Shopping in DR...Weeeeeeeee

[AK74]

30% markup (standard practice for retails),

Most cars are exactly the same. There is a 20-30% mark up. If you do your homework you'll usually pay no more than 15% more here in DR. Here is an example of a popular selling SUV in DR, the 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara sold in DR


super-carros.com - dominicana - detalle vehiculo usado
And one being sold in USA similar in features and mileage in USA
White Water Pearl 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara Base For Sale in Poughkeepsie, New York ? Buy This Used Car Today



NotLurking

Shalom aleichem!

A very good and intelligent post, must be appreciated!

Just a couple of clarifications respectfully.

30% retail mark up. Standard. Where is it standard? In USA 30% can be only dreamed of. 30% mark up is a mind bogging greed and rip-off.

Cars. Same question. 20%-30%. Where? I will go there right now. Being over ten years in car exporting/selling business I see that dealer makes $500-$1200 on a $12K - $18K cars. Some times on $25K cars. It means 5%-8%. In those cases when he is lucky and does not run into a bad engine or bad tranny that he has to fix and to sell at a loss.

Not to mention that it is impossible to compare two cars without seeing them. Without checking for bondo and for paint job with paint thickness gauge. In USA we have at least Carfax and Autocheck. In DR - only verbal gurantee of seller. That the car was not in accidents and that odometer is not rolled back and over five times.

Again, if a car dealer tries to get a 30% mark up it is mind bogging shamless greed and rip off. That we unfortunatelly witness now in Dominican Republic. A lot of new wave business owners not willing to work hard and long, but to get rich quick and effortless.

My only relief is that among DR.1 members that bad breeds are not represented and we communicate here among ourselves only honest, good and hard working reasonable gentlemen/gentlewomen.

 

[NotLurking]

Shalom aleichem!

A very good and intelligent post, must be appreciated!

Just a couple of clarifications respectfully.

Aleichem shalom! Thank you.

AK74, the brand spanking NEW 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara luxury 4WD ZERO miles/kilometers in USA is MSRP US$25,699

2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara Luxury 4WD ? Yahoo! Autos

This is the vehicle my wife likes/wants and we've been to a few dealers to get this same vehicle priced brand spanking new at ZERO miles/kilometers. The price quoted here in DR with tax and 'placa' ranges from US$28,700 to US$30,500. The difference being in things like engine (2.4l, 4l or 2.7l, v6) and with or without sun roof. So you do the math and/or go out to a dealer here and price it yourself. The difference from buying this SUV BRAND NEW HERE IN DR will be what I'm quoting you here, from US$3,000 to US$5,000.

If you think you can do better, buying a NEW leftover 2008 at a discount in USA and importing it to DR yourself, think again, it really is not worth the hassle. This SUV could probably be bought NEW in USA for around US$20,000 today. The problem is you have to pay about US$1,000 for freight, plus import duty, sales tax and 'Placa' in DR for it. This will run you RD$320,786.68 according to aduanas. That equals US$9,450. So, the total price of that cheap imported SUV parked in front of your house will be a whopping US$30,450 and will be MORE expensive in the long run with no warranty coverage in DR!!! Like I said, It is not worth it. But don't take my word for it, have a look at what 'Aduanas' wants for this vehicle:

Direcci?n General de Aduanas - DGA

NotLurking

 

[AK74]

Aleichem shalom! Thank you.

AK74, the brand spanking NEW 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara luxury 4WD ZERO miles/kilometers in USA is MSRP US$25,699

2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara Luxury 4WD ? Yahoo! Autos

This is the vehicle my wife likes/wants and we've been to a few dealers to get this same vehicle priced brand spanking new at ZERO miles/kilometers. The price quoted here in DR with tax and 'placa' ranges from US$28,700 to US$30,500. The difference being in things like engine (2.4l, 4l or 2.7l, v6) and with or without sun roof. So you do the math and/or go out to a dealer here and price it yourself. The difference from buying this SUV BRAND NEW HERE IN DR will be what I'm quoting you here, from US$3,000 to US$5,000.

If you think you can do better, buying a NEW leftover 2008 at a discount in USA and importing it to DR yourself, think again, it really is not worth the hassle. This SUV could probably be bought NEW in USA for around US$20,000 today. The problem is you have to pay about US$1,000 for freight, plus import duty, sales tax and 'Placa' in DR for it. This will run you RD$320,786.68 according to aduanas. That equals US$9,450. So, the total price of that cheap imported SUV parked in front of your house will be a whopping US$30,450 and will be MORE expensive in the long run with no warranty coverage in DR!!! Like I said, It is not worth it. But don't take my word for it, have a look at what 'Aduanas' wants for this vehicle:

Direcci?n General de Aduanas - DGA

NotLurking

I have nothing to comment on new cars.

I work with used.

Upon leaving the doors of the show room a car immediately loses up to $3000 of its value (in some cases even more)/ So, this $3000 is what people pay just to be able to say "I bought spunking new!". Emotionally they might need it. Economically it is stupid.

The best buy ever - one year old, in excellent condition, with thorough inspection BY PROFESSIONAL and with remaining two years of warranty. But it is totally different topic. Just a little good advice for those who need it. Those who do not need - please do not read and respond.

 

[Chirimoya]

Yes, you are right, liquid laundry detergent is not locally manufactured. In this case you have no other choice but to purchase an imported product, if you really want liquid laundry detergent. In my case though, I've always used powder laundry detergent and I've tried just about all the local available brands and find them all about the same with perhaps Fab Total and Omo being the slightly better brands. Powder laundry detergent usually sell for RD$99 per 1kg in SD (~30-40 loads depends on who does the laundry. Dominicans use too MUCH detergent!). Chiri, if you haven't done so, maybe you could give powder laundry detergent a try (again)? It certainly is MUCH cheaper. I once bought a 5 gallon bucket of imported (from USA) powder laundry detergent in Super Pola. It was very similar to the Sears brand of powder laundry detergent but my wife said that it was about the same as the local stuff and it was more expensive. I didn't buy the bucket stuff agian but perhaps you could maybe give that a try? I know, I know, it ain't liquid Oh well we can't win all the time. When it comes to liquid laundry detergent we don't have another choice but to pay and pay lots.

NotLurking

There's a local brand of liquid detergent called 'Lider' that isn't that great but I do buy it when it's available, as well as a couple of other imported options like Arm & Hammer that are not as expensive as Tide. The point is that sometimes there is no choice and the only item on sale is the overpriced one. On the question of powdered detergent - I've used it, but someone told me that it wasn't good for the washing machine. Maybe that's a myth cooked up by liquid detergent manufacturers. One friend uses grated 'jab?n de cuaba' in her washing machine and swears by it.

 

[dv8]

bathrooms

we visited ochoa yesterday and took a quick look at bathroom appliances (we are to start building the house soon).
the only tap we really liked was over 13k pesos:

similar sell on amazon/ebay for less than 200 dollars.
thick glass sink - 50k pesos. scandal!
even expensive and pricey kraus sells glass sink plus nice tabs at less than 300 dollars.
i can only say, f**king hell!

 

[La Mariposa]

There's a local brand of liquid detergent called 'Lider' that isn't that great but I do buy it when it's available, as well as a couple of other imported options like Arm & Hammer that are not as expensive as Tide. The point is that sometimes there is no choice and the only item on sale is the overpriced one. On the question of powdered detergent - I've used it, but someone told me that it wasn't good for the washing machine. Maybe that's a myth cooked up by liquid detergent manufacturers. One friend uses grated 'jab?n de cuaba' in her washing machine and swears by it.

At Iberia they have Purex (liquid) good and less expensive than Tide