Johnny's First RWD Sports car and Used car

[Johnnymac]

Well this past Friday I made the 2 hour drive to Moncton NB to buy a 2022 Mazda MX-5 RF GT manual.  This one was owned by a local older gent who buys one every 3-4 years and that's what he did this time as well. 

Current mileage is just under 45,000kms and honestly it feels quite tight and new with no real rattles or squeaks anywhere.  Would have loved it if the old guy had invested in some PPF on the front end as there are quite a number of little rock chips that have been filled in with touch up paint.  These vehicles are known to have thin paint and where it's so low to the ground it's common to have rock chips.  I'm thinking about getting PPF on the metal bits (hood and front fenders) and just keep touching up any of the paint chips on the plastic painted bits.

Ran into a little bit of an issue at the dealer when I picked it up, for one I wasn't aware of the brown leather seats (good surprise) and for two it didn't have the tires that I was told were on it when I made the offer.  So the story goes that when I asked about the tires that were on the vehicle prior to making an offer, the sales guy ran out and told me that it had Bridgestone Potenza S0001 summer performance tires, which I found acceptable (even if they wouldn't have been my first choice).  Show up at the dealer and it has some cheap no name I assume Chinese brand performance all season tires (Ironman was the name) as they did a fresh MVI and the tires didn't pass.

After talking to the sales manager and explaining the mix up, some uncomfortable talk about the lack of communication, he agreed to reduce the price of the vehicle to offset the cost of buying the tires that I want.  When I got home I ordered a set of the new Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 V2, which just came out in the last 6ish months.  Price was only $202 per tire and I expect them to be a massive upgrade over the garbage they decided to put on their "flagship" sports car that the brand builds its entire identity around (zoom zoom)  .

Some things to note, this car has the Bose sound system with speakers in the head rest with a good microphone close to there in order to make phone calls easier with the top down.

With the roof stored you have a open area right behind your head, the trunk space is not impacted by storing the roof and honestly the trunk space is decent, enough for a couple of overnight bags for a weekend away. 

Speaking of storage, there isn't much in the cabin, center console is only room enough for my sunglasses, behind that is a lockable storage bin that is big enough for a bit more but will house the insurance card and registration.  There is no glovebox.

The manual transmission is unique as the shifter isn't operated with cables and isolated from the transmission but rather attached to the transmission which means all the vibrations from the transmissions are felt in the shifter.  It's strange but nicely mechanical feeling and the shift action itself is top notch.

When I drove a 2024 MX-5 GS-P back a couple of years ago, it was a soft top, I kept having my knee hit the steering wheel.  Not hard or anything, but enough to make me question how I fit.  It was really the main reason why I didn't feel it was the right car to pull the trigger on then.  I'm thinking either I didn't have the steering wheel adjusted all the way out and up or the Recaro seats in the GS-P version must have been a little thicker resulting in less space.  I haven't had any issues with shifting and making contact with the steering wheel with my knee.  I would have got seat lowering brackets had this been an issue, but luckily now I can use that money on other mods.

The only performance mod I plan on doing this year is the tire upgrade.  I'm going to focus on getting other things sorted first, PPF, better all weather mats, undercoating, etc.  I already picked up a used set of steelie winter rims and Bridgestone Blizzak WS90's that have one winter use on them.  Yes I fully plan on driving this year round, but only on clear/nice days in the winter.

Fuel economy heading home was very low at 6.3L/100km and I expect it'll probably be a very good blend of fun and frugality.  Funny thing is that our 2022 Honda CR-V has the smallest engine at 1.5L but has the worst fuel economy of the bunch.

I always name my cars (White Golf R was "Betty" White, Red GLI was "Scarlett", Orange Civic Si was "Jackie" like a jack-o-lantern, my Integra is called Stormy as it is the same color scheme as Star Wars Storm Troopers) and after reading and watching endless Miata reviews one noun being used frequently that I found fitting as a name.  Her name will simply  be "Joy" and I think it's perfectly fitting.

I guess the roof is "hand painted" from the factory black and it's something that isn't on all the RF Miatas.  Makes it sort of look like it has a sunroof but it most certainly does not.

Seems to attract a fair amount of attention in the neighborhood with a lot of people making a comment while I was outside washing it on the weekend.

The engine is a sweetheart of a motor.  Making just 181 hp but revs to 7,500 rpm, so it's a car you rev out to get the most out of the engine.  It makes more than enough power to have loads of fun at any legal speed. I was comfortable getting a vehicle that has less performance than my daily driver Integra Type S, which I feel makes enough power to satisfy that urge whenever I feel like I want some excessive speed in my life.

How long do I think I'll own this Miata...hard to say, but it should stick around for a few years at least.  I'm going to look at doing some more performance mods next season, likely suspension stuff and upgraded front brakes.

[Johnnymac]

More pics

[Johnnymac]

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[RRocket]

Awesome! Congrats!

Shame about the dealer nonsense...

[Johnnymac]

Awesome! Congrats!

Shame about the dealer nonsense...

You know how it is, dealers rarely get everything right and there's typically some BS that you have to get through.  Would have easily been avoided had the minimum amount of communication happened.

The sales manager might have been 30 and at the end we agreed this was a "teaching moment" for him and his sales staff about how effective communication can avoid awkward situations later on.  I just felt bad for the finance guy because he was present the whole time and he played no part in the mix up, and overall was a top notch finance person with all his shit prepared for the appointment for a smooth transaction.

[Fobroader]

Great buy, can never go wrong with a Miata. Always tends to be some sort of dealership BS that really sours a car purchase, but glad they sorted you out.

[Johnnymac]

Great buy, can never go wrong with a Miata. Always tends to be some sort of dealership BS that really sours a car purchase, but glad they sorted you out.

This was kind of a bucket list purchase and I really struggled with spending the money.  It's funny, when shopping for my "daily driver" I never feel bad about spending more on something special to drive instead of just basic transport, but a 3rd vehicle in the family of 2 was hard for my accountant mind to justify.  But I'm 45 years old and life is going by way too fast, so now is the time.

[Fobroader]

Great buy, can never go wrong with a Miata. Always tends to be some sort of dealership BS that really sours a car purchase, but glad they sorted you out.

This was kind of a bucket list purchase and I really struggled with spending the money.  It's funny, when shopping for my "daily driver" I never feel bad about spending more on something special to drive instead of just basic transport, but a 3rd vehicle in the family of 2 was hard for my accountant mind to justify.  But I'm 45 years old and life is going by way too fast, so now is the time.

Yeah, buying the Lexus for the wife, I basically did not have a budget in mind, whatever she wanted, she was getting. I am getting to the point where I am going to start looking for a 911, I have a very set budget in mind as we haven't had a car payment since we paid the Lexus off a year ago or so, and I don't know if I can do it haha

[Johnnymac]

Great buy, can never go wrong with a Miata. Always tends to be some sort of dealership BS that really sours a car purchase, but glad they sorted you out.

This was kind of a bucket list purchase and I really struggled with spending the money.  It's funny, when shopping for my "daily driver" I never feel bad about spending more on something special to drive instead of just basic transport, but a 3rd vehicle in the family of 2 was hard for my accountant mind to justify.  But I'm 45 years old and life is going by way too fast, so now is the time.

Yeah, buying the Lexus for the wife, I basically did not have a budget in mind, whatever she wanted, she was getting. I am getting to the point where I am going to start looking for a 911, I have a very set budget in mind as we haven't had a car payment since we paid the Lexus off a year ago or so, and I don't know if I can do it haha

I can totally see myself wanting to get a 911 someday.  Heck if having 3 vehicles becomes a hassle I can see myself choosing to trade my ITS & Miata in on a 911 C4S to drive year round.

You should totally go for it if you can afford to do it and it's something you've always wanted to experience.  Just remember that even if the budget number is BIG it's not like that money is gone, 911's hold their value extremely well.

[Fobroader]

I never thought about the value proposition...that is true. Also, its not like I would be a on waiting list for a new 911 GT3 or anything, we are talking about a really nice 996 or a not so nice 997.

[Firm]

Congrats again, car looks great! Those seats look fantastic, and I've always been a fan of the speakers in the headrest design.

[Firm]

You should totally go for it if you can afford to do it and it's something you've always wanted to experience.  Just remember that even if the budget number is BIG it's not like that money is gone, 911's hold their value extremely well.

Great point, money spent on something that holds (or gains) value isn't really money spent, more of just an asset shift.

[Johnnymac]

I never thought about the value proposition...that is true. Also, its not like I would be a on waiting list for a new 911 GT3 or anything, we are talking about a really nice 996 or a not so nice 997.

Exactly, getting something like Gurgie has would be great.  Not a crazy investment, any issues that are associated with that generation are all well known with fixes, and they feel more analog than any of the new ones anyway.

[Johnnymac]

Congrats again, car looks great! Those seats look fantastic, and I've always been a fan of the speakers in the headrest design.

The funny thing with these Bose headrest speakers is they are somewhat subtle and when the roof is up all the sound feels like it is coming from in front of you but when the top is down it is more around/behind you.

[Johnnymac]

You should totally go for it if you can afford to do it and it's something you've always wanted to experience.  Just remember that even if the budget number is BIG it's not like that money is gone, 911's hold their value extremely well.

Great point, money spent on something that holds (or gains) value isn't really money spent, more of just an asset shift.

Exactly, and I'm an accountant so you can trust this financial advice