MikeOttawa

Infinit Canada has announced new discounts and incentives.

The website http://www.infiniti.ca/en/general/sp...offer_dbd.html does not give any details on what they are offering on the G37.

Anyone know what discounts or incentives they are offering on the G37?

faston

I read elsewhere that the 'discount' for the 35/37 is a measly $3000. They are trying to portray this as a response to the massive price disparity between Canadian and US prices, but really it's just an end of year sale. Way too little. Make it $9000 (so it's within 2-3k of US price) and then we'll talk. I'm stuck in a lease on my BMW til next April, so I hope that for the next 5 months 1)that the dollar stays high and 2)Infiniti doesn't put roadblocks up to importing a US car.

SilkeG

Any word on any unofficial discounts like < MSRP and extended warranties? I wonder if tint, clearbras, winter tires, and freebies can be worked in, although another $6K is a long way?

Techuinang

Actually, it's $3K if you buy it cash up front which is even worse. $5K would've been more in order to at least cut the disparity in half.

rrrevin

Small print on the ad...

The largest discount is reserved only for the QX56:
"$8,000 purchase credit available on QX56 (9CRG78 AAOO). See your nearest Infiniti retailer or Infiniti.ca for purchase credits on the rest of the Infiniti lineup."

CAN QX56 starting MSRP : $79,600 ( + $4,776 GST = $84,376)
US QX56 starting MSRP : $52,250 (+ $3,135 GST + $3,187 DUTY = $58,572)

MSRP Difference: $27,350
After taxes difference (assume par on the dollar): $25,804

Even with the $8,000 credit, it's still almost $18,000 cheaper to buy out of the US.

Note: guide only.. I didn't compare specific details on what is/is not included. This gives you an idea on how little this rebate actually gives you.

Loki123

I am a Canadian and although I also feel that the current fluctuation in the Canadian dollar doesn't make the car prices fair - I thought I'd play the "devils advocate" for a moment...

Yes, there is a large gap between the G37s below the 49th parallel and the ones in Canada but keep in mind - the cars are different. In the US they have the "Journey" in Canada they do not. The cars shipped to the US have different specs and are built for the US. The cars shipped here to Canada are built for Canadian specs (more rigid).

Also, the Canadian dollar has only really increased to parity and slightly more in the past month or so. Whether it will stay at current levels nobody knows - but the dollar has dropped significantly in the past week or two (from $1.10 US down to $1.02 US in a week) - so does it make sense for an automaker to revamp it's whole pricing due to a fluctuation in the dollar? I don't think so.

Infiniti has responded (as well as many automakers) in that they have incentives this month for many (if not all) of their fleet. Yes the G37 is only $3,000 CDN but keep in mind that it reflects a true value of $3,420 with the 14% tax savings (soon to be 13% in 2008).

Also, Infiniti also has a Vehicle Purchase plan for business associates that qualify. Check out www.vppcanada.ca to see if you work for a company that qualifies the savings are huge.

But the bottom line is if you don't like the pricing from Canadian dealers - don't buy the car - plain and simple - they will catch on and be forced to lower their pricing if no-one is purchasing cars on their lot.

Comatose

I've read the same lines from some other article (from toyota maybe?). But to note a few things:
- when comparisons are made, they are typically (and should always be) done between similarly equipped models, despite the differences in naming. A canadian 'sport' spec is basically a US Sport spec + Premium + spoiler. Apples for apples, the cost-savings are still in favour of importing.
- 'more rigid', 'built to handle the cold canadian weather', etc. Thats all BS (unless someone can point out some concrete evidence), I dont think anyone buys that. There are several states in the US that get harsh winters -- are their US vehicles not withstanding them?

But overall I agree it is especially tough on the canadian markets and it doesn't make a lot of sense to reprice the vehicles without hurting the resale everytime the dollar fluctuates. But instead, cash-back rebates is one way around it...

Techuinang

I agree, when I'm comparing prices, I compare them fully loaded and the differences is about $10K range in that case. It makes me chuckle when I see people comparing base MSRP since they are obviously differently equiped.

Also, the Canadian dollar has been turning around par for a year now (0.90 to the all time high of 1.10 recently) so they had plenty of time to readjust. People have only really started to complain when our dollar went above which forced the manufacturers to finally move a little. Without the complaining, they would have cared less.

Otherwise, I agree with the rest of your points, especially your last one. Either hold back and wait or go down south to buy the car. As consumers, we have that much power.

faston

As others have said, no, there is absolutely no difference between the US and Canadian cars; especially not 'structurally'. This line of reasoning comes straight from the manufacturer's disinformation playbook. Makes me wonder who you work for.

Maybe you only became aware of it in the last month, but the dollar has been rising against the US dollar for about 4 years. And for about 3 of those the pricing disparity was enough to make a US purchase worthwhile. Commercial importers have been making a lot of money for several years.

No, buy the car where you can get it at a decent price.

jdm_inspire

Now that I know the dealership is giving a C$3k incentive ... I'm more interested what the VPP Pricing is on the G37 ... I have a sister who works in the US for a Nissan supplier and she has VPP over there. I wonder if it can apply in Canada?

Right now... I'm leaning toward importing it from Michigan using her VPP #. I don't know how long Infiniti / Nissan will allow sales to Canadians...

SilkeG

You might actually qualify for VPP at U.S. invoice price rather than Canadian invoice, but of course you'll need to import.

Loki123

The Canadian dollar has not been near par with the US for a long time. A few years ago it was a mere 65 cents US. The CDN has only recently shot up but has come back down to near par.

Auto manufacturers will not change there whole pricing due to fluctuations in the dollar. I'm sure after the US mortgage crisis is over and the Bank of Canada cuts its rate the dollar will bounce back down where is has historically been for the past 30 years.

Bottom line is stop whining about it - why not take action instead - consumers dictate the prices in a free market economy. IF you hate the prices - don't buy the car plain and simple - manufacturers will change their tune.

Fact is if car prices changed with dollar values it would be ridiculous. People on fixed incomes would be buying BMW then honda, then back to Bimmer or Infiniti. And the impact on used cars would be insane.

To stabilize the market, manufacturers must stabilize prices. In the long run, if the US stays low for a long period I'm sure Canadian auto manufacturers would close the gap.

The problem is much less overcharging in Canada than undercharging in the U.S. Just about everywhere else in the world is paying far more for cars right now - go the Europe and you'll see.

Techuinang

Historically, the car industry has always rationalized their higher price with respect to our weaker Canadian dollar. They can't use that excuse anymore and are making up new reasons to continue to overcharge us. Our money has been near par for more then a year, is that not enough? I agree that for the moment, they are undercharging in the US since it is their money that is falling. However, they know the market won't accept it so instead they keep everything as is which is a slap to Canadian's face.

But I totally understand where you're coming, but don't forget that we live in a high pace culture and we want things now. Heck, when our money was weak, prices quickly went up. Now that the opposite is happening, the industry in general is slow to react which upsets people with good reason.

I think the majority of Canadian owners on this site bought their cars in the US so they already took action. There are still plenty of members looking and researching before making the move as you can see from all the threads here.

I for one decided to take the wait approach. I'm still looking around to see if I can get a deal locally but until I find it, I will wait. Actually after the huge snowstorm we got today, I may as well keep my current car and wait for the G37AWD

Loki123

In actuality the powers that be (in this case, Canadian auto manufacturers) still can use the exchange rate "excuse" since the Canadian dollar is already dropping like crazy. It has dropped about 12 cents in the matter of weeks. Like I said before you cannot expect auto manufacturers to drop prices equal to those of the US because of fluctuations in the exchange rate.

I agree about waiting at least until spring for a G37 since Ottawa is having snow dump after snow dump and man, winter tires look awful on the G37.

Note: you may wish to revisit your signature line - since CDN$ is going down quite quickly and is currently under par.

Techuinang

That is where we disagree, I don't think the exchange rate excuse is valid cause everyone else is starting to lower their prices, like for example electronics. The auto industry knows that it is not as easy to go buy a car then a big screen tv down south so they play on that. Don't get me wrong, if they'd come straight out and admit it was due to the unstable fluctuation of the currency, like you've described, a lot of people would at least be comprehensive of the situation. Instead they choose to lie about it and thinks canadians are idiots. In the end, as long as the loonie is above 90 cents, it will be advantageous to buy in the US.

Sig changed . Our money is so tightly tied up with the oil industry that it will stay high IMO. We won't run out of oil sand anytime soon and unless OPEC decides to open up their valves things should stabilize for a little while.

My waiting might be longer then spring now. I really loved my AWD system in our last snowstorm (and the past 10+ year) and don't feel like a RWD car can compete. It's always scary to see someone ahead of you spin its rear tires, I don't care how much control he is of the car.

BTW, I don't think you've ever mentionned it, do you own a G37 or intend to buy one in the near future?