Got A Work Van On GovDeals Today!

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I think we have the perfect Miata trifecta- a conducive climate, lots of retirees, and lots of beaches.
$5k gets a real nice one here. But ours is originally from WA.

I think that you hit it right on the head. Over here on the sunny side of Washington we drive a lot more pickups than sports cars. When farmers retire they sell the farm and the pickup, move to Florida and but a convertable

I saw a couple of Miatas in Florida that had me looking at travel time and expense. The time and cost were enough that I passed.

If we don't have a toad by the time we get ready to travel in the bus we will come to Florida and find one

[EastCoastCB]

My buddy David brought his yellow Miata back over today. We flushed the coolant. It was nasty.
We just drained it and refilled with distilled, drove around town, drained, repeat.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

I have been looking at Miatas off and on for the last year and it seems like all of the good buys are in Florida....... Here in Washington people are way to proud of their Miatas. Prices are lower down in SoCal but it seems like most of them are being sold with salvage title.

The quest continues.

Ever look at Z3s? I bought one on eBay pretty much by accident after losing a bunch of Miata auctions. I bid a nice-looking black one with the 6-cyl up to the reserve price just to find out what it was ... and then there were no other bidders. Thought I was screwed but it turned out to be the greatest thing I ever bought. Personally, I think the Z3 is the best-looking of all the roadsters, and the toe-out rear tires give it fantastic turning ability (at the cost of tires rarely making it past 10K miles). More expensive to buy and maintain than a Miata, unfortunately, but I'm on my second one now.

(I feel like I told you this story already, so ignore it if I did)

[MacC]

Retirees in Florida with Miatas, that is my dad!! lol He loves it. They are all over Naples. Actually Naples is a good place to buy used cars. The competition and the people trade frequently down there, makes for reasonable prices for decent cars I think. Drove within 75 miles of you EastCoast a month ago. I wanted so bad to stop.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by MacC

Retirees in Florida with Miatas, that is my dad!! lol He loves it. They are all over Naples. Actually Naples is a good place to buy used cars. The competition and the people trade frequently down there, makes for reasonable prices for decent cars I think. Drove within 75 miles of you EastCoast a month ago. I wanted so bad to stop.

Naples, Venice, Sebring, Ft Meyers- Great area to find miatas or scooters in fantastic shape for a decent deal. I've gotten a few bikes and scooters down there.
Give me a holler next time you're in the area!

[EastCoastCB]

Got a Buick today.


A friend of ours wanted a shed demo'd and we had nothing to do today. She paid us with a Buick Park Avenue.
It runs and drives. Has decent tires.

[WIbluebird]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Got a Buick today.


A friend of ours wanted a shed demo'd and we had nothing to do today. She paid us with a Buick Park Avenue.
It runs and drives. Has decent tires.

Good deal!

[Native]

You sure do "fall" into vehicles, Charlie!

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Native

You sure do "fall" into vehicles, Charlie!

Not being super picky helps. I think a lot of folks are simply too self conscious to drive old beaters like us. So many folks' self identities are dependent on what styles and brands everything is.

Can't wait to give it a bath and an oil change.

I've got a few things to do today. I'll go pick up the car tomorrow.

[PNW_Steve]

I bought one like that for my wife several years ago. I loved it. She called it her "grandma car".

Then our resident 16 year old driver totaled it For some reason my wife was not nearly as upset about loosing the car as I was.......

[EastCoastCB]

Found a home for the buick. Made a cool $100 for an hours work. not bad.

My folks are test driving a pretty nice truck right now. In the villages. They found a one owner 2004 Chevy Duramax 3500 4x4 dually crew cab with 65k orig miles. Full rv camper thing that goes into the bed. guy wants $20k.

[EastCoastCB]

ugh. Miata battery finally gave up. Ordered a better one. AGM.
pricey little batteries for these things.

[Native]

AGM batteries for the starter batteries ... I would not have thought that. Does the Miata have a special regulator?

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Native

AGM batteries for the starter batteries ... I would not have thought that. Does the Miata have a special regulator?

I'm not sure. This is the battery all the old timers on the Miata forums use.

[Kubla]

Just put a group 31 in it, you can make it fit

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Kubla

Just put a group 31 in it, you can make it fit

The lil 300 cca unit that's in there now barely fits. Everything on a miata is "fun size".

[EastCoastCB]

next up I've gotta order new window bushings and rubber. The bushings are worn and easy to replace. the passenger door rubber developed a tear and leaked badly during the recent storms. had to shop-vac about 6-8 gallons out of the passenger floor yesterday. Luckily the seats come out in 5 minutes with just 4 bolts, so we got it all out. Left a tray full of damp rid in it.
I can forgive any problems the miata has. Its just a joy to own and drive. We're getting estimates for a new roof on the house and garage. Gona add a carport on the side of garage for the mazda. I'm going to focus on painting the house and doing some repairs to it. I'm thinking of doing a "boat house" type roof over where I park the bus.
I'd love covered parking for ALL of my "fleet".

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

The lil 300 cca unit that's in there now barely fits. Everything on a miata is "fun size".

In my Z3 they gave up and put the battery in the trunk, but at least it's a normal battery.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

In my Z3 they gave up and put the battery in the trunk, but at least it's a normal battery.

If it were a beater miata I'd probably have stuck one of my extra group 31's in the trunk. But Trying to keep it as stock and nice as we can for a while.

I need to drive a z3 sometime.

[cadillackid]

im not a big Bimmer fan.. my Favorite Miata was the MazdaSpeed, those were a BLAST to drive!!!.. easy to Soup up too!