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My friend just sold his 12k mile, no accidents, JDM FD on BAT. The closing price was $42k.
Imagine that. Resprayed to boot. And hand painted firewall.
If we assume RHD automatically have a 50% discount to equivalent LHD, and if we deduct another 20% for New Brunswick registration (and therefore import hastle and risk) off the start, that would imply a 10k SSM/Black cloth LHD should sell at US$104,000, eh?
A low mileage, LHD, in the right colours, good compression, pristine paint and interior, regularly maintained and exercised, with clean title and documents ..........SHOULD sell for the global equivalent of an equal condition Spirit R.
Therefore, an assumptive value of US$105,000 may be a low ball, in my opninion.
Lol what makes you think a LHD car would ever be as desirable as a Spirit R? Sorry, but with normal model prices rising, Spirit R prices are rising faster still.
Spirit R is still the last and final model, limited edition, all the bells and whistles. I can't imagine a LHD car being equal in similar condition. And seeing as Spirit R cars have already broken the $200,000 USD mark by a wide margin, and the world seems to agree. $216k USD is the Spirit R record publicly, LHD record is less than half.
15,000 LHD cars, 1,500 Spirit R cars. I think you're overestimating the LHD importance. Driving side will mean less when these cars are driven less often. Does't matter what side you're on when you only do 200 miles a year going to a show.
My sense is that the sentiment in the US against RHD is deeply engrained.
I would posit (without any documentary proof) that there are far fewer unmolested mint condition LHD than dime-a -dozen Spirit R.
The 1994.~1996, USDM Type R2 is likely one of the most rare types overall.
The massive US collector car market is still gradually waking up to JDM, and the prior long standing ambivalence to Japanese cars likely continues to have influence on, what I would contend to be, depressed prices here, compared to global FD achieved prices.
So what does the peanut gallery think of Johnny K's CYM ? I would personally love to own an OEM plus style FD like this, especially given the accident and the miles, drive carefree all you want !
I know the car well and it is exactly what most folks want in a drivers FD....looks great, runs great and has the needed reliability mods.
It is not an AII ORIGINAL ULTRA LOW MILEAGE COLLECTOR CAR which seems to best fit BAT...IMHO
Will be interesting to see how the bidding goes.
I have the base CD player equivalent*, and that very cubby. But you know that.
(* backlight is green, though)
I have our LHD gang up here rooting around in the mothers' basements, but so far they keep coming up with the Bose units.
It was made by/for a Mazda USA executive. I saw this car at the Mazda booth at Laguna Seca for the 100 Years of BMW celebration in 2016. It's a very cool thing. I was more distracted by seeing 2% of all BMW M1 Supercars all at once, without having to turn my head.
Rear badge seems correct for the Spirit R year, Mazda moved around the badge so many times it is hard to keep track of what orientation is for what year / model.
I suspect under there somewhere is a USDM Vin Number. Next time it is out check if it has the dash plate. It has the USDM shift console warning lights. Did not see the dash, but if it has Spirit R dials, they still could have switched the gauge face plates and adjusted the needles.
Curiously , the OEM LHD soft touch dash plastics you get from the dealer nowadays seems to mimic the dark grey Sprit R dash plastics.
Engine bay has hints of USDM (that AST cap!). I wonder if they went as far as to upgrade the motor to the version 6 280hp spec.
Air intake plenum is S6, does this point to S6 intercooler shroud as well?
Last edited by Redbul; 10-08-22 at 05:35 PM.
Reason: added info.
The new Supras continue to proliferate as our "chatime" meets are enjoying the extended summer in Vancouver. The new Supras may pose a threat to FD values locally as many young enthusiasts seem to be choosing the new Supra in the face of FD unavailabilty (and rising prices). This young lady bought the Supra new last year and participated in kitting it out, and then bought the '97 FD with partial Mazdaspeed kit.. The group of people around my FD had sauntered over from the Supra row in the back.
Which car will be worth more in 20 years? The '99 S8 or the mint California Spec '93 LHD (with real Mazda Recaros). The current gap is probably $60,000.
Which car will be worth more in 20 years? The '99 S8 or the mint California Spec '93 LHD (with real Mazda Recaros). The current gap is probably $60,000.
In 20 years, no one will care about after-market parts, wheels, shocks,
body kits, etc. It won't mean jack if you have a big single turbo in your
car now. The Recaros is the only thing that will help that car's value in
the future, but you'd make more profit if you sold them separately.
Basically, without the Recaros, both vehicles fully stock, and with the exact miles,
the LHD would be worth 5-10K more because they are rarer. The more original, the better.
Thinking that far out, you have to think more like if you were bringing your car to pebble beach, original stickers on OEM parts, factory chalk marks, etc.
Lastly, aftermarket parts that are period correct will help in 20 years but the safer bet will always be OEM.
10-05-22, 11:40 PM
