Ongoing Deal Discussion

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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

Member
Oct 14, 2007
212 posts
Barrie Ontario
Both my brother and I turned in our BMW 5 and 6 series leases and walked away from them. Neither of us was going to play sucker again. I know another long term BMW leaser did the same thing. I'm out. I'll play the value market until an interesting car comes along at a fair market price, not a Canadian screw you price. Which is what BMW Canada is all about. Who can blame them? They are screwing Canadians silly and they are loving it! I wish my businesses were that amazing.
Deal Addict
Jul 6, 2006
1119 posts
63 upvotes
Thornhill
dotcalamitie wrote: Both my brother and I turned in our BMW 5 and 6 series leases and walked away from them. Neither of us was going to play sucker again. I know another long term BMW leaser did the same thing. I'm out. I'll play the value market until an interesting car comes along at a fair market price, not a Canadian screw you price. Which is what BMW Canada is all about. Who can blame them? They are screwing Canadians silly and they are loving it! I wish my businesses were that amazing.
It's nice for people who care for their own pocket to have options. Meanwhile, don't forget there are still a lot of corporate leases from BMW that kept their numbers high.
Newbie
Oct 29, 2007
4 posts
Hello All

I have just returned from picking up my new 2008 Lincoln MKZ from Vermont (Thursday Jan 3). Crossing the US border was a breeze..as many suggested, the agent did not even bother to inspect the car. The Canadian side was just as simple with the agents doing their work efficiently and in a friendly manner. As recently posted I will use e-mail to forward the recall letter to RIV and I expect that this aspect of the process will go just as smoothly.

Despite the Canadian Lincoln incentives, I still saved $ 6,000 on the vehicle and $600 on well timed currency transactions.

Although I have not posted often, I have read through all of the posts and appreciate peoples efforts to help explain / de-mystify the process. It encouraged me to proceed with the cross-border purchase. Thank-you all.
Sr. Member
Mar 14, 2005
879 posts
77 upvotes
Lanceman1 wrote: Hello All

I have just returned from picking up my new 2008 Lincoln MKZ from Vermont (Thursday Jan 3). Crossing the US border was a breeze..as many suggested, the agent did not even bother to inspect the car. The Canadian side was just as simple with the agents doing their work efficiently and in a friendly manner. As recently posted I will use e-mail to forward the recall letter to RIV and I expect that this aspect of the process will go just as smoothly.

Despite the Canadian Lincoln incentives, I still saved $ 6,000 on the vehicle and $600 on well timed currency transactions.

Although I have not posted often, I have read through all of the posts and appreciate peoples efforts to help explain / de-mystify the process. It encouraged me to proceed with the cross-border purchase. Thank-you all.
Congratulations!!

Enjoy your ride.

:cheesygri
Deal Addict
Jul 6, 2006
1119 posts
63 upvotes
Thornhill
Lanceman1 wrote: Hello All

I have just returned from picking up my new 2008 Lincoln MKZ from Vermont (Thursday Jan 3). ...
Congratulations to your new car. Any pictures to follow?
Deal Addict
Jun 15, 2003
1960 posts
277 upvotes
Big Thanks to all who helped me throughout this thread, and Monsieurmaggot for starting this thread.

I finally picked up the my Subaru Tribeca today from Hodges Subaru in Detroit MI. The folks at the dealership was very friendly & courteous. The sales rep (Kevin) picked me up at the MGM Casino and drove me back to complete the paperwork. I had a short chat with the Sales Manager, Phil...it turns out that these are the guys who are selling truck loads of Tribecas to Multiline in Oakville.

I didn't have to pay the Michigan State sales tax.

After the paperwork formality, Kevin, knowing how difficult it is to find the US Customs Office, took another vehicle and led me to it. After getting to the US Customs Office, the rest was a breeze. I was out of US Customs in about 15 minutes even though there were +10 people ahead of me. The line moved fairly quick, and no hassle at all for me...maybe because the Customs Officer I dealt with was a Subaru fan (he owns two) lol.

On the Canadian side, there was no lineups at all. I walked in and straight to the Customs Officer. I think the process inside took about 10-15 mins as well, and I walked out with Form 1. The Officer didn't even check for contents in my car. I gave him the yellow slip, and I pointed to my car which was parked 20 feet away...he gave it a quick stare and told me that I'm fine to go! Paying the tax was painful though. :lol:

I thought I was pressed for time, but I made it back to the RIV Office just in time...shortly after 4pm. I was varying my speed around 120 - 130...I guess that made up for some valuable time. :D I paid the RIV fee and was out the door just a tad over 30 minutes...had to pay the $1.50 parking fee (I remember someone mentioned that parking is free if you stay less than 30 mins).

I drove to the new CT at Lakeshore & Leslie, figuring it wouldn't be busy...wrong!!!...they were all booked when I got there around 5pm. They weren't going to take me in, but after some pleading the manager told me to show up at 8pm. So I went back at 8pm and got it done. He told me 45 minutes, but I made a quick round of the store and 15 mins later, the paper work was waiting for me already.

Can someone kindly help me out with a couple more questions...

Does CT keep the Form 2? I thought they complete it and give it back to me to bring along to the MTO? They kept my Form 2 & stamped Form 1.

Is there a deadline I must license my vehicle after the CT inspection? I'm thinking to sell one of my current vehicles before plating my Tribeca.



Oh yea...the Subaru Tribeca is parked the garage now...and the thousands I saved is parked in my bank account. :D

Thanks again everyone.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Nov 28, 2007
3204 posts
1094 upvotes
Whitehorse, YT
Headline from M-B News Release
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/arch ... c6590.html

Mercedes-Benz Canada reports best year ever and breaks multiple all-time sales records in 2007

What I was interested in was what happened to December sales ... and after some digging and calculator work I have concluded they dropped from 1493 to 1412 units or -5.4%. Yipee!!

The optimistic headline and the text of the news release conceal this drop. Here is the paragraph that hides this bad news for M-B.

The December retail deliveries consisted of 1,412 Mercedes-Benz units and 245 smart fortwos for the month. On a combined brand basis, Mercedes-Benz and smart reported December sales of 1,657 units, up by 5.9%. December's success was based on unwavering B-Class, C-Class, E- Class and M-Class sales. The 245 smart fortwos retailed in December accounted for a 240% increase against the 2006 results.

I wonder why Mercedes-Benz sales are falling off particularly when they were breaking records earlier in the earlier months of the year?
Newbie
Oct 20, 2007
44 posts
alberta
EL820 wrote:
Does CT keep the Form 2? I thought they complete it and give it back to me to bring along to the MTO? They kept my Form 2 & stamped Form 1.

Is there a deadline I must license my vehicle after the CT inspection? I'm thinking to sell one of my current vehicles before plating my Tribeca.[/B]
Congratulations EL820. This is fantastic that most posts coming in are successful import stories!

- CT gave me back a photocopy of Form 2 along with a CT Invoice for $28.62 that is charged to RIV. He said he faxed in Form 2. I wouldn't worry unless RIV comes back and says they never received Form 2 from CT. Did you get anything back ? What about a CT Invoice like I got?

- I don't believe there is any deadline if you just leave it sit on your property. Keep it clean until Spring!


*** With winter here I picked up one of these covers to warm up the engine faster. Huge difference!! Might pick up another one to get even better results. Fits all of the Subaru models:

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_pa ... ucts_id=35
Newbie
Sep 17, 2005
93 posts
I am to sign the sales of a Lexus, I just wonder if any have a copy of Form 1 that you are required to fill out at the border. I just want to be prepared.
Deal Addict
Jan 11, 2007
4111 posts
861 upvotes
Mississauga
hi there, just to clarify the plated license provided by the USA dealer can that be used to drive the car in Canada? or can it be driven with the plate i was advised i had up to 30 days to do the inspection/plate the vehicle.

also customs Canada told me to go online and pay it which I did and i am awaiting some email with documents to take to Canadian Tire for inspection. In the meantime I would not mind being able to drive around should i avoid this?

Dreaderus
Newbie
Nov 7, 2005
48 posts
Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone had any links or information on the apparent lockdown Honda has with their dealerships, prohibiting them to sell to Canadians. I know they had this restriction for their 2008 models, but they apparently have this for ALL years and models.

I'm looking at the 2007 Si. I think I fell in love after the test-drive. Getting it in the states will save me roughly $5000-7000, which comes out to be around 25%!

Also:
I have a friend who works in the states with a H1 visa, and is still looking to attain a credit card, or build up his credit. He is constantly getting turned down.

1. Do you guys have any experience in being able to attain a credit card easily in the states? What do you guys suggest?
2. If he were to buy a car for me, and then resell to me... aside from the warranty, would this be able to go through smoothly?

Thanks for all your input!
Deal Addict
Jul 16, 2005
1438 posts
619 upvotes
Thanks to this post, I finally imported my Ford Escape.

One warning though. I had a lot of trouble getting the NY state temporary permit. The DMV person required proof of insurance called a "binder" which my insurance company didn't provide easily.

It was a document with the insurance company's letterhead, VIN of the new car, date of the temporary coverage, and the type of coverage. It took dozens of calls to the insurance company to get them to fax this letter -- most of the reps didn't have a clue what this "binder" was. They kept saying they couldn't insure a new car until it was registered in Ontario but they said new cars are automatically insured for 14 days anyways. We got into a deep loop with the DMV person wanting this document and the insurance reps saying they can't issue such a document since all new cars are insured automatically.

I was almost stuck in NY as the dealership and I made numerous frantic calls to the insurance company until finally one person faxed such a "binder" over. I managed to make it to the border just before US Customs closed.

Man that was stressful!

I still don't understand why the insurance company didn't fax this letter in the first place.
Newbie
Dec 10, 2007
80 posts
Tender wrote: It's nice for people who care for their own pocket to have options. Meanwhile, don't forget there are still a lot of corporate leases from BMW that kept their numbers high.
Time for some company manipulators to pull some strings so that the next corporate car won't be a BMW :lol:
Deal Addict
Jun 15, 2003
1960 posts
277 upvotes
dsds wrote: Congratulations EL820. This is fantastic that most posts coming in are successful import stories!

- CT gave me back a photocopy of Form 2 along with a CT Invoice for $28.62 that is charged to RIV. He said he faxed in Form 2. I wouldn't worry unless RIV comes back and says they never received Form 2 from CT. Did you get anything back ? What about a CT Invoice like I got?
Thanks.

Hmm...I just received my Form 1 back from CT with their stamps on both copies...and that was it. I should have asked for a copy of the Form 2 I guess...and no invoice for any charges to RIV.

Just want to confirm...CT faxes Form 2 to RIV to let them know my vehicle has passed federal inspection, and RIV will mail me the Canadian Vehicle sticker for my door sill, right? Thanks.
Newbie
Dec 10, 2007
80 posts
Can someone explain how BMW would lose money on their leased cars if they lowered their MSRP of the 3 series for example by 10% so that their 335i coupe would be 5k less than the 51k that it is now?

I just don't understand how they can say they will lose money? They will not go negative on this, they might have less money coming back but how the f-k can they lose money on this?
Danno2005 wrote: Probably 99% lease. That's why BMW is aggressively blocking importing US cars. Imagine their books if the residuals tanked with cheaper US imports.
Newbie
Dec 10, 2007
80 posts
I can't understand how they get away with it all, why do people purchase their overpriced cars? Are well to do people so stupid?

Then again, Audi got away with pricing their god damn S5 65K instead of 50K as it is in the USA........ pucker up Canadians, get your Vaseline out and bend over

Marzipan wrote: Headline from M-B News Release
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/arch ... c6590.html

Mercedes-Benz Canada reports best year ever and breaks multiple all-time sales records in 2007

What I was interested in was what happened to December sales ... and after some digging and calculator work I have concluded they dropped from 1493 to 1412 units or -5.4%. Yipee!!

The optimistic headline and the text of the news release conceal this drop. Here is the paragraph that hides this bad news for M-B.

The December retail deliveries consisted of 1,412 Mercedes-Benz units and 245 smart fortwos for the month. On a combined brand basis, Mercedes-Benz and smart reported December sales of 1,657 units, up by 5.9%. December's success was based on unwavering B-Class, C-Class, E- Class and M-Class sales. The 245 smart fortwos retailed in December accounted for a 240% increase against the 2006 results.

I wonder why Mercedes-Benz sales are falling off particularly when they were breaking records earlier in the earlier months of the year?
Deal Addict
Mar 7, 2002
1074 posts
458 upvotes
dsds wrote: *** With winter here I picked up one of these covers to warm up the engine faster. Huge difference!! Might pick up another one to get even better results. Fits all of the Subaru models:

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_pa ... ucts_id=35
I think I'll pass... from the description, this thing is made with ASBESTOS :eek:
KaleCoAuto radiator insulation is made from only the finest asbestos, and is guaranteed to trap 90% more heat!
Deal Addict
Aug 31, 2006
4578 posts
2489 upvotes
Bincent wrote: I think I'll pass... from the description, this thing is made with ASBESTOS :eek:
Oh come now, but it's made from "only the finest asbestos"! :lol: :!:

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