HomePick of the DayOne-owner ‘coddled’ 1990 Mazda Miata

One-owner ‘coddled’ 1990 Mazda Miata

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“When Mazda brought out the Miata, they appealed to Americans with Red, White, and Blue,” the advertisement begins. “Only the white was fairly flat, and the red and blue definitely weren’t standard American flag colors.

“Loved the car,” writes the now-retired veteran of the Vietnam war, “hated the colors.”

But it wasn’t long before Mazda added Silver Metallic to the color palette.

“I saw this one on the truck when it pulled into the dealer — and bought it before it ever touched the ground.”

It was nearly 30 years ago that the car was purchased, and it has been owned ever since — 99,700 miles since — by the same person. But that person is now advertising the one-owner car, a 1990 Mazda Miata, for sale on ClassicCars.com and it’s the Pick of the Day.

The owner-seller terms the Miata a “coddled one-owner car. This Miata has always been garaged.” 

Even so, the plastic rear window yellowed and the top was showing its age, “so we replaced the top with a high-end TopsOnLine Black Haartz Stayfast Cloth top last summer. Kept the same style zip-open top to maintain the original Miata look,” the seller ads.

Also replaced were the original steel wheels, thus reducing unsprung weight. A rear sway bar and engine brace also enhance the car’s handling, the seller reports.

Also replaced was the original radio, opting instead for a Sony unit with AM/FM, MPE, WMA and FLAC as well as Sirius XM and Bluetooth. 

Speaking of coddled, the original radio was retained in case the next owner wants to revert to factory spec.

And speaking of factory spec, this is an AC-delete Miata, because “everyone knows you can’t run the air conditioner in an original Miata and still go up hills — and I needed to go up hills.”

Like other Miatas, this one has a 1.6-liter twin-cam 4-cylinder engine attached to a 5-speed, short-throw manual gearbox. 

The seller ads that most of those nearly 100,000 miles were scored on road trips with wife or children rather than in stop-and-go traffic.

The car is located Smithfield, Virginia, and its only owner is asking $6,850 for it.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

6 COMMENTS

  1. I had a1995 automatic that I sold at 97,500 miles for $6000 and it was in exceptionally great condition. This is a steal at the price he is asking.

    • I currently own a 2003 Silver Miata convertible and it’s an amazing car.. It’s almost identical to the one in the photo… This is an amazing deal….

  2. I owned a 2001 6 speed manual from 2004 until 2018 and enjoyed it very much sold it and the woman who bought it is in love with it it’s the best

  3. Bought mine in 2004 as I was closing in on retirement. Still driving it and love it now has 85000 miles.

  4. This is an absolute beauty. I have a Mk2. 5 model (2003) with nearly 100.000 miles on the clock and only last year had to get the original battery replaced and refurbish the canopy (I used Stormsure wetsuit glue, similar to Neoprene Queen), and she needed treatment for rust. This wonderful little car is out in all weather, and I don’t have a garage, but I am coddling the car now as she enters her grand old age. I am sure the car in the advertisement will find a loving home.

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