Why does a BMW 325ix cost C$42,000 while south of the border it is priced US$32,000.

[alanbrenton]

How come the huge price discrepancy? And how exactly is a US BMW different from the Canadian version. Does the latter actually stand our winters better?

For Honda Civics and Accords, there aren't much price discrepancies.

[wing0]

because they still use the 1.5 exchange rate?

[corrupt123]

cars arent made in canada or the u.s.... try bringing it across, see how much they tax you.

[Geese_Howard]

In america BMW, Mercedes, hummers, etc are everywhere cause 0% financing, they have bimmers and mercedes everywhere, the top end car down there is lexus for some reason, lexus cost more then bimmers they also charge financing so less people buy them.

[Spray]

It's 21.1% tax to bring it across the border if it wasnt made here. The thing you have to watch out for is some companies will NOT honor the warranty if you bring in a brand new vehicle.

Saab for example if you import a vehicle it has to be 6 months old and over 7000 miles or they void the warranty in canada.

The better deal is the Subaru Legacy GT LTD...Here it's 43k CAD optioned out
In the usa it's 26K USD, or around 30k CAD. It's also made in USA so they only cahrge u 15% tax, not 21.1

[Pete_Coach]

It also costs more to have a car made for Canada compared to the US.
Bumpers, speedodmeters, daytime running lights, environmental management systems, rear window defrosters, safety enhancements, and so on. Dollar differential is an obvious one but transportation is another and the big one, Canadian duties from whichever country the product comes from. BMW's are not all made in Germany.
I don't know where you live Geese_Howard but on the West coast, BMW's and Mercedes are like Nissan's and Chevys. Lots of them around. I have a number of freinds who spent a whole lot more on their pick ups, SUV's or sports sedans that I did on my Bimmer. I think the cost of other vehicle has just caught up to the cost of those once expensive imports.

[eelfliw]

The most significant factor in determining what to charge for a car is what the market will bear.

As long as Canadians are willing to fork out $40K plus for that car, it will cost $40K+.

If it cost more than the market will bear to bring a car into Canada, then it won't be imported.

[ssainani]

The most significant factor in determining what to charge for a car is what the market will bear.

As long as Canadians are willing to fork out $40K plus for that car, it will cost $40K+.

If it cost more than the market will bear to bring a car into Canada, then it won't be imported.

i think it more has to do that several years ago due to currency exchanges 42k cnd was a lot closer to 32k usd

it's only now that our dollar is doing well that it's for our benifit.

are dealerships supposed to change their prices weekly to reflect the market?

[kfc]

It's 21.1% tax to bring it across the border if it wasnt made here. The thing you have to watch out for is some companies will NOT honor the warranty if you bring in a brand new vehicle.

Saab for example if you import a vehicle it has to be 6 months old and over 7000 miles or they void the warranty in canada.

The better deal is the Subaru Legacy GT LTD...Here it's 43k CAD optioned out
In the usa it's 26K USD, or around 30k CAD. It's also made in USA so they only cahrge u 15% tax, not 21.1

Is it hard to import a US car into canada? If it's a 13K savings it would totally be worth it. do you know if it cna be done? How much does it cost to register it here.

[Narci]

Is it hard to import a US car into canada? If it's a 13K savings it would totally be worth it. do you know if it cna be done? How much does it cost to register it here.

1st Canadian Dealers will not warranty the car

2nd You need to install daytime running lights

3rd make sure the car is on the list of being able to import to Canada (Mostly due to bumper impact regulations)

4th do a search, there was a huge thread about importing cars into Canada.

[Neb]

Sometimes a dealer in the US or in CAN will make you sign an agreement, so you can export the car in the first year. When my parents bought a Merc, tha'ts what they made them sign, so it can not be imported into the US for the first year.

Not sure why, that might hold u back from buying one in the US.

[Spray]

Narci...read up...most car companies will warranty it.

Almost every car comes standard with DRL, no changes need to be made to most cars. Yes importing is very easy, the subaru dealership in new york does the whole thing for you pretty much.

[Narci]

Narci...read up...most car companies will warranty it.

Almost every car comes standard with DRL, no changes need to be made to most cars. Yes importing is very easy, the subaru dealership in new york does the whole thing for you pretty much.

I did read up and some people reported that lived near the border do infact get warranty from canadian dealers but on the same token, some said they were not able to get warranty work done.

I should correct my statement to say that there could be a possibility that the canadian dealers will not do warranty work on American cars.

[romsan04]

how does the dealer knows if car was sold in US or Canada???
Do they have some database to check against if car was re-imported from US???

[Narci]

how does the dealer knows if car was sold in US or Canada???
Do they have some database to check against if car was re-imported from US???

Probably the VIN number and the fact that it says MPH on the speedo and the temp is in farenhait.

[kfc]

Probably the VIN number and the fact that it says MPH on the speedo and the temp is in farenhait.

farenheit.

[xopt1js]

farenheit.

fahrenheit

[kfc]

no need to be pedentic.

[xopt1js]

no need to be pedentic.

pedantic ;)

[blizzah]

no need to be pedentic.

Pedantic.

Don't be hypocritical if you're going to be spellchecking people, people will do the same to you.

[actng]

Why're you bothering with getting the car from the States?
Just request to pick up your car in Germany right after it rolls off the assembly line. You'll save on freight!! :)

[ricky13579]

well.. subaru wrx is 25k USD in US whereas 35k CAD here.
we got scr3w3d all the times....

[Kenneth]

Why're you bothering with getting the car from the States?
Just request to pick up your car in Germany right after it rolls off the assembly line. You'll save on freight!! :)

Does BMW Canada still offer European Delivery? You save on import taxes but not freight iirc.

Another reason not to purchase an American 3 series: the majority of them are now made in South Africa (Canadian destined models are still made in Germany). The different county of origin is probably is a minor reason for the price discrepancy though.

[kingsley]

lol, typical off topic posts
1 guy spelt something wrong which took 2 other guys to get the word right then another guy tried to make a smarta$$ comment about the first guy's spelling but spelt something wrong in his posts which took another 2 post to correct that guy's mistake :lol:

anyways, back on topic, I thought the price was just to reflect the exhange rate from a few years ago but they didn't change the prices back because we still keep paying the elevated prices and don't complain about it

personally I think it would be pretty freaking awesome if they would lower the prices since I'm almost in position to buy a car soon :D

[conundrumfp]

i think it more has to do that several years ago due to currency exchanges 42k cnd was a lot closer to 32k usd

it's only now that our dollar is doing well that it's for our benifit.

are dealerships supposed to change their prices weekly to reflect the market?
No, but once a year would be more reasonable than several years.

OTOH, not long ago it was cheaper than the exchange rate to buy a car in Canada, and Americans were tempted to buy in Canada.

[kingrukus]

There was a guy over on the Subaru LGT boards that recently purchased a Subaru LGT from the states and ended up saving 10-15k cdn and had full warranty. I am pretty sure my next car will be coming from the United States as long as auto manufacturers keep gouging us here.

[Hybrid88]

Any details on this? I would jump on a car deal like that!!

There was a guy over on the Subaru LGT boards that recently purchased a Subaru LGT from the states and ended up saving 10-15k cdn and had full warranty. I am pretty sure my next car will be coming from the United States as long as auto manufacturers keep gouging us here.

[Narci]

lol, typical off topic posts
1 guy spelt something wrong which took 2 other guys to get the word right then another guy tried to make a smarta$$ comment about the first guy's spelling but spelt something wrong in his posts which took another 2 post to correct that guy's mistake :lol:

anyways, back on topic, I thought the price was just to reflect the exhange rate from a few years ago but they didn't change the prices back because we still keep paying the elevated prices and don't complain about it

personally I think it would be pretty freaking awesome if they would lower the prices since I'm almost in position to buy a car soon :D

Hahahaha...i can't stop laughing..thanks guys for sticking up for me hehe

[kingrukus]

Any details on this? I would jump on a car deal like that!!
All details here: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24153

[Quick_lude]

Some cars are definitely worth bringing over. You can get a S2000 for about $31-31K US while here in Canada you'll be hard presssed to get one under $46K.

[belgiangenius]

How come the huge price discrepancy? And how exactly is a US BMW different from the Canadian version. Does the latter actually stand our winters better?

For Honda Civics and Accords, there aren't much price discrepancies.

But why would you want a BMW?

I spent a year working in Michigan, and the new cars I saw being towed off the sides of the expressways the most often were BMWs.

[Narci]

But why would you want a BMW?

Because you get more girls driving a BMW

:rolleyes:

[r1lee]

How come the huge price discrepancy? And how exactly is a US BMW different from the Canadian version. Does the latter actually stand our winters better?

For Honda Civics and Accords, there aren't much price discrepancies.

Dependent on where the vehicle is made, there's the typical 15% tax and Custom's fee on where the product is made.

On Japan made cars, i think it's an extra 17%.

[climacus]

BMW Canada do honour the warranty on US-imported cars. And yes, people are doing it these days to arbitrage the price differences between US and Canada.

[r1lee]

BMW Canada do honour the warranty on US-imported cars. And yes, people are doing it these days to arbitrage the price differences between US and Canada.

I was recently looking at importing a japanese car cause it was cheaper. By the time the transaction was done.. it was roughly 4-6% better then here..

So it really depends....