"1991 Mazda Miata: Buying Guide"

White 1991 Mazda Miata Front View

I am planning to buy a 1991 Mazda Miata with 115 K miles on it for about $1100. It has a 5 speed manual transmission. The radiator and engine valves were recently replaced. The AC needs to be replaced. The car drives good and paint is ok. Please someone give me any advice on it..

Answer: You really should check the following things.

Ask the current owner why the car needed both a new radiator and valves. If he replies that the radiator went bad and the car overheated then you might want to take it to a mechanic and have a compression test done. This will tell you if the rings were compromised. Worn and leaking rings are costly to replace.
Ask the owner to provide you the maintenance records, showing who did the repairs to the engine. Ask if there are any warranties on the repairs that have been done and if it extends to the new owner of the car.
the A/C might be costly to replace as well. The A/C compressor more than likely is the older version and would need to be replaced to accept the newer HCFC refrigerant.
If the car has 115,000 mile I would also ask about the transmission, and see if the clutch has ever been replaced. If not that too will soon need attention.
With all that done when the car is in the mechanics shop, ask the mechanic to look at the front and rear brakes and suspension. The brakes and suspension parts can also get pretty costly if they are nearing the end of there life cycle.

If you would like a super complete list of things for the mechanic to look at please feel free to ask me and I can make one up for you and e-mail to you.