Why does a BMW 325ix cost C$42,000 while south of the border it is priced US$32,000.

[alanbrenton]

How come the huge price discrepancy? And how exactly is a US BMW different from the Canadian version. Does the latter actually stand our winters better?

For Honda Civics and Accords, there aren't much price discrepancies.

[wing0]

because they still use the 1.5 exchange rate?

[corrupt123]

cars arent made in canada or the u.s.... try bringing it across, see how much they tax you.

[Geese_Howard]

In america BMW, Mercedes, hummers, etc are everywhere cause 0% financing, they have bimmers and mercedes everywhere, the top end car down there is lexus for some reason, lexus cost more then bimmers they also charge financing so less people buy them.

[Spray]

It's 21.1% tax to bring it across the border if it wasnt made here. The thing you have to watch out for is some companies will NOT honor the warranty if you bring in a brand new vehicle.

Saab for example if you import a vehicle it has to be 6 months old and over 7000 miles or they void the warranty in canada.

The better deal is the Subaru Legacy GT LTD...Here it's 43k CAD optioned out
In the usa it's 26K USD, or around 30k CAD. It's also made in USA so they only cahrge u 15% tax, not 21.1

[Pete_Coach]

It also costs more to have a car made for Canada compared to the US.
Bumpers, speedodmeters, daytime running lights, environmental management systems, rear window defrosters, safety enhancements, and so on. Dollar differential is an obvious one but transportation is another and the big one, Canadian duties from whichever country the product comes from. BMW's are not all made in Germany.
I don't know where you live Geese_Howard but on the West coast, BMW's and Mercedes are like Nissan's and Chevys. Lots of them around. I have a number of freinds who spent a whole lot more on their pick ups, SUV's or sports sedans that I did on my Bimmer. I think the cost of other vehicle has just caught up to the cost of those once expensive imports.

[eelfliw]

The most significant factor in determining what to charge for a car is what the market will bear.

As long as Canadians are willing to fork out $40K plus for that car, it will cost $40K+.

If it cost more than the market will bear to bring a car into Canada, then it won't be imported.

[ssainani]

The most significant factor in determining what to charge for a car is what the market will bear.

As long as Canadians are willing to fork out $40K plus for that car, it will cost $40K+.

If it cost more than the market will bear to bring a car into Canada, then it won't be imported.

i think it more has to do that several years ago due to currency exchanges 42k cnd was a lot closer to 32k usd

it's only now that our dollar is doing well that it's for our benifit.

are dealerships supposed to change their prices weekly to reflect the market?

[kfc]

It's 21.1% tax to bring it across the border if it wasnt made here. The thing you have to watch out for is some companies will NOT honor the warranty if you bring in a brand new vehicle.

Saab for example if you import a vehicle it has to be 6 months old and over 7000 miles or they void the warranty in canada.

The better deal is the Subaru Legacy GT LTD...Here it's 43k CAD optioned out
In the usa it's 26K USD, or around 30k CAD. It's also made in USA so they only cahrge u 15% tax, not 21.1

Is it hard to import a US car into canada? If it's a 13K savings it would totally be worth it. do you know if it cna be done? How much does it cost to register it here.

[Narci]

Is it hard to import a US car into canada? If it's a 13K savings it would totally be worth it. do you know if it cna be done? How much does it cost to register it here.

1st Canadian Dealers will not warranty the car

2nd You need to install daytime running lights

3rd make sure the car is on the list of being able to import to Canada (Mostly due to bumper impact regulations)

4th do a search, there was a huge thread about importing cars into Canada.

[Neb]

Sometimes a dealer in the US or in CAN will make you sign an agreement, so you can export the car in the first year. When my parents bought a Merc, tha'ts what they made them sign, so it can not be imported into the US for the first year.

Not sure why, that might hold u back from buying one in the US.

[Spray]

Narci...read up...most car companies will warranty it.

Almost every car comes standard with DRL, no changes need to be made to most cars. Yes importing is very easy, the subaru dealership in new york does the whole thing for you pretty much.

[Narci]

Narci...read up...most car companies will warranty it.

Almost every car comes standard with DRL, no changes need to be made to most cars. Yes importing is very easy, the subaru dealership in new york does the whole thing for you pretty much.

I did read up and some people reported that lived near the border do infact get warranty from canadian dealers but on the same token, some said they were not able to get warranty work done.

I should correct my statement to say that there could be a possibility that the canadian dealers will not do warranty work on American cars.

[romsan04]

how does the dealer knows if car was sold in US or Canada???
Do they have some database to check against if car was re-imported from US???

[Narci]

how does the dealer knows if car was sold in US or Canada???
Do they have some database to check against if car was re-imported from US???

Probably the VIN number and the fact that it says MPH on the speedo and the temp is in farenhait.