[Auto] WOW ---- New cars from US up to 30% cheaper (cost to import under $200)

[ksiplalm]

Can anyone tell me how long it took to receive your Form 2 from the RIV? According to carburner I should pay the RIV fee online, fax Form 1 to them and request that they e-mail Form 2 instead of mailing it for the quickest time.

If I do all this, how long before I can expect an email with Form 2? Few hours? A day? Few days? Sooner the better as I cannot get the inspection without Form 2 and I cannot plate the vehicle without the inspection.

Thanks

Well, I was just about to post my experience as I got my vehicle plated (in Ontario) last week. I can answer your question as I do so.

Carburner sure helped smooth the process, especially the map of the US export office at Queenston/Lewiston. I didn't see any obvious signage but knew what to look for. I got into their office and the guy says, "We close in FOUR minutes!" in a tone that implied, "If I don't get you processed in that time, you're screwed!". This was on a Friday afternoon so I didn't even want to think about what I would have done if I was too late. Took all of a minute for him to do my paperwork though.

Some other points not evident on Carburner (which may be in this thread but don't want to sift through 15,000 pages to find out ):

RIV:
I was expecting to pay the RIV fee at the border but was told to register online as it would be faster. I did so as soon as I got back that Friday evening. You just need fill in their online form; no faxing necessary. They emailed me Form 2 on Monday around 6pm. I actually missed it, thinking it was junk email as it was from xxx@livingstonintl.com or something like that (my email reader keeps track of what I delete but not the email itself). I called later in the week to ask for it to be re-sent and was told it would be done within the hour, which it was. I was told they send emails from the "livingston" domain or riv.com. Look for the Form 1 reference number in the subject line.

BTW, whenever I've spoken to someone at RIV, they were quite helpful. One time I called and asked if they needed an original of the Recall Clearance Letter as it stated on their website (I was having some trouble getting it). They asked what kind of vehicle is it and told them Dodge... They said I can get the "letter" from Chrysler's website. I had already known that you can look up if your vehicle has complied with all the recalls but didn't know they actually accepted a printout from it. So I just printed it and emailed it to them.

Insurance:
I talked to my broker about insuring the vehicle for transporting across the border. I was told that as long as I got a temporary permit the same day I bring it across, I'd be covered.

I'll add other points if I can think of them.

[BBTing]

Does anyone have good experience with any US based auto broker who can negotiate well below MSRP and familiar with the export process ? I've only heard fleetrates.com so far but they don't even reply to my email.

TIA,

[Anessa]

http://www.carswithoutborders.com/20...ians/#more-914

Located in New Jersey, Volvo North America has ended the practice of providing Canadians that purchased vehicles in the U.S. with a recall and safety compliance letter.

As reported a few months ago, several Volvo dealers in Western Canada were charging up to $3,000 for a 5 minute inspection on new Models that were purchased in the U.S. These models did not require any modifications , but Transport Canada and the RIV were insisting that Canadians go to an Authorized Volvo dealer in Canada to get “gouged” and have them provide a letter of recall and compliance. All this before Transport Canada would authorize them to drive their new car on Canadian roads!

Many U.S. dealers found a work around. They asked their head office to provide all the documentation. When the RIV was flooded with these letters they had no choice but to accept them. The text of the letter read along these line: “This Volvo Vin # xxxxxxxxxx, has no outstanding recalls and complies with all U.S. and Canadian safety standards. ” Needless to say the $3,000 5 minute inspection was no longer required.

Now the current practice will be for the U.S. dealer to provide the recall letter, and Canadians will have to go to the local Canadian dealer to get “gouged” for the Safety compliance letter and 5 minute inspection.

A woman out west was recently charged only $1950 for this 5 minute inspection on her U.S. purchased Volvo. Over the last several years she and her family had purchased 4 vehicles from this one Canadian dealer. We assume she received a discount based on her past purchases! What a sweet dealer!

On a further note, the nice individual that provided the documentation is no longer working in the same department!

Both Volvo Canada and Volvo North America refused to comment on the situation.

despicable behaviour...

[irish80ca]

What have others been doing for Financing???

So far Presidents Choice Banking appears to offer the best personal loan rate at 6.6% over 5 years.

I'm looking for a term between 5 and 7 years. I want to keep my monthly payment as low as possible.

[ottofly]

If anyone here has any hopes of automakers adjusting their prices to meet US prices I think we can all just dream on.

The sheeple continue to flock in record numbers to gladly overpay and get hosed by Canadian dealers. I guess my salesmen at Honda wasn't kidding when he told me he's never been busier.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/thenew...se-in-july.htm

[michelb]

If anyone here has any hopes of automakers adjusting their prices to meet US prices I think we can all just dream on.

The sheeple continue to flock in record numbers to gladly overpay and get hosed by Canadian dealers. I guess my salesmen at Honda wasn't kidding when he told me he's never been busier.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/thenew...se-in-july.htm

That's just crazy! US sales are way down (that's not very surprising)

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/01/b...ers-july-2008/

[Longobongo]

Does anyone have good experience with any US based auto broker who can negotiate well below MSRP and familiar with the export process ? I've only heard fleetrates.com so far but they don't even reply to my email.

TIA,

I'm getting the same thing, they've replied to my initial email, but haven't since when I asked for a quote.

[oldbear]

Hi all, I benefited a lot from this thread and would like to share my buying experience for my new 2008 Sienna XLE.

The cheapest way is to go directly with dealer that is willing to sell to Canadian. I started by sending email to *ALL* Toyota dealers in NY, MI, OH, Penn States. Only a few of them responded; however, after knowing I won't register the car in the states they all refused to sell. I also got two willing dealers to sell me the car (one in Detroit and one dealer referred by carswithoutborders.com), but they wanted full MSRP and i said no thanks. Then i gave up dealing directly with US dealership.

Then I worked with fleetrates (a US based broker) and they are really nice and helped me located the car I wanted. The downside is, 1) I have to do all Canadian side import work, 2) I have to hire my own trucking company, 3) they want US$2000 for their service, and 4) the worst is that I have to wire them the full payment upfront, and it's a matter of risk that my wife doesn't allow me to take (even after I did couple reference checks!). Along the way I found another US broker who can give me a better deal than fleetrates but I didn't go ahead because of the trust issue.

In parallel working with fleetrates, I started talking to usacars2canada. I almost turned away by their ghetto website (it's improved now). I contact them anyway and I like them for two reasons 1) they do all the work from purchasing to getting Ontario license plate, leaving absolutely no work for their customers, 2) they have office in Scarborough area that I can go and they accept a reasonable deposit; you pay the remaining balance only when you pick up the car

The guy from usacars2canada is nice and patient enough to locate the car with the exact configuration I want (I flip-flopped between Red/Gold color XLE with EVP1 or EVP2, finally settled with Red XLE EVP1 with factory installed DRL). The price they got is comparable to US brokers (close to invoice price, but not as good as some internet price which is around $1k below invoice from dealerships like DARCARS). I made the purchase on June 30 and in two days I learn Toyota US increase rebate from $1500 to $2000 in July; I call them up and they followed up with their partner dealership and gave me an additional discount. I took delivery of the car in two weeks time and everything went very smoothly. I got copies of all related documents and got RIV sticker in mail and Ontario license plate one week after taking delivery.

To sum up, the cheapest way is travel to southern states and import your own vehicle, and the most convenient way is to buy local. Canadian importer like usacars2canada provides most of the saving with all the convenience of buying local. For me a family guy with two young kids, this is price premium I'm happy to pay to a Canadian importer and I'm glad I made this choice.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. Together we put pressure on manufacturers lowering their overly inflated Canadian price by buying internationally.

[irish80ca]

I believe I read somewhere that if I ship the vehicle I don't have to worry about paying Florida State taxes. Is that correct? The dealer won't charge me taxes if I don't drive the car off the lot?

I'd register the vehicle in Florida and get the license plates but if I ship from the dealership to the niagara falls boarder can I just take the car from there, pop on the license plates and proceed with the import as normal?

If so this would save me the 7% tax (approx. $1600).

[michelb]

I believe I read somewhere that if I ship the vehicle I don't have to worry about paying Florida State taxes. Is that correct? The dealer won't charge me taxes if I don't drive the car off the lot?

I'd register the vehicle in Florida and get the license plates but if I ship from the dealership to the niagara falls boarder can I just take the car from there, pop on the license plates and proceed with the import as normal?

If so this would save me the 7% tax (approx. $1600).

That's correct about the FL tax.

I'm concerned about 'pop on the license plates and proceed ...' - what license plates are you referring to? Do you mean your FL temp tags? I don't know if they can give you one without charging you tax. Do you mean an ON one? That probably won't work since you can only get it within 6 days of the purchase - if it's anything like me, it will take more than 6 days to get it shipped to the border.

[HP_John]

http://www.carswithoutborders.com/20...ians/#more-914

Located in New Jersey, Volvo North America has ended the practice of providing Canadians that purchased vehicles in the U.S. with a recall and safety compliance letter.

As reported a few months ago, several Volvo dealers in Western Canada were charging up to $3,000 for a 5 minute inspection on new Models that were purchased in the U.S. These models did not require any modifications , but Transport Canada and the RIV were insisting that Canadians go to an Authorized Volvo dealer in Canada to get “gouged” and have them provide a letter of recall and compliance. All this before Transport Canada would authorize them to drive their new car on Canadian roads!

Many U.S. dealers found a work around. They asked their head office to provide all the documentation. When the RIV was flooded with these letters they had no choice but to accept them. The text of the letter read along these line: “This Volvo Vin # xxxxxxxxxx, has no outstanding recalls and complies with all U.S. and Canadian safety standards. ” Needless to say the $3,000 5 minute inspection was no longer required.

Now the current practice will be for the U.S. dealer to provide the recall letter, and Canadians will have to go to the local Canadian dealer to get “gouged” for the Safety compliance letter and 5 minute inspection.

A woman out west was recently charged only $1950 for this 5 minute inspection on her U.S. purchased Volvo. Over the last several years she and her family had purchased 4 vehicles from this one Canadian dealer. We assume she received a discount based on her past purchases! What a sweet dealer!

On a further note, the nice individual that provided the documentation is no longer working in the same department!

Both Volvo Canada and Volvo North America refused to comment on the situation.

despicable behaviour...

Absolutely disgusting. Even if the savings are big, I'd never import a Volvo knowing I'd get charged $3 K for some bogus letter & inspection.

[diigii]

I would advise you to be very, very careful about getting a President's Choice financial product, especially PC MasterCard. Last year, I became a victim of credit card fraud, along with a few of my co-workers how have been a victims of personal loans of $10,000 to $50,000. President's Choice and CIBC appear not to take personal financial information very seriously.

What have others been doing for Financing???

So far Presidents Choice Banking appears to offer the best personal loan rate at 6.6% over 5 years.

I'm looking for a term between 5 and 7 years. I want to keep my monthly payment as low as possible.

[wannaCRV]

I'm looking to import 2008 Mustang; I have read thru many many posts and the other links but still have some questions. I found a dealer willing to deal with a Canuck, but he states I must have a US address for the rebates. So if I can use my cousins address should that suffice; if they insist on my cousins name on my bill of sale (he lives in different state) does he have to register it or do we set up our own bill of sale? Has anyone bought a Ford from US any info is greatly appreciated.

[BBTing]

In parallel working with fleetrates, I started talking to usacars2canada. I almost turned away by their ghetto website (it's improved now). I contact them anyway and I like them for two reasons 1) they do all the work from purchasing to getting Ontario license plate, leaving absolutely no work for their customers, 2) they have office in Scarborough area that I can go and they accept a reasonable deposit; you pay the remaining balance only when you pick up the car

The guy from usacars2canada is nice and patient enough to locate the car with the exact configuration I want (I flip-flopped between Red/Gold color XLE with EVP1 or EVP2, finally settled with Red XLE EVP1 with factory installed DRL). The price they got is comparable to US brokers (close to invoice price, but not as good as some internet price which is around $1k below invoice from dealerships like DARCARS). I made the purchase on June 30 and in two days I learn Toyota US increase rebate from $1500 to $2000 in July; I call them up and they followed up with their partner dealership and gave me an additional discount. I took delivery of the car in two weeks time and everything went very smoothly. I got copies of all related documents and got RIV sticker in mail and Ontario license plate one week after taking delivery.

To sum up, the cheapest way is travel to southern states and import your own vehicle, and the most convenient way is to buy local. Canadian importer like usacars2canada provides most of the saving with all the convenience of buying local. For me a family guy with two young kids, this is price premium I'm happy to pay to a Canadian importer and I'm glad I made this choice.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. Together we put pressure on manufacturers lowering their overly inflated Canadian price by buying internationally.

Congrats on your success ! I'm in the same shoe as you are. Wiring a whole sum to them is not an option for me either. Hence paying a deposit is acceptable to me. Getting close to the invoice price is quite acceptable to me, not to mention the do all the import work as well. Do you know if they have an office in Vancouver area ? Just checked their web site, it does not even work !

So how much do they charge you on top of the cost of the car ?

Anyone has used USAcars2Canada ?

[kav1]

I purchased a BMW Z4 M coupe at an amazing savings using Mystique Ventures Inc, out of Moncton New Brunswick. The ower JP is a nice guy and they will either find you the car you want at the best price negotiable (they will try to get the best price possible), or you can find the car and the price and just tell them to do the deal and pick it up. They do all the border stuff and the paperwork including the conversion/inspection and registration and you just drive it away. They can also easily have transport arranged to your door as they did for me.

Just google Mystique Ventues Inc Moncton - call their 800 number and ask for JP - tell him Kyle referred you.

Goodluck.