's first car, and I sat in it as a 12-13 year old and pretended to drive, washed it on the weekends, et cetera. Eventually the auto trans blew, and when my sister moved she sold it to me cheap. I swapped in the 5-speed and daily drove it for about ten years. Since buying a more comfy daily a couple years ago it's just sat as a "project in waiting" because i also met my now-wife around then, and my life became about a lot more than my own hobbies.

I really do feel bad for not wanting to sell, but at the same time, it's tough letting go of something like that, ya know?

Not sure if it's a good investment, but between the sentiment and the money, it's a tough choice.

 

I'm leaning in this direction, but it's tough. I figured I'd list it a few places (here and miata.net) to see if anyone who loves these cars and would take decent care of it was willing to give me the cash I need for the house in exchange for the car. Really reluctant to post it up on fb or cl because i know it'll end up clapped out and rusted to **** in ten years. That'd break my heart since I've spent the last 10-15 years keeping the thing alive. Family definitely comes first though. I think I'm half just trying to get permission from the community to let go of the thing :(

 

Had to be a tough loss. Sorry to hear it. If you're in the market for a new NA, I might have a good deal for one soon.

 

Thanks for the congrats. I appreciate your perspective on this. I feel like this is a bit out of my hands, but it's still kinda heartbreaking. This kid's my first, and I'm a little panicked!

 

I've never really missed any specific car that I've sold to date. That said, there was a period in time when I got out of miata ownership overall and tried different platforms. I did miss owning a miata when I didn't have one which led me back to my current car 4 years ago. It's safe to say that my NB isn't going anywhere. I'd miss this car if something happened to it, but could reluctantly move on from it if I was forced to.

I think you mentioned above that the car has a hardtop? Assuming its in great shape, post it up for $1500 and your half way to the financial goal and still have a vast majority of the car in your possession. If the car has any sentimental value to you, I'd keep it. Depending on where you live, clean NA's are getting harder and harder to find for reasonable prices.

 

That last sentence in particular is what's got me struggling. The car definitely does have sentimental value to me, so it's really hard to let go of it. I don't expect I'd be able to afford a clean NA any time in the near/tractable future, so I'm really tempted to try and hold onto this one. Even if I did buy another, it wouldn't quite have the same value to me as this one does. I have a few other avenues to try and put cash together for the house, but I really want to get us moved in to the house before her pregnancy gets too far along. I can't imagine what it's like to be pregnant and moving house, but it's gotta be rough.

 

Padlock brings up another point that might help you. If you do end up selling it (sounds like that's where you're going), then selling the car and hardtop separately will probably get you more money in your pocket.

 

Bought and sold 10 miata, the only one I really regret selling was my low mileage R package, mostly because the teenager wrecked it within a month. If you're an NA diehard, it might be difficult to replace, but the NB and NC are screaming values right now.

 

No, thank you. I've since moved on to NB's.

 

My NA was my first car, I've had it since 2005 and it was my Mom's before that (she bought it from the original owner in the mid 90's). So it's not going anywhere. Otherwise I might consider selling it and building an NC.