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      02-14-2013, 10:01 AM   #2
MZHammer
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Drives: E85 Z4M, F82 M4
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Hamilton, ON

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2016 M4  [0.00]
2006 BMW Z4M Roadster  [0.00]
My car was imported from the US, but not by me. I am the second Canadian owner, so I can't comment on pricing disparity in this case.

I didn't see the CBC Marketplace episode and the details that were presented, but this is not an new issue....maybe just popular again. It does amaze me how only part of the story regarding our inflated retail prices, is actually communicated. Manufacturers will often price items higher (sometimes greedily high) up here and we need to expect to pay a SMALL premium, simply because servicing a relatively small population, spread over an extremely wide area is expensive. Let me be clear, I don't necessarily like this and I do find it frustrating, as a consumer at times, so I do my share of cross-boarder shopping (ebay, amazon, drive to Buffalo NY).

I work for a manufacturer (not auto related) that does business in both the US and Canada. One of the best kept secrets that I have seen first hand, is the difference in the "back-end" programs (support dollars for marketing, markdowns, advertising, etc that often end up as retailer profit dollars, rather than an investment in the manufacturers' business) that Canadian retailers enjoy, versus their US-based peers. Typical Canadian programs commanded by our retailers are in the 12-15% range, while a strong program in the US is around the 7-8% range. So, a 4-8% gap at the cost level (to cover the additional program), quickly becomes an 8-16% retail price difference, once retailer margins are applied. Not once have I seen this issue communicated in the media.

I am not a bleeding heart for manufacturers and I realize loads of them are unscrupulous, but I just find it disappointing when the entire burden is directed one way, when in fact it should be shared by the ones often doing the finger pointing (and pretending to take a stand against cross-boarder pricing disparity).

/rant
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