[tl9015]

Can this be done? With the dollar even to par I want to buy a high end car from Seattle and bring it to Vancouver. I am a citizen of Canada and not Seattle. Is there any way?

[raleedy]

Try it and let us know what happens!

[Taittinger]

Well we go to buy meds, so you ought to be able to come buy cars. Free trade and all that.

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by tl9015

Can this be done? With the dollar even to par I want to buy a high end car from Seattle and bring it to Vancouver. I am a citizen of Canada and not Seattle. Is there any way?

I wonder why someone hadn't thought of this before?

[scollins]

Google, do you speak it? Come on, a simple top line Google searched turned up this: http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/impusae.htm

All I did was type "importing a car into Canada from US" and this was the #1 hit. I think it has all the information you need. I checked the admissable vehicles list, and pretty much any new BMW is allowed. Following through the links brings you to this website, which pretty much spells out the entire process: http://www.riv.ca/english/html/how_to_import.html

So it is entirely possible, it is just a matter of cost and hassle. I'd call the phone number listed in the first link and ask a bunch of questions......

[MX5ToE9?]

You can try, but the research and phone calls i made to various dealers lead me to believe that US BMW dealers can not sell a new car (untitled) to a non US resident. I ended up finding a used 07 335 vert.

[Lost Horizon]

Originally Posted by MX5ToE9?

You can try, but the research and phone calls i made to various dealers lead me to believe that US BMW dealers can not sell a new car (untitled) to a non US resident. I ended up finding a used 07 335 vert.

Hmm.. a whole new Trusted Trade Forum for this site...

Trusted (the hard part) US E90 member fronts the new car buy from the US Border dealer, sells it to the E90 Canadian counter part for an agreed split of the margins after import ..

For the high end stuff, there's certainly lots left on the table to make it work for both parties, even after the taxes and pain..

[Rewted]

You can not do that. BMW headquarters has instructed dealers in the US NOT to sell new cars out of country. If they were to sell, they're putting their dealership at risk. Call BMW Customer service (800-567-2691) if you don't believe me.

I was going to do this and save myself $10,000. Apparently BMW is one of the companies looking at adjusting their pricing up to 15%, but who knows.

[Lost Horizon]

Originally Posted by tyrewt

You can not do that. BMW headquarters has instructed dealers in the US NOT to sell new cars out of country. If they were to sell, they're putting their dealership at risk. Call BMW Customer service (800-567-2691) if you don't believe me.

I was going to do this and save myself $10,000. Apparently BMW is one of the companies looking at adjusting their pricing up to 15%, but who knows.

Surely you can find a friend or relative to get it off the lot and "sell" it to you.. that's legal..

[Rewted]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizon

Surely you can find a friend or relative to get it off the lot and "sell" it to you.. that's legal..

Not quite sure of the legalities behind that, surely you'll run into a road block somewhere?

[Lost Horizon]

Originally Posted by tyrewt

Not quite sure of the legalities behind that, surely you'll run into a road block somewhere?

dunno.. the roadblock would have to have a roundel on it.. as far as the "law" seems to be concerned, it's legal even to get it from the dealer, who won't because he has the corporate gun to his head.

If you price out a fully loaded 650 on the canadian and the US websites, there's $35,000 difference on the books. compound that with the taxes saved on that @ 13%, it's $40,000 to work with. Compelling to test the waters, certainly.

[Rewted]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizon

dunno.. the roadblock would have to have a roundel on it.. as far as the "law" seems to be concerned, it's legal even to get it from the dealer, who won't because he has the corporate gun to his head.

If you price out a fully loaded 650 on the canadian and the US websites, there's $35,000 difference on the books. compound that with the taxes saved on that @ 13%, it's $40,000 to work with. Compelling to test the waters, certainly.

Wonder if anything in the NAFTA agreement can be used to argue this.

[Lost Horizon]

Originally Posted by tyrewt

Wonder if anything in the NAFTA agreement can be used to argue this.

Actually, I'd say the NAFTA agreement is causing them the headache. You gotta believe every border car dealer would love to sell a walk in at any lot for full retail, no argument, and have both of them walk away ecstatic over the transaction. There have to be a bunch of CA's figuring out Corporate work arounds in the back alley. Right now, there is just too much money differential not to have it going on.

[Noelski]

Buy in Oregon, you should be able to get negotiate a better price. No sales tax too.

[tl9015]

Soon, I am going to give some of the dealers in Seattle area a call. The reason is, even after paying all the inspection, tax, etc., I would be saving heck of a lot. For example, if I was to get a 750li here in Vancouver, it would cost me around $117,000 whereas if I bought it in Seattle, I would get it for $80,000. I actually wasn't going to go that far in the class of the vehicle. I was thinking more like a 5 series or a Lexus GS/LS (61,000 in Seattle and $90,000 here in Vancouver). Anyways, it looks like tax is a few grand and inspection is not much. Also, hiring a broker would only cost a grand AT the most.

[raleedy]

I don't think BMW and others will be quick to lower their CDN prices, because when they do their existing customers are pretty much hosed. So they will do what they can to protect the border between the US and CDN markets. What can they do? Squeeze the dealers, for sure. Maybe also limit warranty coverage out–of-country. How much price reduction would you take for a car with no warranty?

[raleedy]

And another thing: since it's the weakness of the US dollar that is causing the dislocation (and you can see that against the Euro and other "hard" currencies as well), BMW and others are likely to be looking at some further US price hikes next year instead of, or in addition to, CDN price cuts or value adds.

[Lost Horizon]

Originally Posted by raleedy

I don't think BMW and others will be quick to lower their CDN prices, because when they do their existing customers are pretty much hosed. So they will do what they can to protect the border between the US and CDN markets. What can they do? Squeeze the dealers, for sure. Maybe also limit warranty coverage out–of-country. How much price reduction would you take for a car with no warranty?

Plus, they would lose their shirts on overstated residuals for all the stuff coming off lease.. it's a big problem for them, for sure...

The first High end Corp that blinks to level up the arbitrage cross border will set the pace. Interesting to watch who might make such an all-in move first.

[tl9015]

Originally Posted by raleedy

I don't think BMW and others will be quick to lower their CDN prices, because when they do their existing customers are pretty much hosed. So they will do what they can to protect the border between the US and CDN markets. What can they do? Squeeze the dealers, for sure. Maybe also limit warranty coverage out–of-country. How much price reduction would you take for a car with no warranty?

That's the only concern I have. I am pretty trusted by BMW and Lexus's reliability. As for the BMW free scheduled maintenance, would I still be entitled to that? And if so, do I just pick my local dealership in Vancouver?

P.S. Reason I am concerned with no warranty is, if my car was to be a lemon or just stopped working in an year, I would be faced with a MASSIVE bill from BMW.

[Rewted]

All I have to say is check this out....

"The online auto trade website Guide Auto is urging Canadian consumers to put off buying vehicles from high-end German auto dealers like Audi, BMW and Mercedes. The dealers are to cut the manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) on their 2008 models by about 15 per cent - a figure one auto-industry source confirmed to a reporter."

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazett...a-9a1f6fe4edbd

[flush01]

it will save you even more if you buy x5 or something that is made in states... i think candian dollar will keep getting stronger and stronger so I don't know what will bmw canada do, I mean they can't lower the price, it will be a huge hit with residuals, used market and alot of pissed of people.... and they can't increase the price in states, they will loose alot of people to competition, I wonder what will they do....

[Rewted]

Originally Posted by flush01

it will save you even more if you buy x5 or something that is made in states... i think candian dollar will keep getting stronger and stronger so I don't know what will bmw canada do, I mean they can't lower the price, it will be a huge hit with residuals, used market and alot of pissed of people.... and they can't increase the price in states, they will loose alot of people to competition, I wonder what will they do....

I agree. When I called BMW on Friday, the rep told me they're going to raise prices in the USA. But thats doesn't help us Canadians with out rising dollar!

I'm in hard place, my 2008 is being built, have a deposit down and get the car end of Oct. Not sure if I should back out completely or talk to my CA about more of a deal.