.

Serge and I would like to wish all our members and supporters a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous New Year!  

Well I did the numbers a few times and I knew exactly how much I wanted off my new Highlander Hybrid 2011 - Limited - fully loaded - leather - sunroof - AWD - navigation System - Satelllite radio and much more.  I got pricing from Ottawa Toyota, Cornwall Toyota and a US Toyota dealer (they would not sell to me but that can be arranged if the price is right).  Armed with all of this $ information and having a local reputation of buying in the US if I have to.  I negotiated a deal in my home town and I am happy to encourage the local gang.   In summary, my 2011 Highlander Hybrid was paid $57,013 all taxes included.  The US import all included would have cost me $56,223, for a small difference of $790.00   The US rate at the time was $0.97  - today it hovering around $1.00.  I have attached the excel sheet that shows the calculations.   But in summary for this vehicle (built in Japan) - the 6.1% duty of $2, 818 plus the Trade-in tax credit of $1,495 made this vehicle a good purchase in Canada.  CarsWithoutBorders is not about buying all cars in the USA - it is about getting fair pricing - equivalent pricing - and in this case I bought my car right here in Canada.

Highlander Hybrid 2011 US - Can comparaison

Costantino Ditri just posted a letter he sent to Nissan US on our forum concerning his attempts to ensure his new 2010 Nissan was covered by the U.S. warranty.

 This warranty issue does not only apply to Cars but it appears to us that many US backed muti-national companies are creating this non-tariff barrier to trade as our governments sit idly by  and allows Canadians to be price gouged and treated like second class citizens.  If I buy a fridge and stove in Plattsburg, one that readily sells in Canada, why can’t I obtain warranty coverage. 

Canada should demand that if a company sells products in Canada and Guarantees and warrants that product in Canada, then the product, if purchased in the US by a Canadian also be covered.

Since this is a major consumer issue, I wonder what all the other wonderful Canadian Consumer organizations are doing about this? 

We would like to hear from our members and supporters on this.  Is it worth putting together a class-action suit?  Do we go after Harper and his bandits? 

 At this time Serge and I would like to wish all our World Wide members and supporters a Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year!

Many thanks to one of our members who documented his experience in our newly updated forum:

“Howdy

I actually Factory Ordered a brand new 2011 Base Mustang GT (you cannot get this model in Canada) in April 2011. I aquired this vehicle in Montana July 2011. I was refused by 3 Ford dealers before I found one that would sell to a Canadian. In my case, U.S. Ford dealers have to worry about their Mustang “allocations” as they are only allowed so many Mustangs per Dealer, and if they sell to a Canadian, which Ford Head Office frowns upon, when they find out, may sometimes “punish” the dealer by reducing their Mustang allocations the following year.

This dealer was very fluent in the importation process as they sell a lot of trucks to their neighbours in Sask.

The things I needed to do to import the car were as follows,

- Immobilizer - Already installed when you order the Security System option
- Child Tether Anchors - Already factory installed on all Mustangs
- Recall Letter - Aquired from my U.S. Dealer on U.S. Ford letterhead. accepted by RIV.
- DRL’s - this is the tricky one….
The Daytime Running Lamp (DRL’s) Modules in the US sourced Fords are already in the vehicles, they just don’t turn them on.
My US dealer was happy to activate them, but was unable.
Reason, US Ford Dealer computers need a “password” from Transport Canada to activate the DRL module via the computers in their service departments. This “password” is not provided until Form 1 is filled out at the border.
That’s why we can only get them activated at a Canadian Ford Dealer as their computers can somehow access Transport Canada servers to retrieve the necessary password.
- Sales Tax - This issue goes out the window as there is no sales tax in Montana, and no sales tax in Alberta.
- GST - paid at the border.
- Driving Home
A couple years ago, I once bought a car in another province, at that time i needed an in-transit permit to drive it home. I expected the same for this car. Instead, my local Registration office said “not required, just bring a valid plate with you, and put it on the car.” I was about to do so in Montana, but instead the Ford dealer has a Paper Licence in plastic attached to a licence plate frame that is registered with the local (and State I think) Authourities. Once I got to the border, I asked the Customs official what to do with this Paper Licence, I was informed I can leave it on there for the rest of the trip home! There was no charge for this! cool….

In total, after accounting for the exchange rates ( I had been been adding to my US account over time) I saved a little over $8000.

Next time, If I can even save a $1000 bucks, I will do this again. ”

If you have questions or just achieved some great savings shopping in the U.S. tell us about it!  Join our Forum today.

Maybe a bit off topic for some of you bargan hunters and  Consumer Advocates, but today’s article  in the Gazette’s “opinion page” by Jason Magder really hits home.  “Age of Openness is a good thing”

As most of you are aware the Internet and WikiLeaks have been making considerable headlines recently.  This article outlines the good, the bad and the ugly of privacy issues related to the internet and the electronic media in general.  

The Internet allowed thousands  of our followers and supporters to uncover the hoaxes and untruths perpetrated by the Car Companies and Transport Canada back in  October of 2007.   Many of these issues are still not yet resolved and hidden under a cloak of “privacy” by our duly elected government officials and their “price-gouging” friends.  

Looking at the big picture WikiLeaks and the Internet are here to stay!  Some of our Elected officials work hard to protect us and hide everything from us, but in the end they will be exposed.  Transparency today is not an option.  It is only a matter of time  Mr. Harper, M. Charest, M. Tremblay, Transport Canada!

Age of Openness is a good thing

EveryBody Knows…EveryBody Knows

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows