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Online purchase of new cars ..


Dreamr

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Here is what was printed today in the motoring section of my local paper .....
 
 
Proposed legislation changes are being considered making it easier to buy a car privately online from overseas and have it shipped here. 
 
It has some appeal if you are considering something like a Porsche 911 which sells in the US for half of what it goes for here. Not quite as favourable from the UK but in right hand drive.
 
Don't hold your breath.
 
The local motor industry has jerked into action to have the proposal quashed citing damage to business and local jobs.
 
But the online thing might still have legs with one company working towards selling new cars on the web locally with no dealers and all service requirements also handled by remote control.
 
How would you feel about that?  Could save a bundle.
 
 
Do you think they would open the floodgates to buy new cars from O/S ......... let the comments flow....

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The Federal Government's proposal to allow new cars to be ordered from overseas online -- making Australia the first country in the world to do so -- would “completely obliterate the new-car market” and may end up costing more than buying locally.

Foreign cars would cost up to $12,000 each to ship and process -- in addition to the purchase price -- be void of any warranty and ineligible for capped price servicing deals, which are subsidised by the local divisions of each car company, the Australian Motor Industry Federation has warned.

 

So it's going to destroy the industry and cost more?

Oh *no* not my capped price servicing deal!!!  Not my factory warranty!!

If I could land a new Porsche at around $120k - half the cost of an equivalent Australian delivered - do these dolts really think I could care less if I had to purchase an after-market warranty for, say, $2k per year?  And have it serviced at an independent? Oh no I will only be $100k in front, it's not worth doing

Their arguments are such a joke.

 

 

Commsec data shows new-car affordability is at a 38-year high thanks to strong competition, low interest rates and the sustained strength of the strong Australian dollar.

The prices viewed online in the US appear cheaper but do not include state taxes and GST, which brings them in line with prices in Australia.

“If this proposal were to go ahead, it’s not going to make cars cheaper, we’re already one of the cheapest places on the planet for new cars,” said Mr Dudley.

 

Utter horseshit.  How can this guy utter this crap with a straight face.  Does he think consumers don't have an internet browser and a calculator?  Australian prices might be at a 38 year low - compared to the closed, tariff-protected industry of the 1970s - but it's not relative against the rest of the planet.  Even the UK, which gets reamed as a RHD country with punitive taxation - is still much cheaper to purchase than Australia, especially as you progress up the vehicular scale.

Good on whoever in the Federal government who had the stones to actually float this.

 

 

“These businesses are already doing it tough, we’ve seen seven months in a row of new-car sales decline, and now the Federal Government wants to open the floodgates to privately imported new cars,” said Mr Dudley. “The impact on jobs will be profound and dealers will close.”

Cry me a river, princess, and welcome to the real world where everyone else doesn't get some cozy mates in parliament to write them a protective wall around their business.  Go and ring Gerry Harvey and you can sing 'them furreigners took our jerbs'  together.  Us consumers will take our chances with the lower prices, all the same.

/rant

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All I will say is that the report is no April fools joke. The issue is that buying a 911 in the UK will still get slugged with GST and LCT so we are not going to be that much better off. If we were a LHD market we would be laughing all the way to the bank. 

 

I preferred the proposal of being able to import 2nd hand cars better than the proposed new car import. 

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All I will say is that the report is no April fools joke. The issue is that buying a 911 in the UK will still get slugged with GST and LCT so we are not going to be that much better off. If we were a LHD market we would be laughing all the way to the bank. 

 

I preferred the proposal of being able to import 2nd hand cars better than the proposed new car import. 

I agree with you there, but going straight for the big one is the winner.  Even if it gets knocked on the head now the second hand proposal looks tame in comparison.

 

There is no doubt cars would come out of HK or similar.  In fact an enterprising person would just set up an online dealer in the lowest tax jurisdiction that Porsche/BMW/Mercedes et al would export cars to.  You should be able to order a RHD car at just about any dealer worldwide.  Or maybe even reintroduce tourist delivery and collect direct from the factory.

 

Paying the Oz taxes isn't the issue.  It's the massive margin that the car company pockets by invoicing the dealer a large cost and keeping the rest.  Why? Because there is a legislative wall built around the car industry which means they have a monopoly on their own product.  Any product where this wall exists is overpriced.  I don't blame them.  If I were Porsche I'd probably put my prices up just because, well, why not?  What is the captive audience to do? Better to sell 2 Porsches at $300k than 4 at $150k - less pesky customers to deal with - same amount of profit.

 

I am glad that at least someone is talking about it and putting proposals forward.  That alone means this idiotic edifice is going to crumble at some point.

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I agree with you there, but going straight for the big one is the winner.  Even if it gets knocked on the head now the second hand proposal looks tame in comparison.

 

There is no doubt cars would come out of HK or similar.  In fact an enterprising person would just set up an online dealer in the lowest tax jurisdiction that Porsche/BMW/Mercedes et al would export cars to.  You should be able to order a RHD car at just about any dealer worldwide.  Or maybe even reintroduce tourist delivery and collect direct from the factory.

 

Paying the Oz taxes isn't the issue.  It's the massive margin that the car company pockets by invoicing the dealer a large cost and keeping the rest.  Why? Because there is a legislative wall built around the car industry which means they have a monopoly on their own product.  Any product where this wall exists is overpriced.  I don't blame them.  If I were Porsche I'd probably put my prices up just because, well, why not?  What is the captive audience to do? Better to sell 2 Porsches at $300k than 4 at $150k - less pesky customers to deal with - same amount of profit.

 

I am glad that at least someone is talking about it and putting proposals forward.  That alone means this idiotic edifice is going to crumble at some point.

 

The issue with our taxes is that on 200K there are 100K of taxes so I agree that the issue here is the underlying cost of the car. Ordering a car in SNG for instance, the car is priced at S$156K BUT buying it there you still have to pay their local taxes  as well so whats the point? Unless you can order a RHD car in the US this will always be painful for us Porsche buyers. It will never be that much of a saving buying from the UK or HK. 

 

I was looking into potentially taking my 911 over to Singapore and selling it there but it doesnt look like a viable option just waiting for calculations to come through to see if it adds up. Taxes suck but greedy car markers are worse! 

 

The only thing we can hope for is the various Euro marques start to reprice their cars accordingly but I doubt it will happen. Also these proposals are coming from within.

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The only thing we can hope for is the various Euro marques start to reprice their cars accordingly but I doubt it will happen. Also these proposals are coming from within.

 

Within the industry?  I suppose that is possible - but the overpricing of cars is entirely up to the manufacturers.  I suppose they can't drop the prices of new cars like that because it would brown off a lot of existing customers who would triple their current horrendous depreciation.  But if the pressure to drop prices came from external pressures, well...

 

Or maybe it's just a way of getting the LCT on the table for the axe by putting up a proposal that they can rally against.

 

I'm just guessing here.  Please elaborate?

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The euro manufacturers have been bringing their prices down slowly over the last few years. Especially audi and merc in the hatch/sedan segments. Its still not US prices but they are slowly responding.

The department of industry are reconsidering the need for ADRs now that there's no local manufacturing. Its now an unnecessary impost on manufacturers getting new models into the Aust market. Aligning with euro or us standards will reduce the barrier for entry on new models...

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What is the captive audience to do? Better to sell 2 Porsches at $300k than 4 at $150k - less pesky customers to deal with - same amount of profit.

 

No not same amount of profit.  If sell 4 cars at $150k and make $50k each = $200k, if sell 2 cars at $300k ($100k each cost) = $400k profit.   This is the reason. 

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