Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Less than $1000 a year is 'very reasonable'?! By UK standards that's really expensive - mine is £180 this year and would be a lot cheaper if I drove a car with a smaller engine.

I agree with bats and think food, clothes etc are much more expensive in Canada, as do most others on the forum who've commented on prices. Yes, I do shop at 'bargain basement places', but I can buy all of my children's clothes for less than £150 a year, and certainly couldn't do that in Canada.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Food was definitely cheaper in England when I was there in june. I am just back from the store here, $2 for a cucumber, $8 for a squash $4 for a melon, $5 for cherries, $2 for apples. Clothese were cheaper, I bought some. Shoes around the same. $1000 only for car insurance? You must have a short journey to work.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

That can't have been cheap! :D I'm not desperate in the short term so unless i'm 100% happy with the deal i'll walk away.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

£180 for a year? Where do you live? In Greater Manchester I pay around £475 for one car (with 15 years no claims, no points ever, no convictions). Whichever way you look at it, car insurance in Ontario (I don't know about the other provinces) is very expensive.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Mobile phone contracts are also more expensive in Canada. I don't understand why a lot of contracts have "local calls" - its a mobile phone, by definition it moves! The whole prepaid thing as well, I've been into mobile phone stores loads of times and I still can't understand the way it works in Canada. I ended up getting a 7-eleven phone (which is so basic it's like being back in 1998) because it was the only "pay as you go" phone that resembled payg in the UK.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Actually it wasn't bad, we've done it a few times now.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

I would agree to all of this but would add wood and every sort of do it yourself item.

I am horrified by some of the cars that are driving around, they are bloody death traps, the North American produced cars are by far the worst, the foreign jobs seem to be either better built or had better rust treatment. How can an MOT be called ridiculous? Would you let someone you love drive an unsafe car?

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Yes, but it isn't very well implemented because Canada is roughly 20% more expensive than the US.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

When you first move over here you effectively start from scratch vis a vis no claims etc., so our car insurance for one car and home insurance for rental condo was close to $3k per annum. It is gradually dropping as we have made no claims since we moved here.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Ah, I live out in the sticks rather than a city! 9 yrs no claims, but it's the rural location and no crime that brings it down I guess. My husbands is even cheaper!

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Maybe there are problems in Alberta but not here in Ontario. We don't have a rash of unsafe cars on our roads and I have never once heard the cops claiming an accident happened because of unsafe vehicles.

In my mind the MOT most certainly is ridiculous and is also a ripoff. If you (and by that I mean the collective you, not you specifically) pay even the remotest attention to your car you should know when something is going wrong and be able to get it fixed. I notice if I need air in my tires just by how the car feels. I do not need a mechanic to tell me about my own car. And there is also the issue of unscrupulous mechanics claiming things need to be fixed when they don't. One of my oldest friends moved back to Britain and was told by a mechanic that several things needed fixing on his car. What that mechanic didn't realize was that G was a mechanic himself (started on cars but transitioned to heavy equipment) and G immediately called the guy on his BS claims about things needing fixed!

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

No, sorry as I am not familiar with the area. But I did post in your other thread.

You'll only get that if you buy privately as dealerships here do not tend to do that.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

I live in Ontario and drive a lot and I do not see these allegedly knackered cars you're talking about.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Dairy is not cheaper in Britain.

Check the Tesco website (just using Tesco as an easy example). They sell 2L of milk for £1.99. Do the conversion and that works out to be $3.21CDN for that 2L. I just bought milk when I was out today and got 4L of milk for $3.97. So I paid $0.76 more but got twice the amount.


Car insurance is also very expensive (and I live in Greater Manchester where I get ripped off for car insurance even though I've got 15 years no claims). When my wife moved over to Ontario last April the cheapest quote she had was $4000! Fortunately this dropped after 6 months to around $1200, but cheap it most certainly isn't.[/QUOTE]


That is because she is new here so of course it is going to be more expensive for her as she doesn't have a driving history here yet (if I were to move back to Britain today I would expect to pay through the nose due to a lack of driving history over there). Once she has been here 5-10 years compare what she is paying here to British insurance premiums.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

For two cars, yes it is.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Where the hell were you shopping that you paid those prices? And where do you live? If you are somewhere rural it might make sense but those prices do not reflect what I pay for items like those.

And that is for two cars while living in one of the worst places in Ontario for car insurance premiums (Brampton).

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

What is the score with buying privately? You have to pay sales tax, right? (That is plain wrong in my book, why anything secondhand should be liable to sales tax/VAT when the items has been sold once already is morally corrupt. I know secondhand cars in the UK carry VAT if bought from a dealer (which is wrong) but private sales don't), also I don't understand the chain of events, it needs an e test/safety certificate before it can be licenced? Does the seller do this? If they don't how can you get it sorted without it being licenced? How do you pay the seller? Do people take cash (difficult as i can only get $200 a day out of the hole in the wall, could take a couple of months to get enough money!) as bank transfers don't seem to have made it to Canada yet? Very confusing and highly risky as well. I may be stuck with my bicycle until I get my head round these bonkers rules!:confused:

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

I have been to Ontario you know;) and seeing as my OH is a mechanic who also wishes there was an mot here due to the lack of maintenance people give their cars. At least in the UK if a car is unsafe it will fail a mot and then you would have to fix it to get it taxed, here he will put do not drive in the story (as the write up is called) to cover his own back when he has advised there are no brakes or the tyres are out, he even refuses to road test some vehicles as they are that unsafe. There are no end of cars being driven that would fail MOT. You cant necessarily know the car in front of you or behind you has functioning brakes and tyres that will stop the car in time.

It was only 2 weeks ago he saw someone cable tying his suspension together before he hit the highway to drive 1.5hrs. This type of thing is why I worry about my kid on the roads.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

2l of milk at Tesco (2.27l generally) can be usually be had for £1.25 per bottle. In fact, lately there has been a new brand selling for £1 per 2l (exact) bottle. Not as pricey as you suggest.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Of course it is well implemented and NAFTA has absolutely nothing to do with prices being higher in Canada than in the US. That is caused by multiple factors:

http://business.financialpost.com/20...ng-u-s-prices/


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/...y-pricing.html

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Peterborough, Ontario. Those are the cheaper summer prices. You regularly see rustbucket cars here held togerther by duct tape. Bald tyres, failed brakes.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Sorry but you are wrong. Tesco semi skimmed is £1.99 for a 6 pint bottle which is 58p/litre. In fact you can get Yeo Valley organic semi skimmed at Tesco for £1.88 for 4 pints. Chavsda is even better, they do a 4 pint bottle of semi for a round pound (44p/litre).

That is because she is new here so of course it is going to be more expensive for her as she doesn't have a driving history here yet (if I were to move back to Britain today I would expect to pay through the nose due to a lack of driving history over there). Once she has been here 5-10 years compare what she is paying here to British insurance premiums.[/QUOTE]

Christ I hope she hasn't got to wait ten years to get a reasonable quote!

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Also it's not just milk, the price of cheese is extortionate! I was shocked when I saw the prices in the supermarket versus identical stuff in the UK.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

:rofl: Haven't heard that one before.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Cheese is a big topic on this forum. The general consensus is, good cheese is very hard to find and generally overpriced.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

The extortionate cheese prices (for example) are because the Canadian Govt shove on massive import duties.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

I've seen loads in the last 18 months. Given the fact I'm only over for 10 days every 6 weeks I find it worrying. Based on my own anecdotal evidence I would estimate that about a quarter of the cars I've seen on the road require some work to make them what I would consider road worthy, and maybe a quarter of those should really be sent to the crusher. That's not to say there aren't cars on the road in the UK that need the same (the number of cars here on dodgy tyres has definitely increased during the financial mess) but there are definitely more in ON. Coupled with the amount of tailgating and poor driving (I have to say that people in ON generally use their indicators though) does make you worry when out in the car.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

I couldn't agree more about the tax. Why should you pay 13% (Ontario) on a private vehicle sale. I would imagine this would help in preventing unlicenced dealers or curbsiders as they are known here.

I only know for Ontario but the etest is age dependent and yes if a vehicle is the required age then it will need both an etest and safety before it can be licenced to the new owner.

If you buy and take the chance of doing the safety yourself then you can obtain a temporary permit which I believe lasts 10 days. During this time you should do the work get it passed the etest and safety,then licence. You can only get the temp permit if the vehicle was previously licences as fit. If it is marked unfit you can only move the vehicle by towing.

Bokeres rules. Why not just have a bit annual safety inspection and be done with it.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

I think, overall, prices are pretty much the same with some more, some less and some extreme examples.

I think it is possible to shop cheaply more so in Canada than the UK for reasons several of us have gone into before, best summed up as avoiding paying full price - but not couponing.

But there are huge variations province to province.

I'm in the city - albeit a smaller one. 4l of milk is $6.35 here. I think it might be more in NS.

Originally Posted by bats
Food was definitely cheaper in England when I was there in june. I am just back from the store here, $2 for a cucumber, $8 for a squash $4 for a melon, $5 for cherries, $2 for apples.
An English cucumber is getting on for $2 but other times a buck. Local cukes can be 69c.
Apples are anywhere between $1.99 and $2.39 a lb. But my local meat/greengrocer store often has 10lb bags for $5.

Cherries are often $3 or $4 a lb. That's when I buy them. Mostly they're nearer $7 or $8.

A water melon for $4 is grabbed. $7 is more likely but I buy when they're $4.

The other thing is that when I moved over, the exchange rate was about $2.25 to the £. At that rate I felt things were slightly cheaper overall.

The current rate makes comparison look much less favourable but our food bills are actually not that much more in $$ than when we arrived. I still buy many things for the same prices we paid when we moved here.

My wife (Canadian) swoons when she sees front loader washing machines. I've not seen one under $800 here. You can get one for £200/$300 back in the UK.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Now that's a nice car! :) My OH would kill me if I bought something like that bad boy! :D

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

4 liter of milk in Canada for 3.97? Where?

In Vancouver where I am, I am usually paying around 4.97 to 5.25 for 4 liters of milk, even in Ontario where I lived it pushed 5 dollars for 4 liters.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Its probably the nicest car we ever owned, so nice OH didn't want to drive it in case a rednecked eejit dinged it, so it went to a new home the year before last.

He is also lucky he is still married after his crazy spending spree he went on this summer, he is now working on halving his collection to a more manageble 15ish, it was supposed to be 10 but we have too many 'keepers':rolleyes:

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

It's one thing to fail a car because the brakes are corroded and leaking. It's quite another to fail it because of a jagged, non-structural rust hole or a crack in the windscreen, or the other nonsense that's been added over the years. As far as I can see, the primary goal is to reduce the economic lifespan of cars so the car companies can sell more.

It's probably also one reason why second-hand cars are cheaper in the UK, because people who can afford new cars don't want the hassle of being forced to spend hundreds or thousands of pounds for pointless 'repairs'.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Yes cheese is expensive. It confuses me because the Canadian government spends a lot of money advertising how people need to eat more cheese (TV ads, billboards), whereas if they spent that same amount of money subsidizing the product and reducing the price, it would probably have more of an effect! Going to independent delis can save you money on Cheese, you can get a 500g block of decent cheddar at Santa Barbara in Vancouver for $8. Supermarket cheese is baaaad - though people have mentioned the President's Choice Extra old cheddar as an affordable decent option - I've tried it and it's OK.

It's often a theme with food shopping - if you want to save money, go to an actual farm or farmer's market store.

Clothes are cheaper in the UK, but that is more because the UK has more choice of good quality supermarket clothes, in Canada there is no real equivalent of Sainsbury's TU range for example. Comparing brand name clothes prices (Adidas, Nike etc.) they are comparable. However in the US, even the brands are cheap, so really it's a moot point since 90% of Canadians live near the US border. Just go to an outlet mall for your clothes shop and your set. Or order online and deliver it to a US mailbox.

If we're going to compare prices, lets compare eating at a restaurant. In the UK this is around 2x-3x the price of eating out here (Nandos for example). The only place I found that was cheaper is Weatherspoons, where you get a roast dinner plus a pint of beer for £8 - pretty hard to beat that!

Fuel is also cheaper as others have mentioned, dirt cheap if you cross into the US also, so even if the initial cost of a second hand vehicle is higher, you would probably cover the difference in fuel savings in a few years anyway.

Houses are more expensive, but that's just Vancouver for you.

Computer parts and electronics are comparable prices, I haven't checked thoroughly but I think it is a little bit cheaper here, NCIX is always very cheap for computer parts, and they pricematch. You can also score great deals at Walmart since they also pricematch almost any promotion and have the some of the cheapest extended warranties. Some items that haven't fully caught on here yet like front-loading washing machines and combination convection/microwave ovens are more expensive for various reasons, sometimes just lack of adoption and sometimes because they have to be bigger to meet the North American expectation.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Care to volunteer why? Why would a dealer expect you to pay $20k on a used car with absolutely no documentary evidence that the thing has ever had an oil change (or even seen an oily rag), let alone anything else? Makes no sense to me at all :thumbdown:

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Nope, it's £1.99 for 6L, not 2L (http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Produ.../?id=254957550).

Sorry to pick holes, but your calculations above weren't exactly correct and you actually paid more and got less, rather than the 'twice the amount' you claimed! :lol:

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

I enjoyed you BE Aug 12 article, Jimmy. :thumbup:

As for eating out in the UK being 2-3X the price of Canada, that is just plain wrong! What are you comparing? A typical casual dining meal (like a Whitespot) would be £10-20 pp depending on what's ordered, say £15 or $24, you're not suggesting the same style and food would be $8-12 are you? I would say restaurant meals one service and tax are included are roughly the same price.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

In the spirit of hole picking, it's actually £1.99 for 6 pints :D which is 3.4L...!

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

I agree - I don't think eating out in Canada is any cheaper than the UK (the crappy exchange rate doesn't help). Even the US isn't as relatively cheap as it was a few years ago.

Re: Why is second-hand stuff here so expensive?
 

Doh! Still cheaper though. ;):lol: