Car Prices

[chockalicious]

Back to the original topic If the car is built in Canada and I buy it in the US, how am I hurting the Canadian Economy in any way other than a single salesman at a dealership.

There is a trickle effect beyond the one salesman. It is a commission the dealer does not make, enough people do it then maybek he lets go of staff, taxes on the car that don't go to the government, taxes that the salesman would have paid, money the salesman would have paid into the economy, etc.

I have shopped while in the US and see both sides of the arguement. I generally try to buy local (Ma and Pa restaurants or at least locally owned, store in my own neighborhood if possible. If I lived closer to the border I may do some cross border shopping but if possible would like to keep my money in Canada.

[boestar]

I would LOVE to keep my money in Canada however I am tired of paying far more for the same "Made in some godforsaken country" product. Even in the US you will see labels that say "Engineered in the USA, _{made in china".} and that is considered buying AMERICAN.

Look at it this way. I buy a car in Buffalo that wax made in Canada from Chinese parts shipped on a Korean ocean vessel, trucked by a philipino trucker, unloaded by a Mexican Forklift driver. With the final product being inspected by a canadian and trucked to the US by a Canadian and sold to a Canadian by an American. Then the Canadian Government Collects the HST when it is imported to Canada. Then I have to pay $250 To familiarize the vehicle in canada (plus HST) then I need to plate it in Canada (plus HST). Then I put gas in it (plus HST and other taxes). And this has nothing to do with globalization. mmmmm ok.

This in fact results in MORE taxes being collected by the boys on YOW. becasue the import process adds to that.

I Ride a motorcycle and when I need parts I look locally first for prices. If it is just replacement parts I can usually break even either way and will buy locally because I can have it within 2 days. For accessories and aftermarket parts there is only ONE distributor in Canada and that in PARTS CANADA. These guys are a middle man and mark parts up on average 20-30%. If I skirt around them and order online from the US I can save hundreds of $$$. Sometimes I can even buy right from the manufacturer for an even better break. Why do we need a middle man in Canada whose only purpose is to drive up the cost to the consumer. Fortunately the manufacturers are realizing this and beginning to deal direct. Either way the money is headed either to the US or offshore. I does not stay in canada.

[chockalicious]

If you spend the money in Canada there is a benefit to Canadians. I am not really disputing anything you say excep to to point out that you are wrong if you think the only Canadian affected is the salesman if you don't buy in Canada.

[GDR]

Why is a loaf of bread more expensive in Gravenhurst than in Cambridge?

Why is a house more expensive in Toronto than in Regina?

Why is a chicken wrap more expensive on Air Canada than at Tim Hortons?

I believe the answer is found in "Economics 101"; that is, supply and demand. Different market, different prices.

But the car prices are pretty consistent across the US and the same for Canada. I would agree with you if the car price was the same in YYZ and New York. Essentially as far as cars go it is essentially a North American market. The prices are higher in Canada because our dollar used to be significantly lower and so we were used to paying more and we are stupid enough to go on paying it.

[airt]

Bottom line , the market charges what the buyer will pay.

Back when the C$ was .65 US , American car dealers were coming to Canada and buying their inventory from Canadian car dealers because they could buy them cheaper than from their very own car manufacturers. When GM , Ford and Chrysler caught on , they put a stop to it.

[Airjetmech]

Back when the C$ was .65 US , American car dealers were coming to Canada and buying their inventory from Canadian car dealers because they could buy them cheaper than from their very own car manufacturers. When GM , Ford and Chrysler caught on , they put a stop to it.

Now that the dollar is at or above par, dealers are headed south to bring the cars back and marking them up for the Canadian market.

[airt]

Now that the dollar is at or above par, dealers are headed south to bring the cars back and marking them up for the Canadian market.

Yes they do that on the used car market. They do it a lot.

What was unusual about my example is that the Americans were buying brand new cars from dealers in Canada for less than they could buy them from the US Big 3 supply network. I don't think Canadian dealers are buying brand new cars from US dealerships and reselling them here.

Anyway , where there is a buck to be made (or saved) someone usually figures it out.

Think of it as "Car Arbitrage".

[mo32a]

Bottom line , the market charges what the buyer will pay.

Back when the C$ was .65 US , American car dealers were coming to Canada and buying their inventory from Canadian car dealers because they could buy them cheaper than from their very own car manufacturers. When GM , Ford and Chrysler caught on , they put a stop to it.

Yes they do that on the used car market. They do it a lot.

What was unusual about my example is that the Americans were buying brand new cars from dealers in Canada for less than they could buy them from the US Big 3 supply network. I don't think Canadian dealers are buying brand new cars from US dealerships and reselling them here.

Anyway , where there is a buck to be made (or saved) someone usually figures it out.

Think of it as "Car Arbitrage".

When the manufacturers threatened to pull their franchises the Canadian dealers stopped selling new cars to the US dealers.

What they did instead was offer super cheap 6 month leases to Canadians, take the car back, sell it to the US, then offer you another super cheap 6 month lease. It was great.

[mo32a]

BMW's are great.

It's the service that, generally speaking, sucks in Canada.

I took the X5 down to Bellevue to get some minor issues dealt with and they couldn't do enough for the customer.

How did the service suck? I just had mine in for service today and it was great.