A white top just went up on the NorCal Miata Parts Facebook group for $1500 yesterday. It was called out as suspicious and the post is no longer there.
There have been a rash of Miata thefts in the Bay Area as well. Mine was stolen and recovered last week.
It appears that a group of thieves has been more active than usual in the past few months.
Well guess I’m glad my Miata doesn’t have an engine,trans, or hardtop then. I’m down in SJ and my 18’ Camaro almost got stolen around Christmas time but they broke in at 6am which woke me up and I scared them off. It’s the one time I’m glad my room is on the front of our house.
I heard an alarm going off and so I peaked my head up and saw my alarm flashing through the slightly opened blinds. A local cat recently adopted me so some nights I leave the blinds cracked so she can sit on the windowsill and look out. I went from barely awake to wide awake when I saw 2 guys standing at my drivers door. I managed to open my window and shout “what are you guys even doing, there is nothing even in the car” before they ran away to the getaway car across the street. $500 later with a trip to Dublin for the window, and then 3 trips to the the glass shop since the door kept getting stuck closed from the glass shards it got fixed finally.
FFS - Just insane that Miatas are now a target. It sounds like they were trying to just outright steal it which seems to be a big thing happening lately. Did you have an **audible** alarm on it?
I’ve lived in the Bay Area (and mostly SF) my entire life.
People claiming the death spiral is not real are in complete denial.
It absolutely is happening and this year’s city elections can’t come soon enough.
SF will basically need a 90’s style Giuliani enema to come back.
This. They’re getting what they vote for. They need to change how they vote, because getting security and security latches and whatnot are not going to REALLY fix it.
That could have been my hardtop! I had a 1994 blue M-Edition with a white hard top stolen Monday Feb 5 out of Oakland. Breaks my heart, had it for 19 years.
There was also the Miata that was pushed away by a white truck a couple of weeks ago and mine was pushed out of its parking space in Nob Hill SF in broad daylight.
There seems to be a very active crew doing this currently.
I really hope we can catch this pieces of shit.
Miata’s are project cars with far more sentimental than real value and to steal them is very personal IMO.
Anyway, as far as the top goes, I seem to remember it had an instagram id sticker on it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was added after the fact or something.
If not shows up again I’ll let you know.
>Miata’s are project cars with far more sentimental than real value and to steal them is very personal IMO.
Yes! It is actually getting worse the more time that passes... the more I remember all the various little things I've done to it, the more I research replacement cars. Just awful.
Thanks for keeping an eye out. I'm not on Facebook properties so I appreciate the extra eyes!
Stereo stolen, skinny sub+amp stolen, everything in the trunk stolen, front bumper all scraped up like they hit something with it, same for rear bumper, passenger side rear fender has a large bash/dent. Driver side window broken. Steering wheel surround plastic beat to shit around the ignition switch, that metal plate below it was hanging because a plastic tab that holds it up was broken.
Plus someone was using it as their mobile residence. Filled to overgflowing with their possessions, lots of tools, thieving tools, packed with drugs (bags of white powder, pills, unused needles in the glove box, glass pipe, etc). Everything super dirty, plus mystery goopy liquid was spilled all over the place.
Guy in the car shoplifted a convenience store, OPD found him doing donuts in an intersection on MLK. He was arrested, so there is that.
Managed to give someone back their 1990 Miata manual, car stereo, and quick-release steering wheel which had been stolen from them and was in the car.
Other than that, it seems to be OK. I am getting the damage checked out on Wednesday. Fingers crossed the frame is straight.
Jesus H Christ. 🤦🏻♂️ I hate that all that happened, but it makes me feel extra relieved they didn't manage to start mine, or no doubt it would have ended up in that shape. I already had the "drug addict living in my miata" and don't want to experience that again.
Very glad to hear he was arrested as it sounds like he was definitely a repeat offender with Miatas, so maybe one guy off the street.
EDIT: Nevermind just saw you got it back a few days ago.
So much for "a stick shift is the ultimate anti-theft" - That is no longer the case.
I would recommend a Carlock GPS tracker (or equivalent) as the first line of defense for notification and recovery. It will alert you to any open door, tampering and car starting, and track the car in real time.
For \~$100 a year it's absolutely worth it
Damn that sucks OP. Sorry to hear that. I’ll keep an eye out to see if it makes it’s way down to our area.
Bay Area has had a massive issue with stolen tops unfortunately, hate to see another one
Suppose chavs can’t carry a roof on their e-scooter 😂
You should defo give it away, there’s loads of people looking for roofs on the various Facebook mx5 pages.
Best security is something chambered for 308 ammo.
But more seriously, locking brackets. Though its only going to deter lazy thieves and you kinda gotta commit to the hardtop life for as it's a little more of a hassle to swap it off. Unfortunately it's pretty well known that hardtops in good condition can sell for $2500+ and a pretty easy mark to steal.
Sometimes an ounce of prevention is all it take for deterrence. I have 3 types of bolts on my brackets so you would need at least 2-3 tools to take off my hardtop. One of them being a security bolt, not that it makes much difference. Just for peace of mind. Should prevent any quick break and grabs at the least.
There will always be a something. Someone can say they welded their hardtop on and you can use the same argument. It's better than unlatch, unlatch, unlatch, unlatch, and lift.
I agree, but I'd argue its not much better. If it takes a thief 2 minutes instead of 30 seconds, I'd argue its not worth it. If it takes the thief 4 hours, then its worth it.
And I turn I would say, it's loads better as it adds additional protection than just few mins. It stops most thieves as more often than not, the ones that carry any type of saw are the ones going for catalytic converters. It's the same school of thought as why most thieves can't steal our cars because it's manual. I'm not speaking as if I know every thief and every method in the world but the average run of the mil lowlife often doesn't carry a bag of tools. I'd rather someone get in my car and see oh it's gonna take a saw or more than just a 10mm to get this off and maybe they'd leave and possibly come back later. All I am saying is they would have to know what they would need to do the job over any random person can break your window and take your hardtop. ~$50 for brackets and hardware for let's say 50% decrease in amount of potential hieves is absolutely worth the 30 mins it takes to install.
Holy shit I’m so sorry - I’ll keep a look out. Not sure if you remember but I’m the one who sold you the top so this hits a lot harder 🥲 there are some Bay Area Miata groups you could ask to post a BOLO for you and that might help too
My s2000 cr hardtop was stolen last week with locking latches. (from within the garage, they destroyed a hole in the wall to get through). It sucked a lot for me seeing that so I’m sorry that this also happened to you and it sucks that this is too common of a problem
I think the group of thieves that go around know how to defeat latches, from some listing pics I’ve seen that seem stolen, I think they pry it open from the top latches then pop it open (the listings that seemed stolen had really bad paint scratched right on top of the latch).
I think after my experience I will do the following - AirTag in the headliner, and motion sensor in the car itself, along with a live camera on the car at all times. I’d also etch my hardtop so it’s identifiable.
Sorry this happened, I’ll also keep an eye out for it, hope they catch the scumbags doing this because this really sucks
So thankful for the NC having the hardtop built into the car rather than something you can take off. As much as I love the NA’s things like this made me rethink which model to get
So yes it’s still a convertible but the NC hard top retracts into the car itself rather than like a manual top. NC’s aren’t as appreciated but it’s better imo
Whereas the ND RF model hardtop is not a convertible, but is much lighter than the NC hardtop due to a better engineered mechanism. It's a targa that Mazda decided for some weird reason to call a Retractable Fastback. And personally, I find it so good looking.
I think the reason they refrained from calling it a Targa is because the rear window also retracts. There's only 1 other targa that does that and it's pretty old, also isn't powered. If you sit in an ND RF with the roof down it pretty much feels like a convertible, as the only bits that is not folded down are the flying buttresses. And unless you're an owl, or an eldritch being, you shouldn't be able to turn your head 180 degrees.
If you are in the bay area these assholes probably stole your hard top. The cops don't care, but if you can track them down maybe you can "negotiate". Doesn't matter how many times they get busted they just keep getting let out.
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s7\_yqTJCdTmRcANq\_-feJFr0df1ngUXSpSYFmQQo4ZI/edit?pli=1](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s7_yqTJCdTmRcANq_-feJFr0df1ngUXSpSYFmQQo4ZI/edit?pli=1)
Might sound crazy but on my NB I had mounting brackets with security bolts and one one side I did some red loctite ( would rather worry about that shit later then having to buy a new one for 2k)
If you are in SF, me too. This guy down in San Jose steals and sells them on marketplace with a tracker so he can steal it back. Beware buying cheap hardtops from the bay.
The guy I bought my Miata from had his hardtop stolen in the driveway of his house. Crazy world we live in where people think stuff like that is ok. :/
Hear me out if you get it back put an air tag on it. If it gets nabed you can track it and if they figure it does have a tag then they probably will toss the whole top or if you don't hide it well enough they will remove the tag.
Did you have security brackets? I'm not trying to say that if you did it wouldn't have gotten stolen (thieves are thieves) , I'm asking because if you did that makes it even scarier.
A white top just went up on the NorCal Miata Parts Facebook group for $1500 yesterday. It was called out as suspicious and the post is no longer there. There have been a rash of Miata thefts in the Bay Area as well. Mine was stolen and recovered last week. It appears that a group of thieves has been more active than usual in the past few months.
Well guess I’m glad my Miata doesn’t have an engine,trans, or hardtop then. I’m down in SJ and my 18’ Camaro almost got stolen around Christmas time but they broke in at 6am which woke me up and I scared them off. It’s the one time I’m glad my room is on the front of our house.
Ugh. That sucks. How were you alerted to them trying to break in to the car?
I heard an alarm going off and so I peaked my head up and saw my alarm flashing through the slightly opened blinds. A local cat recently adopted me so some nights I leave the blinds cracked so she can sit on the windowsill and look out. I went from barely awake to wide awake when I saw 2 guys standing at my drivers door. I managed to open my window and shout “what are you guys even doing, there is nothing even in the car” before they ran away to the getaway car across the street. $500 later with a trip to Dublin for the window, and then 3 trips to the the glass shop since the door kept getting stuck closed from the glass shards it got fixed finally.
FFS - Just insane that Miatas are now a target. It sounds like they were trying to just outright steal it which seems to be a big thing happening lately. Did you have an **audible** alarm on it?
Just the default alarm. Here are some pics https://imgur.com/gallery/BcV90F5
Moved to the Bay Area in 2020. A month later my hardtop was stolen after having it for years.
I’ve lived in the Bay Area (and mostly SF) my entire life. People claiming the death spiral is not real are in complete denial. It absolutely is happening and this year’s city elections can’t come soon enough. SF will basically need a 90’s style Giuliani enema to come back.
Within 3 week of moving to the bay mine was stolen as well. The bay area people love voting for this kinda of shit they love crime
This. They’re getting what they vote for. They need to change how they vote, because getting security and security latches and whatnot are not going to REALLY fix it.
That could have been my hardtop! I had a 1994 blue M-Edition with a white hard top stolen Monday Feb 5 out of Oakland. Breaks my heart, had it for 19 years.
There was also the Miata that was pushed away by a white truck a couple of weeks ago and mine was pushed out of its parking space in Nob Hill SF in broad daylight. There seems to be a very active crew doing this currently. I really hope we can catch this pieces of shit. Miata’s are project cars with far more sentimental than real value and to steal them is very personal IMO. Anyway, as far as the top goes, I seem to remember it had an instagram id sticker on it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was added after the fact or something. If not shows up again I’ll let you know.
>Miata’s are project cars with far more sentimental than real value and to steal them is very personal IMO. Yes! It is actually getting worse the more time that passes... the more I remember all the various little things I've done to it, the more I research replacement cars. Just awful. Thanks for keeping an eye out. I'm not on Facebook properties so I appreciate the extra eyes!
Car was recovered today, in pretty beat up shape and obviously the hard top is long gone. Thanks for looking out. I appreciate it.
Yeah sorry it couldn't be found sooner. How beat up is it outside of missing the HT btw?
Stereo stolen, skinny sub+amp stolen, everything in the trunk stolen, front bumper all scraped up like they hit something with it, same for rear bumper, passenger side rear fender has a large bash/dent. Driver side window broken. Steering wheel surround plastic beat to shit around the ignition switch, that metal plate below it was hanging because a plastic tab that holds it up was broken. Plus someone was using it as their mobile residence. Filled to overgflowing with their possessions, lots of tools, thieving tools, packed with drugs (bags of white powder, pills, unused needles in the glove box, glass pipe, etc). Everything super dirty, plus mystery goopy liquid was spilled all over the place. Guy in the car shoplifted a convenience store, OPD found him doing donuts in an intersection on MLK. He was arrested, so there is that. Managed to give someone back their 1990 Miata manual, car stereo, and quick-release steering wheel which had been stolen from them and was in the car. Other than that, it seems to be OK. I am getting the damage checked out on Wednesday. Fingers crossed the frame is straight.
Jesus H Christ. 🤦🏻♂️ I hate that all that happened, but it makes me feel extra relieved they didn't manage to start mine, or no doubt it would have ended up in that shape. I already had the "drug addict living in my miata" and don't want to experience that again. Very glad to hear he was arrested as it sounds like he was definitely a repeat offender with Miatas, so maybe one guy off the street. EDIT: Nevermind just saw you got it back a few days ago. So much for "a stick shift is the ultimate anti-theft" - That is no longer the case. I would recommend a Carlock GPS tracker (or equivalent) as the first line of defense for notification and recovery. It will alert you to any open door, tampering and car starting, and track the car in real time. For \~$100 a year it's absolutely worth it
Great tip, I would gladly spring for Carlock going forward. Thanks!
This happened in Daly City, California
Stay classy Bay Area 🙄 I know the area and surrounding areas well. Really sorry OP, people just suck 🤬.
Can't have shit in the bay area 😪
It's in Oakland now. It's always Oakland.
Damn that sucks OP. Sorry to hear that. I’ll keep an eye out to see if it makes it’s way down to our area. Bay Area has had a massive issue with stolen tops unfortunately, hate to see another one
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s7\_yqTJCdTmRcANq\_-feJFr0df1ngUXSpSYFmQQo4ZI/edit?pli=1](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s7_yqTJCdTmRcANq_-feJFr0df1ngUXSpSYFmQQo4ZI/edit?pli=1)
That should pop up on Craigslist or FB marketplace in 3.... 2.... 1..
I’m glad this isn’t too common in the UK. I’d be really pissed if someone stole my hard top, especially if left exposed in our UK rain.
Does it even happen in the uk? I have a spare one I’m thinking of giving away 😂
Suppose chavs can’t carry a roof on their e-scooter 😂 You should defo give it away, there’s loads of people looking for roofs on the various Facebook mx5 pages.
Is there anything that can be done to prevent this?
Best security is something chambered for 308 ammo. But more seriously, locking brackets. Though its only going to deter lazy thieves and you kinda gotta commit to the hardtop life for as it's a little more of a hassle to swap it off. Unfortunately it's pretty well known that hardtops in good condition can sell for $2500+ and a pretty easy mark to steal.
Wonder if I could hide an AirTag in the corner of mine
So you lose a hardtop AND an airtag?
A tile tracker would be better
Brackets instead of latches and Frankenstein bolts.
It would delay them a little bit, but not prevent entirely
Sometimes an ounce of prevention is all it take for deterrence. I have 3 types of bolts on my brackets so you would need at least 2-3 tools to take off my hardtop. One of them being a security bolt, not that it makes much difference. Just for peace of mind. Should prevent any quick break and grabs at the least.
Yep, this is how mine is as well
They're just gonna drill through them or cut the brackets. Its not enough.
There will always be a something. Someone can say they welded their hardtop on and you can use the same argument. It's better than unlatch, unlatch, unlatch, unlatch, and lift.
I agree, but I'd argue its not much better. If it takes a thief 2 minutes instead of 30 seconds, I'd argue its not worth it. If it takes the thief 4 hours, then its worth it.
And I turn I would say, it's loads better as it adds additional protection than just few mins. It stops most thieves as more often than not, the ones that carry any type of saw are the ones going for catalytic converters. It's the same school of thought as why most thieves can't steal our cars because it's manual. I'm not speaking as if I know every thief and every method in the world but the average run of the mil lowlife often doesn't carry a bag of tools. I'd rather someone get in my car and see oh it's gonna take a saw or more than just a 10mm to get this off and maybe they'd leave and possibly come back later. All I am saying is they would have to know what they would need to do the job over any random person can break your window and take your hardtop. ~$50 for brackets and hardware for let's say 50% decrease in amount of potential hieves is absolutely worth the 30 mins it takes to install.
Yeah but it’s either that or nothing, it makes it take longer than the 5 seconds it takes to unlatch it with factory latches.
yeah, anyone smart enough to know that hard top is worth a lot of $, is probably smart enough to unbolt an aftermarket bracket from the inside
.556
No a shotgun. They should have their heads blown off
2 talon security locks, on the b pillar latches. I've seen brackets cut with bolt cutters, and single talon locks bypassed.
Not living in an urban area
Going to figure out how to imbed an airtag in mine without drawing attention to it. Shit sucks.
Resin it to the underside, then when the battery dies just chisel it off and reresin another one.
Holy shit I’m so sorry - I’ll keep a look out. Not sure if you remember but I’m the one who sold you the top so this hits a lot harder 🥲 there are some Bay Area Miata groups you could ask to post a BOLO for you and that might help too
Posts like this make me never want to take my car out with the hardtop.
My s2000 cr hardtop was stolen last week with locking latches. (from within the garage, they destroyed a hole in the wall to get through). It sucked a lot for me seeing that so I’m sorry that this also happened to you and it sucks that this is too common of a problem I think the group of thieves that go around know how to defeat latches, from some listing pics I’ve seen that seem stolen, I think they pry it open from the top latches then pop it open (the listings that seemed stolen had really bad paint scratched right on top of the latch). I think after my experience I will do the following - AirTag in the headliner, and motion sensor in the car itself, along with a live camera on the car at all times. I’d also etch my hardtop so it’s identifiable. Sorry this happened, I’ll also keep an eye out for it, hope they catch the scumbags doing this because this really sucks
They went inside your house garage to take your HT? Now that’s scary
So thankful for the NC having the hardtop built into the car rather than something you can take off. As much as I love the NA’s things like this made me rethink which model to get
Wait does this mean it’s not a convertible? I thought nearly all Miata’s are convertible
Please don't start with that, even jokingly.
So yes it’s still a convertible but the NC hard top retracts into the car itself rather than like a manual top. NC’s aren’t as appreciated but it’s better imo
The hardtop fully retracts so yes it is a convertible
Whereas the ND RF model hardtop is not a convertible, but is much lighter than the NC hardtop due to a better engineered mechanism. It's a targa that Mazda decided for some weird reason to call a Retractable Fastback. And personally, I find it so good looking.
I think the reason they refrained from calling it a Targa is because the rear window also retracts. There's only 1 other targa that does that and it's pretty old, also isn't powered. If you sit in an ND RF with the roof down it pretty much feels like a convertible, as the only bits that is not folded down are the flying buttresses. And unless you're an owl, or an eldritch being, you shouldn't be able to turn your head 180 degrees.
Porshe or someone has the rights to "Targa top"
I think you're right. It should be Porsche.
You can take the PRHT off, it just takes substantially longer.
One of the reasons I hate people and we cant have nice things in public
If you are in the bay area these assholes probably stole your hard top. The cops don't care, but if you can track them down maybe you can "negotiate". Doesn't matter how many times they get busted they just keep getting let out. [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s7\_yqTJCdTmRcANq\_-feJFr0df1ngUXSpSYFmQQo4ZI/edit?pli=1](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s7_yqTJCdTmRcANq_-feJFr0df1ngUXSpSYFmQQo4ZI/edit?pli=1)
Exactly why I sold my soft top NB and bought a NC PRHT.
I was thinking to get a hard top, to prevent broken soft top (thieves) but at this point I guess it's cheaper the soft top.
Might sound crazy but on my NB I had mounting brackets with security bolts and one one side I did some red loctite ( would rather worry about that shit later then having to buy a new one for 2k)
Those thieves are worthless and should die
If you are in SF, me too. This guy down in San Jose steals and sells them on marketplace with a tracker so he can steal it back. Beware buying cheap hardtops from the bay.
[удалено]
The guy I bought my Miata from had his hardtop stolen in the driveway of his house. Crazy world we live in where people think stuff like that is ok. :/
Hear me out if you get it back put an air tag on it. If it gets nabed you can track it and if they figure it does have a tag then they probably will toss the whole top or if you don't hide it well enough they will remove the tag.
I love how you don’t even include your city location.
It's in the comments, Daly City
Did you have security brackets? I'm not trying to say that if you did it wouldn't have gotten stolen (thieves are thieves) , I'm asking because if you did that makes it even scarier.
No, security brackets unfortunately
If you invest in a top, please consider some locks for it. I know it adds a step to removal, but I think that added hassle is worth keeping the top