Well you do understand that sometimes the currency fluctuations go the other way don’t you? for a number of years new Volvos were noticeably cheaper in Canuckistan than they are in the USA. Of course the US warranty would be honored, but the new car Canadian warranty is different than the new car US warranty. Different warranty = different costs.
Also you get certification issues. We sell about 130,000 cars a year in the US. So our certification costs are divided over 130,000 Units. We sell about about 20,000 cars (20,001 thanks to Alice) so our cert costs are divided by 20,000. There are also different tariffs as these are different countries.
As far as driving South and buying a car goes, you would have to pay tax and license in whatever state you bought it in, and then assuming that it was legal to import to Canada you would have to pay at least the license again. Maybe the tax again too. They may not let you license it at all since it won’t have a transport Canada certification sticker on it. For a point of notice if you try and bring a car from Canada to California and it has less than a certain mileage(5,000 IIRC) I think you cannot get tags for it. Period. I had a boss that ran into this when he brought his Sunday driver (new Corvette) from Toronto to Orange County when he got transfered.
Now you get to the problem is the US car is in miles and gallons. In Canuckistan they use Kilometers and Liters. Gonna have to buy new gauge faces and pay to have the cars computers reprogrammed to the new location.
What you are proposing is not doable.
The same product in two different countries can cost different amounts of money. Deal with it.
As an aside, this really was the easiest $36,000 I’ve ever spent. To be frank, driving accross the boarder, looking for a dealer, dealing with all the hassle just isn’t worth it.
The guys at the local shop were awesome. Not everything is about money - I told my friend last night, as long as I feel like I got a good deal, I don’t give a rat’s ass if somebody else got a better deal.
Much ado about nothing, as far as I’m concerned.
BTW, have I mentioned how fan-fucking-tastic you are Rick? 
I think you might have mentioned it in passing. 
It not often I get a pretty girl to tell me I am fan-fucking-tastic. You made my day.
I’m sure we’ll deal with that when we get to it.
My point exactly. So why should I buy in Canada again?
Due to a little thing called NAFTA, there are NO tarriffs on cars(or mostly anything else) made in NAFTA member countries. That includes Mexican Jettas, Alabama-ian Mercedes, and South Carolinian BMWs and Indiana-ian Subarus. Not applicable in the OP’s case, and I did factor in the 6% import duty in my calculation, but keep it in mind if you’re looking at a Dodge Viper (IIRC ~$50k difference in price after currency conversion at current rates)
How much is that in Montana? $5,000? An in-transit pass will suffice. This is pretty low on the list of potential hurdles. The biggest obstacle one will face will be overly intrusive border guards and lost paperwork.
And the tax too, which in Alberta is only the 6.5% GST. No different than buying it in Canada
Our Canadian readers can simply refer to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles, the Canadian goverment’s agent that specifically handles the registration of thousands of vehicles imported from the US year. As you can see on their PDF “eligible for import” list, All Volvo models aside from a few 2001-2004 models are 100% eligible for import. Also note the handy guide: “How to Import a Vehicle into Canada”.
A shame, I’m sure, but why did he buy the silly thing in Canada in the first place when it’s tens of thousands cheaper in the US, perfectly importable from the US to Canada? In Toronto, I believe you can WALK across the border to a Cadillac dealership (that’s where they sell Corvettes, correct?) in Buffalo. If he crosses the boarder with any kind of frequency he should be more than aware of the difference in price, heck, if I had a mailing address in the US I won’t even have to bother at all with RIV, duties, Transport Canada or any of that crap.
For cars with digital displays, there is usually a button or series of buttons that will do the switch. If not, one can simply buy a sticker that affixes to the dash. It isn’t an issue at all. In addition, some US domestic market cars don’t come with DRL relays as standard, and these are required for vehicles made after 1989 in Canada. These can be purchased for ~$30 at Canadian Tire, which incidentally is also the Canadian goverment contracted firm for doing RIV inspections on the thousands of US vehicles that Canadians import every year. You can get it all done in one afternoon. RIV charges a $200 + GST processing fee.
Not that it really matters to you, not being Canadian and all, but you are welcome to contact any Subaru dealership on a border town such as Buffalo or Seattle and inquire about purchasing a car to import to Canada. I’m sure they’d love to hear about how it isn’t doable. With all due respect to your expertise on the technical side (thanks for your informed response in the roll cage thread BTW), I don’t think you’re quite up to date on the regulatory enviroment we have up here. Neither am I, really, but any Canadian car forum will usually have a FAQ for importing from the US, covering the specifics of whatever model that forum caters to. Any prudent Canadian car buyer would be well advised to at least price out their vehicle of choice at a nearby US dealership and inquire about their options.
Regardless, the OP has made it clear that my opinions are not welcome in this thread, and this will be the extent of my participation. I only wish to do my part in the fight against ignorance.
Wait - the GST in Alberta is 6.5% as opposed to 6% in all the other provinces? Or is this a car specific thing…checks invoice…uh, nope. Looks like I paid 6%.
What ARE you talking about?
Excuse me. 6% GST of course. 6.5% is the duty on imported cars last time I checked, although this may have changed slightly since then. I got the numbers backwards.
Don’t worry about it, have fun with the car.
Just checked. It’s 6.1%, not 6.5%, so it HAS changed. also, WRT to state taxes if applicable (e.g. California), just bring proof of Canadian citizenship, and it won’t be charged.
This officially concludes the hijaack.
There is a very popular TV show in Canada I’m told, where a Canadian MC travels to the US and asks people on the street questions about Canada and they show the dumb Americans. Now maybe we could have the Canadian version of this show. Do you really believe that Either Belgium or Sweden are part of NAFTA? :rolleyes: :dubious: We don’t import Volvos from the US they come from Europe.
OK let’s do the math. $5,000USD= $5750CAD. Plus $34,593 = 40,343 which is now within spitting distance of what the MSRP of Alices car. Now since you do not have a copy of her full equipment list I do not have faith that you number includes all of the items on her car. When included your price could now in fact exceed her MSRP. When you throw in the fuel to drive to the nearest US dealer and back (the two nearest dealers are Spokane, and Billings Montana. Spokane is 850 miles round trip, and Billings is 1,070 miles RT. Is gas still $4 a gallon up there?) Both Spokane and Billings are very small dealerships and don’t have the selection that the dealer in Calgary does.
Ah maybe he bought in Canada because he was living and working in Canada? Seems like a good reason to me. Then he got transfered. Corvettes are sold by Chevrolet.
::: Sigh::: Look I did not post false information. There is not series of button that changes all of this stuff on a Volvo. It requires a dealership computer and a bunch of software to reprogram several control units. I don’t know how much the switch from US to Canada costs, but going the other way is spendy. Take my word for it. A sticer on the dash on a brand new car? :rolleyes:
First off why would I go to a Scooby Do dealership if I am discussing a Volvo. :rolleyes: Secondly, WTF do I know, I only travel to BC 5 or 6 times a year or so to train technicians.
I helped Alice save about $3,000CDN on her purchase. Please me if I could have saved her more I would have. I like Alice. I know more about this than you do, and she got a smoking deal. Be happy for her.
You just keep getting better and better. 
Stranger
Yah, the number that kawaiitentaclebeast was quoting as the US MSRP is not, in fact, the number that I come up with when I do the “Build your S40” on the US Volvo website using the specs from my car.
Without getting into specifics, because I don’t feel like adding any fuel to this absurd discussion, my number comes out quite a bit higher.
So, I have no idea how you guys are calculating the numbers, but I can tell you a couple of numbers of my own:
- level of annoyance at current hijack = 7
- level of chance that I would drive to the us to buy a car = 0
- level of satisfaction with current purchase = 10
- number of times I’ve danced around like a goofball today = 17
- number of boobs I’m storing in my sweater = 2
- number of moose that Rick is going to receive as a thank you = 12
So, there you go.
Now I just need someone to come in here and tell me I should have bought a BMW instead, and I’ll be really delighted.
That is why I applied the 6.5% (should be 6.1%, sorry) duty on IMPORTED NON-NAFTA vehicles, and stated as such 2 or 3 times for emphasis. It would be almost $2,000 LESS if it were a NAFTA produced car. Pay attention, eh?
That was a JOKE. an in-transit permit is not $5,000(indeed, close to the price difference, get it?), it’s more like $25. Canadian, because you buy it in Canada before you leave, and put it on the car once you get there. Did you actually pay $5,000 for one? 
Not to me. Guess where I live and work?
I did it exactly as she listed, right on the volvo website. Do it yourself.
As an aside, I note that the sports package is $850 in the US, but $4,000 in Canada! :eek: That’s not a currency fluctuation is it?
[/QUOTE]
::: Sigh::: Look I did not post false information. There is not series of button that changes all of this stuff on a Volvo. It requires a dealership computer and a bunch of software to reprogram several control units. I don’t know how much the switch from US to Canada costs, but going the other way is spendy. Take my word for it. A sticer on the dash on a brand new car?
First off why would I go to a Scooby Do dealership if I am discussing a Volvo. Secondly, WTF do I know, I only travel to BC 5 or 6 times a year or so to train technicians.
I helped Alice save about $3,000CDN on her purchase. Please me if I could have saved her more I would have. I like Alice. I know more about this than you do, and she got a smoking deal. Be happy for her.
[QUOTE]
I don’t even know why I’m still arguing, since all I’m doing here is lowering the resale value of my own car. So yes, by all means, Canadians, ignore everything I say and ignore the fact that virtually every expensive car on Canadian streets is privately imported from the US, because Rick Says it’s not doable, and that’s that.
I’m darn near close to perfect, really.
Well, I hate to ruin your fabulous arguement with pesky old facts, but the sports packages aren’t the same.
In fact, the options as I have them on my car are not available on the US model - or at least they’re not listed on the website. I just built my S40 using their site and my numbers, with my options are quite a bit higher than yours. So yes, I suppose I could have saved $500 bucks by driving all over hell’s half acre trying to find a dealership that would be half as nice as the one here in town.
But why the hell would anyone do that? So they could say they saved $500? Really, I just don’t need the money.
No, no, of course,Rick is absolutely right. It’s just not do-able. Forget I ever mentioned it.
And by quite a bit, I mean thousands of dollars, just so we’re clear.
Well then why, for the love of Pete, do you keep posting about it?
Really - I’m waiting for you to tell me how much better the Acura TSX is now. Go on then. You know you want to.
My apologies, I must have been on drugs. Please, warn your friends and family against the idea as well, it’s all just crazy and will never work.
Ok, I just did the math myself.
Had I bought in the US, I could have got the car for $36,571.44
Today I wrote the dealership a cheque for $38,322.00
A difference of $1750.56.
Now - I had no car before this, so I could have flown to Spokane for $494.00
A hotel for at least three nights = $350.00
Dining out for at least four days = $150.00
Gas to get the thing home = $50
1750.56-
494-
350-
150-
50 =
$706.56
Now, how much should I charge for my time. I make about $30/hour at my job, which of course I couldn’t be doing if I was traveling all over hell’s half acre looking for a car. Now, I won’t charge for nights, days only = $840.00
So far, I’m actually down $133.34.
Yes, this sounds like a really good idea…
And actually, I just realized that I forgot to add the rock chip coating that I had added, the etching transfer, and the free winter mats that the dealership give me into the US price.
Wow, that “Buying in the US” plan is a real money maker.
I do not doubt this at all.
Stranger