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WOW ---- New and used cars from US up to 30% cheaper - Read post #1

Poll: Are Canadian cars overpriced

  • Total votes: 335. You have voted on this poll.
I have no voice, Canadian Dealers/Manufacturers are taking advantage of the Canadian consumer
 
112
33%
In most cases, new cars purchased in the US are almost always thousands cheaper
 
149
44%
I owe no one a living, competition is good. Thank you NAFTA!
 
61
18%
With the exchange rate factored in, Canadian prices are roughly the same
 
6
2%
With the exchange rate and financing, Canadian prices are cheaper - Buy Canadian!
 
7
2%

Poll ended at Dec 28th, 2006 1:46 pm

Banned
May 13, 2006
728 posts
maxillo wrote: Great tread....lots of info.

Quick question, I'm planning on getting a Toyota FJ cruiser, 2007 model used b/c 2008 is inadmissible. It will be from a Toyota dealer. What do I have the dealer fax to the US customs? they won't have a title for it, right? they won't have a Manufacturer's Cert. or Origin either...

Any particular advantage in buying from PA vs NY?

Cheers, and thanks in advance.

Mike

Mike - yopu've got to be kidding me. This is discussed hundreds if not thousands of times in this thread.

SEARCH.

Hint - go to the auto sections, DETAILED STEPS are posted there.

Another Hint - GO TO THE FIRST POST OF THIS THREAD.
Newbie
Nov 3, 2007
90 posts
Tender wrote: Here is another one for everyone to bash about:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... nufacturer

"Manufacturers seek relief from high-flying loonie
STEVEN CHASE AND GREG KEENAN

November 21, 2007

OTTAWA, TORONTO -- The surge in the Canadian dollar has helped make Canada the most expensive place in the world to assemble automobiles, vehicle makers warned Ottawa yesterday as they and other industries begged for federal aid to weather the loonie's rise.

"In the not-too-distant past, Canada had a competitive advantage within North America to help attract new investment," Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association president Mark Nantais told MPs on the Commons finance committee.

"Today ... Canada is the highest-cost jurisdiction globally for many auto manufacturers to operate," he said. "This reality leaves Canada at a competitive disadvantage at attracting the ongoing investments needed to remain globally competitive."

MPs on the key parliamentary committee are probing the impact of the strengthened loonie - which has risen more than 20 per cent against the U.S. greenback this year - as they begin hearings on what should be in the 2008 federal budget...

...Mr. Nantais said Canada's cost advantage in recent years has been the lower value of the Canadian dollar compared with its U.S. counterpart, as well as lower labour and health care expenses. But recent negotiations between the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three auto makers have driven down the labour costs of U.S. auto workers.

Canadian hourly labour costs are about $70 when all costs - including wages, pensions and health care expenses - are included. U.S. hourly labour costs were previously $75 (U.S.) but the UAW deal is expected to shave about $20 to $25 from that figure.

Car makers also warned that cross-border shopping for vehicles threatens jobs at Canadian auto plants and asked for federal tax relief to help reduce automobile prices.

"While the number of vehicle imports from the U.S. is expected to be in the 150,000 to 160,000 range [this year], this number is increasing and represents 10 per cent of the new vehicle market and a potential loss of employment," David Adams, president of the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada, which represents offshore-based companies, said in his submission.

The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, which represents the Canadian arms of the Detroit Three auto makers Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., called on Ottawa for relief. It is seeking measures that include employment insurance payroll levies, a refundable investment tax credit for new machinery and the extension of a temporary accelerated writeoff rate for spending on equipment..."

How do they justify this? Asking for relief while gouging us at the same time?

I understand there is cost issue, but how can a Canadian buying a car in the U.S. instead of here have an impact to an auto position here? Don't they still have to produce the same number of cars? Or why couldn't they slash some jobs down south?

Canadians are second class to them, both as consumers and labours.
WTF?
This is too much. What else? Perhaps the car manufacturers should ask the government to pay for our gas because of the oil price?

This is BS, They should lower the freaking prices on their overpriced garbage, so that more people would purchase their crap cars. I will never purchase an American or Japanese car due to this price gouging, in fact i plan to make sure everyone i know will be against the idea of purchasing a new or used car in Canada, boycott the dirty car manufacturers in this country !
Deal Fanatic
Feb 1, 2006
9645 posts
911 upvotes
Muskoka
Animeka wrote: I have a TERRIBLE problem. :twisted:

I'm looking into getting a subaru outback and I can't figure out a way to compare apples to apples. The canadian Touring version has automatic tiptronic and moonroof. The US llbean 2.5 looks like it but has GPS etc... I want to price the equivalent of the Touring, with no GPS/extras, to do a fair comparison.

Anyone who bought a Subaru, can you tell me what you got and how you compared?

Thanks,

A.
The equivalent of the Touring Edition in Canada is simply the 2.5i in the US, minus the moonroof. The LTD is not a fair comparison, as it has leather, VDC, 6-cd player, and dual climate control, and the Touring Edition has none of those.
Newbie
Nov 3, 2007
90 posts
ac328 wrote: I agree charging duty again is BS, but even with the duty the deals are still good.

Of course you can always buy a car built in North America and avoid it.

True enough, one thing is for sure, i hope everyone gets the word out.
Yesterday i visited a family friend, and the guy didn't know nothing about how badly he was being gouged by the car manufacturers. I spent an hour giving him some examples and hopefully that guy will tell his buddies the same.

so go to hell all you Manufacturers of overpriced garbage ! God i hope their sales dip by 2+ percent each month from now on. by March maybe the idiots will do something about the MSRP on those new cars.
Newbie
Oct 23, 2007
12 posts
rob3blk wrote: Just wanted to say thank you to monsieurmaggot and everyone here thats contributing. I emailed Karl on Nov.11 and picked up today. The day started at 7 am and ended at 5 pm with my plates. :)
Congratulations for your new car - rob3blk.

Paul Lee
Sr. Member
User avatar
Nov 3, 2004
783 posts
7 upvotes
Toronto
Tender wrote: Here is another one for everyone to bash about:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... nufacturer

"Manufacturers seek relief from high-flying loonie
STEVEN CHASE AND GREG KEENAN

November 21, 2007

OTTAWA, TORONTO -- The surge in the Canadian dollar has helped make Canada the most expensive place in the world to assemble automobiles, vehicle makers warned Ottawa yesterday as they and other industries begged for federal aid to weather the loonie's rise.

....

Car makers also warned that cross-border shopping for vehicles threatens jobs at Canadian auto plants and asked for federal tax relief to help reduce automobile prices.

....

Canadians are second class to them, both as consumers and labours.
Wow, failed to get the money from our pocket directly, they go the alternate route and trying to get our money from the government ...

Did they ask and got a big cheque from the US government to keep the car price low in the States?

Ridiculous ...
Member
User avatar
Jan 2, 2007
306 posts
3 upvotes
Tender wrote: Here is another one for everyone to bash about:
Car makers also warned that cross-border shopping for vehicles threatens jobs at Canadian auto plants and asked for federal tax relief to help reduce automobile prices.
The only "ways" cross-border shopping will affect Canadian jobs is because of the stupid IMMOBILIZER issue and how US corporate has forbidden new car sales to Canadians (re: Chysler, Honda, etc). I would have bought a Honda Civic (made in Ontario) last year instead of an Acura if the US Honda dealer was allowed to. Instead, I bought a car that was Assembled in Japan. :rolleyes:
Newbie
Nov 14, 2007
21 posts
Animeka wrote: I have a TERRIBLE problem. :twisted:

I'm looking into getting a subaru outback and I can't figure out a way to compare apples to apples. The canadian Touring version has automatic tiptronic and moonroof. The US llbean 2.5 looks like it but has GPS etc... I want to price the equivalent of the Touring, with no GPS/extras, to do a fair comparison.

Anyone who bought a Subaru, can you tell me what you got and how you compared?

Thanks,

A.
I would say, having chosen an Outback Ltd in the States, that the Canadian model eqivalent would the Outback Limited Package.
With Canadian pricing MSRP $ 38, 995 not including taxes or options.Even the accessories for the car are considerably more expensive in Canada!!!
Hope that helps
Jr. Member
Oct 21, 2007
103 posts
6 upvotes
Now we know who wants non tariff barriers to trade. The CVMA and the AIAMC appear before a finance committee with a pitch to at least retain and preferably expand CMVSS114 so that they can continue to maintain the "Canadian" premium of $3k to $30k per car. Private imports are eroding their lucrative Canadian market and even more alarming, imports are growing. They now raise the sensitive jobs issue, but not so sensitive that CVMA/AIAMC members do not lift their embargo on importing Canadian manufactured cars from the US. Of course the number of Canadian manufactured cars is decreasing in Canada because the CVMA/AIAMC members are blocking them at the border and Transport is colluding in this loss of jobs.
I for one would like to believe that our MPs are not a bunch of drunks, clowns and fools but only time will tell.
Jr. Member
May 5, 2004
161 posts
17 upvotes
Just bought my second car from the US. This time I went through Jesse Bestine at Northtown Subaru in Amherst. He's a really helpful, straight forward guy and he did a lot extra to ensure that everything went smoothly for us when we brought the car over. I would highly recommend him, for both price and service, to anyone looking for a new Subaru. Northtown is also a network of about a dozen dealerships, so if you're in Toronto and looking for anything used, it's a good place to start. I'm going to go to him again for a relative.
Jr. Member
Oct 21, 2007
103 posts
6 upvotes
Built in Canada
U.S. models
Buick LaCrosse/Allure Ford Crown Victoria
Chevrolet Equinox Ford Edge
Chevrolet Impala Ford Freestar
Chevrolet Monte Carlo GMC Sierra*
Chevrolet Silverado * Lincoln MKX
Chrysler 300 Mercury Grand Marquis
Chrysler minivans* Mercury Monterey
Chrysler Pacifica Pontiac Grand Prix
Dodge Charger Pontiac Torrent
Dodge Magnum
Imports
Acura MDX Lexus RX 330/350*
Honda Civic* Suzuki XL7
Honda Pilot* Toyota Corolla*
Honda Ridgeline Toyota Matrix

Some of these may be admissible, as you know the list changes daily.
This is from 2006 probably changed by now.
Buzz Hargrove of CAW fame should be livid that Canadians cannot import Canadian built cars from US. Indeed every canadian worker in mfrs and parts plants should be outraged that their products are "Banned in Canada". Check this against the RIV list and ask yourself. What is my gov't trying to accomplis
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 2, 2003
5265 posts
1623 upvotes
SK
Dreyfus wrote: Now we know who wants non tariff barriers to trade. The CVMA and the AIAMC appear before a finance committee with a pitch to at least retain and preferably expand CMVSS114 so that they can continue to maintain the "Canadian" premium of $3k to $30k per car. Private imports are eroding their lucrative Canadian market and even more alarming, imports are growing. They now raise the sensitive jobs issue, but not so sensitive that CVMA/AIAMC members do not lift their embargo on importing Canadian manufactured cars from the US. Of course the number of Canadian manufactured cars is decreasing in Canada because the CVMA/AIAMC members are blocking them at the border and Transport is colluding in this loss of jobs.
I for one would like to believe that our MPs are not a bunch of drunks, clowns and fools but only time will tell.
I have to agree that the Canadian Automotive job losses will steam from the embargo and manufactures not playing fair.

1. Keeping the price high in Canada will cause people to look at another vehicle or even a used one they can afford = manufacturing job losses.
2. Not able to import a Canadian made vehicle from the US = manufacturing job losses.

If a vehicle built in Canada is sold in the USA, Mexico, Canada, UK or even Russia it will keep jobs going. Putting a stop to importing a vehicle from the US will infact create automotive manufacturing job losses and no one is to blame but the manufactures themselves.

Way to go Honda, Chysler, and GM in protecting your wallets and not your people!
shopper-X
Newbie
Nov 8, 2007
61 posts
kmare wrote: I'm not sure either of us is right or wrong. The problem is with RIV; as they have told me otherwise -- that a CMVSS114 letter is not required

By your argument (and I would agree), all vehicles (not just Toyota) are inadmissible since:

i) explanation section mandates that a CMVSS114 letter/proof is required
ii) unlikely that any US manufacturer can speak to or provide a letter for CMVSS standards
iii) unlikely that any Canadian manufacturer can speak to or provide a letter for a US Spec vehicle

In this thread, we are continuing to see Subaru vehicles flood across the border and I'm assuming
i) that such a CMVS114 letter is not provided by Subaru US or Canada.
ii) that these vehicles are manufactured post Sept 1st
iii) they are passing the RIV inspection process

We are both asking the RIV/TC to fix this mess, something is definitely broken in the process and documentation.
I feel ya man...this is annoying as hell...for me it is enough to hear 3 different agents in a row tell me consistently the same thing. I could have called back a fourth time and got a more favourable interpretation but this still would not give me enough confidence to even bother try to import. My luck I would get the agent that gives unfavourable interpretations of the list when my paper work gets processed. Too risky...

They really dropped the ball with the way the list is structured/presented...they could confuse a rocket scientist at NASA with this stupid document. It is absolutely nuts....

I am embarrassed for them...very unprofessional handling of things for sure...

It's ********...

Cheers
Member
Jan 4, 2006
278 posts
11 upvotes
Thanks to the people who answered my question about the Subaru US vs CAN model dilemma :)

A.
Member
Jun 21, 2006
204 posts
Just one question..

If you have a canadian citizenship, do you still have to have passport with you when crossing the border?
Banned
User avatar
Dec 24, 2004
10708 posts
152 upvotes
you only need to carry a passport if you're taking a plane or bus or train, not by private car.
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Newbie
Oct 10, 2007
77 posts
10 upvotes
Waterloo, CAD
c/p form riv website in regards of TOYOTA's

"9. Every Passenger vehicle, multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck and 3 wheeled vehicle manufactured after September 1, 2007
and with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) less than 4,536 kg (10,000 lbs), except an emergency vehicle or a walk-in van, must
be equipped with an immobilization system that meets CMVSS 114.
While many vehicles manufactured for the United States market offer the electronic immobilization system as an option, there are some
makes and models where this system is not available from the manufacturer. In many cases, an after market system that meets the
intent of CMVSS114 can be installed by a third party. However you should check with the manufacturer to see if the installation of such
an after market system compromises the vehicle warranty. Importers should check with the manufacturer to determine whether a
vehicle is equipped or can be equipped with an electronic immobilization system that meets the intent of CMVSS 114, before
purchasing and importing a vehicle.
Electronic immobilizers require a special key or small electronic device to start a vehicle's engine. Usually you attach this to your key
ring.
This type of system, when activated, totally immobilizes engine systems in response to any attempt to start the vehicle without using an
authorized key, by shutting off one or more parts of the engine's electrical system. This might include the starter, ignition or fuel
system.
As part of the RIV inspection, the importer will be required to supply documentation to prove that the vehicle came equipped
with a factory installed system that complies with CMVSS 114 or that a recognized aftermarket system that meets the intent
of CMVSS 114, has been installed."

Anybody called the dealers to see they provide this letter as well? You'll need it if you import TOYOTA's build after Sept 1/2007.





showMeAnImport wrote: I feel ya man...this is annoying as hell...for me it is enough to hear 3 different agents in a row tell me consistently the same thing. I could have called back a fourth time and got a more favourable interpretation but this still would not give me enough confidence to even bother try to import. My luck I would get the agent that gives unfavourable interpretations of the list when my paper work gets processed. Too risky...

They really dropped the ball with the way the list is structured/presented...they could confuse a rocket scientist at NASA with this stupid document. It is absolutely nuts....

I am embarrassed for them...very unprofessional handling of things for sure...

It's ********...

Cheers
Member
Jun 21, 2006
204 posts
st7860 wrote: you only need to carry a passport if you're taking a plane or bus or train, not by private car.
So citzenship certificate should be good enough, right?

I'm askin this cuz this new car is under my mom's name and she doesnt have passport yet, if I apply now it takes 2~4weeks.
Newbie
Oct 10, 2007
77 posts
10 upvotes
Waterloo, CAD
I know this is very very sneaky but I called Toyota USA and tell them that I have a Camry 08 and I need the Compliance letter CMVSS114 and recall letter. How do I get them?

They said to provide them the VIN# and they will send me via FAX and mail the Letters

Is that easy or what?
Newbie
Jul 13, 2005
37 posts
5 upvotes
Aurora
I'm determined to get a new Subaru from the U.S. If you have successfully imported a Subaru recently, would you mind posting the name of the sales person and the dealer here? I just want to follow your trail to be safe. Never argue with success, right?
Thanks a million.

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