Nobody's saying it's difficult to import, it's actually quite easy having done it myself. And yes, the speedo doesn't have to be changed, but you will have the MPH on the outside and KM's on the inside. You can think what you want, but that does lower your resale. I'm sure you're going to debate that, but experience has shown me people get unreasonably skitish about US cars. Buying cars n the US, especially high end cars, can save you a ton. I didn't find the savings worth it with the Z though.
I'll just deal with MSRP as it makes life easy - apples to apples. Price includes frieght and dest fee.
Current US MSRP on a 6MT Sport Touring - $39,100
Current Canadian MSRP on a 6MT Sport Touring - $46,612
Considering our dollar is above the US right now, those numbers alone should make you sick!
So, lets assume you don't buy a single other option on the car. Here in Ontario, add onto the Canadian retail the 13%HST for a total of $52,671.
Now lets take our American car that seems like such a bargain. Add the same HST you'll have to pay which would be $5083. Then add 6.1% import duty because the car was manufactured in Japan. A lot of people seem to think it's 8% but that is not correct. 8% only applies to parts, actual cars are 6.1%. That adds another $2385. Now our US car is at $46,568. Now, the only state that is anywhere near close that has no sale tax in the US is New Hampshire. So, unless you buy your car there, you can add an average 5% state slaes tax to your original price and chock on another $1955 for a total of $48,523.
We are now at a difference of $4148 before modifications required or RIV fees. So at the end of the day, you'll save about $3500 if the dollar is at par.
I asked myself, is $3500 worth the effort of trying to find a dealer who will sell to me (said dealer for me had to be in New Hampshire so I didn't pay the US sales tax)? Is it worth the trip to get it which will eat into my savings? Is it worth the hassle of finiky buyers being skittish on the resale because it's a US car (I've never understood that but it does turn people off). And most importantly, is it worth not having a warrenty? It is against Nissans policy for a US dealer to sell to Canadians. You take your car in for warrenty work, they run the serial number, and you will not get any warrenty work done here. If you get past the dealer (who are pissed these days at the cross boarder shopping), Nissan Canada will void it.
If that's worth the $3500 to ya, fill yer boots. Not even close for me and when I looked at doing it, the dollar wasn't at par so I had to factor exchange into it as well.
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