Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

[Smarty39]

Re: Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

My question is why does everyone insist on using their brand respective dealership when importing a car? RIV has a long standing deal with Cambodian Tire for only a couple hundred bucks.

Probably because you have to...as stated above, the most important piece of documentation you need when importing a car is the FACTORY recall clearance letter stating that ALL necessary recalls have been done to the car in question (as well as any modifications...which crappy tire cannot provide).

[The_Jerbel]

Re: Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

It's funny how market forces are independent of the stupid decisions of major corporations. By thinking that they are soooo sneaky and outsmarting the Canadian consumer, they are really just sending a LOT of business to Audi, Lexus, and Infinity. Because they are so intent on dissuading people from buying their cars from the US, they charge a few grand to change a cluster and dissuade people from buying their cars at all.
Sales isn't about whose price is better. It's about how the consumer feels about the vendor and the product they sell. If they have a warm fuzzy feeling inside about the vendor and its product, then they are more likely to buy from them. By pissing Canadians off, all BMW and Merc are doing is inadvertently, and based on the intelligence of their recent decisions, probably largely unknowingly, losing several sales worth 10 times as much as they would have made on the cluster swap.

[Glidjetta]

Re: Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

You don't understand everything you need to import a car. You need the recall letter / authorization from the manufacturer as well as the Crappy Tire federal inspection before you're done.

Um, well I just imported a Range Rover and it is now a registered Canadian vehicle. But you're right I'm a jackass because I did all this without getting ripped off. I got the Factory Recall document from the dealership I bought it from, everything else was a breeze.

[Chris]

Re: Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

Um, well I just imported a Range Rover and it is now a registered Canadian vehicle. But you're right I'm a jackass because I did all this without getting ripped off. I got the Factory Recall document from the dealership I bought it from, everything else was a breeze.

Um, nobody called you a jackass.

Importing a BMW is a bit different that a Rangey. Different manufacturers, different rules. This is what the problem is.

[Simon]

Re: Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

My question is why does everyone insist on using their brand respective dealership when importing a car? RIV has a long standing deal with Cambodian Tire for only a couple hundred bucks.

When I imported my Audi, RIV required the modifications to be done at an authorized-audi dealership and have a letter produced from the dealership stating that it was up to spec. Canadian tire only does the federal inspection, which all they do is compare the letter from RIV saying "Modifications needed" to the letter from your Audi dealer saying "Modifications performed". If they match, they approve the federal inspection.

That being said, I was able to get my modifications done at a VW dealership and RIV was ok with it.

[v10treg]

Re: Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

Hi Kor,

I imported an 04 M3 last spring, and I didn't have any problems with making it "canadianized". The only thing I had to do was to take it to an independant BMW tuner shop here in Calgary, and he turned on the Daytime running lights with a Vag-like scan tool, and bam. Good for Fed Inspection, and Out of Province Inspection. The Fed inspection does not require you to change the instrument cluster, if it can show KM/hr speeds, and DRL's work.

Unless they have changed the rules for those specific vehicles, I doubt you need to pay that hefty charge to change the instrument cluster.

My VW Touareg was also imported from the US, and no mods had to be performed, besides DRL's.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

I think BMW has toughened up since then, from what I have heard anyway.

[Chris]

Re: Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

Yes - in November they toughened up the rules.

[Kor]

Re: Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

Yes the rules changed for sure since the Fall, I know that pretty much any company could be imported hassle free as of last August/September when I imported my Cayman.

[Deuce]

Re: Be careful importing a BMW into Canada

...they charge a few grand to change a cluster and dissuade people from buying their cars at all.

Amen Brother.