Number of cylinders: 4

Mazda 323 TD, 1995. 293 km.

Hands up whose first car was a Mazda 323. Nobody there? Exactly. Nobody ever consciously chooses a Mazda 323 saloon from the mid-nineties. You simply ended up with one. Via an uncle, via a classified ad, via the driving school that scrapped it, via a neighbour who emigrated to Spain and flogged it to your dad for next to nothing. The 323 was never a dream. The 323 was simply a fact. It stood there, it started, it got you where you needed to be and it never asked for anything in return.

And that, fellow enthusiast, is precisely why this thing fascinates.

Because in a world where we kid ourselves that only an Alfa or a Jaguar has 'character', here stands a car that in its entire existence never wanted anything other than to just do its job. The Mazda 323 of the BA generation is the Swiss watch among the everyday runabouts. No drama, no temperament, no Italian nervous breakdown when it hits 28 degrees outside. Just a car that fired up every morning with Japanese sense of duty and kept it up for decades, while the Golf and the Escort from that same period have long since been returned to the earth.

The story continues on our website, where the full file is kept as well. 75 photographs. Paint thickness measured panel by panel. The original factory brochure to page through.

Every car here follows the same route: first pre-market, then the showroom, and finally the online auction on our own website. What changes is the way you buy, not the location — once a car has arrived, it stays with us in Katwijk. This one is in the showroom and you are welcome to come and see it, no appointment needed. You buy it here at a fixed price: no bidding, no waiting. Our showroom in Katwijk, 30 km from Amsterdam Schiphol, is open Mon–Fri 9–18 and Sat 10–17. Call ahead and it will be standing ready, with someone free for you.

Within the EU no customs duty arises on this purchase. Registration tax and registration costs in your own country are not included. We supply the export documents and assist with the registration. The price shown is the full price for collection in Katwijk. We arrange insured door-to-door transport worldwide, cost quoted per destination beforehand.

Prefer a different colour or specification than this example? Tell us what you are looking for — another Mazda we can often find through our network of marque specialists and collectors, outside the listings. Have one of your own: we buy exceptional cars outright, classic or modern.

Our showroom measures 6,000 m², with over 150 cars under one roof. You are just as welcome if you are not buying — walk around, take your time and enjoy the cars; sharing the enthusiasm is half of it.