Canada vs. US pricing: 2025s cheaper up north

[endzone_truck]

Looks like now the 2025 truck is significantly cheaper to drive off the lot in Ontario vs Michigan. By about $10,000+ USD.

So really, dealers in Canada are making a KILLING by convincing people that "things just cost more in Canada", when this isn't the case. Even if the dealer throws on $5,000CAD more in nonsense in Canada it would still be significantly cheaper. Upon doing some more research (thanks ChatGPT) it looks like dealerships on both sides of the border are milking customers: Some Ontario dealers get around export bans by registering vehicles as “demos” first. That means a staffer “uses” it briefly (500–2,000 km), so it’s no longer a new retail unit in Canada. Once across the border, a U.S. dealer can often resell it as “new with delivery miles” since it’s untitled in the U.S. and still low mileage.

• Canadian dealers pocket extra profit.
• U.S. dealers resell at full US retail, and purchase in Canadian dollars
• OEMs lose control of pricing.
• Canadian buyers lose inventory/selection

United States (Michigan)
Options: 3.5 PB, 7.2kw, Black Appearance Package, 502A. See attached PDF.

• Net Price (MSRP minus incentives): $73,300 USD
• Michigan Sales Tax (6%): $4,398 → Total with tax = $77,698 USD
• Doc Fee (capped in Michigan): $260 USD
• Title: $15 USD; Plate: $5 USD (estimates based on standard state requirements)
• Registration & Tag Fee: Variable based on MSRP/weight—approximation of $180 USD for a truck of this value, per typical fee tables

Estimated U.S. Drive-Off Cost:
$78,158 USD


Canada (Ontario)
Options: 3.5 PB, 7.2kw, Black Appearance Package, 502A. See attached PDF.

• Net Price : $80,340 CAD
• Ontario HST (13%): $10,444.20 → Total with tax = $90,784.20 CAD
• OMVIC Fee: $12.50 CAD
• Vehicle Permit: $32 CAD; New License Plate: $59 CAD
• Common Dealer Admin Fee: $199–$399 CAD (Ontario requires "all‑in" advertising)
• Tire/Environmental Fee: ~$20–$30 CAD (typical)

Estimated Ontario Drive-Off Cost:
$91,112–$91,312 CAD / $67,500 - $67,700 USD

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[Dixie]

The canadian truck has a $10,000 discount

 

[Calson]

Ford can afford to pay its workers more in Canada as this advanced nation has universal health care unlike the United States. Net net the cost per worker hour is less in Canada thanks to universal health care.

In the United States more than half the personal bankruptcies are from people being unable despite having medical insurance, to pay their medical bills. It is vulture capitalism in action and we have someone in the White House who has made the situation much worse with 13 million people loosing their medical insurance. The billionaires are happy as they got a huge tax cut and will make money buying U.S. Treasury notes.

 

[endzone_truck]

The canadian truck has a $10,000 discount

Yeah, employee pricing. They do this every year.

 

[Dixie]

Yeah, employee pricing. They do this every year.

I just meant that it's not really a fair comparison. You need to compare MSRP to MSRP because incentives change monthly and are possibly not equal.

I do agree that if canadian incentives are exceptionally good compared to exceptionally bad ones in the united states, the scales may tip dramatically in a price comparison. One thing to note that if you're purchasing "new" or "new-ish" out of country, you'll lose out on captive finance incentives like 0% and the like. Warranty work also becomes a bit ambiguous as although the warranty may not be technically "voided", you may have a pain in the ass making a claim.

The demo/export workaround may require the vehicle to be previously registered and not run as a dealer demo, so it's not a new car that the american consumer would be buying, It's a used "second owner" vehicle and will be missing warranty coverage.

 

[endzone_truck]

Good points. I guess I’m just tired of Canadians complaining stuff is so expensive when they have no idea how expensive things are in the US. Cost of living has really risen in the US. The only thing that is cheaper now is housing. Everything else is either the same or more expensive.

I just meant that it's not really a fair comparison. You need to compare MSRP to MSRP because incentives change monthly and are possibly not equal.

I do agree that if canadian incentives are exceptionally good compared to exceptionally bad ones in the united states, the scales may tip dramatically in a price comparison. One thing to note that if you're purchasing "new" or "new-ish" out of country, you'll lose out on captive finance incentives like 0% and the like. Warranty work also becomes a bit ambiguous as although the warranty may not be technically "voided", you may have a pain in the ass making a claim.

The demo/export workaround may require the vehicle to be previously registered and not run as a dealer demo, so it's not a new car that the american consumer would be buying, It's a used "second owner" vehicle and will be missing warranty coverage.

 

[Highway 11]

Keep in mind Canadians don't make as much as Americans do, and housing plays an outsized part in the cost of living issues that keep coming up.

My base salary is 119K CAD in rural Ontario, which in USD works out to about 86K. Someone in the same career as me across the border in rural New York State in the same type of organization and seniority makes 127K USD... or 175K CAD base.

Add to that, housing really screwed a lot of people, undeservingly and deservingly. You have your people who saw low interest mortgages and bought way more than they could afford. You have people who got into bidding wars, buying properties that are now worth nowhere what they paid for them and are massively underwater. You have the rental market completely slammed with too many people and not enough apartments.

Some numbers to think about:

Rent of my first apartment in 2020: $1850
Rent of the same apartment today: $2900

Price of my house, if it had increased in line with inflation from new build price: $352,000
Price of my house in 2020: $698,000
Valuation of my house in 2022: $1,100,000
Valuation of my house today: $800,000

Price of my best friend's condo, in 2020: $760,000
Price of my best friend's condo today: $650,000

----

Getting back onto topic, as this is a F150 truck forum and not an economics subreddit, Canadian F150s might be cheaper, sure. But holy crap are they still expensive. An STX is $60,000 before discounts. Ram had the right idea with the 1500 Classic - they sold boatloads of those to people who wanted a truck in the $40,000 range.

 

[SkiAlta39]

Ford can afford to pay its workers more in Canada as this advanced nation has universal health care unlike the United States. Net net the cost per worker hour is less in Canada thanks to universal health care.

In the United States more than half the personal bankruptcies are from people being unable despite having medical insurance, to pay their medical bills. It is vulture capitalism in action and we have someone in the White House who has made the situation much worse with 13 million people loosing their medical insurance. The billionaires are happy as they got a huge tax cut and will make money buying U.S. Treasury notes.

I have an elderly friend in Canada who needs to see a doctor for her knee. 9 month wait. She can't walk. No system is perfect, but no thanks. I lived in Canada for 2 years. They all want to come to the US for care. It's not what it's hyped up to be.

 

[Eighthtry]

Well, so much for no politics on this forum.

I suggest we back out of the political part of this conversation. It is doubtful that anyone on this thread, much less this forum, knows the truth on the Big Beautiful Bill, Canadian Healthcare, or whatever other things that may come up in politics. We may all have opinions however. Those questions were not asked nor appropriate to answer.

EndZoneTruck (thank you for the post) had a great observation on Canadian Truck Prices. I would be interested in some corroboration of the process and how it differs from US purchase. Risks versus rewards. Looks like rewards may be substantial, but there may be some additional hoops encountered when bringing it back to the US from Canada. # to $? Tariffs? Stuff I don't know enough about to even ask/formulate a question?

Customs charges?

How individual states might look at this. For instance, Texas has a 6% or 6 1/2 % sales tax on new vehicle purchases. Florida has a sales tax as well, and probably the rest of the states. I presume that calculation might be converted to US$ in some form or fashion. A little due diligence is required in order to make a Canadian purchase decision.

So lets see if we can track/nail some of this down instead.

 

[DEEPDOWN]

I have an elderly friend in Canada who needs to see a doctor for her knee. 9 month wait. She can't walk. No system is perfect, but no thanks. I lived in Canada for 2 years. They all want to come to the US for care. It's not what it's hyped up to be.

at least we don’t lose our houses over it. And wait times vary between province and cities; in Windsor (think Detroit those who are geographically challenged) actually pretty good. Wait times are usually determined by urgency. My girlfriend lives in Michigan and I’m very familiar with costs over there. What I found is that eating out, it’s definitely no cheaper there than in Canada.

 

[dochawk]

In the United States more than half the personal bankruptcies are from people being unable despite having medical insurance, to pay their medical bills.

speaking as a recently retired bankruptcy attorney, that simply isn't true.

It's an urban legend that spins off of raw data.

There is some medical debt in more than half of bankruptcies; that much is true.

But medical is rarely the driving factor, or even the largest one.

Not even in the same range as misuse of credit cards (the most common reason in normal times). While I can't speak for it nationally, in my experience, it isn't even close to filing Chapter 13 to make up missing mortgage payments.

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