Perception AND/OR Personal Experience with U.S Vehicle(s)

[EMAN_O]

Hello Beyonders,

Have now been in the process of buying a vehicle. After viewing it, I find it is a American vehicle. This leaves questions that I have that need to be answered:

1. What is your perception of a U.S Vehicle or what have you heard from people about their perception of U.S Vehicles (Like they would never buy one because..)?

2. What was your experience trading it in into a dealership? Did they offer even lower because it was a U.S vehicle or didn't want to take it etc.?

3. What was your experience selling it privately?

Anything else you have to share would be golden. Thanks in advance.

[Kloubek]

There is a whole US import thread, where all this is answered.

Some people don't want to buy a US car, or expect a deep discount with the assumption you paid less so they should too. With some vehicles the K is really small on the dial, so that might detract some people. Personally, I'd *rather* buy a car that hasn't been subjected to the harsh winter conditions.

[Accord_tunerx]

re sale value private sucks and dealer ship.
its either you can find a really good deal and keep the car more then 3 months like i did, and i lost money on the resale value.

as i right now i am still considering to buy another US car, but not as yet.

[M.alex]

I don't really care - all my vehicles originally were sold/came from the US :dunno:

[Cos]

You get a good deal and I dont see the problem. You cannot compare them to Canadian used prices though.

[bastardchild]

I laugh at people who think US vehicles are worth less. So you're saying a car that has never seen salt or snow should be priced less? :nut:

I've bought 3 US vehicles from California with minimal problems.

[corsvette]

Originally posted by bastardchild
I laugh at people who think US vehicles are worth less. So you're saying a car that has never seen salt or snow should be priced less? :nut:

I've bought 3 US vehicles from California with minimal problems.

I agree, there is no reason at all a us vehicle should be priced much lower than a canadian vehicle. Be careful WHERE in the us it came from though...stay away from anything from the east coast (the salt belt) cars can get rusty very quickly.

[Cos]

However they are priced less than a canadian car. I didnt say it made sense but when I was looking for a BMW it was pretty much a 2/3k difference.

[tawheed]

U.S. vehicles are usually perceived to have less value than their Canadian counterparts. I think this is mostly due to the fact the MSRP's in the states are so much lower. Hence cars like S2000s which were around 50k here retail and 35-37k retail in the states could be had for much cheaper much earlier in their lives.

[msommers]

I would have no issue at all. A concern would be if the warranty was valid in Canada on a new(er) vehicle.

I was looking for a G35 from the states initially because I thought it would be cheaper and also in better condition. I would have paid about the same or a bit more if I imported, on a vehicle worth between 25-30K.

Things in fehrenhuit and miles would have been a minor nuisance, along with the importation process but quickly would have been overshadowed by a savings of a 2000+ dollars.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Fact of the matter is US vehicles sell for less here because they are cheaper new to begin with. People are also under the perception that its much easier to trace the history of a car if its local. Whats important is that you really do your research to make sure its worth while. To save a couple of grand is definitely not worth it especially since youll loose your shirt come time to sell it. What I like about the US market is that they have some unique cars down there not available to Canada. What I dont like is that if youre looking for an SUV it can be tough to find 4x4 and many of them arent outfitted properly for CND winters.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[bastardchild]

Just because somebody paid more for their vehicle in Canada doesn't mean they should get more than its worth.

I'll stick to getting my vehicles from the US. The one Canadian car I bought here has nothing but problems from being winter driven, rust, rock chips & its an 06.

[CapnCrunch]

Personally I think a US car should have the exact same value as a Canadian one.

But the perception is that people pay less so they are worth less, and that is what drives the market. Also there have been issues with people bringing in salvaged/ flood damaged/ etc US cars and curbing them in Canada, so people are wary of that as well and might be hesitant to buy. An internet story can go a long way.

[buh_buh]

I've purchased a car from the US and would do it again. Just the drive back alone made it worth it, even if I'd paid a similar price locally, though I hadn't. There's nothing like spending 3 consecutive days in a car you just purchased and driving it up the West Coast.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by buh_buh
I've purchased a car from the US and would do it again. Just the drive back alone made it worth it, even if I'd paid a similar price locally, though I hadn't. There's nothing like spending 3 consecutive days in a car you just purchased and driving it up the West Coast.

That's because you drive awesome cars. Most people don't buy M coupes. :D

[bignerd]

Bought two, one new and one barely used BOTH from dealerships. Felt more comfortable buying from a large dealership and sending away $40K and knowing that my car would actually be shipped to me...

Had zero issues with either and easily sold both. Serious buyers had no issues with it being a US car. Again though, one car was new and the other was almost new so no issues with them being written off or salvaged etc...

[Graham_A_M]

I have zero issues with buying from the states, knowing that it's never seen a snowflake. I didn't take any hit when selling either of the two u.s. Cars either, but both were sold privately. If you remind people that it is a 100% rust free car from the southern states that really speaks numbers towards maintaining the cars value towards a potential buyer.
The only downsides is that higher end makers (such as lambo, BMW, Mercedes, etc.) make it very costly to bring a vehicle in from the states, just because some companies make you pay out the ass for instrument clusters and the like

Like buh buh, the drive back can be fucking amazing!! I bought a car in Atlanta and drove it 4500 km's back over three LONG days... I'd be lying to say that was not amazing :D

[boarderfatty]

I have bought 3 vehicles from the States, back when there were big $$$ to be saved, but now I could care less, the savings aren't the same, and the resale isn't the same imo. I brought in a 96 M3 an 02 M3 and 04 STI.

Cars were not suited for Canadian winters aka block heater, I dislike climate controls in F and the big speedo numbers in mph. Sure the drive was fun but the hassles of bringing it across, not really saving like you used to etc. it just doesn't seem to be worth my time anymore which is why I bought my last couple vehicles in Canada. Plus the hassle of Driving a USDM car is almost as bad as a JDM car

[911fever]

US cars should be worth more than CDN cars IMO. Especially southern US cars.

[max_boost]

The cars are the same for the most part, minus for a few small things. If anything there's a greater selection if you are after a particular model.

If you have the vehicle's history, the savings are significant, why not?

I was in the market for an NSX for a long time and I finally found one that I thought was fair so I got Team_Mclaren to bring it back. Would I do it again? Of course.

[CUG]

American vehicles that lived in warmer climates that didn't get a lot of snow are better, I think. The difference is with specialty stuff like sports cars; they get driven year round.