Alfa vs BMW vs Lexus prices

["Mark Battley" <m.battley@domain.elided>]

     <cashes in his options and has to decide between a base 323i at $27K or

     <a 156 Twink at $29K............Easy decision for me, but for the rest 
     <of the buying public I'm not so sure. Same point for the 166. Its 
     <competitors will be the LS400's, Q45's etc....

Car prices vary all over the world due to local taxes, market
pressures/strategies, business cost structures, etc. The USA seems to have
relatively cheap cars on the world scene. NZ used to be very expensive, but
prices have dropped significantly in the last 15 years or so. We still have
12.5% sales tax on everything though. 

It will be interesting to see what price you actually get Alfas at. Over
here a 156TS (at the equivalent of about $US 28 000) is about $US 2000
cheaper than a 318i, a 156 V6 (about $US 32 000) is the same price as a 318i
SE, and $US 4000 less than a base 323i...  166 (about $US 44 000) is the
same price as a base 523i.  GTV 3.0 V6 is the same price as a 323i Coupe,
and about the same price as a 1.8 Audi TT......  The 156 models are
significantly cheaper than "comparable" A4 models. All that really says is
that the German brands are creaming their NZ customers, and Alfa is
competitively priced in the NZ market.

Alfa here seems to have aimed its prices at Lexus (or vice versa): The 156
TS is basically the same price as a IS200, 156 V6 same price as an ES300,
166 slightly cheaper than a GS300, (and $US 27 000 CHEAPER than a LS400!!).
If you want real performance you can get the Subaru RSK B4 (with 205 kW) for
the same price as 156 TS (114 kW)....

Enjoy your dreams of the future....

Mark Battley
Auckland, New Zealand.

1973 Alfa Romeo 2000 GT Veloce

Alfa Romeo 105 series Bertone Coupe home page and register at:
      http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/1806/105GTV.HTML

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