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      06-12-2009, 06:59 AM   #1
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Why are we paying so much for our cars

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=272050

40k US for a 335
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      06-12-2009, 07:30 AM   #2
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It stinks doesn't it...

Log on to youtube and you will see pizza delivery boys driving 335's

But we pay more for EVERYTHING, tax, rego, insurance, income tax, tax on tax, housing, land, groceries, you name it and we pay top dollar! Now they take our private health rebate and fuel excise. I'm seriously contemplating moving o/s in a year or two
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      06-13-2009, 01:16 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by xsboost View Post
But we pay more for EVERYTHING, tax, rego, insurance, income tax, tax on tax, housing, land, groceries, you name it and we pay top dollar! Now they take our private health rebate and fuel excise. I'm seriously contemplating moving o/s in a year or two
I reckon that's the price we pay for living on a sparsely populated island far away from everything - and there's only a few of us.

So competition is constrained, infrastructure is expensive, talented politicians far and few between, and corruption rife whereever you go.

I used to drive a (3 year old) 325 eta fresh out of uni on my first income. That was back in Germany. When migrating, I contemplated having the car moved here as well, together with a right-hand drive conversion. It would have been expensive, but would have ended up costing the same as buying the same car on arrival here. That was the difference in price, I think it was the equivalent of $10k-$15k at the time. I couldn't afford a beemer from my first salary here on arriving in '95, because salaries are 20-30% lower here (IT Industry). Cost of living (basics) is ridiculously cheap here however, one must say (energy, groceries, housing). So, i guess we can't have it all.
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      06-14-2009, 01:08 AM   #4
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A bit of a reverse example that shows how much more we get screwed on cars here, for those mentioning how far away from everything we are, which is BS, it's all about taxes and a lack of competition.

Have a look at the locals, a top of the line Holden SS (or SSV whatever they call them these days) will set you back roughly $50k off the lot, for an Australian built & delivered car. The same car, converted to RHD and dressed up as a Pontiac is sold driveaway in the US for $30k (USD$24k) with a longer warranty and scheduled servicing included! Go Figure!
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      06-14-2009, 02:30 AM   #5
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US Buying Power Period.
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      06-14-2009, 06:03 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by BMW //MPOWER View Post
A bit of a reverse example that shows how much more we get screwed on cars here, for those mentioning how far away from everything we are, which is BS, it's all about taxes and a lack of competition.

Have a look at the locals, a top of the line Holden SS (or SSV whatever they call them these days) will set you back roughly $50k off the lot, for an Australian built & delivered car. The same car, converted to RHD and dressed up as a Pontiac is sold driveaway in the US for $30k (USD$24k) with a longer warranty and scheduled servicing included! Go Figure!
Well, don't appreciate the swearing, but on the point you're making:
The tax regime is not that damaging (luxury car tax aside) and allows us to have some sort of health system at least. Competition: There's quite a few brands wanting to sell their cars here so I'd say that doesn't really come into it. The size of the market is the key I think. Everything becomes more expensive in smaller numbers. As for the Commodore; being the basic car that it is, it would probably be difficult to sell it for more in a huge market that is spoilt for choice with much more sophisticated offerings at reasonable prices.
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      07-01-2009, 02:08 AM   #7
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I went to the stealership to get a part and enquired on spark plugs for the 335i. $45 per plug...are you kidding me! Then I was told it's not an M3 because they are $105 per plug......

Found the identical plugs online for $12usd.
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      07-01-2009, 05:29 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by xsboost View Post

Found the identical plugs online for $12usd.
Make sure they are genuine, no aftermarket ones exist yet.

Get BMW parts . com are BMW dealers and much cheaper than AUS.
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      07-01-2009, 06:34 AM   #9
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Example

I make $100.00

45% tax
25% LCT
10% GST

damn, my $100 dollars become $15 when buying a car.............. not to mention other government charges/expenses......
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      07-01-2009, 07:15 AM   #10
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Make sure they are genuine, no aftermarket ones exist yet.

Get BMW parts . com are BMW dealers and much cheaper than AUS.
thanks for the heads up mate. There is only the one type of bosch that will work for our cars and my mechanic should have the bmw tool and a torque wrench. Otherwise I might do it all myself
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      07-01-2009, 07:22 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scheps View Post
Example

I make $100.00

45% tax
25% LCT
10% GST

damn, my $100 dollars become $15 when buying a car.............. not to mention other government charges/expenses......

I know mate, isn't it a great place at the moment!

Removal of private health rebate, removal of fuel excise, increased rates, increased rego, power bills up 15%, insurance hikes...oh but wait, we will save $20 a week in income tax cuts

I was in Mackay this morning for work and fuel was $1.14 and I get back to Brisbane 2hrs later to find it is $1.26. We are just being taken for a ride...
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      07-01-2009, 08:23 AM   #12
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      07-02-2009, 10:53 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scheps View Post
Example

I make $100.00

45% tax
25% LCT
10% GST

damn, my $100 dollars become $15 when buying a car.............. not to mention other government charges/expenses......
Well you know according to Krudd, us rich bastards are riding on the back of all those poor working families...

Seriously though... depressing isn't it
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      07-02-2009, 05:04 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieA View Post
Well you know according to Krudd, us rich bastards are riding on the back of all those poor working families...

Seriously though... depressing isn't it
Krudd's interpretation of rich is really starting to annoy me.
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      07-02-2009, 05:44 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by JamieA View Post
Well you know according to Krudd, us rich bastards are riding on the back of all those poor working families...

Seriously though... depressing isn't it
Obviously another intellectual epiphany by our friend KRUDD...
The amount i pay in taxes probably feeds 5 families each year via their centrelink payments, i think i deserve a bloody medal!
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      07-02-2009, 10:41 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by BMW //MPOWER View Post
Obviously another intellectual epiphany by our friend KRUDD...
The amount i pay in taxes probably feeds 5 families each year via their centrelink payments, i think i deserve a bloody medal!
The amount we pay in taxes isn't even enough to pay for decent health or transport systems (of which the roads we want to drive our beemers on would be part of).
So instead of whingeing about too much tax, get involved in the political process to help change things for the better. If there's only people representing us that we like to look down upon and label with funny UPPERCASE word plays, then it must be because WE, knowing so much better than them, only stand at the sidelines jeering instead of rolling up our sleeves and doing our bit to effect change.
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      07-03-2009, 05:13 AM   #17
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Quote:
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The amount we pay in taxes isn't even enough to pay for decent health or transport systems (of which the roads we want to drive our beemers on would be part of).
So instead of whingeing about too much tax, get involved in the political process to help change things for the better. If there's only people representing us that we like to look down upon and label with funny UPPERCASE word plays, then it must be because WE, knowing so much better than them, only stand at the sidelines jeering instead of rolling up our sleeves and doing our bit to effect change.
I did do my bit, I voted Liberal.

I also tell everyone who will listen how much Labour are ripping Australia off, in the hope that people will make a different decision when we go back to the ballot.

Discussion on forums like these is participating in the political process, short of organising a coup there isn't too much else we can do right now.
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      07-03-2009, 05:25 AM   #18
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Obviously another intellectual epiphany by our friend KRUDD...
The amount i pay in taxes probably feeds 5 families each year via their centrelink payments, i think i deserve a bloody medal!
The scary thing is that I have often thought exactly the same thing.

I am not against helping people in need, and I am not against paying my fair share of taxes, as much as I don't enjoy it. But what riles me up is that the current social climate fostered by Labour is one of us and them, something I never experienced during the recent Liberal era. There is resentment against people who have done better and that is a bit rich, because they are happy to take our taxes, so why kick us in the teeth as a thank you.

Also this whole anti-capitalist sentiment conveniently glosses over the fact that those who have taken risks to develop businesses, or sacrificed to climb to a managerial position are those who create the job opportunities for these so called "working families". Shouldn't success then be celebrated, because through the success of entrepreneurs all our boats lift with the same tide, be it community engagement, the payment of taxes, the provision of jobs directly, or the spending of the capital that they have accumulated which creates jobs in secondary markets.

It amazes me that Sharon Burrow can stand in front of news cameras with a straight face and attempt to justify why awards should go up by 6%, reducing job opportunities for her members, when most managers are taking pay cuts, being retrenched or on salary freezes just to keep companies profitable, and to do their bit. All hot on the heels of their jubilation of the new workplace laws which will make the labour force more rigid and will create further unemployment. It seems to me that the union and Labour movements are really about being seen to do something, even if that ultimately means more jobless people amount their ranks because they feel that they have some imaginary score to settle with "the rich", which in actual fact is cutting off their noses to spite their face... I often worry that our recovery will be slower than it needed to be, and despair over what mess our children are going to be left to clean up after the debt binge morphs into the inevitable hangover...

There you go, enough soap box for a Friday evening...
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      07-03-2009, 06:03 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by JamieA View Post
The scary thing is that I have often thought exactly the same thing.

I am not against helping people in need, and I am not against paying my fair share of taxes, as much as I don't enjoy it. But what riles me up is that the current social climate fostered by Labour is one of us and them, something I never experienced during the recent Liberal era. There is resentment against people who have done better and that is a bit rich, because they are happy to take our taxes, so why kick us in the teeth as a thank you.

Also this whole anti-capitalist sentiment conveniently glosses over the fact that those who have taken risks to develop businesses, or sacrificed to climb to a managerial position are those who create the job opportunities for these so called "working families". Shouldn't success then be celebrated, because through the success of entrepreneurs all our boats lift with the same tide, be it community engagement, the payment of taxes, the provision of jobs directly, or the spending of the capital that they have accumulated which creates jobs in secondary markets.

It amazes me that Sharon Burrow can stand in front of news cameras with a straight face and attempt to justify why awards should go up by 6%, reducing job opportunities for her members, when most managers are taking pay cuts, being retrenched or on salary freezes just to keep companies profitable, and to do their bit. All hot on the heels of their jubilation of the new workplace laws which will make the labour force more rigid and will create further unemployment. It seems to me that the union and Labour movements are really about being seen to do something, even if that ultimately means more jobless people amount their ranks because they feel that they have some imaginary score to settle with "the rich", which in actual fact is cutting off their noses to spite their face... I often worry that our recovery will be slower than it needed to be, and despair over what mess our children are going to be left to clean up after the debt binge morphs into the inevitable hangover...

There you go, enough soap box for a Friday evening...
+1
Nice opus.

I totally agree with what you've said. As for the rationale behind this backward mentality, i think it all comes back to tall poppy syndrome. Which i believe stems all the way back a couple of hundred years to our convict settlers and the animosity they felt towards the british and those in power. Otherwise I can't think of a good way to rationalise it, as you don't get such an attitude anywhere else in the world.

As for the recovery, i think from some of the previous economic discussions i've participated in on here, i'm a bigger bear than most & don't think the whole Australian 'oh it can't happen here' mentality is going to get a rude wake up call in the next few years.

Love the unions & the related workplace laws, they just don't get it. But then again thier communist forefathers never got it either... So there probably isn't much point trying to debate with them... Kind of feels like waiting for the catholic church to apologise to Copernicus... they'll eventually come around, only about 400 years too late.
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      07-04-2009, 12:57 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieA View Post
The scary thing is that I have often thought exactly the same thing.

I am not against helping people in need, and I am not against paying my fair share of taxes, as much as I don't enjoy it. But what riles me up is that the current social climate fostered by Labour is one of us and them, something I never experienced during the recent Liberal era. There is resentment against people who have done better and that is a bit rich, because they are happy to take our taxes, so why kick us in the teeth as a thank you.

Also this whole anti-capitalist sentiment conveniently glosses over the fact that those who have taken risks to develop businesses, or sacrificed to climb to a managerial position are those who create the job opportunities for these so called "working families". Shouldn't success then be celebrated, because through the success of entrepreneurs all our boats lift with the same tide, be it community engagement, the payment of taxes, the provision of jobs directly, or the spending of the capital that they have accumulated which creates jobs in secondary markets.

It amazes me that Sharon Burrow can stand in front of news cameras with a straight face and attempt to justify why awards should go up by 6%, reducing job opportunities for her members, when most managers are taking pay cuts, being retrenched or on salary freezes just to keep companies profitable, and to do their bit. All hot on the heels of their jubilation of the new workplace laws which will make the labour force more rigid and will create further unemployment. It seems to me that the union and Labour movements are really about being seen to do something, even if that ultimately means more jobless people amount their ranks because they feel that they have some imaginary score to settle with "the rich", which in actual fact is cutting off their noses to spite their face... I often worry that our recovery will be slower than it needed to be, and despair over what mess our children are going to be left to clean up after the debt binge morphs into the inevitable hangover...

There you go, enough soap box for a Friday evening...
Socialists mate; tax the 'rich' and give it to people who do nothing. Unfortunately labor voters who are happy to feed off others are also good breeders...

The $900 handout annoyed me. The govt handed out money they didn't have, while the people who paid for it didn't see a cent. Almost like a popularity stunt - and our kids will be paying it off in 20yrs from now!

I was devastated to hear bligh was voted in to QLD, I just cannot understand people's logic. Oh well, if things don't swing next federal election, i'm packing up and moving o/s.
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      07-07-2009, 11:30 PM   #21
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We do get screwed over here in many ways, car pricing being just one area.

Unfortunately there are many drawbacks to being an aspirational person in Oz. We live in the tall poppy hating capital of the world. Anyone who is perceived as successful is considered a w###er or d###head.

Anyone ever read the numerous reports on our Diaspora back in 2003 or 2004? The Liberals were trying to determine why 5% of our population live overseas and most never come back. And back then the number was increasing year by year. Interestingly enough, "tall poppy syndrome" was one factor, along with:

- High taxes
- Minimal benefits
- No recognition of post graduate education, or tertiary education in general
- Size and scale of work and projects
- Prestige of location
- Etc.

Personally if the resources boom hadn’t come along I would have transferred to Asia or the Middle East. My former colleagues and numerous relatives who work as expatriates in places like Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore etc aren't complaining with their "lifestyle" one bit.

I won't comment on unions other than to say that having worked in Construction and Mining I have first hand experience of how despicable they are, and how lazy their reps are as well.

And I still can't believe people in NSW have been voting for Labor for 15 years...

End of mini rant!
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      07-08-2009, 12:13 AM   #22
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What is particularly irritating is that I missed out on the extra 50% depreciation allowance for small business as I bought my car 3 weeks too early.

That is effectively a bonus of 45% of half the value of the car up to the luxury car limit - up to nearly $13,000 extra for those who qualify.

I don't begrudge those who benefitted prospectively once this was introduced, but why backdate it a couple of months?

LOL I saw a grubby 1991 318i, quite tidy, with 'clean me you rich bastard' fingered into the dirt. Rich?!
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