Since I had been watching the cars coming up for sale over several months I had a pretty good idea that I could buy a 2009/2010 (NC2) for about $12k or less but after I sold my motorcycle, spring started to kick in and along with it, lots of new buyers looking for the same car I want.
The prices started rising every week. The cars that interested me were getting sold before I could even make an offer sight unseen. My search expanded out to 250 miles from my house but the same less desirable cars kept showing up week after week. 2 black manual cars(a hard top and a soft top) and a slew of automatic transmission equipped cars with low asking prices which was a good indication of the kind of interest those cars had (ie little to none).
After missing out on 5 increasingly expensive cars that I wanted, I decided to try to make an offer on the over priced black hard top, but they would not budge on the price. I offered $13.5k on the soft top which they accepted, but in the end I decided I wanted the hard top more (even though it was a lot more money), so I asked them to write me up on the hard top at their asking price but the car went to contract while I was hemming and hawing over which car to buy.
DANG!
The dealership offered to let me have the newer 2013 Club soft top (NC3, whoop) for $13k out the door since it had sat on their lot for so long and I thought about it for 2 hours. Apparently, my decision to try to purchase the more expensive hard top really affected my ability to switch back to the soft top.
I thought about the 2 high mileage 2016 ND Miatas which I emailed that were selling for about $16k. They are only available in a soft top (I'm not counting the oddball RF which was released in 2017) and all the other soft top cars I see driving around and figured I might be *almost* as happy in a soft top Miata even though I love the way the hard top's side profile looks. I feared that a black car would be oppressively hot in the summer heat but figured the black cloth seats would be more bearable than black leather.
Once the top is down, the cars would be identical from the driver's seat. I wondered how much longer before another car shows up in the market that catches my eye and also how much more that car would cost with the increased warm weather demand for a convertible.
The rational side of my brain told me to wait for fall and apply for a new loan since the one I was already approved was only good for 90 days.
I know that I've settled on this purchase out of frustration or maybe desperation, but I got a newer car (NC3) for a decent price with the sport suspension and a limited slip differential that I considered a nice to have feature in the other cars.
What I don't get is a lighter color, a power hard top, home link remote mirror, and bluetooth connectivity.
SIGH!
Ultimately I'm buying the car for the driving experience and once the top is down there will be very little difference.
The danger of settling is that someday, I might regret not getting the silver or not having the hard top but life is short. If regret rears it's head, I'll worry about it when the time comes. Will I regret settling? I'll find out once I start driving it. I suspect it won't matter.
Although I was just promoted at work, this car purchase is not about my promotion. I was determined to make this purchase without any impact to my normal (old) cash flow so the loan will be paid from the small monthly pension I receive from a former employer, the down payment will be paid out of the proceeds from the sale of my motorcycle and some shares of a cancer stock I've held for more than 25 years. 95% of my raise is sequestered to savings for my emergency/pre-retirement/F.U. money.
I suspect the supercharger or turbo charger I eventually purchase will come out of one of my future bonuses. :)
Update1:
The car was absolutely stunning when we saw it for the first time, the dealership's photographer did not do the car justice and I'm sure the car was really worth a lot more. Driving home, the cover provided excellent protection and since the sound protection is not significantly better in the hard top, I suspect the only time I'll curse not having the hard top is when I eventually have to replace the cloth top.... and maybe driving in the winter.
Update2:
This car feels like another right time right place kind of circumstance. It almost feels like fate has steered me to this car when all the other ones got sold and then the dealer wanted to get rid of this car when I showed a little interest.
I've been pleasantly surprised that the previous owner upgraded the speakers as well as the horn. 2 items I would have eventually done myself. The cloth seats that I wasn't too keen about are the preferred choice between leather and cloth according to fellow NC Owners.
The previous owner even kept her copy of the original window sticker. I must be blessed.
Update3:
Looking at the carfax from the dealer, this car sat on the dealer lot when it was brand new for 1 year before the prior owner purchased it and a little over 1 month before I purchased it. Certainly, a black soft top is not an in-demand combination but I am thoroughly enjoying this car and moving forward with minor upgrades such as delrin door bushings, shorty antenna, new floor mats, perforated leather steering wheel cover, homelink mirror and a new shift knob.
Not sure why, but the more I drive this car, the more I like it. It still feels fairly quick, but I know it's not fast. At some point, I'm going to think it's slow, but even with another passenger in the car, I don't feel a loss in power.
I've removed the intake sound enhancer which is a contraption designed to bring additional intake noise into the interior cabin. While it sounded great, I decided I wanted to reduce noise where possible, but the modification is completely reversible. The exhaust is still fairly loud and I'm wondering if the previous owner upgraded any of the exhaust components.
I've also discovered that the later Miata NC models (starting 2009) consistently dyno with higher HP than earlier NC models in stock form. Some have guessed that the NC2 are putting out closer to 180HP compared with the official 167HP in all the marketing material. This could be due to the upgraded engine internals which allowed a slightly higher redline.
Pollen seems to be attracted to the shiny black and water stains and splash marks really show. I think maybe if I don't clean it, all the stains will just hide each other.
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