Mazda Miata – 1/2 Million (S)miles

Planes and trains are of little interest to Eddy Avol. But that doesn’t mean that the IT consultant from Rockland County, 40 minutes north of New York City, isn’t a fan of travel. He just prefers to do it by automobile, in his Mazda Miata.

“I’ve probably done over 20 cross-country road-trips, coast to coast trips in the last 20 years,” smiles Eddy. “In fact this year, I did an 8,500 mile round trip to Southern California, then up to Oregon, then back to New York. It was fun.”

A large ingredient of the fun is undoubtedly Eddy’s car of choice: a white 1990 Mazda Miata NA. Bought new, the roadster now has an astonishing 448,000 miles on the clock.

“It’s my only car, and I don’t commute in it and don’t take it out in the winters as I don’t to get any salt on the bodywork,” says Eddy. “I just take off, see the country via the back roads. It’s so good just to drive. Some people might say that’s a scary thing to do considering the distances I travel, but I trust my NA completely.”

In 25 years of ownership, the white Mazda Miata has only let Eddy down once.  “The only time I’ve had a problem with the car was when I took out the stock fuel pump after 350,000 miles,” he says. “I figured after all that time the thing just wouldn’t last. but there was nothing wrong actually wrong with it. Replacing it was just preventative maintenance. So, I put in an aftermarket fuel pump, and a year later that failed!” he laughs. “The only time in a quarter of a century that I’ve needed a tow.” He replaced it with an original Mazda Miata part and hasn’t had a single problem since.

Unsurprisingly, Eddy is in no hurry to get a new ride. “I’ve got absolutely no plans to replace it and I’ve definitely got to hit the magic 500,000 miles,” he adds. “Above all, I love this car and the people that I’ve met because of it. It’s just awesome! The clubs, the other owners, the whole social scene?buying a Mazda Miata is the best thing I ever did.”

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