.

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

The Gazette editorial folks are really asleep at the switch these days… I guess it is ok now and then to see if they can light a fire under normally placid and laid back Montrealers.  I wonder how many letters they received encouraging Mr. BousQuet’s comments.  (Click it to enlarge) and see our reply below:

Car Buyer Beware, Do your Homework!

Re: “Buy a Chevy” (Gazette November 22,2010)

I had to laugh out loud when I read Mr. Bousquet’s comments encouraging “hard working Canadians” to spend their hard earned dollars on a GM vehicle. Turns out he states that most of the well to dos are driving foreign cars. Yes that is right, and a great many that have been purchased directly in the U.S; thus saving them thousands of dollars.

Before you run out and spend your hard earned dollars on GM products to support the North American Market and GM shareholders, please do your homework! GM’s “price-gouging” tactics have now gone one step further. There is currently a 18.96% difference between the price of a The 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe purchased in the U.S. versus the same model purchased through your local Canadian dealer. One contributing factor is that the delivery and processing fee in Canada is $2145 versus a fee of $825 in the U.S. Of course if you want to buy just “four wheels and a board” GM will accommodate you with an options limited Cruze for just under $16,940, including handling and delivery of $2000 and excluding taxes.

Car Buyer Beware, Do your Homework and save your hard earned dollars to pay for your children’s education or your retirement.

Robert Lamb

Kirkland

Founder of CarsWithoutBorders

We often wonder what all our other Consumer Protection Groups across are the country are doing to protect you the consumer.  They to are all asleep at the wheel!

Here is a pretty good report on Canadians buying cars in the U.S. that aired on the local Global station. One of the U.S. dealers just south of the border in Vermont is thinking about hiring a French speaking salesperson to handle all the people coming down from Quebec.

Well  we had a pleasant surprise this morning while perusing the Driving section of the Gazette.  POSTMEDIA NEWS reporters John and Sandra Turely-Ewart were allowed to report that the entry level price of the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe is $9,000 more in Canada. A 20% difference!   

They go on to state that “the difference seems a bit much, something GM might want to revisit the price if it wants this car to sell in Canada and generate new Caddy Customers”.

Cadillac CTS good journalism!

Well this is a bit refreshing, but I am sure their editor had them tone it down.  So I decided to look at the true difference for hard working Canadians! 

Here is what we found:

Now this study is a bit rushed, and we didn’t go over the spec sheets in lengthy detail, but we are willing to wager that the US version is better built and has more features.

Here is the pricing data:

2011 CTS Coupe US Pricing   2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe Canadian Pricing  2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe Canadian Pricing OPage 2 

Remember in Quebec you need to make around $25,000 in order to save $13,000 after taxes! That is a big hit on our cost of living, but we guess GM figures wealthy Canadians are just as stupid as the CRUZE folks!

 On a side note, we are hoping that GM does not “black-ball” this writing team, as we have heard them to do in the past.  All Auto Journalists just love the free trips, parties and give aways that the Car companies throw at them!

Guess they make good candidates to run for political office in Canada, or work in Construction in Quebec!   EVERYBODY KNOWS …. EVERYBODY KNOWS……