Quote:
Originally Posted by Lotus99
Do you have anything to back up your statements? The second half of your post especially sounds like a bunch of generalizations.
The first one about Warranty for one, is wrong. The warranty is the same. It just transfers. I think you're confusing it with the free service during the warranty period, where down there they include brake pads and rotors, plus something else. But if you buy a US car under warranty, and bring it up here, the free service isn't going to transfer. So one less advantage that you should count if you are going to buy a CDN car within warranty - the free service.
As far as the car itself, did you actually look up a US car's price that was built in Germany, multiply it by 1.25 (1.30 is more like it - good luck buying it at spot, the rate Bank of Canada does), add 6% duty, and import fees, recall letter, etc. and see if and how much you're saving? Would love to see a real life example.
And try the same with an X3? A 2015 X3 35 is $46,000 US. Add 1.25 even on that, not 1.30 exchange. You arrive at $57,500. The CDN one is $49,000. Explain to me how you're saving $? That's already 15% higher. I'm not suggesting you'd buy a new one down there, but this is just for comparative purposes, since both cars will depreciate about the same in both countries.
Oh, and when doing comparing, make sure you compare apples to apples, because a lot of times, our cars up here have more options and packages (like cold weather package) included in "base" whereas you have to add them down there.
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LOL
You must work for a Canadian dealer.
You should know that a US dealer is not allowed to sell a new car across the border. But used is a different story. So as you suggest, comparing apples to apples, a buyer needs to compare used to used, where my statement about a bigger selection comes from. As for a better warranty, if you want to call it "free service during the warranty period," you are welcome to do so. But the bottom line is that if you need a brake job during the warranty period, and you have a US car and go to a US dealer, you will get it for free. If you have a Cdn car at a Cdn dealer, you will pay.
The duty on all BMW's made in Germany is 6%, but thanks to NAFTA, there is no duty on the ones made in the US. I don't know about the ones made in South Africa. As for the cost of importing, look back in this thread, it is all explained there, including that the recall letter is provided free by US dealers.
We bought our car (when it was 10 months old) from the Buffalo dealer. They have many Canadian customers and are very familiar with the importing procedures. After all was said and done, we saved $11,000 over a similar car at the the KW dealer. The Cdn dollar was 98 cents at the time. We went back to Buffalo for the little warranty work required (we did not need new brakes during the warranty). Our car has never been to a Canadian dealer. The fact that I am still driving an 8 year old car is a testament to how good a car it is.
