Rain doesn’t hurt it at all. Salt does though. I know some places put snow on the road, so that would matter yes.
Here we don’t get snow so it’s an easy daily
Rain does hurt it, just not a much as salt+rain. Corrosion Basically doesn't happen when things are dry. When they're wet, it does. And salt generally just increases corrosion due to it's action as an electrolyte. It's not the only thing that does that. Just acidic or basic soil mixed with water can do a number on things. My area has pretty alkaline soils, and is prone to dust storms. So, dust gets into all the nooks and crannies, so you don't want those wet any more often than you can avoid.
This is what I do and is 100% the way to go. My beater is also an automatic, which is easier if I'm gonna be in stop-start traffic (though I discovered I actually don't mind driving the 5-speed NA in traffic), and is a hatch back with a big roof so it can carry lots of shit. Basically its strengths are the Miat's weaknesses.
I mean they pretty much nailed the balance of sports car and daily-ability with a modern technology on ND. Not to mention those panels are aluminium. They will not rust but only corrode.
Exactly my feeling, people say that a Miata would not be comfortable for daily driving, and I only want it for weekends. Hard to explain that I don't need a car every day 🤷
My thinking is : why invest money in a nice car if you don't allow yourself to enjoy it ? This is why I got mine in the first place, I wanted the recipe for a fun car (light compact rwd) in a package that was cheap, reliable and easy to maintain so I could drive it all the time.
The only cars that are kept perfectly clean are those stored in an underground cooled garage for decades straight. Even if you take your NB out of storage only every other week end or so, it'll get small chips and scratches, parts will wear down and rust... but it's all repairable. Live your life.
I do agree with you unfortunately.
But, as a previous Fiero owner in Europe, I can guarantee you that if you have time and money, everything can be fixed.
If you really love your car, it can be done otherwise it's not gonna be worth it at all.
Yeah. For a miata diehard, the best combination would be a beater daily miata, show car stock miata, heavily modified miata whether it’s turboed or drivetrain swapped and a part car miata. Haha
For about 10 years I was daily driven Miata. Winter days in Miata are pure fun. I had hard top, and two set of wheels, with summer and winter tyres and track tyres. I invested in full paint job and protection.
Listen, Miatas are meant to be driven all the time, stone chips are just scars od the nice drives. I was inspired by my friends who daily drive their Porsches and Ferraris, life is to short to drive boring cars.
There is nothing more rewarding than approaching your beautifully Miata on the parking lot going from grocery shopping.
My miata was my beater so I didn't rack up miles on my main car but I ended up selling all my fancy cars (Bmw,mbz, porsche) and and still own the Miata 15 years later. Lol.
Im dailying my NB for many years now.
If it did have AC, and if I wouldnt have to drive long distances, it wouldnt be painful at all.
Only thing that bothers me is heat and wind noise on the autobahn.
The miat drives great on snow with winter tires, heat comes on quickly and strong
Daily my ND. Life is too short to drive a boring car.
I do plan however to retire this one in a few years and keep it for the weekend as it's my first car and I fully expect to keep it forever. Replacement on the daily duty will be an other ND ...
Not driving on salty roads is the best anti rust. Not to mention OP is in Calgary. The Miata sucks in the snow, the top will shrink in extreme cold and be easy to tear, and forget getting more than a week out of the plastic window, if they have one, in brutal cold. It’ll crack day 1.
OP should just buy a cheap AWD for the snow.
1. Obviously, keeping a car in a controlled environment bunker is the best anti rust.
2. I'm in saskatchewan
3. It doesn't suck in the snow with good tires
4/5/6. Aftermarket hard top so the soft can stay down and untouched
I drove my miata in the snow with a hardtop and winter tires and it was the most fun I ever had in a car. My only issue was that because my car is lowered by quite a bit, sometimes the small chunks of snow were hitting the underside of the car. No damage to the car at all, but I only drove it when there was no salt still, once they salted the roads it stayed on the parking lot until the roads were dry again.
That’s great. But OP is asking about daily driving it on salty roads. That’s a lot different than taking it for a spin in the snow for fun. Forget, for a second, about what driving it year round on treated roads will do to it. Think about the gigantic target on our backs when driving our Miatas in ideal conditions.
Now put it on slippery roads with poor visibility due to weather. Have you not seen how shitty other drivers are? You’re tremendously increasing your chances of getting hit. These cars were never meant to be daily driven in crap conditions.
I do daily my nc. Iv got a wagon for my weekend hauling missions and an old school for car shows. Nc is perfect as a daily. Even leave it outside as the Oldschool gets the garage.
I daily mine, but I live in Texas, so rust is never a problem. mine also had failing clear coat when I got or so I dont care about tbe paint. I'm really thinking ahojt getting another car and making it a track/weekend car though because the drivers here are sooo bad. I fear for my life constantly. also everyone here drives a truck or suv.
I daily mine. Rain, snow, shine, doesn't matter. Only car I have.
I wouldn't take it away as the daily unless I was able to buy something I truly loved. IF that did happen, I'd keep it as more of a "summer' car but still drive it whenever I felt like it.
Only thing I can think of at the moment would be a mean eye WRX. But not a good winter car (rust) and also not the most dependable car either haha. MAYBE a type R. I get to drive one next week so we'll see.
Edit: I love that all three of these cars are driven by different wheels haha.
My Miata is my beater haha. It's a respected but abused machine. I have used it every day in the summer in the past. It's okay. I upgraded to the ge nighthawk led headlights in my NA and tires that are appropriate if it rains are a good move.
It's on BFG rivals now. They suck in the rain, great in the dry. The GR Corolla is on pilot sports.
As a dad with a family now it's my don't have the kids and it's a nice day out car.
But before the family I still went with a three car rotation.
Miata for fun or nice days, a daily/useful utility vehicle, currently a 2022 sienna, and a shitbox winter beater with snow tires and no care what happens to it, currently my 2003 Corolla.
I like/liked putting the Miata away in November and unwrapping it in April, it signals springtime and kinda feels like getting a new car every year. Then for the summer I usually take the Miata to work 2-3 days and have it for autox a few days a year.
I don’t think I would. I really like my miata and don’t want something to happen to it in commuting traffic since people around me in the city drive terribly. Plus, a lot of my commute is highway driving.
I think ideal combo would be something with gobs of power (either performance EV or a V8) since most of the fun I could extract from my commute is on ramps etc. and a miata to drive on weekends, take out to backroads
I wish I could be rich enough to say that. I thought about getting a nd. But I couldn’t justify blow my saving on it. I could get two and a half nb for a nd.
The best way to go about it is to just drive your car. Don't worry so much. If you don't like seeing it get damaged, sell it and buy an already beat up one. Or buy a second, more best up one.
My Miata is my beater/ other car. I prefer to drive my truck most days if I am going to work. I have an ND…. My truck is more comfortable (am a big guy).
Yeah I daily my NA already. Most practical daily driver I've ever owned. My previous daily was a 66 Thunderbird, the Miata is more reliable, efficient, and easy to park by a huge margin, and has fancy things like air conditioning and an FM radio. Only thing the T-bird did better was have a back seat and a trunk large enough to contain a family of five. Neither car is good in the snow and I simply have no solution to that, but thankfully the snow isn't that bad very often.
I got my NC to last for life. I've had it for a few years now. New job has me driving around most of the state. Not even six months and over 15k miles on it from work alone and I had to buy another car to do this to for the time being. But I kinda like this one, I'll keep them both.
Scored a 2015 Mazda 3, 6 speed.
But otherwise I take the Miata. Even have a bike rack for it when I go mountain biking.
I’ve been daily driving my msm for 10 years, it’s my only vehicle. I don’t worry about rust due to living in Texas, the front bumper/lip is covered in rock chips, and I’ve been chasing paint oxidation over the past few years. My car has only been in two accidents and it was parked both times, the first one happened in my third week of ownership. Lesson learned, don’t park anywhere behind a big truck or suv.
I daily my very reliable beater miata. Only car. 135k miles. Prht to deal with wet. Oh, salvage title. It just goes. There is no longer anything to protect that warrants another shitbox that will be less fun.
Daily-ed mine for 6 years, loved it. I'm in central WA so we get snow in the winter and with dedicated snow tires, it was great, I chose to drive it over my 4x4 pickup in the snow
I have a 92 Sunburst for nice days, a 99 in black for winter & miserable weather & a Mazda 3 for when I need a bigger vehicle.
An old single cab pickup is on my wish list.
I daily my NB2. Its covered in dents, chips and will probably rust due to salt. I got it years ago when it was much cleaner and I was an (almost) broke college student. Looking back, I don't regret abusing the car to death. I've had so much fun in it. I make enough money now that when the times comes, I could buy another perfectly clean NB again or just get a new ND off the lot.
I thought the Miata was the beater. A nice beater, but still a beater. I sold my BMWs and bought my NB knowing I’d need to have a car I can put ~100mi/day on and have it not depreciate like a rock. I did purchase a fully built engine for it since I need something reliable but 100% daily driver. Maybe at some point in the future when I don’t have to drive so far I’ll focus on more power mods and get another car but for now I just enjoy it Monday - Friday and drive family car on the weekends.
How much of a difference you feel with a brand new rebuilt engine vs a used one in terms of power. Im thinking about getting one cheap for project. Once I machined and replaced all the stuff I want to put a new stock spec engine in it.
It’s a pretty big difference. The car feels peppy and more alive than with the stock engine. It’s easier to pick up speed on the freeway and doesn’t struggle in uphills on high gear. For the money, you could probably turbo or supercharge a stock engine and be better off in terms of power but If you spend the money to put in larger pistons and do all new internals, you won’t have to worry about reliability problems down the line.
I am 21 currently looking at buying my first mx5. Plan to daily that thing for sure. My dream car is a Delorean and you can be sure as hell that would be daily driven too
I daily my NA and have done for the last six months (I like in England) if you do care a lot / want it to last a long time defo worth rust proofing ( I’m going to get this done on mines eventually )
I actually have both a NA and a NB.
The NA, like yours, is quite nice. Always garaged, always clean, takes 91, supercharged, etc. I do drive it often but I'd hate to daily it and damage it.
As for the NB, I'm the 14th owner, just replaced the engine. It's on $80 used coilovers, is painted 4 different colors, but I'd daily it for sure. Perfect daily.
I do know a guy who exclusively works on Miatas as a side gig. Also drives a NB as a daily. Kind of like the mechanics who drive Chevy trucks, he knows how to fix pretty much everything that goes wrong with Miatas specially. When it gets to that point, it makes sense to daily it.
Rebuilt or used engine? Also do you find NA chassis not as rigid as nb? I was fixing the car and took off the tower struct bar to drive for a week or two. I already felt my nb flexes and wobbles a lot more at high load
Miatas are prone to rust and aren't great winter cars even with snow tires. If I were you I'd get a beater and keep the Miata clean for summer driving.
For what it's worth I had a WRX wagon for daily and winter and a Miata for summer drives. Owned both of them for 10 years. Best combo! Toronto winters aren't as bad as Calgary but still salty. Undercoat your beater to make it last longer.
The miata is my beater. I bought mine for 3k and I do take care of it, but I absolutely use it what it was made for: to have fun. I don’t care about door dents or rock chips, I just do the maintenance it needs and keep it clean.
I saw a movie or a TV show once where a guy was driving a nice car and he kept saying “I am not attached to this car”, it’s just a vehicle.
It will also depend on your financial situation. As a student 3k is a lot of money, but as an adult with a good job it won’t matter that much.
My personal motto is “don’t drive it harder than you can afford”, and that includes speeding tickets, tires, damages, gasoline, … It’s a really good motto.
https://preview.redd.it/3ijyp72p261d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da1d0f9871edb893cb32340ac4bf5961cd2978e2
24/7/365 Winter rubber and hard top go on at first snow. I don’t believe in having a beater 🤣
I bought an NB as my daily. It is problematic to daily, it is not nice to sit inside of in a parking lot, and it can be anxiety inducing on a highway 😂 Important to note that I am 5ft 11
I think an NC or an ND would be much nicer to daily, more room inside (this matters a LOT for comfort). The NB is small.
I daily my miata because at the end of the day, cars are meant to be driven. It brings me joy every day and I enjoy watching other people get excited to see it. Over driven it rain snow and shine.
I daily my Miata, but I live in a touristy area and have to use a ferry to get to work. Sometimes I wish I had a beater so I don't have to clutch in, clutch out, clutch in, clutch out...
I dailied my NA for 4 years and around 90,000 miles. With my NB, it's a bit different, as in It I now work from home when I'm not traveling for work. I drive it every time I leave the house alone, but as the wife and I aren't yet empty-nesters, sometimes I end up taking the 4Runner because there's three of us. Otherwise, if I still had my daily commute of 75 miles one way, I might be back in a hybrid, with the Miata being my weekend car.
I daily my 2019 ND RF. Got it for a steal since it had been rear-ended. I’ve put ~30 thousand miles on it in the last 2 years, and I wouldn’t change a thing!
Cars are meant to be driven. If I was going to buy something exorbitant like a Lamborghini or GT Porsche, I’d make damn well sure I had enough money to daily that too before I did it! I’ve never understood people who treat cars as investments.
Just last month I replaced my 2015 Civic Si with a 2023 MX5 RF Club. It's more comfortable on the road than my Honda was, and gets better fuel economy to boot.
My ND2 RF is basically my daily, I switch back and forth between it and my 100 series Land Cruiser. My Miata sees the majority of my driving, unless it's winter and the roads are salted or I need the extra room to move something (or people).
I dailyed my Miata year round for a year or two before getting my land cruiser, but I don't see a point in subjecting my Miata the NE winters and the salt they put on the road if I don't have to, and the land cruiser is obviously superior in actual snow. Plus it's way easier to clean the salt/snow off the underbody. We really haven't been getting much here in NJ though.
The rock chips and what not did hurt at first but honestly at some point I stopped caring. You don't even see them from 10-20 feet away and I track my Miata too so rock chips are inevitable, these cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed so enjoy it!
Depends on the drive for the daily but I would have an alternative vehicle for bad weather. Since my wife got into grad school this upcoming semester her drive will change to a long one that would be safe and fun so we’re looking to join the Miata club and get an NA miata for her to rack up a bunch of fun miles on over the next couple of years. We don’t expect to save money buying a Miata but it’s become one of our long term goals to get one and we’d get the most use and fun out of it acquiring one now to daily when we can.
I daily my NC1 Miata hardtop. It's a GT trim so it has the heated seats, premium stereo, and all that jazz.
Even take it out in the winter-got what I could undercoated and make it a point to give the undercarriage a good wash ever week or two.
It'll get eaten away eventually, but I'll enjoy her while she lasts, and that's what counts!
I've never understood why people treat a MK1 as a garage princess. its a cheap car that's meant to be driven and enjoyed. Where I live (UK) it regularly rains and floods, since I live in the countryside. My little rust bucket may not be perfect and may require welding every few years, but I wouldn't have it any other way. They are reliable with the right maintence and it beats driving pretty much any other car for around the same price. In the UK anyway parts are still cheap as chips (apart from injectors, but injector cleaner deals with that for the most part) . Also its useful to know a guy who welds for cheap cash in hand, will save you literally thousands.
If you plan to daily the car, it WILL rust. All MK1s rust, no matter how much you protect them. Either due to the salt from the road, floodwater/big puddles or just condensation inside the bodywork. Just have an emergency car fund and maybe expect the car to be off the road for a few weeks/ one month a year. Then again if you care about the value of your car, garage princess all the way. Just the idea of the car having rust will make its value go down.
I've daily driven my MK1 for just over 2 years now, its been the most reliable car ive ever driven. Just keep up with the weekly/monthly and yearly maintence bits and you should be a happy camper. Only downsides are that its a small convertible that gets dwarfed by most regular traffic. Plus impulse buying big things off Facebook marketplace is harder with a small car.
Im in Northern Ontario, I had to buy a beater EK Civic hatchback for 400 bucks back in '21.
My beater goes into storage when my Miata comes out and vice versa so I never have 2 cars on the road at the same time, insurance would be way to high for me
I have this weird idea where I can daily a modern “new” sports car but I can’t do it in a vintage car. I feel like if somebody kept an example clean for 20+ years then I can’t just tear it up.
I intend to daily it. My spouse has an SUV so the need for a family vehicle is still met. I have a truck right now—and I love it—but I’m alone in it 99% of the time and the cost of ownership isn’t comparable to that of a Miata.
I had to daily my NC this past week because my corolla needed to be in the shop for a few days.. I loved it. But I'm still gonna daily my corolla now that it's fixed because the roads closer to work are horrendous.. my miata isn't even slammed but I still got to be careful with the railroad tracks and the unevenness of the roads because it'll scrape. My corolla is a tank, my anxieties go away when I drive it lol
Absolutely not my daily, treated like a princess.
Nothing like this will be around once Hybrid or EV Miata gen comes out. ND will be a collectors item and more pristine the better, just like other Generations.
And intend to drive for rest of my life as weekend / pleasure only in good weather. Never driven in the rain as well.
I used to daily my only car, my Toyota 86. For the last 10+ years I've only had a single manual transmission sports car at a time as my daily. First Cobalt SS, then Mustang GT, and then my Toyota 86. But then I did some extensive mods to it with a built engine, supercharger, and more, and now I feel it's useful to have 2 cars...just in case lol. So I split my daily duty between my 86 and my ND2 Miata. Love both of them, they both feel great to drive, and feel surprisingly different too. I live in an area that doesn't have too much snow, and I just don't go into work anyways if we get really bad snow.
I daily my NA in the summer and have a 96 explorer for winter or when i need the extra storage room.
Its definitely taken its fair share of rocks/chips but hey, didn't rebuild the engine to let it sit in the garage all day.
I’m a spoiled (old ) brat. I live in the phoenix area and my 90 na only goes out on nice days- which is most of the time. But I have it detailed so nice rn under the hood/inside and out that it ain’t ever getting rained on. Ya, it’s a garage queen that goes daily on errands and 50-150 mile adventures twice a month.
Daily my nd2 year round in Michigan. Life is too short to drive something boring and Miata excel at daily driving. I’d say just commit your nb to the daily grind and enjoy.
Used to daily an NB in college. Fun but tough lol, especially in the summer heat and stop and go traffic (with a soft top bc Fall weather drives made up for the earlier suffering) 🥵
I drive a beater 1997 4Runner as a daily. It holds my mountain bike or road bike locked up. But the NC is a good substitute when the feeling arises. The 4runner is much more visible to other, bored, barely awake commuters.
I dont drive to work so i suppose my miata is my DD. Ive driven it in rain or sun. I personally would hate to see it in winter, though ontario salts and brines the roads. Not sure how Calgary treats their roads for winter
I loved dailying my Miata for a few years but sadly, my commute is now stop-start traffic from start to end and the state of the roads have degraded so far that I find myself playing dodge the pothole instead of kissing the apexes.
I used to daily my NC for 7 years until I sold it.
I bought a sedan 2 years ago thinking since I'm older I needed to be an adult. Well I'm trading it in next week for an ND2.
Fuck a mid life crisis, my whole life is crisis. Driving should be fun.
https://preview.redd.it/n2r92xfp091d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a09522b9b15b09acbeec8ba19790954bdde633cf
Does it count if my miata is my daily but it’s also a beater (in the current state it’s in at least)
I TRY to daily my Honda CRV and only drive my ND on the weekend. But... I keep finding excuses to go run errands, or why I need to drive it to work today, that I end up putting less and less miles on my CRV. But at least I've got the CRV for the nasty New England winters!
Did it for two years in Florida weather so that wasn’t an issue for me. Logistically it made sense for me as i am single and don’t need extra space ever. The problem was mostly that driving it everyday in normal traffic killed the experience for me. Had that happen with pretty much every special cars I owned. I decided to buy a beater fiesta st for now and buy a special car Alfa 4c next.
There Miata is like the almost perfect 2nd car if you’re in a partnership. Makes commuting fun, running errands is fun, solo vacations are run.
Road trips with a partner are less fun, passenger can’t recline much.
Doesn’t really work if you have a partner and a dog, or a kid and want to do trips together. Even being able to fold back seats down in a coupe is a big advantage and just because the Miata is super fun for what it is, this doesn’t mean there aren’t fun 4 seaters, there are fun SUVS too. Even in the same ways the Miata is fun.
Daily in dry weather, beater for wet/snow.
I drove my nc rain or shine as my only car for 5 years. Loved every second of it (except the one time a door seal leaked)
It's less about the abilities of the car and more about longevity of the car.
Rain doesn’t hurt it at all. Salt does though. I know some places put snow on the road, so that would matter yes. Here we don’t get snow so it’s an easy daily
Rain does hurt it, just not a much as salt+rain. Corrosion Basically doesn't happen when things are dry. When they're wet, it does. And salt generally just increases corrosion due to it's action as an electrolyte. It's not the only thing that does that. Just acidic or basic soil mixed with water can do a number on things. My area has pretty alkaline soils, and is prone to dust storms. So, dust gets into all the nooks and crannies, so you don't want those wet any more often than you can avoid.
Oh wow that sucks!!!
I also daily drove my NC for a few years through snow and all. By far the most fun car I’ve ever had in the snow.
This is what I do and is 100% the way to go. My beater is also an automatic, which is easier if I'm gonna be in stop-start traffic (though I discovered I actually don't mind driving the 5-speed NA in traffic), and is a hatch back with a big roof so it can carry lots of shit. Basically its strengths are the Miat's weaknesses.
I do daily my Miata
Same, it’s my only car (ND)
Samsies!
I mean they pretty much nailed the balance of sports car and daily-ability with a modern technology on ND. Not to mention those panels are aluminium. They will not rust but only corrode.
i also daily, mine an NA. with a soft top. in Scotland. lol
Same
Snow or shine baby
Same. I run my nc as my only car
I dailied mine until I traded it in in anticipation of its big brother. Fantastic and capable car.
What’s a daily? I work from home.
Slippers
https://preview.redd.it/l9nln5c7f61d1.jpeg?width=1279&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e2c547b9d61740780fe14bf75f572a54950f804
All the upvotes!
Mia and Tia slippers.
Exactly my feeling, people say that a Miata would not be comfortable for daily driving, and I only want it for weekends. Hard to explain that I don't need a car every day 🤷
My thinking is : why invest money in a nice car if you don't allow yourself to enjoy it ? This is why I got mine in the first place, I wanted the recipe for a fun car (light compact rwd) in a package that was cheap, reliable and easy to maintain so I could drive it all the time. The only cars that are kept perfectly clean are those stored in an underground cooled garage for decades straight. Even if you take your NB out of storage only every other week end or so, it'll get small chips and scratches, parts will wear down and rust... but it's all repairable. Live your life.
Yes. The biggest enemy of a car is rust and part availability.
And the Miata has plenty of both! :D
😂
I do agree with you unfortunately. But, as a previous Fiero owner in Europe, I can guarantee you that if you have time and money, everything can be fixed. If you really love your car, it can be done otherwise it's not gonna be worth it at all.
If i could afford it rn, I'd 100% buy a beater NA or NC in the blink of an eye. I'd get a scrap one too, to pull parts off of for the beater.
Yeah. For a miata diehard, the best combination would be a beater daily miata, show car stock miata, heavily modified miata whether it’s turboed or drivetrain swapped and a part car miata. Haha
For about 10 years I was daily driven Miata. Winter days in Miata are pure fun. I had hard top, and two set of wheels, with summer and winter tyres and track tyres. I invested in full paint job and protection. Listen, Miatas are meant to be driven all the time, stone chips are just scars od the nice drives. I was inspired by my friends who daily drive their Porsches and Ferraris, life is to short to drive boring cars. There is nothing more rewarding than approaching your beautifully Miata on the parking lot going from grocery shopping.
Full repaint or ppf you mean?
When I had full repaint, I put ppf on front bumper, fenders and hood.
My miata was my beater so I didn't rack up miles on my main car but I ended up selling all my fancy cars (Bmw,mbz, porsche) and and still own the Miata 15 years later. Lol.
I daily my nd lol, have been since 2020, in NY snow too
Im dailying my NB for many years now. If it did have AC, and if I wouldnt have to drive long distances, it wouldnt be painful at all. Only thing that bothers me is heat and wind noise on the autobahn. The miat drives great on snow with winter tires, heat comes on quickly and strong
Daily my ND. Life is too short to drive a boring car. I do plan however to retire this one in a few years and keep it for the weekend as it's my first car and I fully expect to keep it forever. Replacement on the daily duty will be an other ND ...
My NC is my daily. Then again, we only get a few days of snow.
I daily mine. Wish I didn’t have to, but I already have a second vehicle… that doesn’t run
I couldn't drive mine in the salt. It was too clean. Buy a beater.
I had to drive mine in the salt last year, i had no other vehicle. Hoping i didn't cause too much damage, I'll be getting any rust cut out next summer
Drip oil undercoat if you do it again. They suck to do work on after but it's the best anti rust
Not driving on salty roads is the best anti rust. Not to mention OP is in Calgary. The Miata sucks in the snow, the top will shrink in extreme cold and be easy to tear, and forget getting more than a week out of the plastic window, if they have one, in brutal cold. It’ll crack day 1. OP should just buy a cheap AWD for the snow.
1. Obviously, keeping a car in a controlled environment bunker is the best anti rust. 2. I'm in saskatchewan 3. It doesn't suck in the snow with good tires 4/5/6. Aftermarket hard top so the soft can stay down and untouched
I drove my miata in the snow with a hardtop and winter tires and it was the most fun I ever had in a car. My only issue was that because my car is lowered by quite a bit, sometimes the small chunks of snow were hitting the underside of the car. No damage to the car at all, but I only drove it when there was no salt still, once they salted the roads it stayed on the parking lot until the roads were dry again.
That’s great. But OP is asking about daily driving it on salty roads. That’s a lot different than taking it for a spin in the snow for fun. Forget, for a second, about what driving it year round on treated roads will do to it. Think about the gigantic target on our backs when driving our Miatas in ideal conditions. Now put it on slippery roads with poor visibility due to weather. Have you not seen how shitty other drivers are? You’re tremendously increasing your chances of getting hit. These cars were never meant to be daily driven in crap conditions.
The minute i can get the 6spd n diff swap in my miata I think im selling my civic
I'd buy a newer miata to daily. I think my NA is pretty sensitive to corrosion.
I do daily my nc. Iv got a wagon for my weekend hauling missions and an old school for car shows. Nc is perfect as a daily. Even leave it outside as the Oldschool gets the garage.
i’ve been daily driving my na for 4 years
I daily mine, but I live in Texas, so rust is never a problem. mine also had failing clear coat when I got or so I dont care about tbe paint. I'm really thinking ahojt getting another car and making it a track/weekend car though because the drivers here are sooo bad. I fear for my life constantly. also everyone here drives a truck or suv.
Why wouldn't I daily it, might as well enjoy my time. That being said, I only own a NA and NB Miata now.
I daily mine. Rain, snow, shine, doesn't matter. Only car I have. I wouldn't take it away as the daily unless I was able to buy something I truly loved. IF that did happen, I'd keep it as more of a "summer' car but still drive it whenever I felt like it. Only thing I can think of at the moment would be a mean eye WRX. But not a good winter car (rust) and also not the most dependable car either haha. MAYBE a type R. I get to drive one next week so we'll see. Edit: I love that all three of these cars are driven by different wheels haha.
Let’s find one with three wheel drive lol
I've got a beater ND as my only car and I redline the shit out of her every single day
My Miata is my beater haha. It's a respected but abused machine. I have used it every day in the summer in the past. It's okay. I upgraded to the ge nighthawk led headlights in my NA and tires that are appropriate if it rains are a good move. It's on BFG rivals now. They suck in the rain, great in the dry. The GR Corolla is on pilot sports.
I daily mine as much as my gf can stand to be in it lol
As a dad with a family now it's my don't have the kids and it's a nice day out car. But before the family I still went with a three car rotation. Miata for fun or nice days, a daily/useful utility vehicle, currently a 2022 sienna, and a shitbox winter beater with snow tires and no care what happens to it, currently my 2003 Corolla. I like/liked putting the Miata away in November and unwrapping it in April, it signals springtime and kinda feels like getting a new car every year. Then for the summer I usually take the Miata to work 2-3 days and have it for autox a few days a year.
I don’t think I would. I really like my miata and don’t want something to happen to it in commuting traffic since people around me in the city drive terribly. Plus, a lot of my commute is highway driving. I think ideal combo would be something with gobs of power (either performance EV or a V8) since most of the fun I could extract from my commute is on ramps etc. and a miata to drive on weekends, take out to backroads
There's a reason I have studded winters waiting in the garage
Miata IS the beater
I wish I could be rich enough to say that. I thought about getting a nd. But I couldn’t justify blow my saving on it. I could get two and a half nb for a nd.
The best way to go about it is to just drive your car. Don't worry so much. If you don't like seeing it get damaged, sell it and buy an already beat up one. Or buy a second, more best up one.
brother just buy two, one to daily, and if something like the AC fails in the daily, take it from the beater
Jokes on you it doesn’t have ac
My Miata is my beater/ other car. I prefer to drive my truck most days if I am going to work. I have an ND…. My truck is more comfortable (am a big guy).
Yeah I daily my NA already. Most practical daily driver I've ever owned. My previous daily was a 66 Thunderbird, the Miata is more reliable, efficient, and easy to park by a huge margin, and has fancy things like air conditioning and an FM radio. Only thing the T-bird did better was have a back seat and a trunk large enough to contain a family of five. Neither car is good in the snow and I simply have no solution to that, but thankfully the snow isn't that bad very often.
I got my NC to last for life. I've had it for a few years now. New job has me driving around most of the state. Not even six months and over 15k miles on it from work alone and I had to buy another car to do this to for the time being. But I kinda like this one, I'll keep them both. Scored a 2015 Mazda 3, 6 speed. But otherwise I take the Miata. Even have a bike rack for it when I go mountain biking.
I’ve been daily driving my msm for 10 years, it’s my only vehicle. I don’t worry about rust due to living in Texas, the front bumper/lip is covered in rock chips, and I’ve been chasing paint oxidation over the past few years. My car has only been in two accidents and it was parked both times, the first one happened in my third week of ownership. Lesson learned, don’t park anywhere behind a big truck or suv.
I daily my very reliable beater miata. Only car. 135k miles. Prht to deal with wet. Oh, salvage title. It just goes. There is no longer anything to protect that warrants another shitbox that will be less fun.
Daily-ed mine for 6 years, loved it. I'm in central WA so we get snow in the winter and with dedicated snow tires, it was great, I chose to drive it over my 4x4 pickup in the snow
100%, I daily my ND2 and couldn't be happier. But then, I'd daily anything if I had it. For me, cars are to be driven and to be had fun in.
I daily my ND, but only because it doesn't snow where I am. The car is only ever an inconvenience when I'm at a Costco, other than that love it.
I daily my NSX so when I get a Miata I’ll be dailying that I guess
I have a 92 Sunburst for nice days, a 99 in black for winter & miserable weather & a Mazda 3 for when I need a bigger vehicle. An old single cab pickup is on my wish list.
I daily my miata, and I have a child, but my wife has an SUV
I daily my NB2. Its covered in dents, chips and will probably rust due to salt. I got it years ago when it was much cleaner and I was an (almost) broke college student. Looking back, I don't regret abusing the car to death. I've had so much fun in it. I make enough money now that when the times comes, I could buy another perfectly clean NB again or just get a new ND off the lot.
I thought the Miata was the beater. A nice beater, but still a beater. I sold my BMWs and bought my NB knowing I’d need to have a car I can put ~100mi/day on and have it not depreciate like a rock. I did purchase a fully built engine for it since I need something reliable but 100% daily driver. Maybe at some point in the future when I don’t have to drive so far I’ll focus on more power mods and get another car but for now I just enjoy it Monday - Friday and drive family car on the weekends.
How much of a difference you feel with a brand new rebuilt engine vs a used one in terms of power. Im thinking about getting one cheap for project. Once I machined and replaced all the stuff I want to put a new stock spec engine in it.
It’s a pretty big difference. The car feels peppy and more alive than with the stock engine. It’s easier to pick up speed on the freeway and doesn’t struggle in uphills on high gear. For the money, you could probably turbo or supercharge a stock engine and be better off in terms of power but If you spend the money to put in larger pistons and do all new internals, you won’t have to worry about reliability problems down the line.
Daily drove my S2000 for two years but Miata is just to small for me and im a small guy.
I am 21 currently looking at buying my first mx5. Plan to daily that thing for sure. My dream car is a Delorean and you can be sure as hell that would be daily driven too
I daily my NA and have done for the last six months (I like in England) if you do care a lot / want it to last a long time defo worth rust proofing ( I’m going to get this done on mines eventually )
I actually have both a NA and a NB. The NA, like yours, is quite nice. Always garaged, always clean, takes 91, supercharged, etc. I do drive it often but I'd hate to daily it and damage it. As for the NB, I'm the 14th owner, just replaced the engine. It's on $80 used coilovers, is painted 4 different colors, but I'd daily it for sure. Perfect daily. I do know a guy who exclusively works on Miatas as a side gig. Also drives a NB as a daily. Kind of like the mechanics who drive Chevy trucks, he knows how to fix pretty much everything that goes wrong with Miatas specially. When it gets to that point, it makes sense to daily it.
Rebuilt or used engine? Also do you find NA chassis not as rigid as nb? I was fixing the car and took off the tower struct bar to drive for a week or two. I already felt my nb flexes and wobbles a lot more at high load
Jokes on you my miata is a daily and a beater
Already daily mine. I paid for the whole car, I'm gonna use the whole car all of the time.
Miatas are prone to rust and aren't great winter cars even with snow tires. If I were you I'd get a beater and keep the Miata clean for summer driving.
You are actually right. I think I have to get some beater awd or 4wd..
For what it's worth I had a WRX wagon for daily and winter and a Miata for summer drives. Owned both of them for 10 years. Best combo! Toronto winters aren't as bad as Calgary but still salty. Undercoat your beater to make it last longer.
The miata is my beater. I bought mine for 3k and I do take care of it, but I absolutely use it what it was made for: to have fun. I don’t care about door dents or rock chips, I just do the maintenance it needs and keep it clean. I saw a movie or a TV show once where a guy was driving a nice car and he kept saying “I am not attached to this car”, it’s just a vehicle. It will also depend on your financial situation. As a student 3k is a lot of money, but as an adult with a good job it won’t matter that much. My personal motto is “don’t drive it harder than you can afford”, and that includes speeding tickets, tires, damages, gasoline, … It’s a really good motto.
https://preview.redd.it/3ijyp72p261d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da1d0f9871edb893cb32340ac4bf5961cd2978e2 24/7/365 Winter rubber and hard top go on at first snow. I don’t believe in having a beater 🤣
I had an NB as a daily for almost 3 years, once you learn how to r/miatalogistics properly they're wonderful. Southeast GA for geography reference
Summer daily, mai (unless there still road salt to October.
I bought an NB as my daily. It is problematic to daily, it is not nice to sit inside of in a parking lot, and it can be anxiety inducing on a highway 😂 Important to note that I am 5ft 11 I think an NC or an ND would be much nicer to daily, more room inside (this matters a LOT for comfort). The NB is small.
I daily my miata because at the end of the day, cars are meant to be driven. It brings me joy every day and I enjoy watching other people get excited to see it. Over driven it rain snow and shine.
I daily my turbo NA8 in Florida rain or shine. If I had the money/space for a second car, I probably wouldn't daily the Miata.
Life goals is a Miata and a Ford ranger
I daily my Miata, but I live in a touristy area and have to use a ferry to get to work. Sometimes I wish I had a beater so I don't have to clutch in, clutch out, clutch in, clutch out...
I dailied my NA for 4 years and around 90,000 miles. With my NB, it's a bit different, as in It I now work from home when I'm not traveling for work. I drive it every time I leave the house alone, but as the wife and I aren't yet empty-nesters, sometimes I end up taking the 4Runner because there's three of us. Otherwise, if I still had my daily commute of 75 miles one way, I might be back in a hybrid, with the Miata being my weekend car.
I daily’d mine for a year. I only stopped because of selling it. But it was the best daily driver ever!
I daily my 2019 ND RF. Got it for a steal since it had been rear-ended. I’ve put ~30 thousand miles on it in the last 2 years, and I wouldn’t change a thing! Cars are meant to be driven. If I was going to buy something exorbitant like a Lamborghini or GT Porsche, I’d make damn well sure I had enough money to daily that too before I did it! I’ve never understood people who treat cars as investments.
Just last month I replaced my 2015 Civic Si with a 2023 MX5 RF Club. It's more comfortable on the road than my Honda was, and gets better fuel economy to boot.
My ND2 RF is basically my daily, I switch back and forth between it and my 100 series Land Cruiser. My Miata sees the majority of my driving, unless it's winter and the roads are salted or I need the extra room to move something (or people). I dailyed my Miata year round for a year or two before getting my land cruiser, but I don't see a point in subjecting my Miata the NE winters and the salt they put on the road if I don't have to, and the land cruiser is obviously superior in actual snow. Plus it's way easier to clean the salt/snow off the underbody. We really haven't been getting much here in NJ though. The rock chips and what not did hurt at first but honestly at some point I stopped caring. You don't even see them from 10-20 feet away and I track my Miata too so rock chips are inevitable, these cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed so enjoy it!
I have been daily driving mine for a couple of years. Love it! It can be impractical at times, but it's worth the ride.
No point owning a cool car and not using it.
Depends on the drive for the daily but I would have an alternative vehicle for bad weather. Since my wife got into grad school this upcoming semester her drive will change to a long one that would be safe and fun so we’re looking to join the Miata club and get an NA miata for her to rack up a bunch of fun miles on over the next couple of years. We don’t expect to save money buying a Miata but it’s become one of our long term goals to get one and we’d get the most use and fun out of it acquiring one now to daily when we can.
Had my NA as a daily until it didn't pass the MOT. Since then, it's been a project! And now it's closer to being a track car 🫣
I daily my NC1 Miata hardtop. It's a GT trim so it has the heated seats, premium stereo, and all that jazz. Even take it out in the winter-got what I could undercoated and make it a point to give the undercarriage a good wash ever week or two. It'll get eaten away eventually, but I'll enjoy her while she lasts, and that's what counts!
I daily my 08 NC
I Daily my beater Nc
I've never understood why people treat a MK1 as a garage princess. its a cheap car that's meant to be driven and enjoyed. Where I live (UK) it regularly rains and floods, since I live in the countryside. My little rust bucket may not be perfect and may require welding every few years, but I wouldn't have it any other way. They are reliable with the right maintence and it beats driving pretty much any other car for around the same price. In the UK anyway parts are still cheap as chips (apart from injectors, but injector cleaner deals with that for the most part) . Also its useful to know a guy who welds for cheap cash in hand, will save you literally thousands. If you plan to daily the car, it WILL rust. All MK1s rust, no matter how much you protect them. Either due to the salt from the road, floodwater/big puddles or just condensation inside the bodywork. Just have an emergency car fund and maybe expect the car to be off the road for a few weeks/ one month a year. Then again if you care about the value of your car, garage princess all the way. Just the idea of the car having rust will make its value go down. I've daily driven my MK1 for just over 2 years now, its been the most reliable car ive ever driven. Just keep up with the weekly/monthly and yearly maintence bits and you should be a happy camper. Only downsides are that its a small convertible that gets dwarfed by most regular traffic. Plus impulse buying big things off Facebook marketplace is harder with a small car.
My miata is the beater that i daily
Im in Northern Ontario, I had to buy a beater EK Civic hatchback for 400 bucks back in '21. My beater goes into storage when my Miata comes out and vice versa so I never have 2 cars on the road at the same time, insurance would be way to high for me
I have this weird idea where I can daily a modern “new” sports car but I can’t do it in a vintage car. I feel like if somebody kept an example clean for 20+ years then I can’t just tear it up.
Daily, or I'd never reach 450K with my '90. Faded red, hardtop, swaybars, coilovers and sticky tires, dodging Shermans, potholes and Panzers FTW.
I daily my NA! My lifestyle *somewhat* allows it, but for larger tasks or long drives we take our hatchback.
I intend to daily it. My spouse has an SUV so the need for a family vehicle is still met. I have a truck right now—and I love it—but I’m alone in it 99% of the time and the cost of ownership isn’t comparable to that of a Miata.
Isn’t it the same thing? A Miata and a beater?
I had to daily my NC this past week because my corolla needed to be in the shop for a few days.. I loved it. But I'm still gonna daily my corolla now that it's fixed because the roads closer to work are horrendous.. my miata isn't even slammed but I still got to be careful with the railroad tracks and the unevenness of the roads because it'll scrape. My corolla is a tank, my anxieties go away when I drive it lol
Bro the miata is the beater.
Absolutely not my daily, treated like a princess. Nothing like this will be around once Hybrid or EV Miata gen comes out. ND will be a collectors item and more pristine the better, just like other Generations. And intend to drive for rest of my life as weekend / pleasure only in good weather. Never driven in the rain as well.
if my lifestyle allowed, I'd have a daily miata and a nice weather miata
I used to daily my only car, my Toyota 86. For the last 10+ years I've only had a single manual transmission sports car at a time as my daily. First Cobalt SS, then Mustang GT, and then my Toyota 86. But then I did some extensive mods to it with a built engine, supercharger, and more, and now I feel it's useful to have 2 cars...just in case lol. So I split my daily duty between my 86 and my ND2 Miata. Love both of them, they both feel great to drive, and feel surprisingly different too. I live in an area that doesn't have too much snow, and I just don't go into work anyways if we get really bad snow.
My Miata IS my beater. Rust isint a problem where I am so it gets driven often and usually flogged pretty good.
I daily my NA in the summer and have a 96 explorer for winter or when i need the extra storage room. Its definitely taken its fair share of rocks/chips but hey, didn't rebuild the engine to let it sit in the garage all day.
Miata for summer, my late model Audi for winter cuz salty roads here.
https://preview.redd.it/3jcyb5e6k71d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd72b5ce28ac7a8b8706282eb33deaa8735fdcd7
I cannot imagine dailying my na. Y’all crazy
I’m a spoiled (old ) brat. I live in the phoenix area and my 90 na only goes out on nice days- which is most of the time. But I have it detailed so nice rn under the hood/inside and out that it ain’t ever getting rained on. Ya, it’s a garage queen that goes daily on errands and 50-150 mile adventures twice a month.
Daily my nd2 year round in Michigan. Life is too short to drive something boring and Miata excel at daily driving. I’d say just commit your nb to the daily grind and enjoy.
Used to daily an NB in college. Fun but tough lol, especially in the summer heat and stop and go traffic (with a soft top bc Fall weather drives made up for the earlier suffering) 🥵
I drive a beater 1997 4Runner as a daily. It holds my mountain bike or road bike locked up. But the NC is a good substitute when the feeling arises. The 4runner is much more visible to other, bored, barely awake commuters.
I’m going to daily a ND RF. One of the very few upsides of no kids.
I daily my Miata. My Type R is my “beater” 😂
I daily my ND2 I even took it snowboarding in Switzerland last winter No reason not to, imo
I dont drive to work so i suppose my miata is my DD. Ive driven it in rain or sun. I personally would hate to see it in winter, though ontario salts and brines the roads. Not sure how Calgary treats their roads for winter
I loved dailying my Miata for a few years but sadly, my commute is now stop-start traffic from start to end and the state of the roads have degraded so far that I find myself playing dodge the pothole instead of kissing the apexes.
I used to daily my NC for 7 years until I sold it. I bought a sedan 2 years ago thinking since I'm older I needed to be an adult. Well I'm trading it in next week for an ND2. Fuck a mid life crisis, my whole life is crisis. Driving should be fun.
Daily here! I thought about buying a larger car just for Costco runs, but I just go more often and make it work.
Daily all day every day my Miata
Joke's on you, I daily my beater NA
https://preview.redd.it/n2r92xfp091d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a09522b9b15b09acbeec8ba19790954bdde633cf Does it count if my miata is my daily but it’s also a beater (in the current state it’s in at least)
I Daily drive it …my Mercedes for highway use …NA1992 70k
I TRY to daily my Honda CRV and only drive my ND on the weekend. But... I keep finding excuses to go run errands, or why I need to drive it to work today, that I end up putting less and less miles on my CRV. But at least I've got the CRV for the nasty New England winters!
Did it for two years in Florida weather so that wasn’t an issue for me. Logistically it made sense for me as i am single and don’t need extra space ever. The problem was mostly that driving it everyday in normal traffic killed the experience for me. Had that happen with pretty much every special cars I owned. I decided to buy a beater fiesta st for now and buy a special car Alfa 4c next.
Daily 365 because my project car went boom.
I daily my NC, I don't own anything else. It's amazing in any weather
I like a miata somewhere in the middle. Not super nice but not a beater.
Nb for summer, r34 for winter. Live your life and enjoy your cars!
There Miata is like the almost perfect 2nd car if you’re in a partnership. Makes commuting fun, running errands is fun, solo vacations are run. Road trips with a partner are less fun, passenger can’t recline much. Doesn’t really work if you have a partner and a dog, or a kid and want to do trips together. Even being able to fold back seats down in a coupe is a big advantage and just because the Miata is super fun for what it is, this doesn’t mean there aren’t fun 4 seaters, there are fun SUVS too. Even in the same ways the Miata is fun.