BMW Z3 or Mazda Miata

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Old Jun 21, 2007 | 03:04 PM
  #1  
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BMW Z3 or Mazda Miata

im lookin for a new car

less than 10K
manual
luxury interior
saves gas
coupe

im lookin into these two, with the miata its gonna be a 90-04 one. i really dont know anything about any of these cars.

any advice on what is a better choice and why, anything wrong with the cars.

also, any other options out there? i want to stay away from the rice rocket hondas and toyota. mainly because i would get rolled on often and because they have no luxury interior.
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Old Jun 21, 2007 | 03:34 PM
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Miata ftw!
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Old Jun 21, 2007 | 03:50 PM
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Originally Posted by vzuptnguyen
im lookin for a new car

less than 10K
manual
luxury interior
saves gas
coupe

im lookin into these two, with the miata its gonna be a 90-04 one. i really dont know anything about any of these cars.

any advice on what is a better choice and why, anything wrong with the cars.

also, any other options out there? i want to stay away from the rice rocket hondas and toyota. mainly because i would get rolled on often and because they have no luxury interior.
I dunno what you mean by luxury interior....1998+ are the second gen miatas...and their interiors are nicer and more spacious relative to the first gen. If you have 10k to spend and just wanna use it for a commuter...I would buy a 2nd gen. If you want to mod the sucker...well the 1994 SE is the best edition...and can be had for about 5k.
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Old Jun 21, 2007 | 05:51 PM
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Moog-Type-S's Avatar
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Go with the Mazda
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Old Jun 21, 2007 | 07:50 PM
  #5  
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i don't think you can buy z3 for less than $10k. but you can find decent miata for that price range
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Old Jun 22, 2007 | 04:14 AM
  #6  
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there are many z3 soft tops for under 10,000 but i think i want a hard top z3 like this one


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Old Jun 22, 2007 | 04:14 AM
  #7  
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anyone knows about reliability on any of these cars or have an experiences to share?
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Old Jun 22, 2007 | 07:46 AM
  #8  
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iF ITS ANY HELP, I WORK AT A MAZDA DEALER AND LET ME TELL YOU IF WE ONLY SOLD MIATAS, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED FOR A SERVICE DEPARTMENT.
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Old Jun 22, 2007 | 08:15 AM
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Dude, thats a Bmw Mcoupe... If it's under 10K, it's gotta be a scam. If it's not a scam, I'll buy it

Here's a breakdown on all the mcoupes on autotrader:

$44,990 Highest price
$13,700 Lowest price
$25,321 Average price

The biggest issues with the mcoupes are the Diff mount and subframe issues.

http://www.thelargeglass.com/bmw/subframe/

I've also read that the sunroofs can be expensive to repair.

edit: Oh, you're looking at ebay auctions... You know that the bid of 9500 isn't the asking price, it's just the current highest bid, right ?? It can (and will) go up in the final days of the auction... With those miles and if it's in decent condition, it's probably a low $20's car.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=120133520939
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Old Jun 22, 2007 | 09:29 AM
  #10  
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Get a Miata and stick a LS-1 in it.
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Old Jun 22, 2007 | 02:06 PM
  #11  
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Get a Miata Tam. Those Z3's are expensive as hell to maintain.

On a side note: what happened to getting the M45?
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Old Jun 22, 2007 | 03:10 PM
  #12  
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Wait for the Mazdaspeed Miata to drop below $10,000.
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Old Jun 22, 2007 | 06:34 PM
  #13  
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i know the op wants to stay away from toy and honda but i would jump on a s2k over either one of these two.
if i had to choose, i would get a m edition z3 over the miata.
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Old Jun 22, 2007 | 07:57 PM
  #14  
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Originally Posted by GreenMonster
Dude, thats a Bmw Mcoupe... If it's under 10K, it's gotta be a scam. If it's not a scam, I'll buy it

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=120133520939
Rebuilt salvage title

" PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS BMW Z M-EDITION HAS A TEXAS RECONDITIONED REBUILT SALVAGE TITLE, IT HAD DAMAGE ON THE REAR RIGHT SUSPENSION ONLY, THE REAR RIGHT SUSPENSION WAS REPLACED, WITH AN ORIGINAL NEW BMW PARTS. THIS VEHICLE LOOKS GREAT, RUNS AND DRIVES GREAT. THE TITLE HAS BEEN REBUILT AND IT IS READY TO GO."
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Old Jun 24, 2007 | 05:25 PM
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you guys think buying a salvaged bmw is bad choice? cuz the z3 hatch under 10K are mostly salv.

so from everyone heres experiance, miata's are very reliable? is it under only certain years or anything?

should i look for a certain year miata or model? any differences

im lookin towards the newer 2nd gen miata (the one with the normal headlights)

jay-looks like i couldnt pull out a loan to get the m45 =[. ill get it soon though, soon =]
hows your school/job going. lol people keep giving us bad rep points even though were good people haha.
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Old Jun 26, 2007 | 01:48 AM
  #16  
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anyone?
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Old Jun 26, 2007 | 08:17 AM
  #17  
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Originally Posted by vzuptnguyen
you guys think buying a salvaged bmw is bad choice?
Buying anything with a salvage title is a bad choice. You won't be able to put in any warrenty claims on the car, there might be issues with insurance, and you'll have a bitch of a time trying to sell it (you'll get laughed at if you try to trade it in at a new car dealer).

Everyone looks at the carfax for a car now, and many people won't touch a car even if it's in a minor fender bender... forget about being totaled and then issued a salvage title.
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Old Jun 26, 2007 | 08:38 AM
  #18  
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Originally Posted by vzuptnguyen
you guys think buying a salvaged bmw is bad choice? cuz the z3 hatch under 10K are mostly salv.

so from everyone heres experiance, miata's are very reliable? is it under only certain years or anything?

should i look for a certain year miata or model? any differences

im lookin towards the newer 2nd gen miata (the one with the normal headlights)

jay-looks like i couldnt pull out a loan to get the m45 =[. ill get it soon though, soon =]
hows your school/job going. lol people keep giving us bad rep points even though were good people haha.
Buying any salvaged vehicle is a bad idea unless you're a mechanic. There are lots of potential problems that may not pop up early in the ownership, but a few months in or a year in, you may end up with some serious issues.

As for Miata's, they are generally very reliable. The motors are pretty bullet-proof and the car is generally pretty simple so there isn't a whole lot to break. Plus, most Miata-owners do not daily drive them so they are often in pretty good shape.

If you want to try to find a specific model, try to look for a 10th anniversary edition. It has the same motor as the later model year cars but comes with a LSD and a 6-speed transmission as well as the upgraded sound system. No keyless entry though, which is kind of a pain. They are a bit rare (only 3750 in the US) but they are worth the money if you can find one.

Otherwise, look for one with the optional 6-speed and LSD that was available on 2000+ model year cars. The LSD is a must for a fun car like this.
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Old Jun 26, 2007 | 01:15 PM
  #19  
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thanks guys.

as for salv title. im lookin at a very clean miataa but it has a salv. owner, who is a pastor, says it was a stolen salv title and barely anything was taken but the radio. so im thinkin that i should check out all the VIN on each part.

as for the 6 speed LSD, what model is the car listed under? LS?

thanks again
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Old Jun 29, 2007 | 01:55 PM
  #20  
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i found out the 90-94's have a 1.6 and above that is a 1.8, prolly gonna find a 95-02

anyone know what year had the most reliable miatas, or which yearss had problem with anything?
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Old Jun 29, 2007 | 02:08 PM
  #21  
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too bad you can't get a used S2000 for that cheap unless it has 100,000 miles on it.
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Old Jun 29, 2007 | 03:36 PM
  #22  
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How come you keep on looking for cars with salvaged titles? I know they are cheaper in the beginning but like everyone said here you will probably end up shelling out a lot more money in the future.
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