Used Car Of The Day: 1997 Mazda Miata

by Tim Healey

Published: April 22nd, 2026

It's been a minute since we snagged Mazda's "zoom zoom" machine for this feature -- but this 1997 Mazda Miata changes that.

It has over 179,000 miles and needs some work, such as an A/C recharge and a new seal for the rear window. The ignition key is broken, too, and dents and dings are an issue.

On the other hand, the engine and transmission seem to be in good shape, as does the interior. The tires and brakes appear to have plenty of life remaining.

If this sort of thing intrigues you, you can find this one for sale in West Virginia for $4,000 OBO. Click here for more.

[Images: Seller]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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4 of 15 comments

Arthur Dailey on Apr 23, 2026

I would be concerned about rust.

Otherwise a 3 pedal car, fun to drive, fairly reliable and with a decent supply of parts.

That could be a great vehicle for a 'younger person'. To drive to school, a part time job, and to learn how to maintain/repair a vehicle.

Like Reply
- Lloyd Bonified on Apr 23, 2026
  
  They rust in the rocker in front of the rear wheel wells when the top drains get clogged. Common but I'd just fix the drains and treat it if it is there. I think I could repair the window (The Mustang's had detached at the bottom...25 dollar tube of 3M window weld, glass primer and 6 suction cup clamps to hold it was the fix but there are sub 200 dollar soft tops on Amazon that would likely be easier and are more than fine for something like this. I thought the NA's all had vinyl windoes anyway stock, but I could be mistaken. Just get that model.
  
  1
Slavuta on Apr 24, 2026

you wanna car of the day? here https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/d/philadelphia-1988-jeep-comanche-pioneer/7929871128.html

Like Reply
- Lloyd Bonified on Apr 24, 2026
  
  Take that stupid roll bar thing off the bed, put normal headlights back on it and refinish and replace the stock wheels and it would be a thousand times better though
  
  Like
- Forward Observer on Apr 25, 2026
  
  They just wanted it to look like a first-gen Honda Ridgeline...
  
  2

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