Why are miatas so expensive?
May-29th-2003, 01:41 PM
#1
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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: PA
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Why are miatas so expensive?
What makes the miata so expensive (talking brand new here)? At the dealer around here, they had two '03s I think, and they were both around $27k.
It's not like the engine is specific to just the car, or anything like that. You can get a fully loaded Mazda 6 for under $27k, and it has a lot more space, functionality, etc. I KNOW that's not what the Miata is intended for, not even close... But how can they justify such a high pricetag??? I guess, however, people DO buy them.
It's not like the engine is specific to just the car, or anything like that. You can get a fully loaded Mazda 6 for under $27k, and it has a lot more space, functionality, etc. I KNOW that's not what the Miata is intended for, not even close... But how can they justify such a high pricetag??? I guess, however, people DO buy them.
May-29th-2003, 01:47 PM
#2
protege5.0
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 796
beats me.
retail on one as i would equip it (sports package with a couple dealer installed things) would be $30000 CAN.
which actually isn't that bad. out of my reach, but not bad at all. mind you, the japanese cars are cheaper up here than in the US (when exchange is considered).
it's about 4 grand more for the leather model with a/c and no sports package. that's not so much a good deal.
retail on one as i would equip it (sports package with a couple dealer installed things) would be $30000 CAN.
which actually isn't that bad. out of my reach, but not bad at all. mind you, the japanese cars are cheaper up here than in the US (when exchange is considered).
it's about 4 grand more for the leather model with a/c and no sports package. that's not so much a good deal.
May-29th-2003, 01:49 PM
#3
Cripple Fight!!!!
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 1,944
because in the current market, the Miata is a BARGAIN for a RWD 2 seat roadster
a similarly equipped MR2 spyder would cost about 1000 more, give or take.
there are no other roadsters in the US market that sell below 30k.
why lower price if people are willing to pay 27k for it?
a similarly equipped MR2 spyder would cost about 1000 more, give or take.
there are no other roadsters in the US market that sell below 30k.
why lower price if people are willing to pay 27k for it?
Last edited by ZoomZoomH; May-29th-2003 at 01:52 PM.
May-29th-2003, 01:51 PM
#4
huh?
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Caracas,Venezuela
Posts: 871
Wow, I didn't know they costed that much, I thought they were like 25k loaded. That car has been around for what? 10 years?
I guess that people are still willing to pay that much for them, otherwise they wouldn't be around today...that says a lot about how nice they are.
I guess that people are still willing to pay that much for them, otherwise they wouldn't be around today...that says a lot about how nice they are.
May-29th-2003, 02:02 PM
#5
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While I haven't driven one yet, I hear they are awesome cars, and I don't doubt it for a second... But really, I would assume that those cars could sell around $20k loaded and they'd still be making money. There really isn't a lot to them!
I bet if they dropped prices to something REASONABLE, they would sell twice as many.
I bet if they dropped prices to something REASONABLE, they would sell twice as many.
May-29th-2003, 03:42 PM
#8
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Location: Dallas, Texas
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They're more expensive largely because it doesn't share its platform and mechanical underpinnings with any other cars. For instance, the Mazda6 shares its rear suspension with the Ford Focus, and the Mazda6 will provide the underpinnings for the upcoming Ford model that will replace the current Taurus (the examples go on and on).
The Miata, on the other hand, shares almost no parts with any other vehicle, which is one of the reasons that it's so good- Mazda didn't make the mistake of compromising the Miata's performance by piecing it together using parts from existing sedans, which was perceived as a big problem with the cheap 2-seaters on the U.S. market when the Miata was being designed, the Pontiac Fiero and mkI Toyota MR-2, not to mention the 1st-gen RX-7. The Miata uses REAL sports car suspension and it's designed to be LIGHT.
Look at the Nissan 350Z and Audi TT if you want an example of what parts-sharing does to the weight of a platform's sports car variant. Oink. 
The bad side is that it drives the price up because Mazda can't spread the cost of parts around by using them on various other cars.
The other reason is the market. The Miata is mostly purchased by 50+ year old, fairly wealthy folks who are going to use it as a weekend toy to relive the British sports cars of their youth without the oil leaks and electrical failures. [Why the Miata doesn't seem to have much success with young people is beyond me, but I digress.
] The typical older Miata buyer isn't really worried about the price difference between a $20k car and a $25k car, and will readily shell out the extra dough. Hence, Mazda can get away with charging more.
Attempts in the recent past to sell stripped-down Miatas for cheap have not succeeded. Mazda shipped out a bunch of cheap base-model 99's when the car first came out, and they wound up languishing on dealers' lots for months while the more expensive Leather Package cars flew out the door. (I'm friends with a couple of Mazda dealership workers who can personally attest to this.) Hence, Mazda discontinued the most stripped-down Miata variants and the dealers have mostly bought the higher-priced ones since then. However, you CAN find some cheap, lightly-optioned Miatas if you keep looking, but no, the car is NOT as cheap as a Protege.
The Miata, on the other hand, shares almost no parts with any other vehicle, which is one of the reasons that it's so good- Mazda didn't make the mistake of compromising the Miata's performance by piecing it together using parts from existing sedans, which was perceived as a big problem with the cheap 2-seaters on the U.S. market when the Miata was being designed, the Pontiac Fiero and mkI Toyota MR-2, not to mention the 1st-gen RX-7. The Miata uses REAL sports car suspension and it's designed to be LIGHT.
Look at the Nissan 350Z and Audi TT if you want an example of what parts-sharing does to the weight of a platform's sports car variant. Oink. The bad side is that it drives the price up because Mazda can't spread the cost of parts around by using them on various other cars.The other reason is the market. The Miata is mostly purchased by 50+ year old, fairly wealthy folks who are going to use it as a weekend toy to relive the British sports cars of their youth without the oil leaks and electrical failures. [Why the Miata doesn't seem to have much success with young people is beyond me, but I digress.
] The typical older Miata buyer isn't really worried about the price difference between a $20k car and a $25k car, and will readily shell out the extra dough. Hence, Mazda can get away with charging more. Attempts in the recent past to sell stripped-down Miatas for cheap have not succeeded. Mazda shipped out a bunch of cheap base-model 99's when the car first came out, and they wound up languishing on dealers' lots for months while the more expensive Leather Package cars flew out the door. (I'm friends with a couple of Mazda dealership workers who can personally attest to this.) Hence, Mazda discontinued the most stripped-down Miata variants and the dealers have mostly bought the higher-priced ones since then. However, you CAN find some cheap, lightly-optioned Miatas if you keep looking, but no, the car is NOT as cheap as a Protege.
May-29th-2003, 03:54 PM
#10
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 1,122
Originally posted by PseudoRealityX
Realize that Pennsylvania probably isn't the most popular place for Miatas...they are more of a summer car. I see a ton of them down here in Florida.
Realize that Pennsylvania probably isn't the most popular place for Miatas...they are more of a summer car. I see a ton of them down here in Florida.
Miatas will probably have a higher-than-normal "Mid-Life Crisis Toy" factor in the Northeast because they're not easy to drive in the winter. Therefore, the dealers are probably even more likely to try and load them up with fancy options and make more money. In Texas, you can use a Miata as a year-round daily driver, which gives the dealers an incentive to stock cheap stripped-down Miatas. FWIW the Ford Mustang is one of the most popular cars in the D/FW, Texas area for this same reason. It's something like #4 in total car sales excluding trucks- it outsells the Toyota Camry, and outsells the Protege by almost 2 to 1!
May-29th-2003, 04:07 PM
#11
I Can Be Teh W1N!!!!
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Calgary
Posts: 1,870
Originally posted by alcoholiday
beats me.
retail on one as i would equip it (sports package with a couple dealer installed things) would be $30000 CAN.
which actually isn't that bad. out of my reach, but not bad at all. mind you, the japanese cars are cheaper up here than in the US (when exchange is considered).
it's about 4 grand more for the leather model with a/c and no sports package. that's not so much a good deal.
beats me.
retail on one as i would equip it (sports package with a couple dealer installed things) would be $30000 CAN.
which actually isn't that bad. out of my reach, but not bad at all. mind you, the japanese cars are cheaper up here than in the US (when exchange is considered).
it's about 4 grand more for the leather model with a/c and no sports package. that's not so much a good deal.
May-29th-2003, 05:34 PM
#13
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 1,122
Originally posted by PseudoRealityX
That didn't make a good case about the intelligence of Texas people....
That didn't make a good case about the intelligence of Texas people....
I don't have the sales figures handy, but out of the top-selling cars in this area, the Honda Accord was the only one with volume that even approached any of the more popular SUV's. This has got to be one of the only areas on Earth where people think that paying $42,000 for a Z-71 Tahoe is a good deal. 
It reminds me of a couple of years ago when I took a vacation to Nova Scotia. The whole time I was there, I only saw a couple of Suburbans, and NO Expeditions or Lincoln Masturbators, er, Navigators. It was like being in heaven.
May-29th-2003, 07:39 PM
#15
whatever
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: cyberspace, where else?
Posts: 490
Originally posted by carguycw
Don't even get me started about all the full-size trucks and SUV's. I don't have the sales figures handy, but out of the top-selling cars in this area, the Honda Accord was the only one with volume that even approached any of the more popular SUV's. This has got to be one of the only areas on Earth where people think that paying $42,000 for a Z-71 Tahoe is a good deal.
It reminds me of a couple of years ago when I took a vacation to Nova Scotia. The whole time I was there, I only saw a couple of Suburbans, and NO Expeditions or Lincoln Masturbators, er, Navigators. It was like being in heaven.
Don't even get me started about all the full-size trucks and SUV's.
I don't have the sales figures handy, but out of the top-selling cars in this area, the Honda Accord was the only one with volume that even approached any of the more popular SUV's. This has got to be one of the only areas on Earth where people think that paying $42,000 for a Z-71 Tahoe is a good deal. It reminds me of a couple of years ago when I took a vacation to Nova Scotia. The whole time I was there, I only saw a couple of Suburbans, and NO Expeditions or Lincoln Masturbators, er, Navigators. It was like being in heaven.
You should have seen the SUV's I saw in Iceland. Tons of Land Rovers, Toyota Landcruisers, even several Suburbans. I asked one guy why he needed such HUGE tires, and he said, "For driving on glaciers."