GavinR

Neon with a mini hearse body on top

GavinR

rivingtonpike

Just trying to get the topic back to cars. I thought it was interesting....

Piff Poff

Not so many of them around, slightly harder to sell, and a bit cheaper to buy in our experience.

Lots of Smart cars around here and in the winter too, the only things you see disappear off the roads are the sporty rear wheel types (Mustang GT's etc) and classics

OH wants the engine

Maybe so - I have no idea, it was roomy, cheap on gas, perfect for the dog, a manual and did fine in the snow on all seasons, I would love another one, but decent ones hold their value too well...

We have had all sorts since we've been here, the worst in the winter was a Durango - so bad OH wouldn't even let me have a go, second worse IMO was the Navigator, the 2wd trucks (without weight) were not much fun either, I don't like going sideways much. We have been thankful for having SUV's down our street on bad snow days in the past. OH likes big gas guzzlers, I like cute little things you can name, comfort on a long journey - and there are lots of those here must be a factor when choosing a car.

GavinR

That's where all the fun is in the winter.

Piff Poff

No it's scary - just thinking of having to face the music if a dent appears

Oakvillian

Look, this is fairly straightforward.

You posted a statement which is factually inaccurate and potentially misleading. It was corrected by Steve_P, who has lived here for a very great many years and knows a thing or two about life in Canada in general and Alberta in particular. You then quoted his (edited) message, acknowledging that you had made an error of fact. You then tried to claim that you had not made an error of fact, and that you were replying to Steve_P's unedited post, which was demonstrably not the case.

As with many things in Canada related to purchases and taxation, the correct answer to the question you pose is "it depends on where you live and what your circumstances are."

Let me make you an analogy...

Some garden plants that are perennials in Europe grow only as annuals in all of Canada except the bottom left hand corner of BC and Vancouver Island. So for most of Canada, it would be fair to say they are annuals. But it would be demonstrably wrong to say, without knowing more information, "this plant is not a perennial in Canada." Because it might be, and it would be misleading to say otherwise.

You are really not helping yourself in this thread by coming across so passive-aggressive. Defend your position, by all means, but it's sensible to concede a point when you're shown to be in error.

Aviator

I took great pains to read your posts, all of them and the responses and it was form these that I drew my conclusion. You seem free with your opinions, seemingly offering them as if they are fact, when you have only some research to go by and not first hand experience of the Canadian market.

Contradicting others opinions and name calling, when you cannot think of anything of substance to say is at best arrogant and hypocritical. If you take this attitude when in Canada you will not get far at all, other than the odd suggestion to return from whence you came (generally not as politely as that). You may want to rethink your approach.

With sales tax, there is sales tax in the UK it is VAT. The VAT is paid once on a new vehicle and not reimbursed to the seller on a trade in, nor is it recoverable to business on non commercial vehicles. In Canada we have GST, HST,PST or the used vehicle levy, depending on the province you shop in. Federal tax is recoverable to business as an input tax credit, provincial tax is not.

When you buy a vehicle at a dealership, you pay sales tax on the agreed price. When you sell or trade a used vehicle in to a dealer, they add sales tax to the price you get. This means you only paid the tax on the depreciation. A used car buyer only pays tax on the depreciated value when they buy the used vehicle. This works OK if you trade in a vehicle and reduces the cost of acquisition.

A private sale attracts no federal tax at all. It does attract provincial tax on the depreciated value. This was an issue with the HST debate in BC.

I would suggest you regroup before spouting forth.

JonboyE

I must have missed the passive bit.

soontobecanadianresident

Apologies JonboyE, I'm afraid you bore the brunt of my frustration from other posts!

Oakvillian

Oh, for heaven's sake. YES. Factually inaccurate. On a point of fact, you were mistaken. That means that there was a factual inaccuracy in your post - which you later acknowledged to be the case. Why argue that it wasn't?

To come back to the substance of your opinions, though, I say this: your views of the automotive marketplace in Canada seem a little out of date, to say the least. "Domestic" brands are not nearly as dire as you portray them; "foreign" brands are not necessarily by definition better; it's frequently hard to tell from the badge whether, and how much of, a car is domestic or foreign anyway; an SUV is not necessary to survive a Canadian winter, and a heavy high-sided vehicle can be a distinct disadvantage in some situations; subcompacts or microcars such as the Smart fortwo are commonplace and quite capable year-round transport in most regions; buying a larger vehicle just because you can is often a false economy and has been a decision made and regretted by many expats.

You are, of course, welcome to your opinions. I happen to disagree with most of them when it comes to cars, but that's my prerogative.

Novocastrian

Not a chance. It must be quite late where you are. Go to bed and try and make up the damage you've done tomorrow.

Welcome to the forum. If not to Canada.

snowcandy

Blimey, are you lot still going! Amusing thread on an otherwise boring Monday

Oakvillian

Quite. I feel much better for a bit of lively debate. However, it's approaching the witching hour for me. I am, as those unfortunate enough to have met me in person will attest, in dire need of my beauty sleep.

R I C H

Perhaps worthy of note, if you trade in a used vehicle of greater value than the new vehicle you're purchasing, there's no tax to pay. I did this recently and felt smug that CRA didn't get a bite out of my purchase, and it felt nice to haggle on the sticker price and not then have a % lumped back on top of the sales invoice.