[caps]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/20...-cherokee/

interesting article out of forbes. I wonder if this is due to taxation from the Brazilian Govt. or from car companies taking advantage of the population's naivety..

[Spike]

Still cheap compared to Holland where you pay 70K Euro for the cheapest model which is 88K USdollar.

Gasoline in Holland = 8.83 dollar a gallon

MONTHLY tax just owning a car like this : 147 a month.

Insurance depends but at least 200-250 dollars a month.

Holland, most car unfriendly country in the world.

[Yul Brynner]

This is normal in a lot of places.

India, Singapore etc car prices are 160-210% of US prices due to taxes, import policies, restrictions etc.

[caps]

if I lived in holland, I would boycott having a car. that is ridiculous.

okay, interesting...

I wonder if there are any brazilians that decide to cross the border into argentina and pay half the amount (or even less) for the same exact vehicle.. regardless of whether it's legal or not

[Andreas]

Why is the import tax so high? Is it good opportunity to create local car makers?

[caps]

i'm thinking that the price has more to do w/ the premiums car companies are placing over the cost to build..

[void]

its called protectionism. raising import taxes to a level, that only producing local guaranties profit

[Sherman]

When I lived in the Netherlands, I shipped my car over because it was so much cheaper than buying there. To pass the inspection, they had to install rear fog lights. Luckily, as part of my technical visa, I got a driver's license without going through their test which costs a lot of money for the training. When I left I sold my Toyota Corolla to two car enthusiasts who thought it was a novelty. For one thing, it had an automatic shift and air conditioning - two things not available in most Dutch cars.

[Spike]

(09-03-2012 12:19 PM)Sherman Wrote:  

When I lived in the Netherlands, I shipped my car over because it was so much cheaper than buying there. To pass the inspection, they had to install rear fog lights. Luckily, as part of my technical visa, I got a driver's license without going through their test which costs a lot of money for the training. When I left I sold my Toyota Corolla to two car enthusiasts who thought it was a novelty. For one thing, it had an automatic shift and air conditioning - two things not available in most Dutch cars.

That must have been an old car because otherwise you would have had to pay BPM tax when importing a car to Holland.
Second hand prices in Holland are extremely high.

Not sure what to think about your air conditioning claim because most newer cars have air conditioning. My former car, a 2002 VW golf had it too. Most people don't want to drive automatic shift because its considered to be for old people/ bad drivers or people who drive more than a 100k kilometer a year.

[kosko]

(09-03-2012 10:29 AM)Andreas Wrote:  

Why is the import tax so high? Is it good opportunity to create local car makers?

This.

[Sherman]

(09-03-2012 12:29 PM)Neil Skywalker Wrote:  

(09-03-2012 12:19 PM)Sherman Wrote:  

When I lived in the Netherlands, I shipped my car over because it was so much cheaper than buying there. To pass the inspection, they had to install rear fog lights. Luckily, as part of my technical visa, I got a driver's license without going through their test which costs a lot of money for the training. When I left I sold my Toyota Corolla to two car enthusiasts who thought it was a novelty. For one thing, it had an automatic shift and air conditioning - two things not available in most Dutch cars.

That must have been an old car because otherwise you would have had to pay BPM tax when importing a car to Holland.
Second hand prices in Holland are extremely high.

Not sure what to think about your air conditioning claim because most newer cars have air conditioning. My former car, a 2002 VW golf had it too. Most people don't want to drive automatic shift because its considered to be for old people/ bad drivers or people who drive more than a 100k kilometer a year.

I had a special visa for people with technical skills which exempted the tax, allowed me to get a driver's license by just exchanging for my US license, and also shielded a portion of my income from tax. It was a pretty good deal.

[caps]

(09-03-2012 11:24 AM)void Wrote:  

its called protectionism. raising import taxes to a level, that only producing local guaranties profit

Even companies producing locally in Brazil have pretty crazy prices comparatively speaking..

[the_conductor]

The USA is one of the cheapest places to buy cars, much cheaper than many 3rd world countries where the average person earns less than a 1/3 of the average American. Loads of 'Murkans seem to be surprised by that.

Quote:

Singapore etc car prices are 160-210% of US prices due to taxes, import policies, restrictions etc.

Much, much more than 200% for Singapore bro.

In Singapore, you need something called a Certificate of Entitlement which costs $70,000 US dollars, to qualify yourself to even buy a car in the first place. After that, a new Toyota Corolla there costs $70,000. So $140,000 for a Toyota Corolla. How many Lexuses can that get you in the states?

In Thailand, a downtuned Mercedes E-class costs $100,000 etc.

[catalyst]

(09-03-2012 06:18 PM)the_conductor Wrote:  

The USA is one of the cheapest places to buy cars, much cheaper than many 3rd world countries where the average person earns less than a 1/3 of the average American. Loads of 'Murkans seem to be surprised by that.

Quote:

Singapore etc car prices are 160-210% of US prices due to taxes, import policies, restrictions etc.

Much, much more than 200% for Singapore bro.

In Singapore, you need something called a Certificate of Entitlement which costs $70,000 US dollars, to qualify yourself to even buy a car in the first place. After that, a new Toyota Corolla there costs $70,000. So $140,000 for a Toyota Corolla. How many Lexuses can that get you in the states?

In Thailand, a downtuned Mercedes E-class costs $100,000 etc.

Pretty much why I moved from Singapore, that and the fact that housing price is all jacked up these days. Cars, insurance and food are almost always cheaper in the States than other developed countries.

[speakeasy]

(09-03-2012 11:24 AM)void Wrote:  

its called protectionism. raising import taxes to a level, that only producing local guaranties profit

What are they protecting? Is there a Brazilian auto maker I'm not familiar with?

[Excelsior]

(09-04-2012 02:55 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  

(09-03-2012 11:24 AM)void Wrote:  

its called protectionism. raising import taxes to a level, that only producing local guaranties profit

What are they protecting? Is there a Brazilian auto maker I'm not familiar with?

Auto manufacturing is big business in Brazil, which is the world's fourth largest car market and might be third before the end of the decade. The major players in the Brazillian market are foreign (mainly VW, GM, Fiat, and Ford-local companies exist, but even the largest of them is fairly small), but they have very large operations in Brazil, building many parts and components as well as assembling millions of full cars.

Brazil also has one of the world's biggest bus industries, and a massive truck industry too. Some companies develop heavy commercial vehicles almost exclusively for this market, models you don't see outside of Latin America that are built in Brazil.

As you can guess, this counts for a lot of employment and generally boosts economic health, so it is considered worth protecting at all costs.

[Excelsior]

(09-03-2012 06:18 PM)the_conductor Wrote:  

The USA is one of the cheapest places to buy cars, much cheaper than many 3rd world countries where the average person earns less than a 1/3 of the average American. Loads of 'Murkans seem to be surprised by that.

Quote:

Singapore etc car prices are 160-210% of US prices due to taxes, import policies, restrictions etc.

Much, much more than 200% for Singapore bro.

In Singapore, you need something called a Certificate of Entitlement which costs $70,000 US dollars, to qualify yourself to even buy a car in the first place. After that, a new Toyota Corolla there costs $70,000. So $140,000 for a Toyota Corolla. How many Lexuses can that get you in the states?

In Thailand, a downtuned Mercedes E-class costs $100,000 etc.

Same deal in Jamaica, though not quite as extreme.

Toyota dominates the market down there, and so makes sense as a starting comparison. Toyota-Jamaica will sell you a new Corolla for $43,000. A Camry goes for more than $12,000 more. I'm citing US dollars here.
Get ready to really shell it out if you want a truck (useful on the often crappy Jamaican roads that can flood every year). A Land Cruiser Prado (sold in the USA/Canada as the Lexus GX) will cost more than $70,000.

Americans are spoiled when it comes to automobiles, and that's been the case for a long time. Even average Joe over here can reasonably expect to be able to plop 2-3 of his kids in a new Camry before they head off to college. If he can't afford that, maybe his little princes and princesses journey off in a Corolla instead.

The average Jamaican, on the other hand, makes maybe $8,000 annually as a mean, with the median likely much lower than this thanks to the few high earners up top skewing it upwards. Most of them have no hope of ever affording even a new Yaris, much less the Camry or Corolla we take for granted here and even mock sometimes as signs of fiscal mediocrity.

And forget a Land Cruiser. That, along with the Suzuki Grand Vitara, Mitsubishi Montero, Honda CRV and a handful of other SUVs is considered the mark of the upper classes in Jamaica. Those are the cars the well-to-do, white collar professionals shuffle around in. Even a RAV4 goes for $50k. Used/imported? Still probably just under $30k off the boat. Average Jamaican making $8k can't even sniff those payments.

Car importation from Japan is very popular as an alternative (used Japanese cars are quite cheap and abundant), though the Jamaican government's 5 year age limits limits the relief (it was, until the end of last year, a 3 year limit, which really constricted things-now you can bring in a 5 year old car).
You could ship an 07/08 Corolla from Japan and, after all the fees/duties plus the importer's cut, get away paying about $17,000 (1.5 Million Jamaican Dollars).

Even that is a high bar for the vast majority of Jamaicans to reach, unfortunately.

[Screwston]

How much do cars go for in China and Japan? A lot of them are into Lexus' and lowriders which everyone knows takes some good money in America if you're getting newer models or really fixing up old cars. Plus, I've read that some major Asian cities have a crazy cost of living so I'm wondering if you need to be balling like crazy to play like that.

[porscheguy]

Cars are cheap in the US because the majority of people rely on them. If you don't live within a few miles of a major metropolitan area, owning a car is practically mandatory. And we even make laws that highlight our dependence on private vehicle ownership.

Fail to pay child support? They suspend your driver's license and the registration on your car.
Past due state taxes? In some states, they will prohibit you from renewing your vehicle registration, driver's license, or professional license (i.e. law or medicine.)
Buy cigarettes for a minor? Lose your driver's license.

It doesn't make sense to me that if someone owes money, you'd take away the tools they need to make it. All it seems like you're doing is ensuring their inability to pay.