Steve_P

If you mean mechanically sound then yes but you will pay a premium for them.

Steve_P

Once again this seems to be an central/eastern phenomena, much more salt used on the roads in Ontario and the eastern provinces.

You don't see as many rusted out vehicles out west, less snow and colder so salt doesn't work.

Although it would be hard to argue the less snow thing this year.

MikeUK

Out west the road quality comes into play, more dirt roads and poor quality finishes
Driving across the prairies and into BC shows up in the number of cracked screens and headlights with much more stone chip damage on the body work than you’d see going east
Go North to NWT and Yukon, even the police drive around with badly cracked wind screens
Generally I think a car has a much harder life here than in the UK

Steve_P

Gee I can't remember the last time I drove on a dirt road so there aren't that many.

Never in 46 years of driving in Alberta and B.C. have I had a broken headlight because of rocks or gravel, most headlight lenses are a type of plastic these days anyway.

However I will admit to currently driving with a cracked windscreen compliments of the City of Calgary and it's so called sand (actually it's gravel and fairly large chunks too).:curse:

But yes vehicles do have a harder life here, however if you look after them they will last. As I said earlier in the thread I had my last vehicle for 15 years and I'll add there was no rust on it the windscreen had only been replaced once and most of the paint was still on the front. 2 .5 years on it is still running well and the person is still very happy with it.

rae

i've recently bought a new (used) car, and compared the prices back home with what i paid here, a habit i have picked up from the mrs, as after she has bought an item of clothing she has to see how much it has reduced in the following sale?!. anyway, the exact same vehicle in the UK, mileage, age, model, engine, even colour, was roughly 6,000 pounds dearer in the uk.

This may just be for certain models i accept, but its easy to check on auto trader whether you are getting a good deal comparatively speaking or not. It seemed to me that most were cheaper here, audi, bmw, merc apart. those seemed roughly across most of the range to be pound for dollar.

Aviator

It's never worth buying a new car, the initial depreciation is way too much. Far better to get a used import, they hold resale value quite well. The depreciation rate continues when you want to get rid of it, so a domestic with high depreciation is going to cost way more to own than a good import with lower depreciation, even though it cost more to buy in the first place. Check where they are made, a VIN beginning with with 3 is made in Mexico, as are some VW Jettas and Golfs, the wife had one and it was nothing but problems.

A dealer demo is a good option if you can find one. I buy mine from Jim Pattison dealerships and they've looked after me well. You could also check out Budget car sales on Marine, there are some good deals there as well.

dakota44

Demos are not always a great deal. In fact, not often. And I would discourage someone from buying a daily rental, as Budget sells. Daily rental, multiple drivers, many of who do not care how they drive it. Most daily rentals we dealt with had some paint work. A real bitch if the bumper covers have been poorly painted and the paint begins to peel after a bit.

One and two year old domestics can go for a substantial reduction from original price. Imports, not so much. Always best, if there are factory financing incentives, to compare payments for new versus used. Can't tell you how many people I saw over the years making payments on a used car within 30 or 40 dollars a month of what a new car would have cost them.

Aviator

Cannot agree with you here. I have always bought demos/dealer vehicles and done OK, saved a few thousand on new price each time.

Never having bought from Budget cannot say how good they are, but people I know who have were quite happy with them. The vehicles are usually fairly recent and not heard any horror stories about them. If considering one it could well be worth paying for a BCAA inspection. Budget also do a 30 day satisfaction return I believe.

Even buying from a dealer, it is still buyer beware on a used vehicle, unless there is any manufacturers warranty remaining. Personally I would sooner buy from Budget than a non franchised dealer or buying an vehicle that came from an auction.

The APA is also worth a call http://www.apa.ca/template.asp?lang=english
Also check out the Lemon Aid guide, this is quite an eye opener.

CBC reports
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2009/v...orts/main.html

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/f...car/index.html

The high depreciation on a domestic a purchaser benefits from when buying used continues and they can easily end up losing more overal than with an import. Car price is more about the cost of ownership rather than the initial purchase price.

dakota44

No offense....began working in the car business in 1978. Retired 2008. 25 of those 30 years as sales manager, both new and used. In Canada, by the way. I just might have a tad more expertise than you on the subject.

So you bought a demo and save a few thousand over sticker. Who pays sticker anyways? Would you pay a private owner only a few thousand under sticker for his used car with similar k's as the demo? Likely not. I agree that occasionally a demo can be a decent deal, but more often than not the buyer is better with new. I've seen some guys treat their demos pretty badly, and the buyer gets stuck with something that was abused.

I agree that one should avoid non franchised dealers unless they look into their reputation. Some non franchised folks are still decent, but sorting tham out is the problem. Also run a check on the vehicle. Not hard to do and well worth the $25 or so it will cost if it saves you from buying an accident and repair.

As for auctions....again a tad off the mark unless you are talking about individuals buying at auction themselves. . When you buy from a dealer, you may actually be buying a vehicle that came from the auction. All dealers use the auction to move excess product, and to fill voids in their inventory. Not to mention that massive numbers of daily rentals and lease returns go through auction.

The APA is run by a guy who used to be a Ford Dealer and went bankrupt. He was also investigated for taking kickbacks from dealers. He charges dealers a fixed dollar amount per car sold in order to receive his endorsement. So, he isn't my choice of a good source of recommendation. His evaluations often are opposite Consumer Reports, whose evaluations actually do mean something. You are far better off with their recommendations than you are with the LemonAid

You are correct about the total cost of ownership. Factor in purchase price, average maintenance, fuel economy and resale. They all count. And yes...stick with Toyota. That is who I worked for when I retired.

Aviator

Agree with you there. We saved quite a bit under the price we were quoted on a new vehicle, not the list price. Always had good vehicles. One would not pay the same to a private seller, no, but then I would also expect support from a dealer and none from a private seller. Also, most private sellers give in way to easily when it comes to negotiatng price or on the other end of the scale ask way too much.

Toyota dealers don't negotiate that much either, even though the price fixing was shot down in the courts.

My family was in the motor business for 50 years (in the UK), and I got stuck working there in sales until I escaped to the forces.

dakota44

You get what you pay for. No question there. Years with Chrysler and Ford before Toyota...Toyota was an eye opener.

Diggler

Quite. And a nice car it is too if you don't mind me saying so !

dakota44

It's really all irrelevant anyway. Isn't it? Not living in the U.K., car prices there mean about as much as the price of potatoes in Russia. I gave up comparing the higher cost of food in Florida compared to what I paid in Ontario. Not much point. I have to buy my food here.

screene

Going back to the original question, I think it's because cars in the UK are bought as status symbols. The age of the vehicle is apparent from the reg plate, so many people don't want to drive around in an 'old' car.

I'm used to doing my motoring cheaply here, because I run old cars. Big old cars are worth next to nothing, and Jap cars depreciate quickly despite their excellent reliability. Just check the UK price of something like a 10-year-old Honda Legend (Acura in Canada) - £1700 for a car which was £32000 when new.

While I expect to save on the cost of accommodation in Canada, I think I'll be running a newer and more expensive car just because the market's different and you can't make the same savings by running a big, old car.

JandS

Thanks for all the above replies. Something to think about when I walk onto the forecourts in Vancouver. New Vs Old; import Vs domestics......I am sure I will fingure something out. Is long term lease a sound option?