A Canadian dealer agreed to sell me an R-Spec sedan for $50,093 before tax. With taxes that’s $52,724 on the road. At MSRP it would be $58,148. Too bad they don’t have any in stock.
I also considered buying in the USA. It should be possible to get one for $41,000, but the added costs are substantial: border and Canadian standards compliance fees are about $250; Canadian federal 6.3% duty is $2,583; A/C and tire tax here is $120; buying 3 years of local Motor
Club roadside assistance is $350; and 5% GST is $2,215. So the US car comes to $46,518 on the road.
Unfortunately, that road is in Seattle. One way airfare, taxis, hotel and meals (2 days to get the car over the border, and then a 12 hour drive home), fuel, and 1,200 km of wear together cost another $1,040. That’s without accounting for loss of income. Now the US car comes to $47,558.
I’ve got the cash, but the local dealer won’t discount for a cash sale! Hyundai Canada will finance with $0 down at 0% for 4 years. So, invest the $52,724 instead, make the 48 payments, pay the income tax on the earnings, and net $3,853. (That also nets out what I would earn by investing the USA purchase savings.) Now the local car effectively comes down to $48,871.
With these assumptions the US car is $1,313 cheaper than buying it here, with the dollars at par. I’m assuming I can completely avoid WA state taxes.
To save that $1,300 I have to miss 3 days of work, get groped at the airport, get no local dealer “adjustments”, no Hyundai Canada warranty, have to break in the engine on the highway, have no metric speedo/odometer, and have possible insurance and registration hassles.
I assume the US and Canadian cars are otherwise identical, but it’s not clear if the US V8s actually do have the uprated battery and alternator, and the limited slip differential that they supposedly have in Canada.
Did I mention no warranty? I had a 2 month old Chrysler 300M spin a crankshaft bearing. They paid, but imagine the cost of an engine replacement. Or a Lexicon head unit.
To me, it’s not worth the bother and the risk. I’m going to try grinding the locals.