US vehicle imported into Canada Warrantee Concern

[rapter]

Can those of you in Canada who have imported a BMW M3 from down south please help me clarify some warrantee issues.

Non-warrantee issue: It is much more affordable in the US to purchase an M3 than it is to buy one here in Canada (Toronto.. HST tax thank you...). Therefore I am looking for the possibility to buy one in the US.

Questions:

1. Can I get a Certified Pre-owned series BMW M3 in the US and bring it to Canada? Will the warrantee be honored?

2. Is it true that I will be waiving the no-charge-maintenance on the vehicle?

3. What are the regular maintenance costs experienced by owners? Service intervals etc?

4. Will there still be a factory warrantee?

[ns2000x]

Originally Posted by rapter

Can those of you in Canada who have imported a BMW M3 from down south please help me clarify some warrantee issues.

Non-warrantee issue: It is much more affordable in the US to purchase an M3 than it is to buy one here in Canada (Toronto.. HST tax thank you...). Therefore I am looking for the possibility to buy one in the US.

Questions:

1. Can I get a Certified Pre-owned series BMW M3 in the US and bring it to Canada? Will the warrantee be honored?

2. Is it true that I will be waiving the no-charge-maintenance on the vehicle?

3. What are the regular maintenance costs experienced by owners? Service intervals etc?

4. Will there still be a factory warrantee?

What are you talking about HST for? You do realize that when you register the vehicle in Ontario you will STILL have to pay HST right?!

Also you will have to pay an additional 6% or is it 6.1% I can't remember import duty on the non-USA built M3.

1) - good question, I don't know.
2) - yes you waive the no fee maintenance
3) - hopefully some other who have done similar can comment for you
4) - everything I have read indicates the original warranty will remain intact.

You should also look up the list of importable cars (most everything) and the mandatory conversion requirements. From memory you will have to replace the dash (console rather), I believe BMW Canada lobbied this change be mandatory and completed through them.

After all this, it will still be cheaper for you to buy in the US, good luck, but pay attention to the huge discrepancy in options between the US and Canada.

[kel_m3]

My 2008 E93 is a US import.

Originally Posted by rapter

Questions:

1. Can I get a Certified Pre-owned series BMW M3 in the US and bring it to Canada? Will the warrantee be honored?

2. Is it true that I will be waiving the no-charge-maintenance on the vehicle?

3. What are the regular maintenance costs experienced by owners? Service intervals etc?

4. Will there still be a factory warrantee?

You will need a letter from BMW Headquarters which will need to be requested for by your BMW dealership. Make sure you also book an appointment for your car to come in (if you know roughly when it will be arriving) so they can do their check and change your cluster to Canadian OEM. It is not required by the government to have your gauges changed because in the US they have both mp/h as well as km/h but BMW forces you to change them in order for you to get a letter. (This is all done after your car arrives onto Canadian soil). After this process, which took a while for me because I was unaware that you HAD to change the gauges, you can get your car inspected at Canadian Tire which won't take very long. After your car passes, which I'm sure it will, you can insure it and drive it all you want!

To answer your questions,
1) My car was certified pre-owned in the states but the warranty is not applicable in Canada. I was told however that if I drove to the nearest US BMW dealership I would still have my extended warranty in tact.

2) Yes, it's true that you will no longer have free-maintenance on the vehicle. I have a local BMW certified shop that maintains my car and when you consider how much money you've saved, it's really no big deal.

3) I don't remember how much my last oil change was but I believe it was under $200CAD at my shop. As for air filter, I have a washable aftermarket filter which I recommend due to the value of having a self serviceable and permanent filter (rather than the OEM paper filter which needs to be replaced and can't be washed).

4) Yes, there is still a factory warranty.

All in all, I was able to save over $10,000 after tax, duty and cluster change (even includes shipping from California to my door and broker fees). Best of luck to you!

[Chowster]

Originally Posted by rapter

Can those of you in Canada who have imported a BMW M3 from down south please help me clarify some warrantee issues.

Questions:

1. Can I get a Certified Pre-owned series BMW M3 in the US and bring it to Canada? Will the warrantee be honored?

2. Is it true that I will be waiving the no-charge-maintenance on the vehicle?

3. What are the regular maintenance costs experienced by owners? Service intervals etc?

4. Will there still be a factory warrantee?

ns2000x is correct!

- HST for sure on registering your vehicle in ON.
- 6.1% import duty payable when bringing it across the border
- modifications are necessary prior to being able to register your vehicle. See links below.

Answers based on my own reading, not on my own experiences:

1. I believe the US CPO warranty is void in Canada.
2. Yes, you don't get the included maintenance
3. Not sure.
4. Original factory warranty is still valid. Just not the CPO warranty.

Here's some good reading:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ghlight=import

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...port+m3+canada

Is it still worth it? Definitely, IMO. Good luck!

[Chowster]

There is some debate on whether or not you have to get the instrument cluster changed. BMW Canada requires you to do so to get the magic letter, but other importers have written in the threads I've linked above about being able to get a different (but equivalent) letter from the US dealerships. I forget what the two different letter names are, but it's in the threads.

[ns2000x]

Originally Posted by Chowster

There is some debate on whether or not you have to get the instrument cluster changed. BMW Canada requires you to do so to get the magic letter, but other importers have written in the threads I've linked above about being able to get a different (but equivalent) letter from the US dealerships. I forget what the two different letter names are, but it's in the threads.

I remember reading that too. Generally if you can get a letter from the US Dealer that proves there are no open TSB's/Recall's then it seems that most Canadian Tire inspection centre's will accept that. I have local Audi group member associates who follow a similar process for importing Audi's in to Ontario.

It's a loop hole dependent on knowing the policy at your local inspection centre.

I'm a straight up sucker and have bought my last three cars brand new in Ontario and paid the "Crazy Canuck pricing tax". All the power to the cross boarder shoppers. Should help equalize our list prices over time.

In the short term, don't go flipping the car and brining down the used market value.

[rapter]

Thank you for the replies good BMW people.

I still am thinking that there can be a really good dealer auction vehicle to be-had if one is to travel to the US to pick it up.

KM vs PRICE divided by OPTIONS is always a tricky equation to balance. However I have done this operation with other vehicles with some great success... I do intend to repeat my success in my next endeavor.

Maybe I can use the cost of replacing my dash as leverage to get an even better deal.

[rapter]

Just wanted to confirm the costs of changing the dash... I would gather that it is between $3000.00 and $5000.00 ?

Just clarifying

[saeedg48]

NO SERVICE ..
I brought my car from Canada the warranty's there but the service is freaking gone!
I paid 15% sales tax not the ~8.5% that we have here in California..
I paid more and got less
re-sale value for used cars in Canada is much better so I'm going to ship it back to Canada and sell it there when I'm ready to let it go.

[kristobias]

I have a US 08. Full warranty in Canada and I still have the US cluster in the car. I bought the car from a BMW tech in Canada. Service Manager was unconcerned about the cluster when I brought the car in for Warranty service. My understanding is I can drive down to the US for free sched maintenance.

[Radiation Joe]

Go to this website for all the info you need. Call Will. He's a great guy and will set you up.

Link to my old e46

[montreal red]

something to consider is that if you ever trade in your vehicle, canadian dealers may offer you much less for it compared to a local canadian car. i had a friend who wanted to trade his US car to a local dealer and they didnt even want to take it, they said it cant be CPO'd or something along those lines.

the savings is definitely quite significant.... i am just too lazy to buy my car from the US and deal with the whole importation procedure, its usually a lot of work unless you have a broker to make all the arrangements for you but that would eat into the potential savings that you might have gotten.

[kel_m3]

Originally Posted by rapter

Just wanted to confirm the costs of changing the dash... I would gather that it is between $3000.00 and $5000.00 ?

Just clarifying

I paid $1000 for my cluster, minus a $200 discount for giving them the US-spec one so a total of $1200 (install and reprogramming included). I believe the actuall

[pdogg93]

I recently imported an 07 335i coupe. All you need is a "warranty vehicle inquiry" printout from the BMW dealership in the US.

This is a free letter.

Get all your paperwork together from riv.ca, as this is the most important part.

Read the procedure on the RIV website. Follow it to a tee. The original manuf warranty transferred no questions.

Don't go through BMW Canada cause they will bend you and send you.

I didn't need an instrument cluster change or a 500$ letter. Just follow the procedure to get the car across the border. Make sure you're aware of the 6.1% import fee. Also at the border they will charge you 5% tax.
Once you register your car you will be charged an additional 7%.

Good luck. The import process is really easy but follow the procedure

[mr_yogi]

Originally Posted by ns2000x

I remember reading that too. Generally if you can get a letter from the US Dealer that proves there are no open TSB's/Recall's then it seems that most Canadian Tire inspection centre's will accept that. I have local Audi group member associates who follow a similar process for importing Audi's in to Ontario.

It's a loop hole dependent on knowing the policy at your local inspection centre.

I'm a straight up sucker and have bought my last three cars brand new in Ontario and paid the "Crazy Canuck pricing tax". All the power to the cross boarder shoppers. Should help equalize our list prices over time.

In the short term, don't go flipping the car and brining down the used market value.

This brings up a good point - Are there people out there that take US cars and import them to CAN and then flip them? With exchange rates where they are right now, it seems like it would be a lucrative venture no?

[Radiation Joe]

Originally Posted by mr_yogi

This brings up a good point - Are there people out there that take US cars and import them to CAN and then flip them? With exchange rates where they are right now, it seems like it would be a lucrative venture no?

Yes. See my post above. There is a good market for this.

There is also a market for Canadian cars imported to the US. Euro spec e34 M5s come to mind. This used to be called the Grey Market back in the eighties when folks were importing things like Lamborghini Countachs and having to make them meet US specs.

[mr_yogi]

Originally Posted by Radiation Joe

Yes. See my post above. There is a good market for this.

There is also a market for Canadian cars imported to the US. Euro spec e34 M5s come to mind. This used to be called the Grey Market back in the eighties when folks were importing things like Lamborghini Countachs and having to make them meet US specs.

Is that what Tom Cruise's character was doing at the beginning of Rain Man?

[SlammedR8]

I imported my 2008 M6 this past summer.

DO NOT BUY THE $500 letter...you can ask any local BMW to print out a "SERVICE INQUIRY" letter. This letter will show that there are no outstanding services or bulletins due on your specific car. The $500 is a scam.

Prospective M3 buyers looking for a US car are lucky, they only need to change the cluster. which should be approx $1500 bucks + labor and programming. On the M5 and M6, you need to change the cluster AND the HVAC unit. It works out to nearly $4000 in parts, labor and programming.

Your warranty will be valid, but the extended warranty (CPO car from the US) will not be valid in Canada. You will have to buy an extended warranty if you want that. My warranty expires in November 2011, I actually just got off the phone with my contact at BMW Toronto and got prices for my specific car. Would have to check if the M3 would be the same. Here is that price list

2 Years – 40 000km
$50 Deductible – $3508
$100 Deductible – $2999
$200 Deductible – $2592


1 Years – 20 000km

$50 Deductible – $2635
$100 Deductible – $2323
$200 Deductible – $2073


***If serviced at BMW of Toronto, the $50 deductible will be waived.
***Vehicle must have less then 60 000km at time of warranty purchase
***Vehicle does not have to have existing warranty in order to purchase

You do lose the maintenance plan, but who cares? It's $200 a year for an oil change.

And you will have to pay HST and 6.1% Duty at the border.
My car was $61 500 USD + everything
I paid approx $1500 shipping/brokerage and $4000 duties. The exchange rate wasnt as good then as it is now...I paid almost $4000 in exchange rate alone. Car cost me over $70k before the cluster and HVAC and programming.

[Kartelli]

If anyone needs a US based cluster ill sell mine dirt cheap

[SlammedR8]

Originally Posted by Kartelli

If anyone needs a US based cluster ill sell mine dirt cheap

if anyone needs a US based M5/M6 cluster...I'll sell mine dirt cheap too

[Nitol]

I live in Toronto,Canada and I'm buying a pre owned certified 2009 BMW 135i Convertible (21k Miles) from a US BMW dealership. I know that BMW Canada won't honor the extended (2years+ 40000 miles) US warranty. As a matter of fact I'm not sure they'll honor the regular 4 year factory warranty either considering they told me that the car would need new instrument cluster + reprogramming in order for the regular warranty to be validated in Canada.In any case I'm not going to pay for these unnecessary modifications ,the US BMW dealer is willing to do the reprogramming (DRL+KM display) and provide me with a recall letter free of charge.
My question is,the US dealer offered to take $1100 off the price if I want the "Certified" extended warranty taken off. Basically whatever they did to bring the car to "certified" standard stays with the car (new brakes/tires/rims..) but I won't get the extra 2 years of warranty. I won't be able to use that warranty here in Canada anyway.I figured in order to use the extended warranty I'd need to take the car to States (Niagara Falls) and that would cost more money.
Should I pay the extra $1100 and keep the warranty just in case? Can't I get an extended used car warranty to cover me from year 4 to 6 with the $1100 which I'm saving?

[Meff]

Originally Posted by SlammedM6

Prospective M3 buyers looking for a US car are lucky, they only need to change the cluster. which should be approx $1500 bucks + labor and programming. On the M5 and M6, you need to change the cluster AND the HVAC unit. It works out to nearly $4000 in parts, labor and programming.

No cluster change is required.

I have a fresh US 2011 E92 ZCP and the US cluster displays both mph and kms.