As a fun daily driver, should I get a mr2 aw11 or an old mazda miata mx-5
I don't know too much about cars yet, the aw11 looks fun and AESTHETIC af, but I think might be too much for me to handle.
I love how both look, I can pick either one up for similar price where I live, but which is more reliable, better on gas, and easy / fun to work on?
Also, how well does the miata handle off road?
Miata
Don't take either off road
Why not?
They seem to have a short enough wheelbase, and it wouldn't be anything extreme like climbing boulders, just back road muddy bumps and climbs
The aw11 has a longer wheelbase fwiw
AW11
stay away from my miatas they are overpriced enough right now
one is racerwannabe car or girls car.
the other is 80's and cool as fuck
pick one.
i'd never own a miata. they look lame as shit.
my adub is mad fun and looks awesome.
I can get both for the same price of $3k-$5k
>the other is 80's and cool as fuck
Can't argue with that, but every time I see a Miata in person, I'm reminded as to how cute they are.
I dunno, I saw one cruising along with snow chains during a blizzard where only my 4x4 GMC Jimmy on 31's dared adventure out into the city. Snow was deep enough to scrape the bottom of my SUV occasionally. I laughed pretty hard watching it cruise by at speed.
AW11
I have owned mine for about 12 years now and i still love it every day.
Have you ever had to do any major maintenance on it? Is it any harder to work on with the engine being where it is?
I rebuild the engine when i bought it.
I have had to change the ignition coil and control module. I had a serious issue with the shift linkage. A part broke off and i had to have one made. With old cars you will have to be inventive, but the engine bay is easy to work on and the 4A is a legend in reliability.
The one and only thing i dont like about the car, the only thing. It is a little loud on the highway lol
Oh and the break master cylinder. That is all i have done to the car in 12 years. :)
Neat, about how many miles do you have on it?
When looking for one to buy, whats the max miles it should have?
oh, and one last thing that no one ever seems to mention. Get after market exhaust if you live anywhere they salt the roads, or paint the mounting brackets for your exhaust often. The wheld points on the huge muffler get soaked by road wash and get eaten away. Before i started messing with ideas i went through mufflers every 3ish years.
Mine has about 310,000
How many miles is completely up to you, i found mine for 300$ with a blown head gasket then i payed a shop about 2.2k to rebuild the engine. its about what you will pay anyway for the car and boom, 90% new.
So it matters your risk tolerance, the lower the better of course. But it is from the 80's its going to have 200+ most likely...
Look for leeks, make sure the transmission goes through the gears nice and smooth, they all run rich so dont worry if you find one that does the same. Check in the frunk (Front Trunk) from erosion and make sure its not leeking out of any of the pipes behind the plastic shroud. Check the CV joints and the whelds on the exhaust system. If it looks and sounds ok it should be ok...
the mr2 will serve as a much more comfortable DD for the varying tops and trunks. which one is more fun depends on what you define as fun. do you wanna be an adrenaline rush mid engine junkie or a drift fag? age and condition is questionable too since the two have quite a bit of years in-between
pic related my sw20
oh btw working on it isn't as bad as it seems, the engine bay itself is as easy as the Miata but with a little more bending over.
just think of it as a backwards corolla.
I occasionally drive and work on my buddy's Miata so AMA
aw11 and sw20 are a lot different for a daily driver
Thanks for all the info!
Is there any major difference between the aw11 and sw20? I'm not that big a fan of how it looks, but I've heard its more reliable.
I use to DD both
i had an SW20 for all of 2 weeks, i hated it. Thank god i didnt sell my AW
I had two. An NA and a turbo.
Far better cars than the aw11 or mx5
in your opinion, yes
On an unrelated note, anyone have that comfy picture of an aw11 with a cargo carrier attached on top?
You need to get the MIATA for one reason and one reason only.
FR can be salvaged from more easily from OH SHIT moments than MR.
Sw20 is heavier