How long can current prices hold?????

[norman falkiner]

It shall be interesting how long prices into the US from such manufactures as RF and CAV can be held at current levels. The weak US dollar has seen the exchange rates with the AUST. dollar and the South African rand move by quite large amounts. The AUST dollar has improved from under 50 cents US to 56.74 and the rand from a low of around 11.4 rand to the dollar Jan to March this year is now trading at 9.78 rand to the dollar.

The dollar has been strong for a long time now, I do think it will weaken and make it more costly for Americans to import products. Some exporters will absorb the costs and others will die, it depends on how much the dollar weakens. I have been watching the euro and I think it will rise a lot more against the dollar, maybe one for one. American exporters will like this and it will slow down imports into the US. The world currencies have always been changing and is no surprise to me, one mans gain is another mans loss. The strong will survive and the weak will fade away, some governments make allowances for currency changes. I know for a fact, some replica cars sell cheaper in their home country than they do in the US. One company I checked on the other day was twenty percent more for their kit or car when you import it. I would like to see prices pulished on this forum for all these cars and kits.

Malcom, I am assuming that when you say they sell higher in the US that this means that even after currency adjustment the price is higher to us. This would mean that there is a bit of gouge going on with respect to US purchasers because shipping is always an added cost. I suppose the delay in recieving funds (especially in Australia where banks have to be getting really fat on the float) is worth something-- future value of a present sum and all of that. But, does it justify the price difference? I seriously doubt that 20% is justified. I think it is more of an attitude of "the rich Americans can afford it." Whereas, they should be happy that the exchange rate is bringing them business they might not have otherwise had. Bottom line is that the relative value of money should have NO affect on prices. The price should be set within the economy the producer must purchase raw materials and earn a living in. If the Aussie dollar is stronger, it just means that we in the US must fork over more USD while the price remains constant. As the USD weakens, there will be a short term rise in the value of monies received when Australians import items, but a long term loss of business as it becomes more attractive to buy domestically in the US, which, bye the way, most prefer to do anyway. IMHO

[Mike Dozier]

Malcom/Lynn

I know Ultima charges more (including exchange rate differences) for US customers.
Some of it is shipping costs, some of it is
"liability", and I'm sure some of it is
"market conditions".

I'll bet their are other manufacturers
as well that charge an "American Premium".
It's called free enterprise, and if you don't like it, you can vote with your pocketbook (don't buy it).

MikeDD

I contacted CAV who confirmed that the will hold their launch price of $59500 excluding motor and trannie until year end.

I have lived overseas and have property in Ireland and know a lot about the attitude they have towards Americans. If I want to get a job done I always have a local friend do the talking for me. He will always get a better price than I can get, they think Americans have more money and are careless with their money. I have also found this to be true in England, so I am cautious because I dont want them to think I am stupid when it comes to money. Its common for europeans to think that Americans will pay more for the same Item. I was born in Ireland but when they hear me talk the price goes up, this is not a good feeling. Ultima was another Company I checked out, they claim to ship the first order free. When you compare the price in pounds and the price in dollars, it is way higher in dollars the shipping is not free as they claim. You could buy this kit in pounds and ship it yourself and it would be a lot less than paying in dollars.

MikeDD
I dont call it free enterprize, I call it screwing the Yank. The price should be the same, shipping and taxes are extra.

[Redcat]

I agree. Not all of us "yanks" are wealthy. If I ever found out one of these companies had an American premium, you can be sure I'd never spend my hard earned money with them.

Doug

[John Schneider]

Just to back Doug up in what he said, No we are not all wealthy. I have a confession to make and as much as this hurts for me to say this infront of my peers, I need to come clean. I, yes an RF owner, am financally forced to , as a daily driver, drive a Hyun...Hyun... HYUNDAI SCOUPE. Alright I said it, yes it's true my GT vanity plate will read "my other car is a 1994 Hyundai scoupe". I hope all you "American premium" suppliers out there are proud of youselves.
John

[Fran Hall RCR]

Surely its at least the
"all wheel drive turbo charged rally Tiburon"
RIGHT ???

[John Schneider]

No Fran I'm sorry, it's just a 4 banger. It is an ls if that moves me up the food chain.
Admitting your problem is the first step to recovery. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[Mark Worthington]

You're not alone, John. Once I sell my 2001 Cobra, my '93 Toyota Camry (four cylinder 2.2) will remain as my daily driver. It's that ugly, nondescript taupe color, which has the distinct advantage of being nearly invisible to members of the law enforcement community. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Regards,
Mark

[Mark Clapp]

John, its all in the way you look at it. My "other" car is an original, unrestored 1988 Ford Tempo, with original oil too! [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[John Schneider]

Thanks guys. That really helps me feel better about myself.Mark I am sorry. I had no idea.
Stay strong my brothers. We are the next generation of GT owners.
John

[Bill Musarra]

My Dodge Truck will have to do until this summer. Then, wife permitting [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] I'll join the ranks. Its been a couple of years since my 85 Lotus [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Hang in there.
Bill

[Brian]

It's nice to see I have some company. For a while I was beginning to think that I was the only poor working slob trying to make his way into a '40.
Brian

[Clayton]

Hi Malcolm
Which kit manufactures were you referring to in regards to the difference in prices ?

Clayton

I have to say I am a little surprised to hear that you US chaps feel the Europeans and the UK companies charge a premium for dealing with a yank accent. I have never heard of this before.
When it comes to comparing prices, I have always felt the US have cheaper prices than UK prices, when buying the same goods in repective countries. When I have imported stuff for my car in from US it always seems to be that what it costs in US dollars becomes the UK pound price as import taxes, transport costs, vat etc just whack the price up. So the price I paid PS engineering for the wheels some years back at $400 per wheel (give or take) turned into £400 per wheel when they reached my car.
Malcolm
PS perhaps this isn't the place to mention steel import/export [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Ian K]

Wow, I feel almost privileged. My daily
driver is a '95 Integra GS-R. Of course,
it's got 108K miles and a huge crack in
the window courtesy of a truck hauling
rocks! But, the deal is, my wife's Saturn
goes first (so she can get her big SUV - or
baby hauler as she puts it). Then, I get
to build what I want [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Ian

[GT40 MKII]

Gee, and I thought that having to get the wife her car first was rough. I just got my son his first car. It can bee seen at members.aol.com/helpdeskkev/bigugly he has gotten a lot of grief over that.