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Importing Canadian Vehicles to the U.S.

391 messages,  Last post on Dec 07, 2008 at 6:29 AM

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#140 of 391 landru by masspector Jun 28, 2002 (9:43 am)
Replying to: dusti (Apr 16, 2002 3:53 pm) You could sell a canadian car at MSRP and still be cheaper than the US model. Couldn't your dealership survive if every car you sold was at MSRP? Also, canadian buyers are not going away. They still need to buy cars and have them serviced and get fuel etc. So this business does not go away. It is like you are saying that if you sell 1000 cars to the US buyers that 1000 canadian buyers would have to walk and could never buy a car.
#141 of 391 by kirstie_h HOST Jun 28, 2002 (9:53 am)
Replying to: dusti (Apr 16, 2002 3:53 pm) mass, that was basically my take on it. I didn't see anything in the article that indicated that there's a supply problem in the Canadian market.   Maybe I've misunderstood.   kirstie_h Roving Host Edmunds.com
#142 of 391 right on bro.. by dusti Jun 28, 2002 (10:33 am)
Replying to: dusti (Apr 16, 2002 3:53 pm) If the auto companies didn't think taking the profits they earn in the US (thanks to the goodwill of US customers who are wiilling to help them out with this) to subsidize their losses from sales in Canada ...   wouldn't make them money in the long run ...   they wouldn't be doing it.   Theoretically, free trade benefits everyone and all countries by directing capital toward its most effecient use and reducing the cost of goods. (ie, increasing productivity world-wide)   but that's not what these corporations want. (for what they want see the part about making money above)   So now you got big business playing the role of big government in telling Canadian dealerships to "investigate" what their customers are going to "doing" with their purchases.   Here's a newsflash.   If I were to buy a Canadian vehicle...   whether I then decide to follow the laws and regulations in converting it to US specs and crossing the border with it...   or drive it slam bang into the pacific ocean ...   THAT is MY business.
#143 of 391 masspector and kirstie, by landru2 Jun 28, 2002 (10:36 am)
Replying to: dusti (Apr 16, 2002 3:53 pm) mass, how would you propose to get everyone to pay MSRP? And what do you mean Canadian buyers are not going away? Do you think our supply of cars is unlimited? If every F-250 and F-350 truck is bought by Americans (which they practically are) where do Canadians go to buy them? Want to buy a V6 2WD Escape? Canadians can't buy them. Our store has been allocated three 2003's until November. These three will sell for MSRP - $1200- whoopee. The shortage is not so much because they are being bought by Americans but because the supply is all diverted to the U.S. If supply in the U.S. was plentiful, prices would come down and the flow of U.S. buyers would slow down. There are definitely supply issues.   You do bring up a good point about NAFTA. Ask the tens of thousands of Canadian forestry workers who just lost their jobs because of U.S. tariffs what happened to NAFTA.
#144 of 391 Point of the article by janz Jun 28, 2002 (10:46 am)
Replying to: dusti (Apr 16, 2002 3:53 pm) As I read it, doesn't have anything to do with NAFTA, free trade or dealer profit. It has to do with the volume of canadian vehicles brought illegally into this country, where titles are washed, and the potentially very negative impact this can have on the innocent buyers of such cars.   There are people making a ton of hard to trace cash on these deals and because the source of the cash is Canadian and no one except the traders are profiting.   You can legally import a car from Canada. Canadian specifications are so close to those in the USA the only things that require changing are the odometer and the headlights. The issue is that so many cars are coming into the US illegally and people are unknowingly buying these cars not necessarily at a lower cost because they DON'T KNOW THE CARS ARE FROM CANADA. Those bringing them in are illegally profiting from the difference.
#145 of 391 thanks dusti by masspector Jun 28, 2002 (11:32 am)
Replying to: dusti (Apr 16, 2002 3:53 pm) landru- I did not say that all buyers should buy at MSRP. What I was trying to say was that if I as an american buyer could freely buy your car at MSRP, it would probably be cheaper for me and I would gladly pay you MSRP, if I were close enough to get the car home with a short drive, or the price was like half what I would pay in the US for a long drive. I do not know how the supply system works for cars, but unless it was a limited production run, I would assume that if you sold all of your blahmobiles and called ford and said I need 200 more blahmobiles they would make them and send them to you (more profit for you and them). This concept seems simple enough to me. Again, read my post about me never being a businessman. If the supply is so low everywhere then why all of the rebates and incentives to move cars? Also canadians can buy a 2wd escape if they want to, we have plenty of them down the street here in Ga. Why such a low price if there are only three? Seems if they were in demand they would sell for MSRP or more. I agree from your post and others on TH it seems that the auto manufacturer distribution system stinks. But that is between your dealership and the manufacturer, not you and the customer. Again silence from the manufacturer's corner.   I sympathize with you about the lost jobs, just talk to almost all of the US manufacturing sector. The more developed countries are being drug down to the lowest wages in the world, instead of the developed countries bringing up the wages of the underdeveloped economies.   janz- you are right on and make alot of very good points. Like any other illegal activity, there has to be buyers or the crooks would be out of business soon. There is obviuosly a demand for these vehicles or no one would go to the trouble to ship them down here. The point I was trying to make was if the manufacturers supported US buyers buying canadian and stopped voiding warranties, then maybe most buyers would buy through legit channels and have a car that they know the history on and know they have a warranty. You are right, illegal grey market is bad, but a US buyer knowingly going to canada to buy a vehicle for their personal use should not be punished for trying to save some money.
#146 of 391 by audia8q Jun 28, 2002 (2:12 pm)
Replying to: dusti (Apr 16, 2002 3:53 pm) You also forget to include the agreements the US auto makers have with their unions...You can rest assured their contract clearly addresses Canadian new cars.   I think its hilarious what lengths people will go to save a few dollars. These are the same people who think rules are for other people.
#147 of 391 Mass .. by rroyce10 Jun 28, 2002 (3:19 pm)
Replying to: dusti (Apr 16, 2002 3:53 pm) ..... Not to go into all the Impacts, Trade agreements, Corporate espionage, yatty, yatty, yatty .com ... I'm not agreeing with - pro or con.         What you are missing here, is the real deal, the American consumer .. a bunch of these vehicles come over the border with KM from the factory (no big deal to me) .. they get converted over to Miles, by the "Nice guy Change O matic" speedo store down the street in the States. And by law, it get converted back to ---0--- as in ZERO, not 1,500 miles or 159 miles or the 298 that was on the vehicle -- ZERO as in less than one... as all speedo's are done by Federal law. There is no conversion here, no translators, no 1x6= 6 stuff ......... just plain old boring Zero, see where the problem starts ...? And see were it will go in 2/4/6 years at trade time ...?           Mass, would you ever purchase a vehicle that you thought there might be a 1,0/2,0/3,000 mile discrepancy .. I don't think so ..! l..o..l...         Currently it cost around $800, now that it's done you have a title change from Canadian to American (MSO is from Canada) ... it starts in KM and ends up in mph.         Now most people don't even bother to do this til' 8/12 months down the road .. IF, they even decide to do it at all --- At this point in time ... What is the mileage ..? Once a speedo get's changed by a "Factory Rep" that in itself, gets tuff enough. That's when that nice low KM vehicle, ends up being worth about 50% less than market. -- The whole point is what Audi just mentioned ---        **I think its hilarious what lengths people will go to save a few dollars. These are the same people who think rules are for other people.**          Terry.
#148 of 391 Mass, bravo i agree 100% by mpyne Jun 28, 2002 (3:58 pm)
Replying to: dusti (Apr 16, 2002 3:53 pm) I live near detroit and could purschase a new car and drive it back pretty easily (geographically speaking). I havent seen anyone really address the difference between buying 1000 cars (ie the dealership) vs. a consumer buying 1 car. Why couldnt there be some type of limitation on how many cars you could buy? I would be more than willing to be able to purchase only 1 car from Canada then would not be allowed to purchase ever again.
#149 of 391 Sometimes it's not just a few dollars by dikran Jun 28, 2002 (4:47 pm)
Replying to: dusti (Apr 16, 2002 3:53 pm) About 6 months ago I considered buying an 02 Maxima SE. There was a very thoughtful fellow on these boards, Jon Lofquist, who explained in great detail how to buy one in Canada. At that time you could buy a Nissan in Canada and bring it back to the US without voiding the warranty.   By doing so I would have saved about $4,000 over the price of a US-purchased Maxima. (The exchange rate was 1.60/1 then.) I figured that it would cost me about 2 days time and trouble. There was a discussion about this process, and everyone (including Terry) agreed that if you bought a new Canadian car, brought it home, _and_ drove it till the wheels fell off, you were getting a great deal. The trouble, of course, is that most people will want to sell or trade a lot sooner than that--if you do, so long to the savings!   But the point is, $4,000 is not just "a few dollars". Not to me, anyway.

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