Some time ago I requested advice on buying an MX5 on behalf of my Daughter (She's paying by the way !)and was very grateful for the advice received. I promised to fill you in on the details when we finally returned with the Good's So here they are:-
The journey to collect the car went more or less to plan we travelled down from Cheshire to Dover with an overnight stay in Travellodge on the A2 Canterbury.

Douglas Verbanck from Hancke Garage very kindly picked us up next day from the ferry terminal in Calais and drove us to Oostduinkerke to collect the car.
We actually went travelled to Calais on a 1 (Daily Mail Day Return) as foot passangers and returned using the HOVERSPEED Import Special (55) one way car + driver + passenger.

The car was in perfect condition and to U.K. spec as ordered, Douglas had registered the cars for us in Belgium so it was just a matter of completing some paperwork then heading back to Calais for some last minute shopping before catching our return SEACAT home.

The savings on U.K. price was excellent, the car she chose was an MX5 1.8is + Metallic +Hard Top + Mud Flaps (2 were FOC)

U.K. price approx
20,660
inc VAT, road tax, etc
Belgium Price
13,569
  
VAT
2,375
  
Travel expenses
320
  
Road Tax/1st reg
180
  
Total
16,443
  
Saving
4,217 20
41%
The only problem was when we got back home the Local VRO in Chester was short staffed due to sickness and it took 3 working days to process the documentation.

Also my Daughter has now got a hefty loan to repay over 5 years ! but she is thrilled !!

The dealers we used were Garage Hanke in Oostduinekerke Belgium which is about half an hour from Calais, their website is :- www.go.to/mazda Ask for Douglas Verbanck he is very friendly and helpful and speaks perfect English. (12/99)
I imported a 1.8iS from a dealer called Blondeel based in Ostend in February. Its a friendly family owned dealership. They have a website www.blondeel.be. Fanny Blondeel, the sales manager, speaks English well and told me she was selling more cars to England than Belgium. At the time you could only get one deal through Behermans, the central Mazda importer for Belgium, but I understand that you can now negotiate direct with the dealer. No real problems - just a long wait after paying a hefty deposit. No problems yet with service or warranty. Tips - get a "passport replacement document" from the Belgium Embassy in London in good time to save sending your passport. I lost a few days sorting that out. Otherwise its a great way to buy a great car in my experience. (7/00)