The year was 2015. At the unripe age of sixteen I was ready to go out and hit the road with other drivers. The problem was, I didn’t have a car to do it in. I needed wheels. The original plan was that I would receive the car my dad purchased from my grandfather, a Lincoln LS V8, after my older brother moved on to a new car. However, a number of problems prevented it from making it down the family ladder. That car was one that I wanted, but what my brother replaced it with caught my eye.
From a V8 luxury sedan to a small two-seater, a little Miata found its way onto our driveway. His was a 2001, the first year of the facelifted NB generation of Miata. Being the special edition, it came with all the goodies too. Leather, wood, and a gorgeous British racing green it had me hooked on this car’s charm. As my older brother, it was all but mandatory that he showed me the ropes. He taught me how to drive stick and let me drive it around. It was quick to my standard (likely a bicycle), and it handled like it was on rails. Hook, line, and sinker, I needed my own. The problem became how would I buy such a nice of a car?
Being in high school, I didn’t have a job yet. I had scrapped from Birthdays, Christmases, side jobs, chores, and more to get $3000. Luckily the market wasn’t what it is currently and SoCal has no shortage of Miatas. So I hit the web pages and started searching. Mandatory was obviously a manual transmission; my parent’s only demand was that it had to have airbags. With NA Miata’s plentiful I took a look at a few. They weren’t as nice as my brother’s gem, something that had been tenderly loved by an older gentleman, but they would make do. I was ready to settle on an all-white ‘97 with matching rims, top, and roll bar when a beautiful specimen was listed. A 2000 Miata Special Edition.
For those of you uninterested in images, this was a clean car for a teenager. A wonderful mahogany mica (maroon) color with light tan leather and chrome rims. All this while in fairly good condition with no accidents on the Carfax. I couldn’t believe this bad boy had been listed for so cheap. You can imagine just how quickly my money was gone. In no time it was on the driveway next to its long-lost friend that rolled off the factory line in Hiroshima Japan less than a year after it. So teen boy gets a sports car for his first car. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, it turns out quite a lot. Shortly after getting the car a heavy rain revealed the soft top leaked into the cabin and trunk. This may have been the main cause of the electrical issues, but honestly I doubt it. As the 8th owner of the vehicle, one of the seven previous owners along the way didn’t know what they were doing with a wiring loom and ruined it. That meant an aftermarket horn, non-functioning fog lights, a quasi-working stereo, and intermittent power door locks. Hey, at least it looked good and I was rolling around in style. Plus at 120,000 miles I could drive it for a bit and sell it on to a dealer.
There was a major flaw in that last sentence however; there’s a good reason people like Miatas… it’s because they’re so easy to get attached to. I couldn’t stop driving that little car. It broke down several times, left me stranded, and cost me thousands of dollars but it was like a drug. Perhaps that was just my juvenile sense of freedom, but I believe it was more than that. As an entry-level driver’s car, it really allowed me to explore the driving experience. It helped teach me proper braking techniques thanks to no ABS, how not to slam through shifts with no traction control, and proper racing lines with no stability control. It was everything I wanted out of a car and more.
I cherished that car, but we had an abusive relationship. It would break down and I would bash on it harder next time I got it running again. For context on how many items I replaced on it, in my four years of ownership it saw three radiators, two valve cover gaskets, a plethora of sensors, two alternators, two air conditioning compressors, three batteries, two coil packs, calipers and brake lines, new headlight harnesses, and a catalytic converter. That’s just to name a few. These also weren’t botch jobs either, most of these repairs were done by reputable shops with many repairs returning as warranty work. I switched shops, but the cars’ constant disrepair remained the same.
My brother wrecked his Miata a couple of months after I got mine, but it could only extend the life of mine so much. It was enough to get me over 50,000 miles of back road glory, but I can’t imagine it had a lot more in it. When it became too much of a burden I sold it on for a couple grand. By then I had two cars too many and it had to go. That included a bunch of miscellaneous items I had accrued over my time with the car including extra wheels and tires, seats, center console, radio, hard top, and other supporting bits.
I still think about that car sometimes, and it makes me want another Miata but at the same time I think it’s out of my system. I ragged on it for all that it was worth, and the next owner went on to part out much of the car. When I ran into him at a later time\he informed me he had made money off the transaction. That brings closure to such a wonky experience. Nothing but highs and lows. My next few cars would have me searching for something more steadfast, but as someone who likes motoring I couldn’t just settle for a Prius. My next two COALs will be on the car that replaced the Miata, and another that only featured a short stay on my driveway.
Great article! Hoopties can be such a rollercoaster but they certainly are memorable. As the owner of an incredibly well worn classic daily driver, that’s an impressive list of repairs for the age of the car. Getting those repairs done right will certainly add up but a Miata will give back more than almost any other car.
Sad what happened to your brothers car! The BRG SEs are very rare and desirable now. My dad bought a 03 Miata LS in 04 and we’ve had many since – great cars!
Having owned 4 Miatas I can well understand your affinity for yours; they ARE GR8 lil sports cars!! 🙂 DFO