Increase in Canadian dollar - is the RX price too high now ?

halfon · 05-04-2003, 06:15 PM

With the increase in value of the Canadian dollar I wonder if we will be paying too much for this car ?

In the States they will be paying less then we are in absolute dollars.

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Gord96BRG · 05-04-2003, 10:51 PM

Did you ever compare the price for a similarly-optioned RX-8 before the recent rate change, say, 3 months ago? We were paying about $5000 Cdn less than the US for a GT package RX-8. Maybe with the current exchange rate shift we're only paying $4500 less - I don't think we're getting ripped off now by any means!! I also would certainly not be trying to push Mazda Canada to lower the price - relative to the Yen, the $Cdn hasn't changed much (it's the US$ that has weakened internationally).

Regards,
Gordon

StealthTL · 05-05-2003, 12:32 AM

The amazing value is THE reason I went with the 'loaded' version - from day one I felt I had a handle on the options I wanted; Highest horsepower motor/cloth seats/ lowest entry price possible. The only 'if' was whatever it would cost for the Fuji limited slip.
Then Mazda Canada announced the pricing, with LSD standard on all models, I was ecstatic - then I checked the option pack price - the same options that make up the GT pack (leather, power, Bose etc.) would cost around 4k/5k in the States, but only around $3000 Canadian! (2k US!) Value like that is hard to turn down - SOLD!
The recent exchange rate hike hasn't made a dent in the overall deal, for me.
S.

loungeliz · 05-05-2003, 10:22 AM

Most Automakers were previously giving Canadians a beneficial exchange rate 1.4 or even lower. Thus there was a problem with grey market flow of Canadian Cars to the US.

With the current exchange rate approaching 1.4 very quickly we are indeed in territory where our price is at "par" to US pricing or in fact are getting a bum deal.

Two other things to take into account:
1) financing/lease rates in the US are also lower.
2) with a weaker econonmy in the US and more competition, you are very likely to get bigger discounts off MSRP.
3) we pay more in taxes (but we can't do anything about this...)

I got my MB C230 in Oct of last year. MB Canada made me sign a piece of paper stating that if I sold the car in the US within 1yr I would have to pay MB Canada 20% of the purchase price of the car, due to the "great discount" they are giving Canadians.

Well lo and behold!! At current exchange rates + taking lower financing/lease rates + bigger discounts (based on US MB forum info) into account, I could probably buy the same car almost $5,000 cheaper in the US than in Canada. This is also not taking into account the intangibles that in Canada the purchase price of MB's does not inlcude "complimentary service", while in the US it does.

If I had to buy today, I would buy in the US and drive to Buffalo to have my car serviced.

Canadian automakers better start dropping the price of cars in Canada or we will have reverse problem, of grey market cars making their way up...

wakeech · 05-05-2003, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by loungeliz
Canadian automakers better start dropping the price of cars in Canada or we will have reverse problem, of grey market cars making their way up...

i sincerely doubt it: prices (especially of durable goods and labour) are very sticky, and would take a long-term stability of this kind of US recession to really take effect.
also, we STILL are getting our cars for cheaperon the whole, not to mention there's no way that we can keep our economy booming ahead (probably over-potential at this rate) without the US to sell all the stuff we're making. trust me, this will all slow down unless Bush can get his MF'ing sh*t straight... that retard.

loungeliz · 05-05-2003, 12:08 PM

Yeah, you're probably right that pricing is sticky. I'm already peeved that I could now buy my car cheaper in the US (even though when I bought, that was not the case...). If pricing were lowered in Canada, that would seriously peev me off. So I guess you're right, automakers would not want to peev off the existing customer base, unless price disparity persisted for extended periods.

On the other hand, what I do think will happen is brand new cars with no pricing history will have lower prices than what marketing folks had originally built business cases with

Example. WRX STi. http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/ciaswrap.htm
(high 40s or even low 50's, based on dealer discussions expected at 49). As it turns out since the TO autoshow, the loonie has been on a tear. On Apr 27th official pricing, is now, 46 and change. So price has been "dropped" by at least 2.5G's, but the new lower price is still 1G higher than straight conversion of the US price at current exchange rates. Had Subie held off on their price announcement for another 2wks, they might have been able to announce a "steal" at under 45Gs...

Anyhow, I guess this discussion is a bit moot. Currency is so volatile. A month from now we could be back talking about what a great deal we get on our cars...

wakeech · 05-05-2003, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by loungeliz
Anyhow, I guess this discussion is a bit moot. Currency is so volatile. A month from now we could be back talking about what a great deal we get on our cars...

exactly.... and we were talking about it, rubbing it in everyone's face until last week

gord boyd · 05-06-2003, 05:32 AM

One thing I've learned from 36 years in the Petrochemical business is: "Don't try to manage foreign exchange swings"

Heh, we get free medicare with every RX-8.