According to its ad, today’s Nice Price or No Dice MX-5 Miata is painted in an extremely rare color. Let’s see if that colors our opinion on its price tag.
There’s something appealing about the idea of cruising around in an old cop car. By the order of their original occupation, they embrace a weird combination of a spartan aesthetic and—as Elwood Blues so eloquently posited—all the heavy-duty cop stuff that imbues them with the impression of industrial strength. These days, the used cop car market typically means large and mid-sized SUVs, as exemplified by the 2016 Ford Explorer Interceptor we kicked off the week with yesterday. Featuring a push bar in front, up-rated mechanicals underneath, and an interior highlighted by a denuded police radio box and a shifter promoted to the steering column, this is probably the toughest kind of Explorer money can buy. And at $6,900, fully 56% of you felt that someone should buy it, earning the former patrol car an arresting Nice Price win.
Still the answer?
It’s been said that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Less is said about the opportunities afforded a second impression, and in fact, the most common reference to such is in entertainment, where the “sophomore curse” challenges any great success with the creation of an equally crowd-pleasing follow-up.
It was just such a daunting task that faced Mazda when the time came to refresh its wildly successful and cult-endearing MX-5 Miata after a decade-long run. The general tack the company took was to mostly leave well enough alone and simply sand the Miata’s rough edges enough to make the new car seem… well, new. At the same time, the company didn’t want to dilute any of the secret sauce the original had concocted. Considering the rabid fan base the OG Miata had imbued, that was an unenviable assignment but one the second-generation car mostly pulled off. Similar in size and weight to the original NA Miata, the NB follow-up’s most notable change was the safety-related switch from cheeky pop-up headlamps to more mundane fixed units. Other alterations included adding a little more elbow room to the cockpit and up-sizing the wheels and tires for improved comfort and grip.
Ten best list
It all seemed to work since Car And Driver found the NB just as praiseworthy as the NA, returning it to the magazine’s annual “Ten Best Cars” list in 1999. History hasn’t been so kind to the NB, however. Nor, it should be said, to its 2005 follow-up, the NC. Neither car has enjoyed the reputation nor the cult-like following of the NA. Even the current Miata—which has been in production now for a decade without a major rethink—lacks that passion. It’s weird, though, because Mazda has made incremental improvements in nearly every aspect of the Miata with every successive generation. Even more have been made within those generations, creating arguably better all-around cars than the original NA editions.
Dismissing these later models, of course, generally means they are often a better value proposition and, hence, are much more ripe for the picking by people who want the juice but don’t need the culty seeds.
California orange
Speaking of juice, this 2000 Mazda Miata NB is painted in Evolution Orange Metallic. In the pictures, that comes across as gold, making its “18K” factory color code all the more appropriate. The seller claims this to be a very rare color, saying that only 644 so-painted editions were sold in the U.S. Paired with that is a camel vinyl top with a glass back window, factory five-spoke alloy wheels, and a tan interior with leather seating surfaces.
Mechanically, it’s presented as all-stock and with a bit of intrigue. The engine is the standard 140-horsepower 1.8-liter DOHC four. That’s backed up by a five-speed stick and potentially a limited-slip differential in the back. The seller isn’t sure about that latter spec since they have been unable to confirm whether this car sports the LS/Touring package or not.
What they do know is that the car has a newish top, and has also seen, among other items, the timing belt, clutch, and catalytic convertor replaced not all that long ago. Based on the pictures in the ad, there’s nothing major wrong with either the exterior or interior despite the car having a hefty 170,000 miles under its belt. The title is clean, and the car comes with a batch of maintenance records and both its original keys.
Pay the piper
No mention is made in the ad regarding how the car performs, nor if any issues are evident. The seller does mention a couple of scuffs in the paint but claims there to be no significant visual blemishes. They do tout it as “all stock” and a “well cared for car.” A California car, it also just recently passed the state’s smog test and wears current tags.
The asking price for this orange and tan Miata is $6,500, a recent $500 reduction to whet potential buyers’ whistles. What’s your take on this Mazda for that kind of money? Does that seem like a fair deal on the marque’s red-headed stepchild model? Or, for that much, would you prefer to wait for an earlier hidden headlight car to pop up?
You decide!
Nice Price or No Dice:
Sacramento, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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