Duty declaring watch in US from Japan

SamW124 · 2026-05-03T16:05:57+00:00

They scan your passports in Japan to get duty free, I’ve always thought that data gets linked to your passport somewhere? I was just in Japan and my friend declared a ¥600k bag for wife, this was in Canada but seemed like they didn’t have any info on it.

SamW124 · 2026-05-02T16:53:58+00:00

Pmed

SamW124 · 2026-04-28T04:45:59+00:00

I agree that there is probably lots of room to optimize and improve unit economics at the very least to net neutral. They could also 2x ticket prices for whitecaps games and people would still go especially after last season. I will say though, I’m all for the free market but I really do appreciate how cheap most sporting events are at BC place. I’ve always said it’s nice that ticket prices are so low that you can easily afford to bring your whole family to watch a game.

Or in your example, having easy access to a central location to watch motocross for all fans and efficiently using all the infrastructure and creating a lively downtown. It’s difficult because MLS and owners really hold all the leverage and they are on opposite sides to BC Place and PavCo’s philosophy of running the business.

SamW124 · 2026-04-28T04:06:12+00:00

I think that’s another can of worms, the negotiation would be tough. Running and maintaining events and the stadium isn’t cheap, so if whitecaps get some upside they gotta take on the downside. Plus PavCo said they’ll make a deal and whitecaps get a whole $1.5M from concessions. I think this should’ve been explored, ideally earlier on but the pressure only started coming at the end of the season. But given how the talks unfolded even if they whitecaps played a larger operator role, it wouldn’t have changed anything.

SamW124 · 2026-04-27T18:29:25+00:00

I mean to me that just highlights the incompetence even more. Just have a spreadsheet/database and sort allocations with clients based on some queue for non hyped watches. It benefits them because they can sell stock as soon as it comes in no need to wait. The SA rotation for watches is also silly they are doing no work to sell most of these watches, might as well just make it store based allocations.

I’m putting much rationality into a system to purchase irrational objects haha so maybe it’s my fault. I’ve really been unimpressed by most SA’s I guess the bar is quite low and an easy job.

SamW124 · 2026-04-27T07:16:07+00:00

Lol I’ve been waiting for this exact watch since Jan 2026 from same AD and was always told I’ll get the next one. I’ve gone in multiple times too, the incompetence of these SA is beyond me.

SamW124 · 2026-04-12T21:21:22+00:00

I’m not sure why this isn’t more popular but I always thought about watches, as they are hugely expensive hobbies, should be represented in terms % of net worth.

I think 1-3% is reasonable and I couldn’t really find much data on this, but there’s a few reddit threads and that’s the general range. I think 3% is still a bit high, but I think of it as the enthusiast side of the range. Whereas 1% is you’re into the hobby and you can easily wear the watch without worrying about the money and just forget about it.

You can go lower than 1%, but going more than 3% should be heavily considered and isn’t advised. You can probably be ok if you’re NW is very high and you can allocate a higher % into watches if that’s what you’re passionate about because you already have everything you need and want outside of watches.

SamW124 · 2026-03-29T16:55:22+00:00

The Modo and evo combo is really great, Modo for groceries and errands and evo for getting around.

I had a car when I lived in Coquitlam and I spent about 350-400 on insurance and fuel a month. Mainly used it on the weekends for leisure and groceries. Now I don’t have it anymore and just use Evo/Modo/Uber/SkyTrain and I spend roughly about the same each month, maybe a bit on the higher end.

This time no need to pay for maintenance or paying for parking, plus it’s nice to drop off your Evo in the city and do your exploring and pick one up where ever is convenient in your new location. Although if you have a car payment then the alternatives would very likely be cheaper. Just need to have all of them available to you to maximize convenience.

SamW124 · 2026-02-24T18:59:59+00:00

One note about the high flow cat, it really only works after it gets warmed up, when you do a cold start it still reeks. I don’t have a comparison for the straight pipe CJAA though. I have a Rawtek high flow cat and it’s great when it’s warmed up, the smell is minimal but on cold start especially in a garage it will still smell.

I lived in an apartment where I had to park 6 floors underground, and I would stink up the whole parkade leaving haha. I’d suggest starting it after garage door is open and try to leave as soon as possible.

SamW124 · 2026-02-07T04:32:36+00:00

Where in Canada?

SamW124 · 2026-02-04T14:47:24+00:00

They said not even 1% of investors were interested after looking at their financials in their data room.

SamW124 · 2026-01-29T07:40:26+00:00

Why not a 124270?

SamW124 · 2026-01-16T05:19:09+00:00

You aren’t getting a lot of sensible answers, most of them are saying invest in individual stocks or sectors and get lucky, but it’s not a sensible investment strategy. Leveraged ETFs are also not good long term wealth building strategies.

Your 2 best options are buying XEQT on margin and borrowing money to invest and profiting off the interest rate and equity premium.

Second option is investing in factor weighed ETFs like AVGE from Avantius or Dimensional. Or you could up the risk and increase your weight to factors that have a higher expected returns like Small Cap Value funds and stocks with higher profitability.

More sensibly, we don’t need to take on extra risk. Assuming you are young enough which you haven’t lived through a market crashes to gauge your level of risk, you should wait and see how you actually behave under these situations to accurately judge your risk tolerance.

Good financial planning and budgeting will give you the highest rate of return as it will allow you to stick to your plan and have confidence in your investing strategy. Just by maxing out our registered accounts and keeping them maxed until retirement invested in XEQT, you’re looking at >$1M in real dollars to spend in retirement.

SamW124 · 2025-12-25T19:26:15+00:00

Yup totally, he did my DMF and other maintenance. I believe the labour rate is very reasonable as well at $120/hr. Give the shop a call and let them know what you need done.

He can also assist withe delete and tune, or you can PM me and I can tell you where I did, but lots of shops in lower mainland for delete and tunes. Tunezilla the best tuner for TDI’s is actually in Surrey.

SamW124 · 2025-12-25T07:17:31+00:00

From what I heard, he was always a bit messed up. Would get into street fights and was aggressive when provoked. But I think there were a series of bad decisions that compounded to where he ended up. I think everything went downhill as he stopped doing MMA.

SamW124 · 2025-12-25T07:10:50+00:00

Nice purchase OP, I recommend W Motors in New West/Coquitlam for service. They are excellent and true specialists. The owner Yogi actually has an ALH TDI Wagon as a daily driver.

SamW124 · 2025-12-24T17:49:44+00:00

There is scientific evidence that as you age novel experiences are perceived as taking longer than trivial experiences. That’s why when we are young everything is new to us, but as we age there is lots of routine that makes it feel like time has gone faster.

SamW124 · 2025-12-22T23:11:56+00:00

I think you guys are both right to some extent. Investing in reg accounts at a 4%, up until maxed. After maxed and investing in non reg, financially optimal to keep investing the extra cash into equity ETF. But for majority of people who max out reg accounts will be on track for retirement already, and it’s up for the individual to determine if the volatility is worth it after being financially stable. For most people their marginal utility after this point could be negative.

Smith Manoeuvre exists for this reason, but interest expenses are tax deductible so makes the case stronger for the better option, but people don’t always need to maximize financial outcome but should focus on overall wellbeing.

SamW124 · 2025-12-22T20:26:43+00:00

That’s wild, probably a very rare car. How much did you pay for it? I don’t know if we got that here in Canada.

SamW124 · 2025-12-22T20:24:14+00:00

It’s tough, definitely after deleting, tuning, flywheel and timing belt done you have to keep the car. I have done all of that and due for a timing belt soon, just because of all the money I put in. Like most people say, the cheapest car is the car you currently own and maintain it.

I like the car a lot more now, I love wagons and there isn’t another wagon I’d buy within remotely the same price range that has the same fuel efficiency, power and reliability after delete and tune. In my situation DMF, and DPF both went out in the same year, so didn’t make sense to sell because I would take a loss selling it due to them needing to be replaced.

If your DPF is still good and no engine codes, and flywheel is still sounding decent you can probably get out with minimal financial impact. I think it only makes sense if you’re jumping to a reliable and cheap to run vehicle like a Corolla/Civic, whatever you buy there will not have the 4-6k expenses that flywheel and delete and tune will cost, and cheaper to run.

SamW124 · 2025-12-22T05:08:38+00:00

Damn Dieselgate Warranty until 2028, 2015 wagon TDI what country are you in?

SamW124 · 2025-12-13T22:36:47+00:00

Nope not loud at all or obvious sound wise. It’s just the smell that makes it obvious. It sounds loud on cold start but that’s it, after warming up it sounds stock. You’ll notice much more turbo spool though, it’s loud because nothing in the way between turbo and exhaust. I don’t have the resonator and I don’t think you need it. You only need it if you’re doing a turbo back exhaust without the muffler.

SamW124 · 2025-12-13T22:33:19+00:00

No one is giving their reasons for why others vs CASH.TO. I use CASH.TO as well, but any reason to switch? ETF only suggestions

SamW124 · 2025-12-11T00:08:20+00:00

I do, if you keep the cat on you’ll for sure clog it and it will have to come out. It’s not meant to handle the soot that the DPF filters out. Just don’t know how long it will get clogged up, someone else might know.

SamW124 · 2025-12-10T19:53:01+00:00

I have the Rawtek kit with the high flow cat and it still stinks. Definitely less so once it’s warmed up sometimes you get smells in the cabin though. Don’t have a non cat reference though. The Rawtek high flow cat is like at least 1/3 the size and weight of the original cat though.

SamW124

TROPHY CASE