So the Cruze is making a big splash all over North America. (also Car of the year in INDIA! … we wonder who they wined and dined and paid off to get this title… )
This morning we were so upset with these rave revues, we wondered if GM was going to be fair to Canadians! With a dollar hovering just over par you… my hard working Canadian can now pay over $5000.00 more in Canada for the same car your U.S. cousins are purchasing. $30,379.77 in the U.S. and $35696.25 in Canada. Almost a 15% difference!
see details Cruze U.S. Pricing , and Cruse Canadian Pricing 1 and Cruze Canadian pricing 2.
What is not surprising is how all the Automobile Journalists have refrained from writing on this pricing issue, while at the same time informing us of all the fantastic new features.
They should be mentioning the pricing issue, but I guess they still want to be wined and dined by the Canadian Car Companies….. Canwest Car writers need to start informing Canadians rather that being cheerleaders for Car Companies that are ripping Canadians off!!!!
BMW is still out there price gauging Canadians, but now we have the SWISS folks going after the car company for preventing them from buying in other countries where prices are less expensive.
The NAATA.org folks have highlighted the story!
Wonder when Canadians and the SWISS are just going to wake up and stop buying until the prices are more competitive…. EVERBODY KNOWS….EVERYBODY KNOWS…
So we left yesterday morning at 8:15a.m., enjoyable ride thru to Cornwall and then onto the WalMart in Massena N.Y. ( waited no more than 5 minutes at the border)
My new-found MalMart friend, Steve had set aside 4 tires for me, and to my surprise they had the wrong price! $74 each instead of $80. My lucky day. So for a total of $326.72 I picked up my 4 PaceMark SnowTrakker Radial ST/2 and headed home. Each tire included a N.Y. State Tire Tax of $2.50 and then a 7% N.Y. State tx was added and included in the total.
Did some grocery shopping and picked up some winter boots at a great savings. Filled up my gas tank at $2.97 per Gallon ( around .7435 cents per litre) Canadian at par. and drove to Canadian Customs.
I paid $15.66 GST on the Tires and $3.33 on the boots and drove home. I arrivided safe and sound around noon.
Note: Steve was wrong about the country of Manufacture. It was the U.S. not Canada, but he did tell me several other models were built in Canada.
In Summary, this is one Canadian that is not going to be taken to the cleaners by overpriced Canadian Tire and Auto manufacturers….. I enjoyed myself on a cold but sunny October morning, and I met many Canadians doing the same thing. Saving their hard earned $$$$$$!!!!
Just went onto the Goodyear web site and registered my purchase.
Well, the other day I went over to my friendly Canadian Tire dealer to have my Winter Tires installed.
One look at the tires and the specialist indicated that they were finished and if I put them on the car the Quebec Tire Police (not to be confused with the Language folks) would certainly arrest me! But “don’t worry!” He said we can set you up with some Goodyear 215/65R16s for around $150.00 plus tax. $677.25. Continue reading “Canadians still Paying More for Tires!”
Well now that the Toronto Star and La Presse have come out with non-bias multi-page articles on importing a Car from the U.S. , maybe just maybe Canwest will run a 2 line article informing Canadians that this is dangerous and Canadians need to spend their hard earned dollars in Canada!
For those of our members that have a bit of command of the French Language take a look at these two articles from LaPresse that ran over the last few days:
Acheter aux Etats-Unit redevient interessant ( Buying in the U.S. is becoming popular again!) and
Comment importer un Vehicle au Canada. (How do you import a vehicle into Canada)
Particularly about Sylvain Cousineau… he purchased a 2007 Subaru Tribeca in Burlington and saved $16,000!
Everybody Knows… EveryBody Knows…
Car Companies continue to treat Canadians like second class citizens. When will they adopt fair pricing for Canadians!
Here is an excellent document outlining how Consumers are often overcharged for repairs by Philip Reed, Senior Consumer Advice Editor for Edmonds.com
We also advise Canadians to shop around for their repair parts. Significant price savings can be achieved by purchasing your repair parts in the U.S. Of course you have to expend some effort but it might be worth your time. Unless of course you are a strong believer in allowing the Car Companies to fleece you. Why not spend your hard earned dollars on being taken to the cleaners by over-priced Canadian companies, when you could save some dollars to help pay for your children’s education, the dentist or a nice vacation.
Be careful with some repair shops, if you bring in your own parts they might charge you much more for the labor. Aways ask for quotes first! We have found that labor costs are pretty close on both sides of the border.
Check out the Toronto Star, Mark Toljagic is right on and calls it as he sees it.
Canadians shopping for cars in the U.S. - again!
and take a look at some of the responses he has from your trusty Canadian car folks!
Volvo response is a bit funny, they offer a cash discount of UP TO $9000, but the difference in price is around $19,000.00! ( see our price comparison dated April 20.)
