Why are cars so expensive down under ?!

[LS1Cheyenne]

Greetings Australians ! Hope this isn't a rude question but I'm curious ! I know the Monaro has more options but not that many more than the GTO . Look at this GTO for sale in Texas . http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004-PONTIAC-GTO-5-7L-PWR-SEAT-LS1-BLAUPUNKT-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ200064665854QQihZ010QQcategoryZ72 44QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


I know that economy and demand play a big role but this is quite a difference in price I think . This car would turn out to be about $23000 australian . Whereas this one on Ebay australia would be about $38000 US .

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/2003-Holden-Monaro-SERIES-II-CV8_W0QQitemZ130059645007QQihZ003QQcategoryZ102244 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[NewV8]

The GTO had to compete with a lot of other cars in the US where as, in Australia it was the only RWD V8 coupe available in the country.

[jerrel]

http://www.auctionthink.com/~texasauto/4L296132-27sm.jpg

sorry to hijack this thread, but i saw this picture in the first ad.
do our monaros have, wat looks to be wood, as the accelerator bracket thing?

[motionSS]

The GTO had to compete with a lot of other cars in the US where as, in Australia it was the only RWD V8 coupe available in the country.

couldnt have said it better myself .

[seedyrom]

do our monaros have, wat looks to be wood, as the accelerator bracket thing?
Yabba dabba doo
http://www.fresh99.com/images/flintstonecar/flintstones-car.JPG


With the buying power of the US, all of your goods are cheaper.

Heck, even LS1Turbo.com.au's turbo kits are cheaper to buy in America than Australia. (atleast they used to be - happy to be proved wrong)

[jerrel]

Yabba dabba doo
http://www.fresh99.com/images/flintstonecar/flintstones-car.JPG


:lmao: lol

[X BC X]

sorry to hijack this thread, but i saw this picture in the first ad.
do our monaros have, wat looks to be wood, as the accelerator bracket thing?

thats 'american engineering' JMK ;)

the use of lightweight materials such as wood will bring down you 1/4 mile times. :D

[Rick76]

sorry to hijack this thread, but i saw this picture in the first ad.
do our monaros have, wat looks to be wood, as the accelerator bracket thing?

Maybe it's rust ;) .... to go along with the big wet patch on the carpet.

[LS1Cheyenne]

I'm sure you're right NewV8 . As far as the gas pedal , I hadn't seen it but it does look rigged and the carpet does look rather crappy . I don't know if it is made of wood or not . Isn't this car built in Australia ? Seedyrom ,just curious , is that your daily driver :woot: ? Thanks gents , Jim

[Thumper]

I agree that cars are more expensive in AUS & NZ, especially when you can buy a new C6 Corvette for $US42K. Something does not add up.

[Swordie]

It's questionable if the GTO (Monaro) made money in the U.S. Without U.S demand there may have been no Monaro as there wasn’t many sold in Australia.

[planetdavo]

All sorts of duties, freight costs, and extra expenses along the way have to be calculated in to the total cost of a car coming in to a country. Australia doesn't come out very flash in those calculations.
Who's to say there wasn't some kind of internal GM contra deal behind the scenes to make them cheaper? eg: Here's a batch of cheap engines/transmissions for the cars coming back over to the US......

[shep1dav@bigpon]

Regarding the Monaro vis a vis the Goat in the US - very sore point in Aus regarding the pricing.

However, I have just purchased a new Harley Softail Custom - in the US it is about $17,500.00 plus on road costs - in Australia $29.500.00 plus on road costs of $2200!!!! ($31,700.00). As the exchange rate is about 79cUS to $1Aus Dollar (or is it peso) someone is making a huge profit out of this rip off.

shep.

[commodoreone]

:driving: Cars in the US and Europe for that matter ( for sports cars) are much less, even if exchange rates are taken itno account - The main reason.... our damn taxes, freight costs, admin etc..

We are really being ripped off !!! Oh well at least our fuel costs are not that bad - it could be worse, they could be as expensive as the UK......

[planetdavo]

Half the time, car makers actually LOSE money in Australia, or make a very small amount based on the number of sales. Maybe that will give some of you an idea about our car's pricing......

[SS Enforcer]

I think a 'fully loaded' goat in the states went for 35k on road when new even allowing for the exchange rates etc etc aussie buyers were paying loads more than the yanks.
I whinged about this yrs ago someone told me that it had to be that price and that our sales subsidised the exports.

cheers

[Sonic_Brew]

The USA and Australian economies are quite different. Our govermnents make money (tax) in various different areas, economies of scale, buy/trade agreements with other countries, exchange rates... and many other variables decide how much we pay for our goods.

You have cheap cars, we have cheap food (especially meat) for example, asian countries sometimes pay 5 times as much as we do for cars.

Just different economies mate.

[Tyre biter]

Half the time, car makers actually LOSE money in Australia, or make a very small amount based on the number of sales. Maybe that will give some of you an idea about our car's pricing......

I dunno Planetdavo, what with more and more brands entering / re-entering the Australian marketplace, and more models than ever too it seems - the market is the complete opposite of the 'Button Plan' of the 80's. I mean it seems quite often nowadays that you see an obviously new car and you have to ask yourself, what is that?

Combine this trait with again another (almost) 1,000,000 p.a. auto sales figure and I think it unlikely the manufacturer's are struggling to make a quid, especially in the past several years and especially those who import as opposed to those who manufacture here. I mean, look at say VW which got about 2.2% of the Australian market in 2006. It doesn't seem like much yet that small share equates to more than 21,000 vehicles! And then you have Holden selling about what, 60,000 Commodores a year? That works out (if they were all base Omegas) at $2b turnover!

I reckon the interest shown in the Australian market in recent years by so many manufacturer's depicts a very profitable market. If anyone wants to get their head around what the 'cost to produce' versus the 'retail price' we punters end up with, I can recommend Lee Iacocca's autobiography to depict why prices are set by the manufacturers where they are. More to do with what will be paid than what it's worth or what's fair. If I recall correctly, he reckoned a big car did not cost twice as much to manufacture as a small car but you could ask two or three times the price without concern.

Cheers, Craig

[kryten2001]

If you really want to cry, compare the price of Bimmer's or Merc's here compared to the US.

We're hosed on Euro imports in a big way.

[Tyre biter]

kryten2001, Not at all wanting to sound the smart arse, but just expanding, there is a reason for what you said, and whilst I am not in any way, shape or form a businessman, I think it's called market and volume. Just a quick google on the euro brands revealed for example;

BMW

USA: "BMW brand sales were up 3 percent year-to-date, to 274,432 vehicles compared to 266,200 vehicles sold during 2005."

Australia: "...16,034 customers took delivery of a new BMW in 2006, a further increase on the record result of 2005."

Mercedes

USA: "Daimler-Benz lifted sales in all regions, including an 11 percent improvement to 248,100 units in the United States."

Australia: "...the combined total sales of Mercedes-Benz branded passenger and commercial vehicles were a record 18,104 representing the most successful year in the history of Mercedes-Benz Australia."

Amazing what a market of 298,444,215 versus 20,264,082 will do to the bottom line...oh, and the retail price. Now if only Chev Lumina SS (UAE, etc) and Pontiac G8 sales would effect the bottom line for us in terms of market and volume - if only...

Cheers, Craig

[kryten2001]

kryten2001, Not at all wanting to sound the smart arse, but just expanding, there is a reason for what you said, and whilst I am not in any way, shape or form a businessman, I think it's called market and volume.

More market than volume..... We pay crazy prices because we're happy to... It's not just in cars, but in many other areas too. Check out the price of stereo equipment, clothes, jewellery, CDs/DVDs, even entertainment like movies/eating out - we pay a premium.

Stupid us hey!

It's the reason a pair of italian shoes cost $20 in Romania but over $300 here. Same shoes, different market - it's all profit. We pay what we can afford, which at the moment - is quite a lot.

I'm no booze expert (I'm sure I'll be corrected or backed up here), but aren't Lemon Stolli's considered bat piss all over the world - yet we pay top whack here?

It wouldn't cost $15+ to get a movie ticket, if less people were prepared to pay it....

But I'm sure volume does play a small part. I mean it does cost a fortune to set up these expensive dealerships that sell "few" cars compared to their mainstream equivs....

[RARASV8]

this might not mean much to some but,,,,
a friend now works at a mercedes dealership in Atlanta in the states, they SERVICE 250+ cars aday,, 52 car hoists 56 full time employees:shock:


now put that into perspective US 220 million plus
Aus 22 million- 10 % = 25 cars aday @5.2 hoists 5.6 employees
go figure, put it in to prospective

maybe this is why?

Garry

[kryten2001]

this might not mean much to some but,,,,
a friend now works at a mercedes dealership in Atlanta in the states, they SERVICE 250+ cars aday,, 52 car hoists 56 full time employees:shock:
Garry

You think that one SLK55 could find its way onto my driveway, but alas no...

[gasguz]

I still cant see how a car is built entirely in Australia (changed to left hand drive at that), put onto a boat & shipped over to the states only for the car to be cheaper with these added costs. Forget the rest how can this be?? :cussing:

Because everytime you talk to a Holden saleperson they cant give to much of a discount due to the fact they are not making that much on top of a new car. So if this is the case why are the American cars not selling for what we are paying + all of the charges that it took to get to the county & the cost of converting from right to left hand drive it has been imported to.:cussing:

OK thats enough,

cheers Boys

[Swordie]

Do the prices of the U.S cars include tax? In the U.S its common to quote prices without tax.

[RARASV8]

Originally Posted by RARASV8 View Post
this might not mean much to some but,,,,
a friend now works at a mercedes dealership in Atlanta in the states, they SERVICE 250+ cars aday,, 52 car hoists 56 full time employees
Garry
You think that one SLK55 could find its way onto my driveway, but alas no...

in aussie NO
but in the STATES YES
think about it, more pay per hour plus cheaper everything else- gas(petrol) 2:50 a gallon and their winging:werd:

and what is the SLK55 worth in US dollars?:hide:

jump on that:teach:

[kryten2001]

and what is the SLK55 worth in US dollars?:hide:

jump on that:teach:

I just looked it up..... $95k+change.

Works out at around $121k at today's exchange rate..

Compared to what, 170k+....

*sob*

Just don't order anything other than white, otherwise you'll be up for another 5 grand....

[RedVYIISS]

Remember VY model SS V's Monaro.... identical mechanical package, 2 less doors, and Holden charged A$10,000 more for the Monaro.

The price is set to meet what the market will pay.

[StevieD]

It's that front end and 17" VY SS wheels- put that front end on anything and halve the value it's so ugly :thumbsup:

[Dacious]

Remember VY model SS V's Monaro.... identical mechanical package, 2 less doors, and Holden charged A$10,000 more for the Monaro.

The price is set to meet what the market will pay.

Same mechanical package, but inside a SS is a Berlina (unless optioned with leather) and a Monaro is a Calais, including extra sealing/sound deadening, 10-speaker stereo w/subs etc etc. A Calais was $53-54K in VY. Monaros got clearcoated paint the SS didn't, climate/SRS standard, active headrestraints, autodmiming mirrors, better dash etc etc etc.

Been through this before:


When Holden decided to build the Monaro they knew it had a shelf life of three years. It cost $200m to develop and tool for. Then they had to pay for parts and raw materials and make them into a car.
They estimated 10,000 sales over three years. Including HSV, that's what it did. So it was priced at $60K as a loaded no-options manual/auto vehicle. A that it made a modest profit - not as high as 10,000 SSs would.
Monaro shells were pressed on ceramic dies (expensive, short life) and assembled by hand. All the trim, badges, documentation, sales, support, etc as well as everthing above the chassis rear of the front guards is unique. lThat costs more for a shorter production run than the sedan which sells 100K per year.
GM came on board for the GTO in 2001 when the Monaro already hit the market. All of a sudden a 10K build/limited export car became a 60K build car where 3/4 were exported.
GM supplies the engines/trans and no doubt gave themselves a 'deal'.
Holden gets big tax credits on exported vehicles which enables them to wholesale overseas at a lower price. Holden could hardly drop the price of VY and later Monaros - it would destroy the Series I and II resale and have those owners screaming blue murder. Better to treat it as it was, a separate business case. Wise move as resales are above average and the cars' status as special was maintained.
When Holden and GM signed the contract, Oz dollar was US55c, which made the GTO price $Oz58K. Before the first delivery the Oz dollar went to 75c US which made the cars worth $Oz47K. This probably hurt Holden, as most international trade contracts are written in $US - IOW they got less per car.
Australian retail prices include 10% GST, US ones don't as it varies state-state. Nevada has no state tax, California I think its' 7.5%, Illinois is %11 IIRC.


Note that Holdens in England, both the normal Monaro and VXR cost more than here. This is just how it is.

Compare the prices of Mercs between US and here. A CL500 is more than twice as expensive here, in US dollars. Because here, to get people to buy Mercs and BMWs they have to bribe the customer upfront by promising to buy it back. So you pay an inflated price to artificially limit your depreciation up front, then you get a guaranteed price as long as you've had the authorised dealer network service it. Then they get to sell it as a 'guaranteed/certified used Mercedes' at a much higher price than normal, with a 'newcar' warranty, to people put off by the high price of new ones. After the car drops out of this loop, it has depreciated as much as a same-age Holden because secondhand German cars are scary expensive to fix out of warranty.

International currency being what it is it is hard to make sense of. Suffice to say, a Big Mac which costs say $Oz3.50 in Australia might cost UKpounds3.50, $US3.50, 3.5 Euros in Europe. The difference is in those countries cost of living is more expensive, so some goods have to be scaled/priced cheaper to be affordable. And they sell 10,000,000 new cars and trucks in the US in one year. That's why they cost less.

[JohnS]

International currency being what it is it is hard to make sense of. Suffice to say, a Big Mac which costs say $Oz3.50 in Australia might cost UKpounds3.50, $US3.50, 3.5 Euros in Europe. The difference is in those countries cost of living is more expensive, so some goods have to be scaled/priced cheaper to be affordable. And they sell 10,000,000 new cars and trucks in the US in one year. That's why they cost less.

Dacious not sure what you are getting at with the BigMac Index and cost of living. The cost of living in Aust is less than Japan, US and Europe so cars should be cheaper in Aust?

With regards to volume sold in the US vs Aust that does not explain the price difference. The development cost of a car, lets say a Camry, is spread over its total global market potential not country by country.

What could explain the price difference is
Tax and Duties (not sure what Aust has at the moment Luxury Car Tax, Customs Duty, GST, stamp duty, etc.)
Local content requirements (differing costs of labor, components costs)
Exchange Rates (whilst the AUD is strong at the moment and the price of a car could be cut from 50K to 40K what happens when the AUD weakens... will consumers accept a big price hike?)
Manufactures profiteering in the Aust market where prices have historically been high due to tariffs.

[Evil LS1]

we have cheap food (especially meat)


:lmao:

mate have you ever shopped for meat in the last 3 years. Food in Australia has increased dramatically and last time I was in the USA our food prices wer fairly similar, we were a bit cheaper on fruit and veg. But that was before the drought.

As for the car prices, it's the same with most other items. Most of the world subsidises US prices. We get raped so they get a good deal.

How else does BMW explain why the 335i TT say, costs $111KAU, but only $40K US, yet the OZ dollar is nearly 80cUS. We have a luxury tax but realistically we should be paying about $70KAU for the Bimmer. And the higher you go the greater the difference. The yet to be released Audi R8 will cost $250KAU yet around $85KUS.

It's the same with electronics, cameras etc.

[XSNRGY]

Yeah but it costs 20K to convert the bitch to RHD for our bullshit regulations!