tim252

I know it is a free country and business is allowed to mark-up what the market will pay; however, are we Canadians this stupid?

Local used porsche at independent stores:

1996 993 tt with 30,000km for $115,000.

1998 C2s 105,000 km $70,000.

Supply and demand but anyone who pays near this price is short a few blocks or has way too much money especially with the dollar the way it is vs. U.S.A

When are we going to wake up?

The best quality 993 Porsches with duty paid are still considerably cheaper in U.S.

These people charge this because Canadians are willing to pay--I guess I don't get it?

Please, used dealers don't chime in and say U.S vehicles aren't worth as much. On a 10 year vehicle it does not matter even close to the degree of the rape!

Bob Rouleau

Tim - I am told that german manufacturers are discusing now what exchange rate they will use for Canada. As things stand prices here are far out of line with those in the USA and plenty of US cars (including brand new ones) are coming in. The dealers aren't happy about this, and if say Mercedes moves first, buyers will find ML's cheaper than Cayennes and SL's a better deal than the 997. I suspect we won't see any adjustment until the fall though, by then whatever change they make will still be bad for us as the C$ is headed for par with the US.

Jamie140

Agree 100%. Got my last one from the US. I suspect my next will be the same.

cj323

Was it difficult to get it across the border (i.e. the paperwork, inspections, conversions, etc...). I was thinking about driving to Buffalo and getting one to save on the crazy exchange rates.

PierreTT

You are right Tim,

I'm on the market to find a 993TT (and sell my 993 cabrio...). The cars are overpriced here but not that much when they get older.

A mint low mileage 993TT with a clean history will sell for about 75K$ USD. Convert this at a 1.16 exchange rate and you end up paying 87,000$. Add the damn 6.1% for customs and your car is now 92,307$. It is about 5K$ cheaper than a realisticly priced Canadian car...

BUT, when reselling the car, it will be tougher to get the same price for your car. There is no real reason for that but people are suspicious about US cars (wreck, flood, ...). You will probably get 5K$ less if your are selling a US 993TT compare to a Canadian one now...

The real lost is the usage of this 5K$ during the period you own the car...

There is a lot more choice and supply on the other side of the border. This is the real reason why we should shop there to me.

My 2cents anyway...
Pierre

beers4all

I'll chime in too -
At the time when I bought my 98C2S with 32K km's (19K miles), the closest thing i could find locally was a 96C4S at Segal Motor Cars w. 56K km's for 78K. I ended up far better off importing a car. Not only was the price better, nothing even existed in our market that was close in quality.

beers4all

-Mark[/QUOTE]


You actually charge a fee for advice on how to import a car?

Jaak Lepson

He charges a fee to take the car through the import process for you. All you do is receive the car at the end.

BIMMERMIKE

CAN YOU EMAIL ME PICS FOR TURBO TWISTS,
AND PRICE.
THANKS

imcarthur

I was talking to a leasing guy I know - PCA member who has leased many Porsches. Even he suggested south of the border for a car like Pierre wants. A lots of his clients are buying south & he arranges shipping & lease. He just landed a GT3 ('05 I think) for $109.

He said for new cars, Porsche & M-B etc are in a bind. They know they have to lower the retail of new cars, but that would devalue all of their leased cars which is an impact they don't want to absorb. Harley did it last year & continues to take a hit on every bike turned in.

Ian

YYC930

There is a big disconnect on NEW car prices right now............but used car prices are on an individual case by case basis as the market is correcting "very" fast.

The main advantage on the used side in the sheer number of units available down south........if you want a certain car in a certain color, chances are much better that you'll find it down there, than up here. Other than that.......PierreTT's statement about resale is true.

Having said that......"caveat emptor" is the best advice on both sides of the border.

Kit_Chris

This is no longer true. Check trader.ca and count the number of cars advertised with miles, a new phenomenon, and a growing number of dealers are offering US cars they probably imported themselves. The market is open to arbitrage profit and some people are smart enough to jump on it, and as buyers get used to the growing presence of US cars on the market, the perceived lower value of imports will disappear. The only genuine disadvantage I see in buying foreign is the added difficulty of inspecting a far-away car, but again buying local comes with very limited selection.

Now that brokers are offering the import services, it's never been easier and safer to bring in US car.

My question for Mark is, how is the import tax computed? On theoretical depreciation value? Book value? Bill of sales price?

I hope no one is seriously hoping for par on the exchange rate..

Regards,
Chris

Onami

I have brought a number of collector cars in from the US and imported a '67 Corvette last December. Taxes are calculated on the actual selling price of the car and they go to great lengths to ensure that you are telling the truth about the selling price! I was held for an hour, asked for my ebay name, bank info, sellers contact info, proof of payment etc. They even called the 72 year old seller at 6 am to confirm what I paid for the car. Other than that, bringing a car in is a breeze and once I close on my house this summer, I will certainly be bringing a 993 Turbo in from the US

lowside67

Exactly.
Click the link in my sig, it has pics and prices!Duty and taxes are calculated on the amount you pay for the car as stated on the bill of sale (converted to $cdn at the exchange rate of the day you cross the border).

theiceman

Kind of comes full circle about what we were discussing about grey market cars ..it is perceived , and possibly true that our car with "miles" could be worth less.
In my own personal opinion I didn't want to buy a car with Miles and not kilometers, it just didn't feel right , and I can't explain it. Maybe I didn't want a car that was " bastardized" for the US market, remember most of Europe if not all now is kilometers.. not sure about the UK. Maybe non sense but that is just what I wanted. So having said that if there any other strange birds like me who would only consider these cars to purchase , would cause the US car guys sellng to lower there prices to be attractive maybe ? who knows.

I think it would be great if someone with experience could list the steps in getting a car over though , I hae hear suff like leaving your car at the border for 3 days, having to fill out all kinds of forms, all kinds of nighmares.