[homer]

Sorry if this is a repost.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromab.../20071207.html

[Excellence]

I was thinking of getting a 135i from the states but now I need to think twice. The Canadian prices for cars are shit. I could have paid the same amount for my 323i and got a 335i in the states.

[alexckma]

true enough, but it's kinda sad now. Before it was just the new cars can't come in, now the pre-owned can't come in either because of this shit.

Which means ebay is absolutely useless as well. I and a few friends went down to the states to get a pre-owned 335i coupe, and we got it. It's all godo and we brought it back up here (with a Seattle license) we just drove it around, and nobody cared. And if police ask, we will just say we are visitng family for holidays

[f30Seth]

I wonder if youyou can still import from states now?
even if he can, I bet the cost of bringing the cars up here is going to be a good chunk of money.

[montreal_bimmer]

it is pure BS..... we are getting royaly ripped on our cars.... i am paying more for a 325 here in Canada than a 335 in the US.... the 335 is VERY affordable in the states.... no wonder so many people on this board have one....

[Marven]

Sometimes I just want to move back to US -

Not just for cheaper cars b/c the government it self is screwing the consumer..

[bmw101]

Originally Posted by montreal_bimmer

it is pure BS..... we are getting royaly ripped on our cars.... i am paying more for a 325 here in Canada than a 335 in the US.... the 335 is VERY affordable in the states.... no wonder so many people on this board have one....

Very true. A fully loaded 328i in Canada is still way more expensive (~$7000 more) than a fully loaded 335i in the US.

[aspiring335]

Originally Posted by montreal_bimmer

it is pure BS..... we are getting royaly ripped on our cars.... i am paying more for a 325 here in Canada than a 335 in the US.... the 335 is VERY affordable in the states.... no wonder so many people on this board have one....

The 335i is not really any more affordable in the US because the vast majority of the buyers get paid in US dollars. Their buying power is exactly the same now as it was when the CAD was worth $0.65.

[flush01]

Originally Posted by montreal_bimmer

it is pure BS..... we are getting royaly ripped on our cars.... i am paying more for a 325 here in Canada than a 335 in the US.... the 335 is VERY affordable in the states.... no wonder so many people on this board have one....

i agree, you can lease 335 in states for the price of 323 in canada

[RBP]

the huge uproar started when the dollar hit $1.10...well we're back down to $0.98

So now you're tacking on 6.1% duty, 2% exchange rate and ~$2000 in other fees. Add in the BMW incentives, and the cars are getting much closer in price. Consider the reduced re-sale value of US cars and the potential that dealers may not take it on trade...you now have quite a large inconvenience factor that is probably not worth the few grand that you are now going to save.

Now you can see why Americans are so much wealthier. They have access to much cheaper housing in much larger centers. Therefore they can make more money and pay less for their home. Add in a 25% cheaper car, and cheaper everything else and lower personal tax rates....well they are much better off financially. And their weather is better.

I would definately move to the USA however there are far too many Americans that live there.

[flush01]

Originally Posted by RBP

the huge uproar started when the dollar hit $1.10...well we're back down to $0.98

So now you're tacking on 6.1% duty, 2% exchange rate and ~$2000 in other fees. Add in the BMW incentives, and the cars are getting much closer in price. Consider the reduced re-sale value of US cars and the potential that dealers may not take it on trade...you now have quite a large inconvenience factor that is probably not worth the few grand that you are now going to save.

Now you can see why Americans are so much wealthier. They have access to much cheaper housing in much larger centers. Therefore they can make more money and pay less for their home. Add in a 25% cheaper car, and cheaper everything else and lower personal tax rates....well they are much better off financially. And their weather is better.

I would definately move to the USA however there are far too many Americans that live there.

i said it before and ill say it again, you're an idiot...

[BMdblU]

I agree on all points. But it's not only cars guys, it's all goods. Clothing, food.. etc

[Marven]

Originally Posted by flush01

i said it before and ill say it again, you're an idiot...

[MOAB]

Originally Posted by RBP

the huge uproar started when the dollar hit $1.10...well we're back down to $0.98

So now you're tacking on 6.1% duty, 2% exchange rate and ~$2000 in other fees. Add in the BMW incentives, and the cars are getting much closer in price. Consider the reduced re-sale value of US cars and the potential that dealers may not take it on trade...you now have quite a large inconvenience factor that is probably not worth the few grand that you are now going to save.

Now you can see why Americans are so much wealthier. They have access to much cheaper housing in much larger centers. Therefore they can make more money and pay less for their home. Add in a 25% cheaper car, and cheaper everything else and lower personal tax rates....well they are much better off financially. And their weather is better.

I would definately move to the USA however there are far too many Americans that live there.

The constant bashing of Canada by Canadians is getting trite. If your priorities are saving some $ on your BMW, then move to Detroit and enjoy the remaining 10 seconds of your life.

[boymonkey]

Originally Posted by MOAB

The constant bashing of Canada by Canadians is getting trite. If your priorities are saving some $ on your BMW, then move to Detroit and enjoy the remaining 10 seconds of your life.

Yup, complaining about unfair treatment or about the government are frowned upon in Canada.

[aspiring335]

Originally Posted by RBP

Now you can see why Americans are so much wealthier. They have access to much cheaper housing in much larger centers. Therefore they can make more money and pay less for their home. Add in a 25% cheaper car, and cheaper everything else and lower personal tax rates....well they are much better off financially. And their weather is better.

None of that has anything to do with why Americans are wealthier. The real financial and business centers in the US have sky-high property prices, and their cars aren't cheaper to Americans; only to Canadians buying in Canadian dollars. I don't know why this last point is so difficult for people to understand, but in the simplest of terms: a $40,000 US purchase is still a $40,000 US purchase to an American, regardless of whether or not it used to be $60k CAD and is now $40k CAD for a Canadian.

America is wealthier for many reasons, including a large domestic population for businesses to sell to, historically protective trade policies, lower rates of personal and corporate income tax, vast government spending on defense and related industries, and so on.

[youyou]

Originally Posted by e92says

I wonder if youyou can still import from states now?
even if he can, I bet the cost of bringing the cars up here is going to be a good chunk of money.

Of course I can and I do.
Right now in all honesty brand new bmw's are not really worth bringing in.
The savings after everything are not that great. Slightly used Bmw's are a different story though..
Right now we're bringing in alot of Audi's.
For Example we're getting great deals on the following :

- 2006 Audi A4 3.0 Quatro Convertible's fully loaded with Navigation
24 Month Lease - 620$ Tax in
36 Month Lease - 595$ Tx in

These cars are mint and have between 10,000 to 15,000 Miles.

Great deals considering this car will cost you over 1000$ here on a lease.

Another Example :

-2007 Audi a4 S-Line Package with Navigation under 10,000 miles
36 Month Lease 550$ Tax in
24 Month Lease 577$ Tax in


So bottom lin is yes there's still huge savings, just depends what cars...

[seifufu]

Originally Posted by youyou

Of course I can and I do.
Right now we're bringing in alot of Audi's.

youyou, i'm still keen about the S5; have you heard anything about Audi bringing the tiptronic/DSG to the S5 any time soon?

[RBP]

Originally Posted by stupidbutaspiring335

None of that has anything to do with why Americans are wealthier. The real financial and business centers in the US have sky-high property prices, and their cars aren't cheaper to Americans; only to Canadians buying in Canadian dollars. I don't know why this last point is so difficult for people to understand, but in the simplest of terms: a $40,000 US purchase is still a $40,000 US purchase to an American, regardless of whether or not it used to be $60k CAD and is now $40k CAD for a Canadian.

America is wealthier for many reasons, including a large domestic population for businesses to sell to, historically protective trade policies, lower rates of personal and corporate income tax, vast government spending on defense and related industries, and so on.

Try a little harder to hide your ignorance. I'm pretty sure I didn't say that cheaper cars and housing are the only reasons they are wealther. But you do end up with more wealth if you make the same or more money and spend less of it. Americans make more but they also spend less on the stuff they buy. That results in higher wealth.

Regardless...the main crux of my post was that the huge financial advantage to importing from the US has dwindled dramatically. What you could save back in early November is no longer the case now that the manufacturers have added a few steps and some dollars to the process and that the CAD has lowered back below par.

[youyou]

Originally Posted by RBP

Regardless...the main crux of my post was that the huge financial advantage to importing from the US has dwindled dramatically. What you could save back in early November is no longer the case now that the manufacturers have added a few steps and some dollars to the process and that the CAD has lowered back below par.

On brand new 2008 models maybe so but on slightly used models i have to disagree.
And i mean even cars with 1000 miles...
The American $ is going back down 100% and by summer we'll be at 10% to 15% over once again...

[youyou]

Originally Posted by seifufu

youyou, i'm still keen about the S5; have you heard anything about Audi bringing the tiptronic/DSG to the S5 any time soon?

Unfortunately the s5 is practically impossible to get. Wether it be in the Usa or Canada. And even at that your not looking at saving much money.
The Canadian s5 price is actually very competitive.

[aspiring335]

Originally Posted by RBP

Try a little harder to hide your ignorance. I'm pretty sure I didn't say that cheaper cars and housing are the only reasons they are wealther. But you do end up with more wealth if you make the same or more money and spend less of it. Americans make more but they also spend less on the stuff they buy. That results in higher wealth.

Regardless...the main crux of my post was that the huge financial advantage to importing from the US has dwindled dramatically. What you could save back in early November is no longer the case now that the manufacturers have added a few steps and some dollars to the process and that the CAD has lowered back below par.

Thanks for your profound economic insights. You should go back and read some of the things you write, seriously. It's like reasoning with Homer Simpson.