- Jan 7, 2002
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BANGOR, Maine -- A Canadian couple who say they were turned down dozens of times when they tried to buy a new car in the United States are challenging what they regard as illegal discrimination.
Rhonda Chancey and Allan Coombs, a married couple from Paradise, Newfoundland, claim that more than 80 New England dealerships, including 61 in Maine, refused their business.
Chancey and Coombs filed a discrimination complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission and plan to sue car companies. Similar complaints are planned in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, according to the couple's lawyer, Stephanie Jazlowiecki of Topsham.
Jazlowiecki said General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler were seeking to maximize profits by not allowing Canadians to take advantage of their strong dollar and buy new cars in the U.S., where prices are much lower.
"The dealerships' uniform denial of sales of new vehicles to Canadian citizens is a blatant pattern and practice of nation of origin discrimination," Jazlowiecki told the Bangor Daily News.
"Individual dealerships claim they are not allowed or that it is illegal to sell to Canadians. But this would appear to be a patent violation of state and federal anti-discrimination laws, as well as federal anti-competition statutes," she said.
Automakers impose the same rule on Canadian dealerships, barring U.S. residents from buying vehicles when the dollar is particularly strong, Jazlowiecki said.
Chancey and Coombs visited most of the dealerships and e-mailed some of them in the last two months, Jazlowiecki said.
In many cases, sales staff only became aware of the manufacturer's rule against selling to Canadians when they tried to go forward with a transaction, the lawyer said. She said dealers were permitted to sell the couple a used vehicle.
Savings can be significant. A $40,000 Cadillac Escalade in the U.S. now fetches about $80,000 in Canada, Jazlowiecki said.
Rhonda Chancey and Allan Coombs, a married couple from Paradise, Newfoundland, claim that more than 80 New England dealerships, including 61 in Maine, refused their business.
Chancey and Coombs filed a discrimination complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission and plan to sue car companies. Similar complaints are planned in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, according to the couple's lawyer, Stephanie Jazlowiecki of Topsham.
Jazlowiecki said General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler were seeking to maximize profits by not allowing Canadians to take advantage of their strong dollar and buy new cars in the U.S., where prices are much lower.
"The dealerships' uniform denial of sales of new vehicles to Canadian citizens is a blatant pattern and practice of nation of origin discrimination," Jazlowiecki told the Bangor Daily News.
"Individual dealerships claim they are not allowed or that it is illegal to sell to Canadians. But this would appear to be a patent violation of state and federal anti-discrimination laws, as well as federal anti-competition statutes," she said.
Automakers impose the same rule on Canadian dealerships, barring U.S. residents from buying vehicles when the dollar is particularly strong, Jazlowiecki said.
Chancey and Coombs visited most of the dealerships and e-mailed some of them in the last two months, Jazlowiecki said.
In many cases, sales staff only became aware of the manufacturer's rule against selling to Canadians when they tried to go forward with a transaction, the lawyer said. She said dealers were permitted to sell the couple a used vehicle.
Savings can be significant. A $40,000 Cadillac Escalade in the U.S. now fetches about $80,000 in Canada, Jazlowiecki said.
I'd like to see where this suit ends up. I knew of Canadians coming over to buy cheap gas, with their strong dollar, perhaps it is even more pronounced now?
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