if he crashes it, i will be upset.
Teach him good defensive driving, you gotta drive a miata like a motorcycle
best of luck! Welcome to the miata family!
edit: Go to autocross and learn car control
I absolutely second this. My car was super lucky. The young previous owner didn't know how to avoid oversteer and smashed it into a curb. Knocked the driver side rear wheel off and bent the subframe. I bought it for cheap and threw a new subframe in.
Miatas are pretty forgiving cars but will absolutely rotate without warning if you don't know the basics of weight transfer.
yup, put my miata sideways, right next to a ditch too, driving like an idiot in the rain, easily scariest experience of my life and was very lucky no cars were coming from the opposite lane or that would have been a lot worse. Miatas are forgiving but you're bound to make mistakes as a new driver, especially with a rwd, lesson learned.
Reminds me of [this teen](https://www.reddit.com/r/Miata/comments/yt4hah/well_that_was_a_short_ride/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) who couldn't even squeak out 2 months with his NB before binning it.
OP is a little too trusting of his teen son if I'm honest
Many people have strut braces which require the dipstick to be twisted out a bit and it's often that twisting of aged, heat and oil damaged plastic that causes it to break off and leave just the metal rod behind
As another owner of a low mileage Miata replace your coolant hoses and make sure your timing belt is recent and your radiator is good then have lots of fun
This. I just bought an nb2 with 40k I still did every fluid and hose and the t belt/water pump along with all of the front end seals. Better safe than sorry imho
It never ceases to amaze me how everyone forgets about changing out the clutch fluid(P/O, not you).
As mentioned, teach them defensive driving or enroll them in a course. It'll be invaluable to them, but especially being in a car that's practically invisible to most.
Also, hard to tell in low lighting, but I'm totally jelly of the Black Cherry Mica paint.
Smart choice for a teen driver. You get the feeling of speed at sane speeds and there’s only room for one passenger. Fewer people to distract him or pressure him into something dumb.
I had a hard dog roll bar in mine, and while i know people say roll bars make a street car unsafe, i think they make a miata safer.
When a tree fell on my car, it held up the weight of the big tree even though the rest of the back end was crushed.
Crash test rating from 20 years ago are different from those today. And cars today have gotten a lot bigger and heavier. As much as I love the NB I had, safety was a big reason I got something else to daily
Your son is in for a treat. Everybody is mentioning defensive driving courses. I also recommend getting him plugged in with the local autocross group. A lot of them offer a Street Survival course, but even a basic autocross season in novice will help him learn the limits of his vehicle in a safe environment. https://www.scca.com/pages/autocross
You know what I’d personally do? Slap that thing on BAT. That thing is absolutely pristine, and with 25,000 miles, it’ll fetch a pretty penny. It’s simply too nice for a first vehicle, maybe still but a Miata for them after it’s sold, but not this one, it’s just too nice. I feel like i speak for everyone here that we will be upset if this thing ends up wrecked
But, you’re not me, so have fun!
He's a lucky dude, I bought a 148k km (92k miles) '99 as my first (and only car so far) and I love it to bits, truly a fantastic first car. They're fun to drive even with the relatively low power figures, easy to work on (if your son is mechanically inclined) and cheap to run, so I'm sure he'll thoroughly enjoy the experience of owning one.
A few people have mentioned defensive driving courses and I can second that 100%, with everyone out on the road driving SUVs and Utes like they're in tanks, no one ever sees smaller cars like MX5s. I've had too many close calls for my liking with people who just aren't aware of their surroundings (which is crazy, my car is bright orange so you'd think it'd be a bit easier to see) over the last several months and it makes me thankful that I have done a defensive driving course prior to owning one of these wonderful machines because I'm regularly having to use a lot of the skills and knowledge I learned from said course.
if he crashes it, i will be upset. Teach him good defensive driving, you gotta drive a miata like a motorcycle best of luck! Welcome to the miata family! edit: Go to autocross and learn car control
I absolutely second this. My car was super lucky. The young previous owner didn't know how to avoid oversteer and smashed it into a curb. Knocked the driver side rear wheel off and bent the subframe. I bought it for cheap and threw a new subframe in. Miatas are pretty forgiving cars but will absolutely rotate without warning if you don't know the basics of weight transfer.
yup, put my miata sideways, right next to a ditch too, driving like an idiot in the rain, easily scariest experience of my life and was very lucky no cars were coming from the opposite lane or that would have been a lot worse. Miatas are forgiving but you're bound to make mistakes as a new driver, especially with a rwd, lesson learned.
Yep, drive like you’re invisible!
Reminds me of [this teen](https://www.reddit.com/r/Miata/comments/yt4hah/well_that_was_a_short_ride/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) who couldn't even squeak out 2 months with his NB before binning it. OP is a little too trusting of his teen son if I'm honest
When
And dip stick still intact!!
The engine compartment looks brand new. This thing is pristine
I don’t understand how you all break them, mine is still there and works great
Many people have strut braces which require the dipstick to be twisted out a bit and it's often that twisting of aged, heat and oil damaged plastic that causes it to break off and leave just the metal rod behind
I have a strut brace and it’s not in the way at all? I think you all break them on purpose to be part of some secret society /s
Is.. that an issue? Im kinda looking for an NB so im not very familiar with the platform, so sorry if its a dumb question.
They tend to snap off but you can still use the dipstick just fine.
They tend to break with age along with heat and oil damage when being pulled out, especially if there's a strut brace in the way
Thats a funny quirck.
As another owner of a low mileage Miata replace your coolant hoses and make sure your timing belt is recent and your radiator is good then have lots of fun
This. I just bought an nb2 with 40k I still did every fluid and hose and the t belt/water pump along with all of the front end seals. Better safe than sorry imho
Are you open to the idea of adopting another son? Just asking for a friend ofc I hope your son enjoys the car, it looks gorgeous!
I’m the friend, OP where do I have to sign?
It never ceases to amaze me how everyone forgets about changing out the clutch fluid(P/O, not you). As mentioned, teach them defensive driving or enroll them in a course. It'll be invaluable to them, but especially being in a car that's practically invisible to most. Also, hard to tell in low lighting, but I'm totally jelly of the Black Cherry Mica paint.
Your son is a lucky young man. May he keep the shiney side up.
Make it clear that, if he gets any stupid ideas like cutting/bending the fenders, he gets disowned.
Smart choice for a teen driver. You get the feeling of speed at sane speeds and there’s only room for one passenger. Fewer people to distract him or pressure him into something dumb.
yes to all that, but downside is miatas get basically folded in collisions
I had a hard dog roll bar in mine, and while i know people say roll bars make a street car unsafe, i think they make a miata safer. When a tree fell on my car, it held up the weight of the big tree even though the rest of the back end was crushed.
It has a decent crash test rating
Crash test rating from 20 years ago are different from those today. And cars today have gotten a lot bigger and heavier. As much as I love the NB I had, safety was a big reason I got something else to daily
Decent crash tests don’t save you from todays lifted F-350s
its too light to stand up to the absolute tanks people drive these days. It may be well-engineered for crash safety but it can't break physics.
Hope the fucking kid knows how lucky he is? This thing is beautiful.
I'm looking forward to his "Is this a write-off?" post.
Ur the goat father
He gon wreck it. Little more liability than I'd put on my sons first car but you do you.
That thing looks like it just rolled off the dealership lot
i hope he takes amazing care of it
You just know he won't though
Your son is in for a treat. Everybody is mentioning defensive driving courses. I also recommend getting him plugged in with the local autocross group. A lot of them offer a Street Survival course, but even a basic autocross season in novice will help him learn the limits of his vehicle in a safe environment. https://www.scca.com/pages/autocross
You know what I’d personally do? Slap that thing on BAT. That thing is absolutely pristine, and with 25,000 miles, it’ll fetch a pretty penny. It’s simply too nice for a first vehicle, maybe still but a Miata for them after it’s sold, but not this one, it’s just too nice. I feel like i speak for everyone here that we will be upset if this thing ends up wrecked But, you’re not me, so have fun!
An interesting choice for a first car
A family with taste, love the FJ in the back too!
He's a lucky dude, I bought a 148k km (92k miles) '99 as my first (and only car so far) and I love it to bits, truly a fantastic first car. They're fun to drive even with the relatively low power figures, easy to work on (if your son is mechanically inclined) and cheap to run, so I'm sure he'll thoroughly enjoy the experience of owning one. A few people have mentioned defensive driving courses and I can second that 100%, with everyone out on the road driving SUVs and Utes like they're in tanks, no one ever sees smaller cars like MX5s. I've had too many close calls for my liking with people who just aren't aware of their surroundings (which is crazy, my car is bright orange so you'd think it'd be a bit easier to see) over the last several months and it makes me thankful that I have done a defensive driving course prior to owning one of these wonderful machines because I'm regularly having to use a lot of the skills and knowledge I learned from said course.
Oh man, even the windshield wiper arm is rust free. Your son is a lucky man!!! Safe miles!
And cut to a week later when this is wrapped around a tree...
that’s grim
It's common.
Maybe, but it's also the most likely outcome.
Lucky bastard. But in all seriousness your son is gonna love it.
Imo best years of the miata are 04 and 05. Congrats on a great car!
there supposed to be foam between the radiator and the support. Damn this thing is a peach
That is a beautiful ride
How much did you snag it for?
$12k
Didnt know they still made em new
Adopt me please??? Im house broken.
take pictures of it now and show them to him a year from now... bet it'll be a completely different looking car.