Some cars are just unloved transport, but then there are sports cars like the Mazda Miata, which are cars that you should always care for, maintain, and clean right? – Well, in this case, not so much.
The team at Addicted Motors on YouTube went out in search of a Mazda MX-5 Miata which was up for grabs on Facebook Marketplace for $900, with few bits of information other than that the convertible no longer starts.
For such a low price, the car must be worth a look, and anyway – how bad can it be?
Let’s find out if it starts and what a derelict Miata looks like after it’s been sat in a front yard for several years.
The Abandoned Mazda Miata Is Wanting For Love
Our hosts head out in the dark to potentially rescue the advertised Miata, with little to no information.
What we do know is a couple of things – it’s a first-gen 1994 Mazda MX-5 with 215,000 miles on the clock – a lot even for a Japanese engine like this one – and that the title displayed that mileage since 2013.
That means it hasn’t moved much since then so has potentially been sitting still for a long time.
Also, the roadster doesn’t start according to the vendor, there is some speculation about it overheating or having a seized engine but soon enough we will find out.
At the vendor’s house and on the lawn, we can barely make out a black Miata with clear rear lights, a set of front pop-up headlights which are in the up position, and not a lot else.
The car won’t start with a jump battery and won’t even turn over – it needs more work, so the team loads the car on the trailer and return home.
They Cannot Start The Poor Mazda
Back at HQ, they connect the trunk-mounted battery once again with a portable jump pack. Up on the lift, we can see rear-only Bilstein shock absorbers, a Torsen differential, and a new fuel filter.
That’s the end of the good news though as the rest needs work – with some particularly used-and-abused tires which are slick and showing wires plus they will need to replace the hood on the car, along with the fuel filler door.
After opening the cylinder head for a visual check and spraying some starter spray into the inlet, the car now turns over assisted by the battery but won’t cough into life. For now, the story ends as more inspection and tinkering will be needed to find out where the fault lies, if it’s not the starter motor, timing belt or fuel pump then the problem lies elsewhere.