As I'm getting closer and closer to finally start modding my Lex I'm finding it difficult to find the parts I need in Canada unless I want to drop a huge amount of money and go new. I look in Canadian classifieds and can never find what I'm looking for. I look in US classifieds for what I need but there's gonna be taxes, duties, shipping, exchange, etc (same thing goes for new stuff too). So it's not all that cheap either..
Seems like us Canadians are getting screwed price wise for our mods.
So it begs the question, where do you Canadians find is the best/cheapest/easiest way to find and buy the specific mods your looking for?
Let's hear your thoughts!

 

I get mine from the US and A....the rest are custom stuff in Canada. I think the only thing I have ever bought NEW in Canada is the PIAA Wipers lol.

 

Do u find that to be the cheapest way?

 

I find that to be the only way really...there's not a lot of aftermarket parts for the SC, and an even smaller market in Canada. When I was modding my car 2 years ago, I asked around local tuner shops and they either did not respond or that they did not know wtf an SC was. Other than suspension parts (which you can get off a mk4 Supra)...there's really nothing in terms of aftermarket parts in Canada...So US really is the only way.

but new parts are not exactly cheap either. I was pretty lucky back then there were so many good parts laying around the buy and sell forum, so the majority of my mods have come from there.

And the rest had to be made custom-made which is not cheap...but seeing that the exchange rate is in our favor, US would be the best bet.

what are you looking for anyways?

 

this is the ultimate question, especially for the consumer.

if u want to find the best deal, based on the best price, then you will have to do the leg work, and get it urself. that means u look for a supplier, which would most likely be in the states, and to get the most effective price, u would have them shipp to a location as close to the border as possible. this would require you to drive down do the pick up, and clear customs by urself. shipping usually lists it as lower 48, which means the price to ship from say the far corner of florida to its neighboring state would cost the same as it would be from florida all the way up to washington state. the end process is that u clear customs urself, pay gst, pst, duty urself, and thus take time out of ur day to do all this.

you also would not know if a local supplier of that product has a discount on that item. if you own a business, and provide a product, the wholesaler supplier of that product most likely gives you a discounted cost for that product. that difference is the "mark up" which that local supplier can make off the product. they can make more, as ur paying them the cost to carry the product, bring the product in, and do all the leg work for you.

that being said, it comes down to convience. if u want the ultimate best price, then you gotta do it all urself. if u want convience, then u go to a local shop that can get the product, and the price different/higher cost u pay, is for them to do all the work for you.

if you have an item ship directly from you, from the states, u essentially pay a higher cost for shipping (anything that crosses the border costs more for shipping) and a brokerage fee, which means u are paying someone extra money to clear customs for you.


so my answer to the question is, if i have time, i will do it myself, and get it from the states. if i dont then i just buy local. they are a business, and have to make money to survive.

 

Tein CS or a nice staggered set of 19's. Dunno though, might be better to wait till spring before I get those, but figured I'd start looking now..

 

in that case, there should be a couple on the buy and sell forums

 

Most of the mods you can order from speed shops or otherwise are usualy ordered from U.S. sites and sold to you at a premium. Might as well buy direct, on the Internet.

 

Should have came here a long time ago, I bought my parts from friends in Norcal.

 

go to local meets and meet the guys , everyone has a hook up for something.

 

right here on CL!

 

Heh, exactly what I'm doing Sunday..

 

Try sending a request at www.victoryautosport.ca , they're good guys.

 

Funny , I usually sell my used parts on ebay or foums to US buyers , it seems locals (for the most part) either are not interested or don't want to pay much.

More on topic , canada is a WAY smaller market , so of course the prices will be higher , if you want to save ( like SorrGwa said) you can cross the line and bring the stuff back yourself. My biggest pet peeve as a retailer is when people call or come in with parts they bought online and want help , one of the reasons you pay less is that you are not paying for service!!! It is a toss up , in the end it all boils down to the old addage - you get what you pay for.
Don't get me wrong - I buy a HUGE amount of stuff online - but not things that I know I may need help with ...

 

yeah, like angus said. the worse situation is when a customer comes in with a part they bought off ebay and ask you to install it. when the install goes wrong, say the part doesnt fit, they feel its your fault as a shop. now, we can make it fit, but that would intale some manipulating of the item, weather it be grinding, bending, or straight out redrilling.

i remember having 2 incidences. 1 guy bought an ebay downpipe for his wrx. when installing, we noticed that the bolt holes dont line up, and 1 of them was infact in the way of the turbo if it was installed. other time was a guy that brought in generic coilover sleeves. you ever heard of that? i never did until that day, another ebay item.
we managed to install them, but without some major work and the worse part, his car was bouncing around everywhere!