New car

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
08/14/2019 at 11:50 • Filed to: None

No better way to get used to a new car than a 3 hour drive home. Picked up this 2008 Mazda Miata PRHT yesterday for the princely bargain of $5500 from a nice lady in Oklahoma City. It drives perfectly and I am ecstatic . Here’s the nitty gritty:

160k miles

Current owner had it since 3k miles

Interior reupholstered with Katzkin leather

New bilstein shocks

New Pilot Sport A/S rubber

Oil changed religiously with Mobil 1 high mileage full synthetic

No shudders, vibrations, weird noises, rattles, etc.

Hardtop works beautifully

JVC Android Auto/Carplay head unit properly installed and wired into the steering wheel controls

The only “con” is that the paint could use some help but a detailing buddy of mine is going to do a paint correction on it Friday before Cars & Coffee! We aren’t sure if the roof is oxidized or has failing clear coat but I know a body shop that can get me a bargain price on re-clearing the bad panels.

Plan is to drive it. I have no modification plans outside of tinting the tail lights red and possibly a slightly louder exhaust. Stock is so quiet I keep nearly stalling the car because I can’t hear the engine at all.

Super comfy, got 30mpg on the way back. Wind noise is perfectly fine on the highway and the sound system is absolutely fantastic after some EQ fiddling. I’m in love.

DISCUSSION (32)

Chariotoflove > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:11

Wow, that’s a great find.

E90M3 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:12

Did you sell the LS?

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:13

Great buy! I had no idea the PRHT could be bought for so little.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:14

Love it! Seems like a bargain .

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:15

Nice!

412GTI > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:17

Nice, should be a lot of fun! I know NC’s aren’t everyones favorite, but I still think that a lot of car for the price.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:19

Congrats! Seems like you got a great deal, enjoy!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:19

Ooo, very nice!

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > E90M3
08/14/2019 at 12:21

Working on that part.

E90M3 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:23

Fair, based on some of your previous comments it sounded like you couldn’t really afford three cars. Makes sense to jump on a good deal though, especially if it only means owning three cars for a limited time period.

punkgoose17 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:25

*screeches like I saw a cute animal*

That is awesome! I am excited for you.

BeaterGT > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:25

Congrats! Looks like fun

Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:33

The LS world will miss you. Theres an Ls400 classified group on facebook if youre willing to deal with people. Craigslist and FB marketplace have been good to me.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:34

Very nice! Great get.

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:39

Looks great! I think you done good.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:45

Full circle

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 12:54

Awesome! It’s like the younger sister to my car! Also you say you won’t modify now, but just wait.

Arrivederci > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 13:09

Awesome! That seems like a really, really good deal too. Someone locally has a 2012 PRHT in red with only 22k miles on Fb Marketplace asking $12.5k. I’m half-tempted to see how little they’d take for it.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 13:16

Congrats, solid NP. Great color combo too

t0ast > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 13:37

Congrats! That’s a good price too IMO. Hopefully you get to enjoy yours as much as I did mine. They really are low-key good for how inexpensive and unpopular they are.

Exhaust-wise, I’m a fan of Good-Win Racing’s stuff. I had the first iteration of their Q muffler and it did a good job of keeping an upgraded header and midpipe in check while still being a louder-than-stock unit . They’ve got some lighter, louder, and/or less expensive options too. The lifetime warranty (which I actually used once on a midpipe weld failure that may or may not have been exacerbated by roadkill and/or cone hits) and 90 day exchange policy are nice perks as well.

As for other upgrade ideas (since I can’t help but enable this sort of activity), sway bars might be worth considering since they’re cheap and effective for this car. If you want a not-very-SCCA-legal AEM CAI, I’ve got a mostly complete used one (just down a pair of nuts+bolts+grommets IIRC) still sitting around that I’ve just been too lazy to sell and could let go for cheap.

Finally, you might want to look at replacing the coolant expansion tank given the age/mileage, or at least keeping a really close eye on it. They’re known to get brittle and crack over time. Metal aftermarket replacements are available.

Khalbali > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 13:43

Nice! Love the color! Kinda hurts seeing you get one so cheap though, I paid almost 3 times that for mine, although that was 4 years ago and it only had 30k.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Khalbali
08/14/2019 at 13:52

Honestly sounds like you got quite the deal as well.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > t0ast
08/14/2019 at 13:54

Friend of mine picked up a 130k mile NC as a streetable track car. On went the ohlins, aluminum expansion tank, and sticky tires. For exhaust he just had the rear muffler removed and replaced with a straight pipe and it honestly sounds ideal. Didn’t seem to drone, either.

I was thinking of an RX7 orange dot front sway bar.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 14:10

Hell yeah. Enjoy it, here’s to hoping it doesn’t fucking break or some shit like seemingly all your other cars rip

t0ast > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 14:16

There may be some acoustic differences with the top up ( assuming his has the soft top) , but I could see that potentially working out well given how conservative Mazda was with the rest of their exhaust . Pro tip: don’t look too closely at how the OEM header’s primaries enter the cat if you want to sleep well at night.

Also good call on the RX8 sway bar . I keep forgetting that they shared platforms and had more than a few interchangeable parts.

Spridget > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 15:20

I’ve lost all track of how many cars you’ve owned at this point.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Spridget
08/14/2019 at 16:42

In order:

1998 Civic

1991 Miata

2005 Mustang

1997 Riviera

1993 Sentra SE-R

1986 Mustang

2002 Miata

1977 XJ-S

2002 IS300

2003 Mazda6

1993 Miata

1998 LS400

2008 Miata

And bikes:

1980 CX500

1996 Vulcan 500

1981 CX500

1984 Shadow 700

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 17:55

A better way is an 11 hour drive.

Poor_Sh > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 19:07

You got it for me!?! Aww thanks!

Khalbali > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 19:43

I had the roadstersport 2 exhaust on mine, it was decent although I think they have newer/better ones now, it came on the car but I liked it. I had Mazdaspeed springs too (also on it when I bought it) looked great a little lower but did make it a little worse for daily use.

daender > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 21:26

This is probably your second-finest score to the IS300 Sportcross. You may have found one of the best-looking stock NC1s around!

...Don’t let your lady drive this one.

Future Heap Owner > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/14/2019 at 21:46

Wow, awesome! Super NP. Congrats!