Miata vs S2000 used car

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reckedracing

reckedracing

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I've been trolling FB marketplace and CL recently looking for a convertible with less than 100k miles.
It seems early 2000 Miatas are about $10k, and similar year and mileage S2000s are in the $30k range.
If you go over 100k miles, or start to back down the quality, miatas can be had in the 6-8k range, and S2000's for 15-20k.

I currently have no garage, so a true clean S2000 specimen is not recommended.

This would need to be something I don't mind leaving out in the elements.

I have driven neither of these cars in person, so I am looking for some feedback.

I feel like a half beater NB miata with 60-100k miles is likely the correct choice given my lack of a garage.
 
Just get the Miata already
It's exactly what you are looking for
Go drive a few, then pull the damn trigger

They are simple and fun to drive, and the fact that there are half a billion of them out there makes them cheap with plenty of parts and aftermarket support.
 
S2000 prices are starting to go up, way faster than for used Miatas. The Miata is easier to drive out of the box- the limits are easy to explore, and control at the edge of adhesion is very intuitive. The first time I got behind the wheel of an NB I was able to four wheel drift it like I'd been driving it for years, same as with my wife's NC that I bought last year. The S2000 will reward you with really good driving, but it can/will bite you if you suck just 1% at the limit. Quite a few tracks don't allow AP1s to run unless they've had the rear suspension geometry corrected (like mine, but never corrected... not fun).

S2000 has a design defect in the upper rear bars of the convertible frame- you'll forever be fighting tears in the rear upper corners of the soft top. You can file down the sharp edges on the frame, but the pressure will still cause you to gain nice ventilation slots about a year or two after each soft top replacement. Conversely, 6 seconds to power the top up and down is pretty awesome. I didn't want another soft top after the S2000, so my wife got the NC PRHT (power retractable hard top). Soooo much nicer.

AP1 suspension pivot mounts crack- they should be welded up if you're at high miles or going to track it.

S2000 parts are WAY more expensive in the aftermarket. Fewer cars made = fewer OEM parts floating around to fix things in case something goes wrong. Aftermarket stuff is way more $$ I guess because the target market is more track oriented, and generally has deeper pockets. Bigger tires = more $$. Bigger wheels, brakes- it all costs more to feed.

Engines- the supply of F20C blocks is pretty much dried up. If you torch your engine, it's near impossible to find a replacement. Rebuilds aren't cheap. Getting a K20/K24 means you're competing with everybody and their mom that wants to stuff a K block into their car, which is quite a few people since it's basically become the Chevy small block of the 4 cylinder world. The Miata engines are cheap and plentiful- basically any 2.0, 2.3, or 2.5 from the MZR engine group will bolt right up to the NC with a few tiny changes if you pulled one from a FWD car, and there are thousands on thousands of the 1.8L blocks from the 99+ Miatas that will work in the NA/NB chassis.

I could go on and on... I love the S2000, but Miata for simplicity and enjoyment on the best budget.
 
Thank you for that detailed write up.
I had no idea the S2000 was prone to so many issues.

Appreciate all the comments guys. I guess the Miata search continues.

Honda Beat is another potential option, as I have an importer pretty local to me, but the paperwork to get the thing registered (in a different state) and the lack of parts if something goes wrong makes the Beat not so attractive.
 
Have you sat in either of them? Can you close the top in either of them?

don't be this guy
1698952856859.png
 
reckedracing said:
Thank you for that detailed write up.
I had no idea the S2000 was prone to so many issues.

Appreciate all the comments guys. I guess the Miata search continues.

Honda Beat is another potential option, as I have an importer pretty local to me, but the paperwork to get the thing registered (in a different state) and the lack of parts if something goes wrong makes the Beat not so attractive.
Click to expand...
Welcome- but I wouldn't exactly say that the S2000 is really issue prone- I don't regret owning one for 13 years. I wish I still had it. I just bought it for the driving dynamics and didn't care about the soft top at all, but after driving my wife's NC PRHT all day today in the nice weather, I kind of wish I had another one. The S2000 is still an amazing car.
 
if you are a bigger guy the NC miata is the best bet and you can get one with a power retractable hard top. they also don't suffer the huge price increase of the NB because they are the biggest of the 4 models.
 
TurboMirage said:
if you are a bigger guy the NC miata is the best bet and you can get one with a power retractable hard top. they also don't suffer the huge price increase of the NB because they are the biggest of the 4 models.
Click to expand...
They're still starting to climb in price... there are guys like me that will only buy the PRHT. A clean one is easily 15k these days, and they go up every year.
 
I found one.
Model year 2000, only $36k miles, $8000, but it has an accident in history in 2003.
Not sure how bad, have not inspected the car up close yet.
I had the seller send me lots of pictures. It was a Virginia car according to carfax. (The carfax that was sent to me by the seller was from 2019, so I will need to run a new one for more recent history just to check.)

My solution for the lack of a garage will be to pave the driveway to at least stop condensation from the gravel.
Going to look into opening up the basement out back that opens to ground level. There was a large 2 part door that would allow a car to pull into the basement, but when they did the addition they blocked one half of the door with block wall/"foundation".


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I wanted silver with black cloth, but the tan leather looks to be in good shape, and if I am reading my sources correctly this model came with the factory LSD.


Any opinions from my Miata lovers? Price is right in the middle of private party for kbb.

VIN = Jm1nb3539y0143108
 
mazda has never ever been super straight about which models have it... even today some NDs in base 6 speed have it, but later on only the GT and Club? who actually wants those extra weight gaining features? just give us the LSD. AFAIK the markings on the diff will tell you.
 
Do you have the founds though?


Seems like it should be less than mid-line for a crash-record car, no? 36k is pretty dang low, though for a 24 year old car.. I'd almost say too low to the point where you may have a lot of wear on rubber/etc/etc from lack of use/sitting.
 
The guy ended up selling the car on Sunday, when we had plans for me to go to NJ and buy/pick it up Tuesday.

So it goes, the hunt continues.

Silver PRHT seems to be tough to find in this market.
 
I was going to NJ today to buy this one, but figured it might be better to wait for the one I really want.
I had the cash in hand, ran the carfax, and had my insurance people working on the card.
Of note - the car fax shows 3 owners, one as a fleet, then a corporate owner, then the long term owner.
I believe the car was used as a dealership car, and used mostly by the owner of the dealer ship.

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It's just so clean.


Not sure if someone cleared under the hood, it's a touch too shiny.
 
looks pimp, but tan is UGLY

doesn't seem to be abused - look at the fluid containers... they are only slightly yellowed instead of brown/gross/cracked.
 
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