[Auto] WOW ---- New and used cars from US up to 30% cheaper - Read post #1

[cyber007]

Thanks for all the informations here. I successfully imported a 2007 Audi Q7 from New Jersey. The vehicle is slightly used with 5,000 miles but the savings are more that 20K .

Just want to share my experience regarding the recall clearance letter. Visited the RIV office yesterday morning when I drove the vehicle back with the dealer provided recall clearance letter following exactly the instruction posted on the RIV website how to prepare the dealer recall letter. But the clerk at RIV just said the letter is not acceptable and refuse to listen to my explanation. I had to call Audi USA head office and got my recall letter from them in two hours and faxed over to RIV. When called RIV office later, they said it will take at least 72 hours for them to put my recall letter into their system since the fax volume is extremely high.

Lesson learned, if possible, always get your recall clearance letter from the manufacturer instead of dealership. Do not trust what RIV website and the customer service people said on the phone (I called them three times before I head down to US and they said dealer recall letter is okay but was plainly rejected by the clerk in the office without properly explanation ).

[diigii]

I have been lurking around for a while. Yesterday, I successfully imported a Subaru Legacy from the US. Thanks to this thread, there were no surprises. Everything was as expected.

I just want to take some time to thank diigii, Monsieurmaggot, and everyone who have contributed to this thread.

For all the new people, everything that you need to know is in this thread, just take some time to read through it. If you still have questions afterwards, feel free to PM me. I will be happy to assist you.

Cheers

CONGRATS to Cybermat, ymlccc, scrolllock! Enjoy your new cars!

Cybermat, you're welcome. I'm just doing my part and helping out because I was in the same situation as you guys before. I'm happy to return the favor. Monsieurmaggot deserves all the accolades. We should all get together soon.

[warpdryv]

flaherty is a dumbass - 20 out of 20 economists agree. rather than cutting income taxes as much as possible, he's pushed up the gst cut.

the upside - now you can save another 1% if you wait until january to import your american cars.

the downside - in effect, a 1% surtax on all consumer products purchased between now and december 31st. i wonder if it will have a negative impact on the retail economy for the next 2 months...

[Q8888]

I have successfully completed import of new MDX sport - for those waiting reg admissibility - I can confirm it is admissible, it falls under section 5. The immobilizer is not an issue - CT will walk around the vehicle and will not bother about it. If you live in the GTA try CT at East Mall Ave and Queensway.

Some observations:
* US customs did not call back after two tries, I believe too busy to call back these days - there were 10 buyers ahead of me at around 8am. They won't bother to check the car as long as they can see it from their window
* At Lewiston crossing you fill your own Form 1 and they do not fax you recall letter for you. Also no one will inspect the car. Once you pay GST (long line - 30 minutes) you are on your way
* At RIV office you pay and wait around 30 minutes to get your Form 2 - no need to wait 2 days.
* At MTO you can easily have the car registered on someone else's name (I wanted my wife's name on it). I went to Cloverdale mall, familiar with the process, but be prepared to line for 40 minutes.

All can be done within a day.

Many thanks to everyone in this thread for the invaluable assistance - phone/fax number (Lewiston), drawing and pics of US customs office (at Lewinston), and the many others who provided tips and info.

Sad to say my dealer has been requested not to sell to Canadians anymore - used cars are not a problem.

cyber007 - I think we meet at the RIV office, glad to hear you solved your recall letter issue. Great car - congrats.

[tbagg]

Not sure about mods but you will get a 6.1% extra dutie, they are made in Japan. Still save a ton.

The 350Z has a base price of about $28,000 in the US. In Canada, the base price is $49,800 (though it does come with a bit more standard equipment - not much). That's a 56% mark-up!
Simply put, the Canadian market gets SCREWED when it comes to low volume and /or performance cars. Screwed. It's not like changing the speedo in the dash and giving people the option of French labels costs $10,000. Why would a person pay $50,000 Cdn. for a new 350Z when they can go across the border and get one for $35,000 after duty and exchange?!

$28,000 is for the lowest 350z model - Canada sells the GRAND TOURING model only which has a tun of extra stuff, the traction control, cruise control, in car speaker phone, subwoofer/ upgraded stereo etc. etc. GRAND TOURING is more like 38k USD new.

To import it is 6.1% duty + GST (5% come january) + $150 A/C fee. It's still worth while though. The main thing holding me back is I don't have a garage and it's winter coming up!

[thfwong]

I have successfully completed import of new MDX sport - for those waiting reg admissibility - I can confirm it is admissible, it falls under section 5. The immobilizer is not an issue - CT will walk around the vehicle and will not bother about it. If you live in the GTA try CT at East Mall Ave and Queensway.

Some observations:
* US customs did not call back after two tries, I believe too busy to call back these days - there were 10 buyers ahead of me at around 8am. They won't bother to check the car as long as they can see it from their window
* At Lewiston crossing you fill your own Form 1 and they do not fax you recall letter for you. Also no one will inspect the car. Once you pay GST (long line - 30 minutes) you are on your way
* At RIV office you pay and wait around 30 minutes to get your Form 2 - no need to wait 2 days.
* At MTO you can easily have the car registered on someone else's name (I wanted my wife's name on it). I went to Cloverdale mall, familiar with the process, but be prepared to line for 40 minutes.

All can be done within a day.

Many thanks to everyone in this thread for the invaluable assistance - phone/fax number (Lewiston), drawing and pics of US customs office (at Lewinston), and the many others who provided tips and info.

Sad to say my dealer has been requested not to sell to Canadians anymore - used cars are not a problem.

cyber007 - I think we meet at the RIV office, glad to hear you solved your recall letter issue. Great car - congrats.

Great news but can you confirm the manufacture date of your 08 MDX? The concern I have is for vehicle manufactured after Sept 1, 2007 that RIV will require a immobilizer that meets CMVSS 114 requirements. Thanks.

[cyber007]

Yes. Audi USA send me recall letter less than 2 hours. But RIV told me I had to wait at least 72 hours before they can get my recall letter into their system. Oh well, like we both experienced at the border, even at 8:00AM in the morning there are lineup at US export office, I am sure now RIV office have huge piles of import requests coming in...

You MDX looks great too. Congratulation for your savings as well. Hope more people will benefit from this great site and great people helping out

I have successfully completed import of new MDX sport - for those waiting reg admissibility - I can confirm it is admissible, it falls under section 5. The immobilizer is not an issue - CT will walk around the vehicle and will not bother about it. If you live in the GTA try CT at East Mall Ave and Queensway.

Some observations:
* US customs did not call back after two tries, I believe too busy to call back these days - there were 10 buyers ahead of me at around 8am. They won't bother to check the car as long as they can see it from their window
* At Lewiston crossing you fill your own Form 1 and they do not fax you recall letter for you. Also no one will inspect the car. Once you pay GST (long line - 30 minutes) you are on your way
* At RIV office you pay and wait around 30 minutes to get your Form 2 - no need to wait 2 days.
* At MTO you can easily have the car registered on someone else's name (I wanted my wife's name on it). I went to Cloverdale mall, familiar with the process, but be prepared to line for 40 minutes.

All can be done within a day.

Many thanks to everyone in this thread for the invaluable assistance - phone/fax number (Lewiston), drawing and pics of US customs office (at Lewinston), and the many others who provided tips and info.

Sad to say my dealer has been requested not to sell to Canadians anymore - used cars are not a problem.

cyber007 - I think we meet at the RIV office, glad to hear you solved your recall letter issue. Great car - congrats.

[propofol]

Four questions:

1) Where do I get French air bag stickers that comply with the RIV guidelines?

2) Has anyone had any problems getting a Lexus-issued recall letters?

3) Does anyone know when Lexus will have its 2008 models on the RIV site?

4) I heard that the Lexus IS 250/ 350 need no modifications, except for the French stickers. Is this true?

[scrolllock]

CONGRATS to Cybermat, ymlccc, scrolllock! Enjoy your new cars!

Cybermat, you're welcome. I'm just doing my part and helping out because I was in the same situation as you guys before. I'm happy to return the favor. Monsieurmaggot deserves all the accolades. We should all get together soon.

I hope my input has helped to many of you. I wish I had know about this site and studied it prior to making my mistake with a 2008 Honda Civic. But I am going to keep on fighting and asking questions to Honda US and the RIV.

I know some of you are in the same boat as me and I know working together we might come up with a way to make Honda US file the right paperwork and let us get on with our lives. They have made certain that their dealerships no longer sell to Canadian re.. their memo of October 11th. The dealers are not taking back the cars.

Please pm me if you are in the same boat and want to discuss solutions. I have also created an email address inadmissibleautos@hotmail.com as well.

strength in numbers!

[Raikkonen]

Four questions:

1) Where do I get French air bag stickers that comply with the RIV guidelines?

2) Has anyone had any problems getting a Lexus-issued recall letters?

3) Does anyone know when Lexus will have its 2008 models on the RIV site?

4) I heard that the Lexus IS 250/ 350 need no modifications, except for the French stickers. Is this true?

Propofol, you must be an anaesthetist, because in your first and only post, you haven't written please or thanks. A resident wouldn't be that arrogant.

[tico 1948]

How did the border custom officer calculate your departure time? You can only buy up to $50 duty free stuff if you stay outside Canada more than 24 hrs. You have up tp 400 if more than 48 hrs. If you leave today pick up your car tomorrow and drive the car back then you have no duty free quota since you stay less than 24 hrs outside. Is my understanding wrong? Thanks.

We left Canada at 5:10pm Atlantic Time on Oct. 24, and returned to Canada at 5:30 pm Atlantic Time on Oct 27. Voila 72 hrs. 3 people @ $400 ea. =$1,200 tax friggin free dollar purchases in North Conway,New Hampshire. Ya, good thing we had 2 vehicles!We told the Border Customs Officer what date and time of day we entered the U.S. We had sales slips for munchies,pop,H2O newspapers, hotel accomodations, etc. etc.to prove our departure date. Besides, I have a very honest face!!!!!

[diigii]

I saw his report on CTV News at 6pm awhile ago. He detailed how much a used European car and a brand new North American-made SUV. In it, he calculated the 6.1% duty on the European car, A/C tax, taxes and RIV fee for both. But what sounded wrong and, misleading, is how he phrased the taxes as "costs" of importing. To a misinformed viewer, hearing what he said is indeed misleading! Those "costs" he highlighted are also paid for by a Canadian consumer buying a car here in Canada, with the taxes even higher than a car bought in the US.

You guys judge for yourselves. Watch the video on http://toronto.ctv.ca/

[andyhejob]

Is there anywhere to check whether there are people go by group to share the experience and expense?

[Lost Horizon]

You guys judge for yourselves. Watch the video on http://toronto.ctv.ca/

Typical Reporter view.. mixing apples and oranges with comfortable confidence born out of broad based ignorance with an IQ near room temperature (in Celsius?) for anything remotely technical or financial ..

But look who the target viewer is.. the "average" Canadian Consumer... so maybe he's brilliant in insight.. and the rest of us are just nerds..

[cyber007]

Four questions:

1) Where do I get French air bag stickers that comply with the RIV guidelines?

Check this thread: http://www.maxbimmer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50332