Is the USA now Canada’s Mexico? Being in Canada (yes it’s a little known fact but Lemonfree.com is based in Canada) I’ve been hearing stories, both in the media and anecdotal, about how people are saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars by shopping in the USA instead of Canada.
These stories range from that friend of a friend who saved $20,000 on lumber, which ironically originated in Canada, for his Kenora cottage by driving down to Grand Forks, ND to our very own office admin who flew down to Florida and saved $8,000 on a 2004 Honda Accord.
Personally I knew the dollar was strong and took a look at a couple of cars I was interested in back on July when I was deciding between a 2007 City Jetta and a 2007 Jeep Patriot. The Canadian Dollar was trading at a whopping $0.95 USD but my two choices of cars hardly seemed worth the hassle of going down the the states just to save a few bucks.
Since the Loonie, what we Canucks affectionately call our dollar, has gone over par with the US Greenback I’ve been thinking that I should have picked a different vehicle. Last week the Canadian Dollar briefly broke $1.10 USD making American Cars a really good deal on some models.
Not that I want to add insult to injury by knowing how much I could have saved but I had to take a look at our most popular models to see what the numbers were. I narrowed specifically on the 20 vehicles that Canadians will save the most money on by buying in the States. The table below shows the average price (in USD) of these vehicles located in the United States and for comparison the average price of those same vehicles located in Canada (in CAD).
| Vehicle | US Average Price | CAN Average Price | Savings at PAR | Adjusted Savings at $1.03 |
| 2007 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR | $47,201 | $74,231 | $27,030 | $28,405 |
| 2007 FORD EXPEDITION | $31,739 | $57,868 | $26,129 | $27,053 |
| 2007 CHRYSLER ASPEN | $30,018 | $55,945 | $25,927 | $26,801 |
| 2006 CADILLAC STS | $36,468 | $60,326 | $23,858 | $24,920 |
| 2007 CHEVROLET CORVETTE | $57,151 | $80,380 | $23,229 | $24,894 |
| 2007 LINCOLN TOWN CAR | $31,557 | $54,705 | $23,148 | $24,067 |
| 2007 CADILLAC STS | $43,425 | $66,277 | $22,852 | $24,117 |
| 2008 FORD F-450 | $48,536 | $70,778 | $22,242 | $23,656 |
| 2007 CHEVROLET TAHOE | $38,777 | $60,565 | $21,788 | $22,917 |
| 2007 CADILLAC DTS | $36,310 | $57,918 | $21,608 | $22,666 |
| 2007 FORD EXPLORER | $25,774 | $46,799 | $21,025 | $21,776 |
| 2007 CADILLAC ESCALADE | $59,017 | $78,084 | $19,067 | $20,786 |
| 2007 CHRYSLER PACIFICA | $23,417 | $42,416 | $18,999 | $19,681 |
| 2007 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE | $28,137 | $46,982 | $18,845 | $19,665 |
| 2007 NISSAN TITAN | $27,675 | $46,423 | $18,748 | $19,554 |
| 2007 JEEP COMMANDER | $26,672 | $45,295 | $18,623 | $19,400 |
| 2007 BMW X5 | $61,165 | $79,629 | $18,464 | $20,246 |
| 2008 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE | $34,875 | $53,238 | $18,363 | $19,379 |
| 2007 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER | $24,379 | $42,669 | $18,290 | $19,000 |
| 2007 FORD F-250 SUPER DUTY | $35,821 | $54,057 | $18,236 | $19,279 |
When I crunched the numbers I was a little choked. Assuming a par dollar the savings are quite significant, especially when I look at the Jeep Commander. I thought the Commander was a little out of my comfort range for how much I was willing to spend but in reality it was only $6,000 more than what I spent on my Jetta.The Loonie closed a little lower yesterday at $1.03 easing my pain a little bit but there’s no point in looking back.
We’ve decided to give Canadian Shoppers the benefit of knowing the Average listing price of a vehicle in Canada as well as the average price in the USA on our Canadian site, lemonfree.ca, just look up any make and model and if we have enough data we’ll give you the average price both north and south of the boarder. For example if you’re looking for a Ford F-150 you’ll see that the average price of this vehicle is $39,531 CAD as listed in Canada but the price south of the border is $27,063 USD.
For those who want to find one close to home we’ve added a 500 mile radius for your Postal Code Search. You’ll get listings close to home as well as in the United States.
Demetri
<ahem> We’ve added some things to consider when Importing a car into Canada.</ahem>
Car Tips said,
November 25, 2007 @ 3:16 pm
Hi Demetri,
I am located in Ottawa and Play hockey with a lot of guys who are interested in buying cars south of the border. I am just wondering what other costs and technicalities are involved in bringing the car across the border into canada such as duty, tax implications, licensing, warranty and mechanical and safety laws. From what I know so far, the car has to go to Canadian Tire and get upgraded with new airbags etc. It would be good to know what other costs are involved in the whole process.
Thanks,
Brian Kearns
demetrik said,
November 26, 2007 @ 6:19 pm
Hi Brian,
It depends on what part of Canada you’re in, our office admin wrote up a checklist that I’ll be posting shortly. There are some minor fees associated with the title transfer. What will cost you the most:
1. GST, you have to pay this when you bring it across.
2. PST if you’re in Manitoba you get hit with this when you register your vehicle. I’m not sure about Ontario but I can’t imagine them not dinging you with this.
3. You need to install daytime running lights.
4. If the speedometer does not have Kilometers you’ll need to change it over (a sticker is usually enough but ugly).
5. If the car is made in US, Canada, or Mexico (NAFTA) there is no duty. If it’s foreign I believe the duty is 6.25%.
6. You’re insurer may require an immobilizer or may not be willing to insure the vehicle. Talk to them before you buy.
If you’re buying from a dealer things should be OK but if it’s a private sale you should be careful about scam artists. Any car that is too good to be true is.
What I recommend doing is going to the yellow pages for location of the vehicle you’re interested in and find an auto appraiser. It’ll cost you a few hundred dollars but you can have someone who knows cars look at it before you buy. Do this in addition to getting a carfax report.
Dino said,
November 30, 2007 @ 3:01 am
Vehicles with significant modifications Cannot be imported! This includes lift kits, etc.! Beware.
demetrik said,
November 30, 2007 @ 4:00 pm
That’s an excellent point Dino.
Actually in Manitoba you can’t purchase a Manitoba vehicle that’s been lowered and then insure it without making the suspension normal again. It won’t pass the safety.
In Manitoba MPI (Manitoba Public Insurance), the Province, and the police have become very picky about what constitutes a safe vehicle since the rise in popularity of cruise night.