Keep the NA or NB? [Archive] (2024)

MX-5 Miata Forum > NA/NB (1990-2005) Miata > NB (1999-2005) General discussion > Keep the NA or NB?

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smauie

5th May 2011, 10:20

I have a delimma that I hope folks with experience can help me with my decision process. I have a 97 and 02 and I can't decide which one to keep. I cannot keep both. I commute 30-minutes daily on the highway and enjoy the back road home. The 97 (127k) is more comfortable on the highway but doesn't have cruise and needs shocks to be decent on the back roads. On the other hand, the 02 is noisy on the highway but has cruise and is a bit rough on the highway but superb on the back roads. The tops are in the same condition, as is the interior. Unlike the 02, the 97 needs minor body work and shocks. My original plan was to invest $400 in NB shocks/mounts for the NA to get it to perform like the 02...but I don't know if it will ever perform like the 02. I fear if I sell the 02 I'll be stuck having to sink more money in the NA to the point where I should have just kept the NB. I *almost* feel the NB is a better car, but without spending the dollars on the NA I'll never know. Has anyone been in this position before and been down this road? I like both cars and I flip flop constantly as to which one to keep. Please help.

Jmikbo

5th May 2011, 10:28

I wound up selling both my NA and NB and buying a new NC last August,My original plan was to sell the NB and keep the NA,but an offer was made that was too good to pass up,in 2 hours,both cars were sold!Main reason I was going to keep the NA,it was more fun to drive than the NB!I would keep the one you like best!:thumbs:

RedemPhex

5th May 2011, 10:37

A tough decision for sure. I think out of the box the NB is the better performer, but I never drove an NA. I would consider my financial situation, are you will and prepared to drop the money on the NA? Otherwise, I don't see any reason to keep it when they are practically the same car.

99MidlifeCrisis

5th May 2011, 10:37

How many miles on the NB?

smauie

5th May 2011, 10:39

How many miles on the NB?

78,000

shoult

5th May 2011, 12:25

Your experience is almost a mirror image to mine. To me the NB is much quieter, smoother and an all over better car than the NA. However, the NA is a better Miata.

I think if you can get a good price for the NA, then keep the NB. Personally I think you're cruising problems in the NB have to do with end of life shocks.

Midnite

5th May 2011, 12:55

If you only own those two cars and don't want to buy another then keep the '02.

Smoothness has a great deal to do tires. The NB shocks are better, chassis is stiffer, headlights better, seating is subjective but those are better too, and there are many other improvements over the NA.

By the way, the NA is not a better Miata, the NB is not only a better car but is also a better Miata. Bob Hall coined that phrase because he was instrumental in the original design. He had a reason to say it was a better Miata because it was his project. The redesign wasn't. Many NA owners do like the rawness of that original iteration, but after owning or experiencing the later cars their preferences usually change. Keep in mind that if you are considering the '97 it is now a 14 year old car and aging. Even the NB is getting old but at least it is a bit more modern and has better performance.
It's a bit silly to say that the original design of any model is the better of any brand. If you do then it's really no different than saying the original refrigerator is the better refrigerator.

On the other hand, if that NA is a project car and you have another to also drive then keep it and enjoy the challenge to improve performance.

99MidlifeCrisis

5th May 2011, 13:13

Personally, I'd go with the NB. Lower miles, fewer anticipated problems, etc.

OTOH, you'd get more $ by selling the NB.

Tough call, but either way you go, at least you'll still have a Miata!

RedemPhex

5th May 2011, 14:55

Personally, I'd go with the NB. Lower miles, fewer anticipated problems, etc.

OTOH, you'd get more $ by selling the NB.

Tough call, but either way you go, at least you'll still have a Miata!

While that is true on paper, its hardly true realistically. He has much more work to do on the NA. Say he gets something like $2500 more from the NB, he will have to put down $400 on the new top hat package, then get new shocks (and probably springs just to keep the suspension in balance) so that will be in the range of 600-800. thats already close to half the money he spent, and then if he wants to fix the body damage that will be another good chunk of money. Plus at this stage in the car's life he has more expensive maintenance (timing belt soon, plus fluids change and valve cover gasket, among anything else that maybe failing). Note here, I am assuming he does all the work himself, so this is not including money to pay a mechanic and doing this work yourself will be time consuming.

Financially, he will be much better off keeping the NB...In the long run. I do agree that either way, he will still have a miata!

99MidlifeCrisis

5th May 2011, 17:00

Financially, he will be much better off keeping the NB...In the long run. I do agree that either way, he will still have a miata!
Well, in my own defense, I did say he would get more $, not have more $. :)

RedemPhex

5th May 2011, 17:20

oh yes, Sorry I am not criticizing your post, but I felt the need to add in a long term assessment with it. Think of it as an "addendum" to your post rather than a correction or anything of that sort. I think the quote was more to just tie it in with the on going current discussion.

cruisin'n5thgear

5th May 2011, 17:42

I would go for the NB as well. It's a really solid model in my opinion, and with suspension changes, will be more comfortable for long drives.

With a proper setup, you should be able to strike a good balance between comfort and handling.

LeVeL

5th May 2011, 18:36

After driving both the NA and the NB I thought that they were similar but the NB was just a tad nicer so I bought an NB. I'm not sure how the NA is on the highway but I commute 30 minutes each way every day in my NB and its perfectly fine.

WA7827

5th May 2011, 19:01

I've owned both a '90 NA and a '99 NB.

I loved the NA, and drove it from 1995 until I sold it in 2001 with close to 180k miles. I then bought a low mile 1999 NB. It now has 110k miles on it.

If I were in your position I would keep the NB.

JTM65

5th May 2011, 19:35

I've had both as well. I still miss the NA but, IMHO, the NB is a more practical commuter car and a bit more "solid" feeling on the highway. Once you take the age into consideration then the NB would take the lead for me without question.

CharlestonMX5

5th May 2011, 20:51

I had both too, sold the NA. They both have their good points and bed points, but a little more comfort features in the NB.

richbrown.acc97

5th May 2011, 21:00

I'd keep th NB. The noise is probably your tires. Sell the NA and spring for a better set tires and shocks for the NB

jdmitrswapped

5th May 2011, 21:57

I'm glad this discussion came up. I'm on the same boat and even though my 97 has everything including ms, I'm still going to sell it and keep the nb which is stock.

Like others said in the end you will still have a miata.

jmsj578

6th May 2011, 05:16

Recently, I decided to buy another Miata. After pouring over the ads, I narrowed my choices to a NA and a NB. Both were nice cars. I chose the NA because of the price and my use for the car. Granted, the NB would have been the better choice for ride, etc; but, I kept being drawn to that NA. That said, I really liked the NC I owned for nearly three years. My plan is to buy another new NC or ND, in a couple of years. I do like the refinements that have come with the generation changes. As much as I like the NA, I'm no purist. Having a more refined car works for me.

Spungus X

6th May 2011, 05:47

I've owned a 90NA, and a 95NA. I currently own a 99NB, and a 04MSM. Contrary to popular belief, the NB is the better Miata. The NB has a bunch of little improvements over the NA but still retains the Miata feel. The following improvements are big to me:
Glass rear window with defroster.
Better lighting.
Better looks (subjective).
More solid structure.
Better suspension.
Better steering wheel.
Better location of radio/HVAC controls.
Better engine.
Better seats (my back would kill me after 2 hours of driving in the NA).
Even if the condition of your 2 cars were switched, I would keep the NB. It's simply the better car.

Cherry Bomb

6th May 2011, 06:21

It really comes down to the colors.:D Do you have pictures?

-Jim

Arisakaguy

6th May 2011, 11:32

You've probably decided by now, but I've owned four NA,s a 90 (crank end broke after servicing) a 95 (rolled dodging deer) a 93LE (sold after 10 years of own ownership) and a second 90 we owned for a while with the 93 and sold to my wife's grandson. I bought it back after selling the 93 and "pimped it" (wife's description of the interior) to the way I liked it.

A friend in N. MN died, he had a base 99 with 68K road miles and my daughter-in-law needed a car for work commuting. She and my son shared a 91 for his school commute, he's a Mech Engineer who is now teaching middle school science and math!

I flew to Bemidji (sp?) MN, left the next morning around 3:45 AM in the NB and arrived in Louisville MS 25 hours later. 1455 miles. I'd have made it in 24 hours, but the only city map I failed to photocopy I missed a turn and ended up downtown, took a hour to get back on the interstate. During those 25 hours I knew I had to have an NB. My son now has my old "pimped out" 90 with the hardtop, I have his 91, automatic which will be on Craigslist in a week or so for $2K.

MadBaz

6th May 2011, 13:45

I'd keep the one that is Blue. Blue is such a nice color.

funpig

6th May 2011, 13:49

Unless you have some emotional or sentimental attachment to the NA, IMO, I would vote to keep your NB. I don't mind spending money on mechanical or maintenance issues, but it would bother me to have to spend anything on bodywork (ie. your NA). Bodywork is not cheap and may not be absolutely necessary in your case, but if the damage looks ugly, ugly is ugly. Most importantly to me, no matter how much money you spend, you can't buy back miles or years. So I would prefer the later model and lower mileage of your NB.

Keep the NA or NB? [Archive] (2024)

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