'98 Cab on Ebay - Vancouver car
10-23-2007, 10:29 PM
#31
Drifting
You really have to assess the condition of the individual car. I'm not a big fan of cars that sit around a lot (like all winter). I think cars age whether they are driven or not so moderate mileage is okay. Vancouver must be a good place because you can drive your car most or all of the year and you don't have the extremes in temperature. Edmonton is horrible because even when you can drive your car the roads are dirty from all the sand and gravel they put down. I agree that a Canadian car would be preferable but how much is that worth? Not $20K like some sellers are asking.
10-23-2007, 10:51 PM
#32
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Imports are easy to do, there are the extra taxes and import costs (inspection, daytime running lights, a/c tax, RIV fee, etc.), however, there are some other factors to consider. With new cars, "apples are apples" would be the expression that comes to mind, however when two cars are 10 years old and come from different places, some environmental factors come into play.
Very few US cars are from areas that have similar weather conditions to that of Canada, meaning, most are from the southern states (California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, etc.). This has several effects on the condition of our cars. Vinyls rubbers and leathers HATE high humidity, high UV and high heat. Additionally, the air-cooled cars are adversely affected by the aforementioned conditions in the engine department, exascerbating the valve guide wear experienced in all air-cooled 911 engines (that's right, not just 993's!). Another factor in this is related to traffic volume. 911's HATE to sit idle in traffic jams, yet another wear exaggerator for the fine 911 air-cooled engine.
Aside from environmental factors, a car from the states will never be a Canadian car. Local cars should always have an effectively greater resale value, and for the above reasons, justly, if it came from or has spent the majority of its life in a very car friendly climate (Vancouver has got to be one of the best, by the way!).
Just my 0.02
James.
Very few US cars are from areas that have similar weather conditions to that of Canada, meaning, most are from the southern states (California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, etc.). This has several effects on the condition of our cars. Vinyls rubbers and leathers HATE high humidity, high UV and high heat. Additionally, the air-cooled cars are adversely affected by the aforementioned conditions in the engine department, exascerbating the valve guide wear experienced in all air-cooled 911 engines (that's right, not just 993's!). Another factor in this is related to traffic volume. 911's HATE to sit idle in traffic jams, yet another wear exaggerator for the fine 911 air-cooled engine.
Aside from environmental factors, a car from the states will never be a Canadian car. Local cars should always have an effectively greater resale value, and for the above reasons, justly, if it came from or has spent the majority of its life in a very car friendly climate (Vancouver has got to be one of the best, by the way!).
Just my 0.02
James.
10-24-2007, 01:06 PM
#33
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All very true. One must assess a car on its individual merits when it has had so much time to deteriorate, be abused, or damaged and subsequently poorly repaired. A good purchase is a relative thing, not just about the bottom dollar.
10-24-2007, 01:21 PM
#34
Racer
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Very few US cars are from areas that have similar weather conditions to that of Canada, meaning, most are from the southern states (California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, etc.). This has several effects on the condition of our cars. Vinyls rubbers and leathers HATE high humidity, high UV and high heat. Additionally, the air-cooled cars are adversely affected by the aforementioned conditions in the engine department, exascerbating the valve guide wear experienced in all air-cooled 911 engines (that's right, not just 993's!). Another factor in this is related to traffic volume. 911's HATE to sit idle in traffic jams, yet another wear exaggerator for the fine 911 air-cooled engine.
Aside from environmental factors, a car from the states will never be a Canadian car.
Aside from environmental factors, a car from the states will never be a Canadian car.
As someone that imported his car from Vancouver to the US, I feel the environmental factors in a major Southwestern states city is far superior.
High humidity is simply not a factor in Southern California or, in particular, Arizona. The term "dry heat" comes immediately to mind! High UV and temperatures are almost uniformly mitigated by a simple garage...I don't see many Porsches street parked. While I cannot speak for Phoenix, Los Angeles/San Diego are hot for perhaps a couple of months a year, and at all other times are room temperature.
I believe traffic is overblown, and in particular, someone from the Vancouver of 2007 can't levy the issue of traffic against any other city!
Quite frankly, with the frequency of freeway driving, the higher speeds, and generally better drivers (Richmond, I'm looking at you...), a car from the States is a much more likely source for a well maintained classic car.Add in the fact that Vancouver is far more "humid" than any of the states you mentioned, with the exception of Florida, and I'm not sure you can successfully justify the higher prices on anything other than simply supply-demand factors, in addition to sticky prices left over from weak currency days.
10-24-2007, 02:29 PM
#35
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This post is getting waaaaaaay side-tracked! Oops.
What I meant was: The combination of high heat and humidity (definitely not Vancouver, where it's warm and dry or cold and wet with no exceptions), which also pairs with typically high UV to ruin said materials. I am just commenting on the plethora (read: well more than a hundred US imports from southern climes) of Porsche vehicles we have seen imported in the last few years with instrument needles that were faded orange, leather seat covers that were dry and hard, dashboards that were sun-baked, windshields delaminating, plastic rear windows on cabrios that were orange and opaque, rubber window trims that were discoloured and cracking...you get the point.
I am not attempting to make a crass generalization about southern cars, just noted more than a few have seen this kind of treatment. I am certain they do not represent the well cared for, enthusiast owned vehicles, but rather the majority of those owned by the type that 'drives and forgets'. These unfortunately are the so-called 'deals' that people are picking up.
What I meant was: The combination of high heat and humidity (definitely not Vancouver, where it's warm and dry or cold and wet with no exceptions), which also pairs with typically high UV to ruin said materials. I am just commenting on the plethora (read: well more than a hundred US imports from southern climes) of Porsche vehicles we have seen imported in the last few years with instrument needles that were faded orange, leather seat covers that were dry and hard, dashboards that were sun-baked, windshields delaminating, plastic rear windows on cabrios that were orange and opaque, rubber window trims that were discoloured and cracking...you get the point.
I am not attempting to make a crass generalization about southern cars, just noted more than a few have seen this kind of treatment. I am certain they do not represent the well cared for, enthusiast owned vehicles, but rather the majority of those owned by the type that 'drives and forgets'. These unfortunately are the so-called 'deals' that people are picking up.
10-24-2007, 02:33 PM
#36
Rennlist Member
On average, Vancouver cars seem to be the nicest in North America. This is my observation a Vancouverite who's lived in Santa Monica, who visits Sonoma often to visit my folks and travels extensively throughout Canada and the US for business. Maybe it's the tempered weather, the lack of exposure to sun or the over-exposure to rain. Maybe Vancouver drivers are just finicky and take good care of their possessions or maybe our insurers are easier to deal with. I don't know what it is exactly but I do know that Vancouver cars, be it highline cars or econo boxes, tend to be better kept than in other areas where cars seem to have more dings, scrapes, poor paint etc. Obviously, this is a general observation and there are many exceptions, I'm sure.
