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BAN: Canadians buying cars in US
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| misslexxus |
http://www.thestar.com/article/270299
Ban greets Canadians seeking U.S. car deals TheStar.com - Business -
October 25, 2007
Tony Van Alphen, Business Reporter
John Mainse thought he could get the deal of a lifetime after surfing online and finding a GMC Acadia sport utility vehicle at least $10,000 cheaper in the U.S. than in Canada.
But then the Oshawa firefighter read further on the website of a New York state dealer and found a message to Canadians slamming the brakes on any big savings.
"Please do not call," said the message from Fox Auto Group in Painted Post, N.Y. "We are unable to sell new vehicles out of the country due to our dealer franchise agreement with GM.
"It is understood that buying new vehicles in the U.S. may save you a few dollars and, trust me, I would appreciate the extra business. But we will not/cannot jeopardize our good standing with GM."
General Motors of Canada doesn't plan to lower prices to U.S. levels but Mainse wonders why he can't exercise his right as a consumer by shopping south of the border and buying the same 2008 model there.
"I really do feel they're taking advantage of Canadians," he said.
He's not the only one. Many consumers are angry that prices for many products here haven't dropped as the Canadian dollar shot up during the last year.
But several auto manufacturers are sticking to a policy prohibiting U.S. dealers from selling to Canadians, who see thousands of dollars in savings on dealer websites.
"I tried buying a Honda vehicle from the U.S. to save $5,000 to $10,000 but the dealerships from New Hampshire to North Carolina in the east and from Washington to California in the west refused to sell to Canadians," said Bernard Au of Toronto. "Dealers claimed that Honda U.S. had threatened to close down their dealership if they do sell new vehicles to Canadians."
In Ekland, Pa., Brad Orchowski, a salesperson at Walters Ekland Chevrolet, said inquiries from Canadians have increased in recent months. "Sure we'd love to sell to Canadians and anybody else, so long we can do it legally," he said, referring to the franchise agreement.
Other auto makers ranging from Chrysler to Toyota have also warned their U.S. dealers not to sell to Canadian consumers or brokers. Most franchise agreements state that a dealer can't sell to a resident of another country.
The federal Competition Bureau says there is nothing illegal about the practice.
Au noted that staff at Honda's customer relations office in the U.S. told him the company refuses to issue the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards compliance letter that would allow entry here.
Several auto makers have indicated they won't honour warranties here on vehicles bought in the U.S.
However, a Ford of Canada spokesperson said her company will honour warranties in both countries. Public affairs manager Gina Gehlert also said she is unaware of any company rule prohibiting a Canadian consumer from buying in the U.S. At the same time, she noted Ford will continue to set its prices for the Canadian market, and not to match the U.S.
The North American industry faced the same situation in reverse several years ago. It prompted auto makers like Chrysler to threaten sanctions against Canadian dealers who sold vehicles to U.S. buyers.
A group of shoppers recently filed a claim seeking class-action status in Ontario, alleging collusion between many major auto makers to inflate prices in Canada while inhibiting cross-border shopping.
Although many consumers have noticed major price differences in the same U.S. and Canadian models in their online research, company officials and some analysts said other factors and actual transaction prices would narrow the gap.
For example, Canadians must bear the cost of retrofitting U.S. models to meet Canadian regulations. Canadians would also need cash to make the purchase because financing is not available.
After receiving an inquiry from Mainse about the wide difference in pricing, GM replied that Canada and the U.S. are separate markets and the company's divisions operate independently of each other. Economic differences between the two countries mean vehicle, parts and service pricing plus incentives are not the same, the company said.
Meanwhile, Mainse plans to find out what he must do to legally bring a new vehicle into Canada by attending a seminar offered by the Canada Border Services Agency.
He is still confident of buying a new fully loaded Acadia sport utility vehicle for about $38,500 (U.S.), instead of about $50,000 here.
"If prices don't come down, I'll get one in Florida because, as of yet, they don't have the restrictions on selling to Canadians like they do in the border states," said Mainse. |
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| misslexxus |
| I was considering buying a Honda in the US since it was about $7K cheaper plus more features but looks like I'll have a hard time crossing the border. Anyone with experience buying a Honda (or import) in the US recently??? |
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| exstasie |
| That's why you just get it directly imported from Germany yourself :P |
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| thesauce23 |
oh hell yea we do |
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| Superstring |
When I looked at this (sadly, after i got my car), it made perfect sense to me.
The cars there (in US) are cheaper. At the moment, the US dollar is cheap (so you're saving even more!)
There are 3 things to consider:
1. Warranty often doesn't apply in Canada for a vehicle bought in US. (Solution: Buy 4-5 year old vehicle that is about to go out of warranty anyway, and service it here as you normally would)
2. Border-state ban thing (Solution: you now have to go a bit farther south into the US)
3. Retro-fitting the cars (Solution: Check our government web site. For most cars 5 years old and newer, nothing is required, except to replace the gauges to metric, and, rarely, headlights to run DRL)
EDIT:
Savings on a 4 year old car would be somewhere between 3 and 7 K, depending on model and pricing. |
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| exstasie |
...I still don't get why ppl think that just because our dollar is better than the Americans that the price should be the same...
It doesn't make any sense... |
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| zoogla |
| I was seriously looking into this and the fact that BMW doesn't transfer warranties made me pay out of my nose for a Canadian car. |
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| Dj Smitty20 |
there's NAFTA rearing its ugly head once more. I'm not surprised by this at all. With our dollar so strong lately, prices should at least be coming down a little bit, but they won't.
And I don't expect our tit useless PM to do anything about it either. In many ways, living in this country can really shaft you up the ass. |
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| rulzz |
| holiday season is coming and Canadian economy will lose a lot of customers if they don't lower prices and they will (big retailers at least) |
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| Leon Oziel |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dj Smitty20
there's NAFTA rearing its ugly head once more. I'm not surprised by this at all. With our dollar so strong lately, prices should at least be coming down a little bit, but they won't.
And I don't expect our tit useless PM to do anything about it either. In many ways, living in this country can really shaft you up the ass. |
:(
I just tried to order a pair of studio headphones from the states at about 90 bucks... Long & Mac & Maffaggers are still charging 150 for teh samer phones and won't price drop or match like they claim. I ordered it, and customs told me I needed to pay all sorts of bull duties and garbage on top of PST+GST. Ended up coming out to 148, I told them to send that back! BIYAASH! :whip: |
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| zoogla |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dj Smitty20
there's NAFTA rearing its ugly head once more. I'm not surprised by this at all. With our dollar so strong lately, prices should at least be coming down a little bit, but they won't.
And I don't expect our tit useless PM to do anything about it either. In many ways, living in this country can really shaft you up the ass. |
The only thing I'll disagree with you on is that are useless. :toothless |
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| revival |
i will be going over to detroit in a week or two to pick up a ride.
let yall know how it goes |
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