TOTALED!? Really? This 2001 Mazda Miata Was an EASY FIX! Another one...
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- Опубликовано: 4 окт 2024
- I know, I know, I KNOW! I bought another Miata. What can I say? Its kind of what I do.
This 2001 Miata SE was at Copart, and since I own and run a full service auto salvage business that specializes in Miatas, it caught my eye.
Having had many of these cars I always thought it would be nice to keep one for myself, so I bid and won it. I could see the damage to the drivers door and fender but I didn't know how much other damage there would be.
Eventually, I scavenged body colored panels to replace the damaged parts and in this video I put this car back together in just a few hours. Pretty surprised this one was totaled to begin with.
I know its not the most exciting video and its highly unlikely there will be more content on this car as, it doesn't need much besides regular maintenance.
If you need Miata parts or any other parts, go to www.Importapart.com or email us at Sales@importapart.com
I really hope you enjoyed this video as always I love all of the comments, feedback and even the criticism. Catch you on the next one!
-Eric 
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I knew you were a Miata restoration shop masquerading as an auto salvage shop. Glad you could salvage it. Your friends must adore you. How many people have friends that can get them a really cheap car! Great job!
it’s the perfect cover
Alcoholic running a liquor store 😂
My guardian angel is an alcoholic
Exactly...
I don't know, sounds like a problem I wish I had.
Sad thing is...I know an Alcoholic running a Liquor store!
@@overkillaudioinc Or hilarious?
Eric your wife thanks you for getting those damn parts out of her kitchen👍🏼
Not to worry I’m sure he already brought more
But what will they use for a dining table now?
no no these ones were also in the bed with them
I think you mean the Bed.
"Doing what I do feels like an alcoholic running a liquor store." Gold 🤣
Yeah that's why I could never run a business like this. I might keep 99% of the incoming "wrecks" 😅
The man literally hasn’t worked a single day since being in that field! That is a dream indeed!!
Saved another from the scrapyard. Mission accomplished. Respect!
Saving the environment, one Miata at a time
I know what you mean. My wife has a new to her car. No salvage note on it. I bought two cars, same year, model and color. One for $2600, the other for $250. The $250 car was totaled by the insurance company. I transferred from the totaled car the front and rear bumpers, with small dings in them, the passenger door, the rear parcel shelf, all wheels and tires, and from the drivers door, the electric window winder module, the windshield wipers front and rear, and various parts and fittings from inside the engine bay. Then I sold the totaled car for $100 to a metal salvage yard. She has a nice low mileage car, great interior, drives and looks great. Yes, there are still some dings. Yes the color match is slightly off, but the cars had been 11-12 years in the sun. It replaced the 12 year old car she had totaled hitting a deer, for which the insurance paid $4000. That was one year older, in far worse general condition, and had 20k miles more on the clock. I can see THAT car already on a Copart auction! Already more damaged from when they picked it up (the truck driver ran it in to the side of his truck). After buying a new insurance policy, I think we are about $750 up, for a few hours work (and many hours driving to pick up the cars).
I love it when you video these total car projects! The engine teardowns are great, but these episodes are special. Please keep doing them!
I learn a lot on this channel. I'll never use it but it is interesting anyway.
Word
You never know you might use it to save yourself some money.. :)
"HONEY, I SWEAR, I'M GONNA NEED THESE GREEN MIATA PARTS ONE DAY!!"
I had a silver MX-5 (the Australian name) of about this vintage. A beautiful, beautiful beast. The decision to start a family meant that I was going to need more room, so I traded it in on something bigger.
Outstanding video.
I go to my Nephews towing company in Ohio during the summer time and I help strip cars not for parts but to sell them to the scrap yard .
I also work on the car .
I'm 73 and it's fun.
1990s cars, to me, the peak of automotive perfection in many vehicles. I am weird for saying that I know, but when you really think about it, vehicles like the Miata and Honda Civic and other now iconic vehicles were at the peak of their ease of maintenance and tended to be reliable. I never thought I would see the day I would be old enough to pine for the good old days......
as a kid, in aus, at car shows,, these old cronies with there 1880, 1920 things,, allways got me..but, as you age, you turn back into a kid,,even with nappies,,at a certain stage.. they tell me.. things to look farward to.. plus,, sex becomes a thing again.. full circle..
The 90s represented the pinnacle of reliability for Honda and Toyota with a few exceptions. As a import technician from the 80s until recently they really have declined in the task of building reliable vehicles. CVT transmissions, direct injection, and poorer quality components have brought Honda and Toyota(to a lesser extent) to basically the same level as most domestic vehicles produced today. The glory days of Japanese quality is unfortunately a thing of the past.
I'm not really a Miata fan, but its nice seeing a nice car being saved from the junkyard. Too many nice cars get in fender benders and get totaled, and end up being parted out when they could have just been fixed.
You did great on that Miata. There was no need to go any further than replacing the panels. I don't even know if I would go as far as paint correction and PDR, but if you can't stand those dings and scratches, it's up to you. It is a 23-year-old car after all. That being said, I still miss my 1992 Miata.
i’m currently looking into fixing up my grandfather’s 1992 miata! sunburst yellow, wish me luck!!
More I drive new cars, the more I love these simple small roadsters from 90s. Glad you saved one for next generations.
LOL...Hopefully it wont need a water pump, because I know for certain you wont find one of those in your stash.
a local auto body chain fixes a vehicle up every year and donates it to a family in need around Christmas, love that you're helping people out in a similar way!
Wow! British Racing Green and a tan top! Perfect!!!
Of coruse part of the reason it's totalled is that the insurance repair would be the whole "fix all minor dings and scratches, paint to blend with the nearby panels, etc".
I don't know what these cars go for in the US, but here in the UK, they aren't very expensive. Which means even fairly minor spare panels + paint work will cost "more than the limit insurance company sets for fixing things". From my understnading, if the quoted cost of repair is more than 40% of the value of the car. So if this car, without crash damage, is values around $4000 [just a random guess], anything above $1600 in repairs is "we'd rather total it". Its a problem for a lot of older cars. Especially when the panel-beater/spray shop will look for "high standard job", and want $800 just to respray the hood, fender and door.
I don't have standards... oh right that's not what I meant. You are hilarious! I love these videos that keep things real. A 23 year old car does not need to look like new and someone can still enjoy it. Thanks for putting in the time to repair this old Miata!
Like seeing a man who loves his job and hobby. Nice little non-project.
I don't have standards 😂 😅 Eric we already know this. Great job fixing the Miata it looks great.
Did a fender replacement on an identical car about 5 years ago. Nice to see it done to your standards! My son is still driving the car, and it's been super reliable. Good job!
That was a perfect restoration job for a daily driver. Those fenders are the made of the thinnest meteal I have seen on a car. Thanks for sharing your mid week video. 👍
I had a '99 that was totaled after Hurricane Michael blew out my garage door. The door fell against the car, stuff in the garage fell against the car, and the ceiling of the garage fell onto the car. I had about 100,000 tiny dents, scuffs, and scratches, but nothing penetrated the top or broke any glass, but it bent one of the bows in the top frame. Adjuster told me that replacing the top put it over the threshold, and he wouldn't ignore it. "I've seen the damage, I have to include it, even though I know you can fix it aftermarket pretty cheaply." He then said that without the top frame bend, I would have gotten 3 new panels and a paint job. I bought it back for 1600 bucks, eBayed a frame and bought a new aftermarket top. Where else am I going to get a mechanically sound NB for 1600 bucks? Nothing wrong other than still needing all that bodywork, but I don't care. It drives wonderfully and is still my daily driver, almost 4-1/2 years later. Inspected, rebuilt title issued, I'll keep it until it actually dies. Southern car, no rust, engine and gearbox are great, just cosmetically... lacking. (Also need new leather on the seats!)
I hadn't discovered this channel at that time or I would have seen about that top frame here!
There is nothing more satisfying than finding a part that's the same make, model, and paint color that's already sun faded to match.
Always nice to see a true craftsman do his thing😊
This Miata was meant to be saved. Great job!
I have a MIATA, Wonderful car to Drive , and Even More Wonderful to Look ar and DREAM.. Keep up the good Work. And I am 84 Years Old.
You have to admit, it's a little unique that you happen to have an extra door and fender in the exact color. That's kind of awesome
he has like 20 miatas at his shop. not surprised. and it's a common miata color
My sister-in-law had a Miata exactly like that about 10 years ago. It was a really fun car to drive.
Still in shock insurance totaled it. Great fix that keeps it on the road!
Love all the videos. A mid week bonus is awesome! I had the great pleasure to buy a piston from the Bentley 6-3/4 teardown. Everything from communication, payment, & shipping went perfectly. Thank you Eric & everyone at importapart for making my desk look a little more gear head than it already did. You guys rock!
Awesome its being saved and not crushed. Wish more salvage yard operators were like you. Love your channel. Fellow Miata enthusiast.
Your such a joy to watch,I think I’m gonna call you the Miata man🙏🙏🇬🇧🇬🇧
I learned a lot on this video. Don't want a Miata, but I did find out where to adjust on the fender panel so that it will have the correct gap on the hood and door. Thank You.
Yo, I love it, when you restore salvage vehicle, gave them a light they deserve. Nice video, love the Miata.
Being in the collision industry for many decades you are correct. Many vehicles they get salvage bids before they even start writing the estimate for repair.
I live vicariously through you. My dream is to own a Miata one day
Wheels look really good. Thanks for all you do Eric. Your videos keep me going during my chemo visits. Brings back the days I could just strip a car and rebuild it. Thank you bud. All the best
That Miata is AWESOME! I love that color combo and those are my favorite wheels. Miata is such a great, fun platform for fun. Unfortunately I am up in Michigan, so finding older low mileage gems are a bit harder to come by due to rust.
I totally agree with your philosophy towards saving cars such as this one Eric 👍
Eric - I'm glad you know a guy who had the correct parts.
Well you made that look easy and I have fought with panel gaps before, not so easy usually.
You picked a great day cause it is brutal out today.
My dad owned a body shop and I grew up learning the trade. As a young adult, I made a ton of money doing just what you did. Get an easily repaired “totaled” car, find some good used parts, and spend a day or two getting it to age appropriate condition. As you pointed out, customer cars had to be repaired to flawless condition. Brings back many memories.
NICE 🔥 rescue. I like projects like that. I do auto electrical and have found a few over the years. The one I enjoyed the most was a 77 LTD Landau with hidden headlights. The headlight switch caught fire and someone replaced the switch with a cheap replacement from a Ford truck then hacked off the headlight doors. One trip to the salvage yard got me all the parts AND the missing fender skirts. She was a looker when I finished.
This is the year and color combination Miata I always wanted. Great job, Eric!
65 degrees! I'm in southern Australia, we only got down to 68 overnight! 😄 Great to see you making use of the sunshine,
moonta bay.. back in the 70,s.. i remember, it was 39 during the day, 38 at nite.. fk.. real summers.. riding a pushbike,,was fun...work & back,. lived in cairns / t,ville, for yrs, 27 winter, 34 summer,,excellent.. anywhere around bundaburg, mackey , nth, brillient..
@@harrywalker968 Yep, Visited Cairns for a week about ten years back. Lovely climate. Don't think I'd cope with those nights though!
Good to see you working in your "spare time."👍
I like when people fix cars that looks where I'm from (Norway) Makes me want to do something like that myself. And of course it helps when Mr. Eric is entertaining to watch
The car looks great. It's nice to get one that's that easy to work on every now and then. It doesn't always have to be a labyrinth of interlocking problems. Nice mid-week pick-up. Thanks.
Guessing the timing of that Miata purchase was perfect since you already had spare parts that matched perfectly. Great video and repair. Funny, you mention either seeing or feeling it. I have 42 years of aviation, marine and automotive maintenance experience as I like to do my own work.
You did a nice job Eric! It worked out that you had the same color drivers side fender and door for that Miata considering you have bought thousands of them for parts and flips. Keeping used parts saves a bit of money, time and effort! Miata’s are a dime of dozen!
There's a great deal of satisfaction to be had being the "king of cheap wheels" or trying to! I have to hand the crown to you, you've outdone me by a hundredfold! Still driving my 2000 Nissan Frontier 23 years later. 214k and going strong on most of the original parts. It's only needed an alternator, hoses, brakes, regular maintenance items. It helps to pick a car with good bones and a good drive train.
A dark green car saved is a good thing, very easy to find in a car park. On a warm sunny afternoon going for a coffee, a long winding road, priceless.
This was a relaxing video to watch. 🙂I had spent some time this last fall replacing the front fender, front passenger side door, and rear passenger side door, as well as some "body" work on an old Volvo 240 wagon that got t-boned. Not perfect, but better than it started. That left me with a little bit of PTSD, so this was a delight to watch.
Good job, you brought it back to it's normal and made a nice inexpensive road worthy car for someone in need of a cheap but reliable daily driver. I also understand about quality body shops who have pride in their work and do it right and not cut corners, very informative and cool video.
I really like your premise of fixing stuff for cheap, instead of throwing it away. There’s too much of this in the world today. Ive subbed on he strength of this video by the way and hope to watch your other vids soon
Great project/video. Love all of the commentary and exposition of your philosophy. Wonderful perspective in the automotive world. Keep up the great work.
Really impressed that the colors matched so well! Nicely done!
Eric, if I hadn't watched you replacing the fender and door, I would have never believed that is was done. The gaps look great and the reflection down the side of the car is perfect too. By the way..... most auto techs have eyes in their fingers when they work on doors lol.
Eric, I really like you very much! Your abilities, the mentality as you handle these things around you, the humour in your videos - all top notch! I might not like sometimes when you waste perfectly good parts (yes, I am referring partly to the Water Pump Destroying Obsession Syndrome you seems to have 😅 ), but all in all - it's really nice to know there are stil people like you around there. Keep up the good work! 👌
Great video - nice to see another car retuned to use rather than seeing it torn apart. Nice to see someone explaining the logic and reasoning behind using used parts with some age related defects used to repair a car that already has those defects rather than the expensive process of repair / paint / blend - which IMHO just highlights where an older car has been repaired.
Love your content Eric. Your comical, knowledgable, and honest approach to repair has always been a joy to watch. Hope you and yours are well.
Eric. Love your work.
Cheers from Australia.
My third Miata had this EXACT damage. Luckily, I purchased it from the previous owner, not an auto auction. Fixed the damage myself. Saved one of the ultra-rare '92 Sunburst Miatas and kept it on the road.
I use my 'spare' time to watch your videos! Thanks.
Love the British Racing Green color on the Miata -- it really makes it obvious that Miata wanted to make a cross between a TR-6, MGB, and Lotus -- but do it in a mechanically superior way. I've owned several TR-6 & TR-250 and really loved how charming the cars were. I just wish they didn't break in every way. I also owned several Porsche 911 & 914's that I converted to 914-6 -- and loved the performance & driving of those. But the TR-6 beat those in terms of pure charm & balsy style.
If that were me, I would have had those parts in my garage for 13 years and would have finally tossed them three days before that car came through the auction... It's the story of my life.
I have a friend who has three cars that he bought new and never drove. (well possibly 1800 miles by now) One is a 01 02 or 03 Miata. He lives in a small town in Western Missouri. The Miata is dark blue. Very enjoyable video and really glad that you had the parts saved up and ready to go!
Best video of the year, because it's short.
When are you ready to sell the Miata?
I'm not a car guy, but I enjoy watching your channel. 😊
I haven’t bought a new car in over 35 years! I get them much like you do, give them some love and I have a nice drive. The green and tan are perfect on Miatas.
What a gorgeous little car. I understand your passion for these. I love the colour combination.
What a fortuitous coincidence, having a door and fender in the same color easily available!
You should have bought a lottery ticket that day.
I just KNEW he had a color matched door and fender lol. Good job
I do like this color combo: the BRG with a tan interior. When I started looking for my own Miata, I couldn't find one (in this color combo) with less than 90,000 miles. I settled on a dark blue 2012 NC, with a black interior (38k miles)... and I'm very happy with it. Thanks as always for sharing your Miata addiction.
Wow… you’re bringing back my desire for a Miata… thanks…
Nice to have a pick of parts that are right color
Lovely stuff, Eric! Thank you for the content. Your expertise never ceases to amaze me. Cheers!
You said, "I know its not the most exciting video" - This was a great video and a wonderful educational experience! I love this channel (and Miatas)!
Yes, best overall color combo. Just what one wants on the rare times you have to actually pick color on a used vehicle.
First BRG Miata I’ve ever seen. Wish I could buy it from you.
Just the right rebuild for just the right dude! You're the master of the moment on the this one! Wow.
The fox guarding the hen house... very cool restoration.
Great video. We had a 92 and 02 Miata LS (auto). Sold both for more than paid for them. Fixed up the 92 to as close to factory original as possible. The 02 was so much nicer in interior and preferred the looks, but auto was horrible (got it for my wife to drive which she did once).
Nicely done, sir! That Miata looks great. I wish I could get my hands on it. I am a big Mazda fan, so I am happy to see that, with your help, this little car will continue to bring joy to whoever drives it in the future.
If I didn't already have a project car this video would inspire me to go find something to make my project car. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for saving it. So jealous. I love a green Miata. I have a white 96 and a grey 08 (well that one is my wife's). I have a dream of owning all 4 generations at the same time but with a son in flight school it's not likely I can fulfill that dream. Especially if I don't want to shed other toys I own like the pristine ultra low mileage 2009 RX-8.
I love when @IdoCars does cars
First time I found you. Really enjoyed the video and the explanation as you made the repair.
Awesome mid week video keep em coming!!
That is awesome! And you went front to back! NICE!
Good job! I've had to scrap a couple of cars that I knew someone could fix up, and I just crossed my fingers and hoped they'd find a good home.
I do the same thing, on a smaller scale, as a side hustle. I stick to 5 or 6 models (tsx/crv/rsx-s/civic si) of the same generation. It's so nice when you find a clean/maintained example, salvage car and still have the matching panels in stock - especially oddball colours. I just did a low k, pearl white, 08 TSX 6MT, all bolt-ons. Sometimes it all comes together nicely.
I do it with town & countrys/grand caravans. U pull by me is chock full of em
Since you know the Miata so well, what about a "Miata 101" series of videos? Tips, tricks, etc., each video focusing on a different area of the car.
I had a 99 miata that looked exactly like that. Great car.
In reference to the auto repair shops that have to do things impeccably or don't do them at all, it's a prime example of perfect being the enemy of good
Driveway diy repairs a lost art unfortunately with modern mobile tablets and the over technology in them. Really enjoyed this video Eric though I'm really not a fan of the MX-5 yes MX-5 as it sounds betterer than miata a great simple repair. This is why I own old cars pre 2006.
I’m not a foreign car kind of guy, but I do love the old XKE, and these look like a baby version of the new Jaguar two seater which I also favor. And this is in one of my all time color combinations. I’ve owned multiple cars with a dark green paint, and buff interior. This is a very nice little cruiser. 👍
Yes, I enjoyed this very much. Appreciate all your videos, Wednesday videos are a great bonus.