I was thinking about buying my Prius in the states (I have family there, so I could have got around the Toyota dealers not selling to Canadians thing), but it didn't see worth the effort, especially after seeing posts like this. Also - I think, possibly because of the US/Canada dollar thing - the Toyota Dealership I bought from offers 7 years complimentary oil changes. So that was a nice little bonus that I wasn't expecting.
IMHO with a little extra effort you can still save a lot of money. Since you do have family in the States for you buying in the US should be much easier than for other folks. It is possible that the greater price differentials are for the higher end packages. The 7 year free oil change is nice but when you add it up it is more window dressing hiding the real price differential. In either case you getting a great car. Good luck, Gabe
After reading some of the posts on here, I wish I can buy another Prius or two and sell them in Canada for a profit (or even half the profit)! I'm going to land as a permanent resident sometime in June or July and I don't have to pay duties & assessment fees when I cross the border. Unfortunately, I can't sell or dispose of the car until after a year from landing. Anyway, I have a question with regard to auto insurance. Do any Canadian insurance companies offer incentives for hybrid cars? Prius 07 was kind enough to point out that I might be able to avail of the PST rebate. I have to call the Ontario Ministry of Revenue to determine if I'm qualified. Which insurance companies in Ontario offer the cheapest auto insurance? TIA
I remember reading about a similar issue with a car manufacturer trying to prevent Canadians from buying cars from American dealers. If I remember correctly it was Chrysler... but I'm not positive. What I do remember though was they controlled the "problem" by not honoring the warranty in the other country. In other words, you get the car back to Canada, take it in for warranty work just to find you don't actually have a warranty. Granted warranty work is a bigger problem on Chrysler vehicles. Okay, I'm trolling a bit with that statement as my Dodge truck (Cummins diesel) is the only vehicle I've ever owned that has NOT been in for warranty work (It's now 8 years old)... if you can believe it.
I went to their website and they seem to be only offering auto insurance in BC and AB. Is that right? Unfortunately, I'll be living in Ontario. But, thanks for the tip!
with regards to Toyota, they will honour the warranty. It's the engine immobiliser that's stopping some US-spec Toyotas. beach: oh.. oops. Sorry. I don't deal with CDI so I wasn't aware that they're only on the west coast.