For sale: 1999 Mazda MX-5 RS

[Sanx]

My wife is selling her beloved MX-5 RS in preparation to her moving over to Brisbane to (finally) join me.

• 1999 model, Japanese import and first registered in NZ (by us) in 2006.
• 106,000km
• RS model - factory Bilstein gas dampers and a small front air dam
• 1800cc
• 6-speed manual
• dark metallic blue

Car has a professionally-fitted 4* AVS alarm / dual-stage immobiliser and central locking motors were fitted at the same time. Car also comes with the factory hard top. 4 new Toyo Proxes tyres were fitted in April and they have less than 2000kms on them. Car was also given its 100,000km service about a month back, where it got a new cambelt and water pump. There's also a japanese DVD / CD / radio / GPS / hard drive music system with a 7" touch-screen. It's all in Japanese and there's no English language pack; however, the CD, DVD and hard drive system all work and the buttons are relatively easy to work out.

It's a cheap-to-run car that gives more grins for your bucks than anything else I've ever driven; anything with four wheels, anyway. It's in excellent cosmetic and mechanical condition and hasn't given us the slightest problem in the two years we've owned it. Oh, and there's a year left on the AutoSure comprehensive mechanical warranty.

TradeMe ad is here.

Any questions, just ask.

[Mrs Busa Pete]

Hay how old is the umbrella.

[Sanx]

*laugh* About four years - give or take.

[Blackbird]

To anyone who thinks these cars are toys, they most definitely aren't! My wife has a MazdaSpeed-equipped 2000 model and IMHO, they are the best form of fun outside 2 wheels. Cornering ability is simply phenomenal and you don't actually need to go fast to have fun. however, the 6 speed model has serious midrange poke when compared with the Mk1 5 speed which my wife previously owned. It's a practical car too. We toured the south island for a month in our old one and there was sufficient luggage space for all manner of stuff. Economical too.

[Forest]

Why are you selling the car?

Cars in Aussie are absurdly expensive (they don't have used imports). If you've owned the MX-5 for more than 12 months, you should apply for a vehicle import license and ship it over.

When I moved to Melbourne I sold my car before I left NZ. A car of the same model and mileage cost me twice the price in Aussie.

[Sanx]

Why are you selling the car?

Cars in Aussie are absurdly expensive (they don't have used imports). If you've owned the MX-5 for more than 12 months, you should apply for a vehicle import license and ship it over.

When I moved to Melbourne I sold my car before I left NZ. A car of the same model and mileage cost me twice the price in Aussie.

Cars don't fall under the Personal Effects import scheme, so if the car's not made in Aussie, even if it's yours and you've owned it for more than 12 months, you still have to pay 10% duty and GST on it upon landing. Given the cost of the car, and the cost of shipping the thing over, it's simply not worth it.