[BavFan_08]

As the other poster said, you do not need to worry about the instrument cluster any more. Also, you can modify the DRLs yourself or get someone else to do it with out voiding warranty. There are instructions somewhere in the forum on getting it done.

Best of luck.

Originally Posted by ostrich

This is a great write-up, thanks!

I contacted BMW Canada about the warranty, as I may be relocating to Canada and I want to know about the warranty situation if I bring up a BMW. They claim that the warranty will be void if I don't go through the BMW Canada dealers to have the instrument cluster and DRL changed out! Altogether that would cost CDN $2,500!!! Isn't that ridiculous?!

http://www.bmw.ca/ca/en/general/import/content.html

The BMW Canada webpage above actually did not specifically say that the warranty will be void but then the e-mail response I got from BMW Canada stated that:

1. The New Car Limited Warranty of 4 years, 80 000kms is honoured in Canada as long as you follow the BMW Import Process which can be found at www.BMW.ca/import .

2. The modifications for your vehicle can be obtained through one of our BMW Retailers in Canada if you speak to the Service Department

3. You will need a Recall Clearance Letter which can also be obtained through one of our BMW Retailers in Canada.

[dpwr]

is there a list of german cars/suvs that are made in north america?

[BRAISKI]

This is the best time to buy a new car in the US and import it here....

[e90_guy]

I've a US e90 and there is no problem with warranty service. I had o2 sensor and fuel injector repair recently. The only thing you won't get is free maintenance services like oil change or brake flush.

[jigga]

Originally Posted by ostrich

This is a great write-up, thanks!

I contacted BMW Canada about the warranty, as I may be relocating to Canada and I want to know about the warranty situation if I bring up a BMW. They claim that the warranty will be void if I don't go through the BMW Canada dealers to have the instrument cluster and DRL changed out! Altogether that would cost CDN $2,500!!! Isn't that ridiculous?!

http://www.bmw.ca/ca/en/general/import/content.html

The BMW Canada webpage above actually did not specifically say that the warranty will be void but then the e-mail response I got from BMW Canada stated that:

1. The New Car Limited Warranty of 4 years, 80 000kms is honoured in Canada as long as you follow the BMW Import Process which can be found at www.BMW.ca/import .

2. The modifications for your vehicle can be obtained through one of our BMW Retailers in Canada if you speak to the Service Department

3. You will need a Recall Clearance Letter which can also be obtained through one of our BMW Retailers in Canada.

Originally Posted by e90_guy

I've a US e90 and there is no problem with warranty service. I had o2 sensor and fuel injector repair recently. The only thing you won't get is free maintenance services like oil change or brake flush.

That's what I had thought. I'm pretty sure the warranty is covered. The BMW Canada or the CDN dealerships may just give you a hard time beforehand because they want the business of you coming in and changing your cluster it seems, but I'm pretty sure the warranty should still be covered, but not the free services.

[BavFan_08]

Originally Posted by dpwr

is there a list of german cars/suvs that are made in north america?

BMW X3s and X5s are made in North America. I don't believe any Audi's are made here...they may use the same chasis' as the VWs but those VWs are made in Mexico (Golf, Rabbit, jettas)...except for the VW Passats which are made in Germany I believe....remember anything with a VIN starting with 1 or 2 is North America...W vins are made in Germany...do the research or wiki it..there are tonnes of VIN # guides out there.

[virk007]

Hey, i'm from Toronto, ontario, currently looking for a 335i coupe or sedan or a 328i coupe, do you guys know what states would have them the cheapest? Saw a couple 335s in chicago area going for $26000-28000 USD with 60-70 000 km is that a good price? If i don't care about transferring the warranty to BMW canada do i have do any of the mods or If i do want to transfer warranty do i really have to pay $2500+ for a cluster change? Thanks

[jigga]

Originally Posted by virk007

Hey, i'm from Toronto, ontario, currently looking for a 335i coupe or sedan or a 328i coupe, do you guys know what states would have them the cheapest? Saw a couple 335s in chicago area going for $26000-28000 USD with 60-70 000 km is that a good price? If i don't care about transferring the warranty to BMW canada do i have do any of the mods or If i do want to transfer warranty do i really have to pay $2500+ for a cluster change? Thanks

I have a question for you first: did you actually read any of the thread?

[virk007]

yeah i read the thread, looks like you got through without having to change the cluster, but i read many posts that people had to change the cluster no matter what? Is there particular dealerships i should go to when i come back with my imported car? Do i still need a recall letter even if i don't want my warranty to transfer? I read another forum to by pass bmw fees, is it true?

1. Ask the seller to obtain the Warranty Vehicle Inquiry report from their BMW dealership in the US. This is a screen capture that also shows if any recalls are outstanding on the vehicle.

2. Submit this report to recall@riv.ca and have them review it and if okay, approve it.

3. Have the DRLs activated in the US! Folks, this is the one that gets most BMW importers. Most people are just happy to get the recall printout that they forget to ask for the DRL activation.

4. Take your vehicle to a Federal Inspection Center once you receive Form 2 from RIV and bypass BMW entirely.

[jigga]

Originally Posted by virk007

yeah i read the thread, looks like you got through without having to change the cluster, but i read many posts that people had to change the cluster no matter what? Is there particular dealerships i should go to when i come back with my imported car? Do i still need a recall letter even if i don't want my warranty to transfer? I read another forum to by pass bmw fees, is it true?

1. Ask the seller to obtain the Warranty Vehicle Inquiry report from their BMW dealership in the US. This is a screen capture that also shows if any recalls are outstanding on the vehicle.

2. Submit this report to recall@riv.ca and have them review it and if okay, approve it.

3. Have the DRLs activated in the US! Folks, this is the one that gets most BMW importers. Most people are just happy to get the recall printout that they forget to ask for the DRL activation.

4. Take your vehicle to a Federal Inspection Center once you receive Form 2 from RIV and bypass BMW entirely.

you dont have to change the cluster. it's not the best pic, but here's a shot of my cluster. you will notice that the km is in small writing and miles are in big writing on the outside... i got used to it after a while.


1. exactly
2. correct
3. if you have iDrive, you can do it yourself. even if you don't, just do a search on the board or read the manual. it will tell you how to turn them on. remember, they only check this at the Federal Inspection Center (Canadian Tire)

Funny enough, I've had my car here since mid November and it hasnt seen a BMW dealer yet. I should take it in to one soon though.

[virk007]

Thanks for the help. Yea the cluster won't bother me because i will be driving it in the Chicago area anyways for school, but just need to bring it back to get insurance and all that.

[bulldog_yyc]

Originally Posted by virk007

Thanks for the help. Yea the cluster won't bother me because i will be driving it in the Chicago area anyways for school, but just need to bring it back to get insurance and all that.

Id pick up the car from a southern state, salt free and pick a jurisdiction with low taxes and a high degree of information available w/ respect to lemon laws, re-branded write-offs, etc..

[Rewted]

Originally Posted by turkish335

Id pick up the car from a southern state, salt free and pick a jurisdiction with low taxes and a high degree of information available w/ respect to lemon laws, re-branded write-offs, etc..

I thought you didn't have to pay the tax on used cars in the USA. Or perhaps that's only in MN. If the state tax is say 5%, then tack on another 21% for PST/GST/Duties, it gets harder to justify.

[BavFan_08]

Originally Posted by tyrewt

I thought you didn't have to pay the tax on used cars in the USA. Or perhaps that's only in MN. If the state tax is say 5%, then tack on another 21% for PST/GST/Duties, it gets harder to justify.

Some states in the US are worse then Canada...New York/New Jersey have taxes coming out of the wazzoo...especially bankrupt states like California...so yes you have to do your research.

The state of New Hampshire has ZERO taxes on NEW and USED vehicles. I believe its the same in the state of Oregon.

[virk007]

i'm scared to get the 335i coupe or sedan now i've been reading on the forums with alot of people having problems with it, such as the fuel pump, turbos overheating. How does the 328i coupe or sedan compare to it? In terms of speed?

[Rewted]

Originally Posted by virk007

i'm scared to get the 335i coupe or sedan now i've been reading on the forums with alot of people having problems with it, such as the fuel pump, turbos overheating. How does the 328i coupe or sedan compare to it? In terms of speed?

You need to pay better attention to the dates on posts. The fuel pump issue is no longer relevant, same goes for the oil cooler which was added to 2008 and older models.

I've got an 08 and no issues.

[chenx15]

Originally Posted by virk007

i'm scared to get the 335i coupe or sedan now i've been reading on the forums with alot of people having problems with it, such as the fuel pump, turbos overheating. How does the 328i coupe or sedan compare to it? In terms of speed?

you have to pay to play my friend. the hpfp is only a 500 dollar fix outside warranty. 328 vs 335 with regards to speed? 335i is faster and mroe fun. i mean tons of fun.

[virk007]

im looking at a 2007 335i sedan for $24 000-25000 USD, with only 40 000 KM, no navi, would you consider this price range a good price, or i could do better? So the 2007 335i shouldn't have a problem anymore?

[Rewted]

Originally Posted by virk007

im looking at a 2007 335i sedan for $24 000-25000 USD, with only 40 000 KM, no navi, would you consider this price range a good price, or i could do better? So the 2007 335i shouldn't have a problem anymore?

I give up trying to assist you, clearly you cannot read. You're still looking at $37,000 CDN (US Tax/GST/PST/Duties/Exchange rate) once all is said and done!

Ponder this. I'm selling my Canadian 2008 335i Coupe with 17,000 km, warranty and maintenance covered till 2012 in Canada. $41,900. Do the math.

[jigga]

Originally Posted by tyrewt

You're still looking at $37,000 CDN (US Tax/GST/PST/Duties/Exchange rate) once all is said and done!

Hold on a second... I'm not understanding your mathematics here so let me try to break it up:

Car price in USD: $25,000
Exchange rate: 0.96

Car price in CDN: $26,041
Import duty(6.1%): $1,588
Excise tax: $100
---------------------------
Total before taxes: $27,729
GST: $1,386
PST: $2,091
=====================
Total after taxes: $31,206


If you look closely, you'll see I've been very conservative w/ virk007's scenario. I took the higher value even though he said $24,000 - $25,000. I also took an exchange rate of 0.96 when I'm sure he can probably do better right now.

How do you get $37,000?

The only thing I didn't add in there is the $205 RIV fee and the costs of transporting the car up, if any.

[virk007]

Thanks jigga your calculation seems more accurate, the $37 000 just scared me. I called up an auction guy yesterday in toronto, he gave me a price range of 23-24000 CAD for a 328i coupe plus taxes, thats if i sacrifice not getting navi. Trying to decide if states would be a better route since i can get more options and variety with similar price range, just the hassle of going down there is the problem.

[fxie]

Originally Posted by BavFan_08

Some states in the US are worse then Canada...New York/New Jersey have taxes coming out of the wazzoo...especially bankrupt states like California...so yes you have to do your research.

The state of New Hampshire has ZERO taxes on NEW and USED vehicles. I believe its the same in the state of Oregon.

Just a FYI, if you are purchasing a car in California and you are an out-of-state purchaser, you do NOT have to pay state tax. The only time the state tax is applied is if the car is used within the state after purchase. If you are simply purchasing the car for export, no state taxes apply to you.

Check this link for California laws: http://www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/faqex.htm