Miata's in Europe

Did you happen to check the prices on other cars in Europe?

Are you sure you have the currency conversion right? I'm selling my '94 for

9500.- CHF, which is about 6700 USD. That's a little below the current market value. Perhaps a little higher than in the US, but not outrageously so, and generally in line with the cost of other consumer goods.

Stephen

My new Ford Focus wagon in Switzerland stickered out to about the same price as it would in Canada after taxes, comparing equivalent models. Car prices aren't so outrageously high here anymore, although the rebates are a lot more agressive in North America. I managed about 15% off list, which is about as hard as you can squeeze a Swiss car dealer, but I know there's more than that available in Canada and the US if the market is slow.

Stephen

Well, Switzerland (and Sweden) doesn't really count. I believe they have no taxes on cars. Most of the rest of Europe does.

I happen to live in the recordbreaking country when it comes to taxation of cars. A new MX-5 1.8 Sport is roughly USD 51000, which is actually concidered fairly cheap.

France is not the country to buy you Japanese car.... you can find cheap mx5's in Germany, which in most of the cases are imported from the US or Canada. Best site to find these is

Jm

When I got mine, my oldest brother in Holland listed a Dutch price 2 to 3 times what I paid. If I were a Mazda dealer in a high-tax country, I would increase mark-up to compensate for small volume. I guess the result may be that MX-5 cars are rare in some countries, keeping prices up.

Leon

As you can see at

new MX5s run 20,000 to 23,000? (23,000 to 26,000USD @ $1.15/?)

There are not many in France and they seem to hold their value.

Are there many Mazda's in general in France?

On our last trip to Italy (did almost the whole country) I've seen _very_ few Mazda dealerships. I don't recall seeing an MX-5 there.

If you have an Alfa on the other hand.... :-)

Steven Spits Mazda Miata '92

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I don't have current numbers but when I bought MaXin5 in May 1998 there were 116 Mazda dealers in France. There are two MX5 clubs here with a combined memberships of approximately 300. Not all owners are members but this compares to some 4,400 members in the UK clubs.