Oh Canada…Glorious and Fleeced – the gouging continues!

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)….remember that? It seems the North American Auto Industry has not. Or if they did, have chosen to ignore it. You know…the part where barriers can not exist as a protectionist mechanism.

In an October post on this subject, I wrote about how my wife was going to follow in her sisters footsteps and purchase a new auto in the USA. Well she started the process and quickly found out that the same car dealer is now refusing to sell to her because of a new policy that forbids them to sell to Canadians. Say what? WTF? Are these guys for real?

This is completely unfair. Tell me where the auto makers get off inserting blockages into the economic reality of a high Canadian dollar (~$1.07 US). Can you say ‘law suit’ boys and girls?

Put a stop to these bastards!

My fellow Canadians. If you are interested in buying a car, here is what you do:

1. Go to the USA
2. Go to an auto dealer
3. Ask to take a few cars for a test drive
4. Find the one you like
5. Negotiate a price
6. Do the paperwork to complete the sale
7. Somewhere in this chain the salesman will discover you are Canadian and, in most likelihood, tell you that he can’t sell to you.
8. Blow a gasket
9. Visit a nearby ambulance chaser
10. Sue for millions

On the slim chance that the dealer will sell to you, be prepared to buy the auto. Do not go through this process because you are setting them up to sue. I am no lawyer, but I would think a judge would not be too happy with you about doing all this, when you had no intention of buying the car. Further there would probably be a counter-suit.

The bottom line is that if enough people do this, the auto industry will be forced to change. They are, like a lot of other retail sectors in Canada, ripping us off. Canadians are being gouged. The pre-tax price of a new auto should be cheaper in Canada than in the USA. I do not need an economics degree to tell me this. Simple logic tells me. If the car is made in Canada and shipped to the USA, how can it sell for a lower price there then in Canada when our money has more purchasing power?

I like the excuses – Buy your books in the USA

I was in Chapters-Indigo the other night to buy a book. On it were two prices. The US price $5.99 versus the Canadian price of $7.99. At the checkout counter was a large posted bulletin that read something to the effect:

‘We can not control the fluctuations of the Canadian dollar. We buy our inventory 6 months in advance and as such must continue to charge the Canadian price to avoid losing money. ‘

It was more drawn out than this, but this was the main talking point. I tried to find this on their web site but could not. Instead I found a press release saying how they have lowered prices. In it they are using examples of how they are cheaper than the USA listed price. The press release is dated October 31, 2007. It is bullshit. Because I was in Chapters on November 2, 2007 and I paid the Canadian price and read their pathetic poster.

I think they think that we are stupid. They post that crap on their web site but give us a dog and pony show in their store. The web site press release aside, If they have to keep prices high because they order inventory six months in advance…sucks to be them. It is not my fault that they are stupid and did not see this coming. I did. Most people I know, knew this was happening. Economists kept telling us that the ‘Loonie’ (nickname for the Canadian Dollar). The fact that Chapters did not, or chose to ignore it, is their fault. We should not be forced to cough up our money to bail them out of a bad business decision.

Technorati Tags: NAFTA, North American Free Trade Agreement, autos, auto, Canadian dollar, auto industry, Canadian Auto Industry, scam, law suit, Chapters, Chapters Indigo, ripped off, Loonie, high Canadian prices