Advice on buying new MazdaSpeed or modifying 93'

I have a black and tan 93' with about 100k on the odometer. I've loved
having it for the last three years and have toured the country with it
every summer--about 25k's worth of driving. It's pretty loaded, PS,
PW, CC, PM, AC, etc. though I don't really use AC much and don't
really care about power steering.

However, there are the usual annoyances: the paint's getting a bit old
especially on the nose cone, a few rattles that there weren't before,
the alarm wiring needs to be traced for an intermittent short. But
enough.

A local dealer has a few turbo MazdaSpeeds on sale this weekend for
around $22K out the door. I drove one and just loved it. It has the
same tight handling mine does, maybe even a bit tighter, and the power
difference is more than obvious obviousl My biggest problem is
parking on the street in a semi-residential area of a big city

So we're talking $5k to fix up the older car and $20k plus $500 more a
year in insurance and registration for the new one.

Questions:

How much more power would turbo/supercharging give my 93'? It's a
pretty tight handler but there are definitely times on the highway and
in the mountains that I'd love the turbo.

What's up for 2005? I've heard the Miata as such will be transforming
into something similar but with a stowaway hardtop. I could really
care less about that.

What part can you [easily] pull from the engine compartment for a
MaxdaSpeed to make sure no one can steal it with anything other than a
tow truck?

How stealable are Miata's these days?

What would you do?

Feel free to have fun with this... ;-)


JJ

In article >,
Me > wrote:

> What part can you [easily] pull from the engine compartment for a
> MaxdaSpeed to make sure no one can steal it with anything other than a
> tow truck?

The fuel injection relay would work pretty well. Or the main fuse.

> How stealable are Miata's these days?

Any ragtop is easy. But Miatas aren't popular targets for much beyond
aftermarket radio theft. Those 17" wheels might look good on some punk's
Civic, though. I'd sell them and buy some lighter 15s that fit the big
brakes.

> What would you do?

If you're really bored with your '93 (be honest with yourself, that's
what it sounds like to me), $22k seems a decent price for a MSM.
Personally, I'm in no hurry to get rid of my '94, which has more miles,
and probably more rattles, than your car. Rattles can be fixed, paint
can be restored. The alarm should be ripped out entirely.

--
Lanny Chambers, St. Louis, USA
'94C
the alignment page:
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html

Wow, quick reply. Thanks. I was of the same opinion till I drove the
MSM--I test drove a 2001 LS just before it and didn't like it. The
wheels are what I'm most worried about. Parking dings and slashed tops
are just city life--if a big pain in the butt.

JJ


On Sun, 05 Sep 2004 16:37:10 GMT, Lanny Chambers
> wrote:

>In article >,
> Me > wrote:
>
>> What part can you [easily] pull from the engine compartment for a
>> MaxdaSpeed to make sure no one can steal it with anything other than a
>> tow truck?
>
>The fuel injection relay would work pretty well. Or the main fuse.
>
>> How stealable are Miata's these days?
>
>Any ragtop is easy. But Miatas aren't popular targets for much beyond
>aftermarket radio theft. Those 17" wheels might look good on some punk's
>Civic, though. I'd sell them and buy some lighter 15s that fit the big
>brakes.
>
>> What would you do?
>
>If you're really bored with your '93 (be honest with yourself, that's
>what it sounds like to me), $22k seems a decent price for a MSM.
>Personally, I'm in no hurry to get rid of my '94, which has more miles,
>and probably more rattles, than your car. Rattles can be fixed, paint
>can be restored. The alarm should be ripped out entirely.

"Me" > wrote in message
...
> I have a black and tan 93' with about 100k on the odometer. I've loved
> having it for the last three years and have toured the country with it
> every summer--about 25k's worth of driving. It's pretty loaded, PS,
> PW, CC, PM, AC, etc. though I don't really use AC much and don't
> really care about power steering.
>
> How much more power would turbo/supercharging give my 93'? It's a
> pretty tight handler but there are definitely times on the highway and
> in the mountains that I'd love the turbo.

Enough to make a difference.

> What's up for 2005? I've heard the Miata as such will be transforming
> into something similar but with a stowaway hardtop. I could really
> care less about that.

There are some spy photos floating around in car magazines and on the web.
So far it looks very much like a regular Miata with the front end of an
RX-8. Truly ugly and probably not the final design. The general belief is
that it'll be a bit larger and heavier.

> How stealable are Miata's these days?

My searches of Ebay, local classifieds and whatnot have shown people ask
$3000 to $9500 for pre-1999 models, depending on condition and options.
What you or they get, and how quickly it sells, will vary.

> What would you do?

Any money you put into the older car should be regarded as lost. People are
reluctant to pay over blue-book because they won't know how to service any
off-brand turbo or supercharging kits. Furthermore, they may assume you
drove the car hard. Finally, the Miata is so common that they are not
likely to become pricey collectables any time soon.

Of course you'll lose the same money to depreciation on a new one.

It sounds like you are going to use any car pretty heavily so the mileage
will accelerate depreciation on a new one and it'll get dinged up pretty
fast. If you are comfortable with the current car I'd be tempted to try a
kit.

-John

"Generic" > wrote in message
m...
>
> > How stealable are Miata's these days?
>
> My searches of Ebay, local classifieds and whatnot have shown people ask
> $3000 to $9500 for pre-1999 models, depending on condition and options.
> What you or they get, and how quickly it sells, will vary.

Doh! Misread stealable as saleable...

-John

Thanks for both responses. Just discovered there's no cruise control
on the MSM, something I use very heavily--now that I realized that
mine actually works!

JJ


On Sun, 5 Sep 2004 11:47:21 -0700, "Generic" >
wrote:

>
>"Generic" > wrote in message
om...
>>
>> > How stealable are Miata's these days?
>>
>> My searches of Ebay, local classifieds and whatnot have shown people ask
>> $3000 to $9500 for pre-1999 models, depending on condition and options.
>> What you or they get, and how quickly it sells, will vary.
>
>Doh! Misread stealable as saleable...
>
>-John
>

>Thanks for both responses. Just discovered there's no cruise control
>on the MSM,

You can get cruise control on eBay or JC Whitney etc just shop around...Larry

Me wrote:

> Wow, quick reply. Thanks. I was of the same opinion till I drove the
> MSM--I test drove a 2001 LS just before it and didn't like it. The
> wheels are what I'm most worried about. Parking dings and slashed tops
> are just city life--if a big pain in the butt.

Slashed tops have no place in "city life".

Me wrote:
>
> I have a black and tan 93' with about 100k on the odometer. I've loved
> having it for the last three years and have toured the country with it
> every summer--about 25k's worth of driving. It's pretty loaded, PS,
> PW, CC, PM, AC, etc. though I don't really use AC much and don't
> really care about power steering.
>
> However, there are the usual annoyances: the paint's getting a bit old
> especially on the nose cone, a few rattles that there weren't before,
> the alarm wiring needs to be traced for an intermittent short. But
> enough.
>
> A local dealer has a few turbo MazdaSpeeds on sale this weekend for
> around $22K out the door. I drove one and just loved it. It has the
> same tight handling mine does, maybe even a bit tighter, and the power
> difference is more than obvious obviousl My biggest problem is
> parking on the street in a semi-residential area of a big city
>
> So we're talking $5k to fix up the older car and $20k plus $500 more a
> year in insurance and registration for the new one.
>
> Questions:
>
> How much more power would turbo/supercharging give my 93'? It's a
> pretty tight handler but there are definitely times on the highway and
> in the mountains that I'd love the turbo.
>
> What's up for 2005? I've heard the Miata as such will be transforming
> into something similar but with a stowaway hardtop. I could really
> care less about that.
>
> What part can you [easily] pull from the engine compartment for a
> MaxdaSpeed to make sure no one can steal it with anything other than a
> tow truck?
>
> How stealable are Miata's these days?
>
> What would you do?
>
> Feel free to have fun with this... ;-)
>
> JJ
I traded my '99 for the Mazdaspeed,and love it;and I paid about $25k for
it.
George
--
"From the home of the:
Super Bowl XXXVIII Champions,
2003 AFCE Champions
Super Bowl XXXVI Champions
New England Patriots"
"Bingo! We win again!" - Troy Brown

''Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls Welcome to Fenway Park"

Were that this were true. In my neighborhood I've had them slashed
twice. Probably by the same halfway house idiot who didn't check to
see if the car was open the first time. Every convertible for 5 or six
blocks was slashed.

If I didn't adopt that attitude, I would probably be doing time for
going postal at the local drug rehab. ;-)

jj

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 05:38:00 GMT, Dana Myers >
wrote:

>Me wrote:
>
>> Wow, quick reply. Thanks. I was of the same opinion till I drove the
>> MSM--I test drove a 2001 LS just before it and didn't like it. The
>> wheels are what I'm most worried about. Parking dings and slashed tops
>> are just city life--if a big pain in the butt.
>
>Slashed tops have no place in "city life".
>
>