Crazy Canuck

I e-mailed them yesterday. So far no response. The way I figure it, importing a slightly used car from the US will save me $15k + taxes for a little inconvenience and looking at a speedo in mph instead of kph. Plus, the selection is that much greater.

Does anybody have the name of a car broker in New England who would source a new 911 GT3? PCNA doesn't want us Canucks buying US cars (new) but the selection in the US is over 10x better.

Sharkdriver

You are going to be assessed 7 % GST at the border upon arrival and 6.3 % duty on the converted CAD price as well.

Then when you register it in your province....you take another hit....the PST.....not to be confrontational....but where do you save 15K of taxes on the transaction ? I am a dealer and would like to know.

On another note......there are 12 GT3's on the DuPont registry right now just for example.......one at $95K....several at $105K....and a couple at $115K more or less.

Let's buy a car for $ 100K.....a nice 2005 for example......after a discount from a dealer.

$100K USD equals $124K CAD according to the Bank of Canada site....add 6.3% duty.....$131K CAD.......add $2K freight or out of pocket expense to go and get it....$133K......speedo head $1K.....you are up to $134K now...plus about another $1K of misc. expenses.....$135K landed....a US car.

You can buy a new 2005 at DFC or other dealers for between $145-149 depending on options and equipment if you paid MSRP (you will negotiate I imagine)......so why would you consider going south of the border ? Merely for selection ? Only so you can "try" to resell a US car for "less" money up here when the time comes ??? You save nothing in the end....in fact you potentially will lose thousands.....and have trouble reselling an asset when there are Canadian cars around for sale. There is a US GT3 in TO looking for a home right now...but with no takers.

Go to Mark Motors.....ask them why they do not have a lot full of US cars...or any other dealer (like me) for example.

Crazy Canuck

One reason this opportunity has crept up is that the currency exchange was a big negative for years. Only in the past six months has the exchange rate been at a level where importing a car is attractive. Boats & RVs are imported all the time. In fact I imported a boat from the States in July. This was more for convenience than $$$ (dealer is across the river from the cottage) rather than driving 500km one way for Ontario dealer. I also know the import game as I do it for a living.

I have a friend who works for GM in Oshawa. Corvettes and Escalades are now coming north where before GM Canada had a problem of Duramax diesels heading south. A pile of used cars were also shipped south of the border to the US over the past 5 years.

Here are my calculations justifying what I'm saying. I called Canada Customs directly to verify the tariff rate. GST and PST are unavoidable whether i buy in Canada or the US.

Car $95,000 us
Exchange ($95000 x 1.225 or so) = $116,375 cdn
6.1% duty 7,099 cdn
Subtotal $123,474 cdn
GST 8,643 cdn
PST 9,878 cdn
TOTAL: $141,995 cdn

Add $100 excise tax for A/C. Add a couple hundred bucks for Canada Customs import fee. Add relay for Daytime Running Lights.

Cdn. GT3s are going for 140+. 140 - 125 = 15 grand + $2250 taxes. Saving almost $18K is not something to ignore.

Yes there is that PITA factor but really it's my time and this time of the year I can afford to take off a couple of days to drive the 400 miles each way to put the car in an enclosed trailer and truck it home. It's not that big of a deal. The truck and trailer are at my disposal for no cost.

I would much rather buy in Canada. I emailed Lauzon twice - once from home and once from work regarding their GT3s (new & used). Nobody's replied. Mark doesn't have much inventory at the best of times and they are not as competitive. I have an e-mail into Pfaff as well. I've searched the dealer's websites for inventory and the only dealer that I see that has a GT3 is Lauzon. There are no GT3s on the inventory listing. If there was a $5000 spread or even $10,000 I'd buy in Canada. But $18? If you guys know any dealers that have a GT3 in Canada and want to sell it for $130-135 please give me their names. I am ready to buy but I am not going to pay retail + +

Unless there is something I'm missing I'm ahead. I know that there will be a hit come time when I sell it but I can't imagine there will be that much trouble. There is a buyer for anything at the right price especially since the only real difference is that it is a US spec vs CDN spec car - essentially DRL and the speedo.

Tell me if I'm being an idiot but I feel my logic is sound.

Holger B

Go for it!

KLZ

Downtown Porsche has a 05' SY GT3, I don't know if it's still available.
www.dfcporsche.com

Sharkdriver

Maybe you should telephone Lauzon and all the other dealers instead....the reason I am suggesting that is because I sold KLZ's 2004 GT3 to a guy here in Calgary who tried to get ahold of Lauzon by e-mail for 4 days on that car.....and they never replied to him either. Dealer websites are notoriously slow in getting updated...if at all. Hopefully the car is still there.

Weissach in Vancouver has a RUF GT3 RS look alike as well for sale.....it's Seal Grey...so maybe that "was" the Lauzon car. It just appeared on their site a day or so ago.

KLZ mentioned that DFC has a new speed yellow 2005 GT3 which has an MSRP of $149K on their showroom floor right now. Call Vincent Ho over there....he's a great guy. I almost bought that car for a client as well.

Actual numbers of course are always hard to match up since it depends on what is for sale where....and what you can buy down there. All comparisons will be variable somewhat.

You didn't calculate the shipping costs or travel time and relevant expenses such as cost and use of money....do that and you are at $12-13K CA perceived savings pretax. That's about 8% of MSRP.

In 6 weeks or 6 months when the market corrects itself...and it always does...either in car prices or currency.... you will be sitting with a US car that when it comes time to sell....will have equivalent Canadian cars for sale as it's competition that are now valued similarily. People will buy the Canadian car 98% of the time. That will be your problem. You will easily have to discount the US car by $10K minimum to sell it...."if and when" you find a taker for it that is. No worthwhile savings occured in the end under this scenario.

In the last 16 years I have sold over 1,000 high end european exotic and luxury cars and will not touch an expensive US car unless it's something like a Ferrari Boxer for example (they are "all" grey market).

People will wonder why it is here.....was it brought up for profit....does it have a "washed" title....do the prospective buyers dislike the US for any reason that may influence their decision for example ? These are not logical reasons when the cars are basically the same....but perception in the marketplace is reality...so don't let logic get the better part of you. The domestic iron you mentioned appeals to a different buyer with a different mindset....it cannot be used for comparison....but they still have their problems too.

What I am trying to say is that I have seen this scenario happen over and over....and I have seen the client get burned....over and over. It makes sense on paper until you remember that the market corrects itself and that these perceptual issues exist......that is the problem. One of my clients bought a Murci in Toronto and paid $25K CAD more than a landed US car would have cost......why ? For those exact reasons.

Good luck with whatever you do.......

Crazy Canuck

I'm going to call Lauzon and DFC tomorrow. Anybody else know of a CDN dealer who has a GT3 or GT3 incoming?

I'm looking for a non-PCCB car, preferably in silver, blue, black, basalt, atlas . . . I have 2 yellow cars at the moment. Would prefer something more subtle.

Lots to think about. That's why I'm getting myself edu-micated. thanks.