cars and utilities more/less expensive in canada? (insurance, buying)

[Gusteau]

I am trying to find out cost of owning a car (insurance, regular maintenance etc. ) in canada , in montreal especially. Anyone have any comparison numbers ?

I own a car in USA and would like to know the comparable cost of owning and maintaining car in canada. Is it more expensive, less expensive or same ?

From various place, I came to know that most other utilities in canada are comparable to USA. Like cost of power, food, transportation, phone etc ... Is this true ? Thanks.

[LeafsFan85]

Originally Posted by Gusteau

I am trying to find out cost of owning a car (insurance, regular maintenance etc. ) in canada , in montreal especially. Anyone have any comparison numbers ?

I own a car in USA and would like to know the comparable cost of owning and maintaining car in canada. Is it more expensive, less expensive or same ?

From various place, I came to know that most other utilities in canada are comparable to USA. Like cost of power, food, transportation, phone etc ... Is this true ? Thanks.

My cousin car Over 25 Yrs old, live outside Toronto:
2002 VW Jetta 1.8T purchased new = $33,000 tax in
Dealer Oil change = $65 + 14% tax
Dealer Tune-up = $450 + 14% tax
Insurance $500/$500 Deductable, 1 Mil Liability = $1650/year good record, no claim.

In USA a SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STI LIMITED
Starting at $33,495*
In Canada a SUBARU Impreza WRX STI
Starting at $48,995*
Today Exchange Rate: 1 CND$ = .935 US$
I think it's a lot more expensive to own a car in CANADA, That's why I take public transport and Taxi cab.

[Gusteau]

It does seem like that. For jetta, oil change at dealer would cost around $40 and insurance would be almost 1/2 in USA.

It almost sounds like a rip off ... thanks for the info ..

[kandahar]

Cars in Canada are very expensive almost a half more then you pay
Just now I'm doing the research how to import a Toyota Yaris from US to Canada\
The Canadian Government is very arrogant .
If I import The (brand new)Toyota Yaris from US it has to go for verification of it safety and we have to pay for it
The Vin number showing a first letter as J ,means car was made in Japan
The same models are sold in Canada also made in Japan.
By the way this goverment is talking about climate warming etc but can you find small cars on the market as in Europe
Bull****
I was trying to import a small car from Europe but no way ,its the canadaian law says -no ---------- Slavery
and bulding the fasion media about those huge tanks for fat people

[mrvgs]

So can you bring an American car into Canada?

[glxyman21]

Yes you can bring an American car to Canada, you just have to have it inspected and what not.

I would not deem the cost of living as "higher" it is unfair to use exchange rates as these fluctuate hourly while buying power doesn't change as drastically. Until a few years ago the Canadian dollar was worth almost half of the U.S. Dollar. The Canadian dollar has appreciated greatly...while the U.S. dollar has depreciated at the same time.

If you're in Canada earning Canadian dollars, expect the same cost of living...living in a metropolitain city like Montreal you can expect it to be higher.

If you're coming from a low cost state in the South or mid-west it might be a bit higher..but it is all relative.

[maherlia]

Hey, Was thinking of moving to Canada myself in a few years time. I live in Ireland and we know about high car costs.

The government adds 21% VAT Tax and then up to 30% VRT Tax on top of that. Cars are a real rip off here. Name any car model and I'll tell you what it costs over here and I'll bet its more than you pay and by a lot.

Are canadian or american built cars cheaper? All cars are imported in Ireland.

[glxyman21]

American cars are cheaper than most of their foreign (japanese/german) counter parts, but are so due to the percieved low quality of American cars. BMW, Mercedes, Honda, Toyota, and Nissan have auto plants in the U.S. where they do build cars for the North American Market.

[wdelossantos]

Cars In Canada Is A Lot Expensive Than In The Us Try To Google It And You Will See The Comparison With The Same Model Canada Is About 20% More Than In The Us.

[KevK]

Everything in Canada is more expensive than in the USA except for cable TV and medical expenses.