[smartys]

Hey All,

I'm currently in the midst of importing an 07 e93 cab from the USA, and I JUST found out, that

1.) The (bullsh*t) Letter of Admissibility for $350.00 + tax (400CAD) is NOT required anymore. I actually ordered and paid for mine on the DAY that it was no longer a requirement, and noone at the dealer said anything, and they won't give me a refund....pricks

2.) The RIV/Transport Canada does NOT require that the Recall Clearance Letter be from Canada. In other words, a computer print out from an authorized BMW retailer in the USA stating that there are no recalls is ACCEPTABLE as of June 26th 2008. So, what that means is, you DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE YOUR USA-SPEC CAR TO A CANADIAN DEALER TO GET THE CLUSTER CHANGED---YOU SAVE THE $3000CAD!

If you talk to BMW Canada, they'll LIE, and tell you that you won't be able to register your car unless all the modifications are made by BMW Canada.

I called the Registrar of Imported Vehicles and spoke to them about this, and they assured me that a Recall Clearance PRINTOUT from a US dealer is fine, and you CAN register your car. The guy at the RIV, Frasier, told me flat out that BMW Canada is lying when they told me the opposite.

My car is still in the USA, hopefully next week it'll be here in Toronto, and I'll let you know how everything goes. I hope this is helpful to anyone else out there.

Marty

[gPiplay]

wow this is great news! when i imported an E-class 2 years ago, we had to pay like 3500 to change the spedometer and other instruments. Did you still have to leave the car title statement at the boarder for 2 days????

[visor]

Wow, good to know!
Keep us updated!

[Asclepius]

Wow indeed...I wish I never read this thread!!! Although this is good news to future importers I am very angry having read this. I had to spend a crap load of cash converting my cluster and getting the admisibility letter back in Feb. I hate that those thieves stuck their hands in my pockets n now there's actually no need for what was once a mandatory procedure. I knew this would happen eventually.

[Bimmer Al]

Originally Posted by smartys

Hey All,

I'm currently in the midst of importing an 07 e93 cab from the USA, and I JUST found out, that

1.) The (bullsh*t) Letter of Admissibility for $350.00 + tax (400CAD) is NOT required anymore. I actually ordered and paid for mine on the DAY that it was no longer a requirement, and noone at the dealer said anything, and they won't give me a refund....pricks

2.) The RIV/Transport Canada does NOT require that the Recall Clearance Letter be from Canada. In other words, a computer print out from an authorized BMW retailer in the USA stating that there are no recalls is ACCEPTABLE as of June 26th 2008. So, what that means is, you DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE YOUR USA-SPEC CAR TO A CANADIAN DEALER TO GET THE CLUSTER CHANGED---YOU SAVE THE $3000CAD!

If you talk to BMW Canada, they'll LIE, and tell you that you won't be able to register your car unless all the modifications are made by BMW Canada.

I called the Registrar of Imported Vehicles and spoke to them about this, and they assured me that a Recall Clearance PRINTOUT from a US dealer is fine, and you CAN register your car. The guy at the RIV, Frasier, told me flat out that BMW Canada is lying when they told me the opposite.

My car is still in the USA, hopefully next week it'll be here in Toronto, and I'll let you know how everything goes. I hope this is helpful to anyone else out there.

Marty

Wow! Please keep me in the loop on this one. Does this apply to buying new as well? Considering a 335x to replace my 325i

[Vacek]

Let us know what the dealer charges for the entirely new instrument cluster ... don't pay more than 4000.00 for it. (well, if you want the car to be legally registered, guess you will have to pay what the dealer wants.)

Keep us posted.

[epiphone3]

This is great!

It really takes away all the power that BMW Canada was trying to exert over us Canadians to scare us away from the cheaper prices!

Now all you need to do is go through the cluster to turn on the DRLs and then take it to Canadian Tire to get your inspection ($55).

Too bad we still have to pay 6.1% import duty on anything made in Germany. Oh well! The X5, X6, and Z4 are still free in that regard.

[Saintor]

50000$ 5000 miles M3 E90 sedan for Canada anyone? 70000$CAD here.

[yeung330xi]

they probably still wont warranty the car in canada right?

[Saintor]

Warranty with no loaner.

If you cross the borders back, can you have a free brakes job if due? (like in the US). Or is the transfer definitive (I guess).

[Haywire]

Fu@k! LoL... The two reasons mentioned above are the 2 reasons why I ended up buying in canada and not the states. I figured by the time i was done paying all the extra fee's, I was only saving 2ooo bucks or so, MAX. My thinking:

$2ooo isnt enough of a savings to me that im willing to go thru potential headaches, nor did i want to wait to get my car...i wanted it NOW.

NOW, im pissed LoL. Hope things go well buddy.

......and from what i know, the warranty is good. The people at the shop probably wont fu@king like you any, or go that extra mile for ya...since you didnt buy the car there. dealerships can be pricks like that. that was another reason i didnt buy out of canada.

[klo]

awesome. thanks for the heads up im goign to be bringing my car back soon when i move back.

[flyer333]

keep us posted man... i might be doing the same... getting a e93 from portland and bring it back to vancouver


so the warranty is still valid in canada?

[Rossland]

Originally Posted by flyer333

so the warranty is still valid in canada?

US dealers will honor the US warranty even after the car is registered in Canada. I don't know what BMWCA does about warranty on US cars. I never had any reason to ask.

[visor]

Originally Posted by Rossland

US dealers will honor the US warranty even after the car is registered in Canada. I don't know what BMWCA does about warranty on US cars. I never had any reason to ask.

BMW Canada will honour the 4 yr warranty, but not the maintenance schedule, eg. oil changes, etc.

Plus, when it's time to trade in, BMW Canada can't give you a good price for it because they can't certify it for CPO sales.

[flyer333]

thx for the news .... i will import a e93 soon... i will be learning from u guys

[smartys]

No problem guys!

By the way, for those who DID pay the useless $3000, don't worry, that Class action Lawsuit WILL win, and in a couple of years, you'll get that $ back. I just received my printout from a totally random BMW dealer in the US, they were so flippin nice! Even though i bought my car privately, and never even went anywhere near that dealership, the sevice manager there was happy to print out the "warranty vehicle history", and mailed it to me. I then scanned it, and emailed it to the RIV at:

recall@RIV.ca

and asked them to verify that it was acceptable. I called them about 1 week later, and they told me it was acceptable, and gave me an ID number to quote the RIV when I import it.

With regards to 2008, I would imagine it's the same, maybe for older models it may be different. Regardless, I would recommend that everyone planning on importing to call the RIV and ask them specifically if this applied to the vehicle you plan to buy.

With regards to warranty, both Canadian AND US dealers will honour the 4 year warranty, in Canada, we won't get the free maintenance, but in the US, they'll still honour it. But to be honest, the free maintenance is only when the car "tells" you it's time, and I don't know about you guys, I take a trip down to the US at least once a year, and I'll just schedule it with a US dealer if need be. I plan on doing regular oil changes myself regardless every 8000km or so, which I would pay out of pocket regardless. I do anticipate that if I have to take a car to any dealer in Canada for warranty work, they'll end up being pricks to me, but for a savings of roughly $15, 000, they can insult my mother for all I care, LOL (just kidding, but you know what I mean, haha).

BTW, anyone living in the Toronto area, who wants to buy from a US dealer as opposed to a private sale like I did (which is not without it's hassles and worries, believe me), every month, BMW dealers in the US buy corporate-leased BMWs from internal auctions in Mannheim, Pennsylvania, and generally get pretty good deals. I was talking to a sales rep in Buffalo, NY for the past 8 months, told him what I want, and every month he would look up the database and tell me if there was anything there that might interest me, and if I wanted them to bid on it. The only reason why I didn't by through them is that I wanted certain options (colour, 6MT, etc), and for some reason, a car meeting my "specs" never came up. The guy I was dealing with was SUPER helpful. Even after I told him that I bought the car privately and to take me off his list, he was still happy to help. In fact, it was he who told me that the cluster change is no longer a requirement!

For those who want to buy from a dealer in Buffalo, here are his details:

Dennis Merrick
1-716-505-2108 (Switchboard, ask for "Dennis Merrick", obviously)
1-716-864-8851 (Mobile #)

Tell him that "Murtuza Khoja" referred you....he's really awesome. In fact, every US dealer I ever called, were super helpful. BMWNA really has their act together, unlike BMW Canada.

Hope this helps, I'll keep all of you guys posted when I'm done with this. God willing, my car is to be shipped Aug 21st, so we'll see how everything plays out. Cross your fingers and pray for me people, I'm hoping that after all this effort, phone calls, and research that this deal works out in the end.

Marty

[Asclepius]

Originally Posted by smartys

No problem guys!

By the way, for those who DID pay the useless $3000, don't worry, that Class action Lawsuit WILL win, and in a couple of years, you'll get that $ back. I just received my printout from a totally random BMW dealer in the US, they were so flippin nice! Even though i bought my car privately, and never even went anywhere near that dealership, the sevice manager there was happy to print out the "warranty vehicle history", and mailed it to me. I then scanned it, and emailed it to the RIV at:

recall@RIV.ca

and asked them to verify that it was acceptable. I called them about 1 week later, and they told me it was acceptable, and gave me an ID number to quote the RIV when I import it.

With regards to 2008, I would imagine it's the same, maybe for older models it may be different. Regardless, I would recommend that everyone planning on importing to call the RIV and ask them specifically if this applied to the vehicle you plan to buy.

With regards to warranty, both Canadian AND US dealers will honour the 4 year warranty, in Canada, we won't get the free maintenance, but in the US, they'll still honour it. But to be honest, the free maintenance is only when the car "tells" you it's time, and I don't know about you guys, I take a trip down to the US at least once a year, and I'll just schedule it with a US dealer if need be. I plan on doing regular oil changes myself regardless every 8000km or so, which I would pay out of pocket regardless. I do anticipate that if I have to take a car to any dealer in Canada for warranty work, they'll end up being pricks to me, but for a savings of roughly $15, 000, they can insult my mother for all I care, LOL (just kidding, but you know what I mean, haha).

BTW, anyone living in the Toronto area, who wants to buy from a US dealer as opposed to a private sale like I did (which is not without it's hassles and worries, believe me), every month, BMW dealers in the US buy corporate-leased BMWs from internal auctions in Mannheim, Pennsylvania, and generally get pretty good deals. I was talking to a sales rep in Buffalo, NY for the past 8 months, told him what I want, and every month he would look up the database and tell me if there was anything there that might interest me, and if I wanted them to bid on it. The only reason why I didn't by through them is that I wanted certain options (colour, 6MT, etc), and for some reason, a car meeting my "specs" never came up. The guy I was dealing with was SUPER helpful. Even after I told him that I bought the car privately and to take me off his list, he was still happy to help. In fact, it was he who told me that the cluster change is no longer a requirement!

For those who want to buy from a dealer in Buffalo, here are his details:

Dennis Merrick
1-716-505-2108 (Switchboard, ask for "Dennis Merrick", obviously)
1-716-864-8851 (Mobile #)

Tell him that "Murtuza Khoja" referred you....he's really awesome. In fact, every US dealer I ever called, were super helpful. BMWNA really has their act together, unlike BMW Canada.

Hope this helps, I'll keep all of you guys posted when I'm done with this. God willing, my car is to be shipped Aug 21st, so we'll see how everything plays out. Cross your fingers and pray for me people, I'm hoping that after all this effort, phone calls, and research that this deal works out in the end.

Marty

I can confirm that buying through Dennis Merrick at Towne BMW will be a great experience. I also purchased my 335i from Dennis back in Oct. of 2007.

[smartys]

Hey all,

So I wanted to update you guys on my import of a 335i Cabriolet E93 (2007).

The Salient Points:

1.) You DO NOT have to get the "BMW Letter of Admissibility"

2.) You DO NOT require a Recall Clearance Letter from BMW CANADA
-The RIV will accept a printout from ANY North American Authorized BMW Dealer. I called Warren BMW in Ohio and they mailed it to my sister's address in Ohio.
3.) You DO NOT have to change the Cluster
4.) If you activate the DRLs through the computer before you bring it into CanTire for the Federal inspection, they won't know, and won't make you install the kit to activate them (the RIV guy HIMSELF volunteered this info to me, and it worked!!)

So just to sum up my experience:

After purchasing the car (privately), I had the car shipped by Hansen's (BONDED Carrier). They shipped the car to a bonded warehouse in Mississauga on 401 and Dixie). I got a call the morning the car arrived, and went down there to pick it up. I got the paperwork from the warehouse office, and then went to the Customs office downstairs in the same building.
The guy must have liked my boyish charm, because when he converted the price into CAD, he converted it based on the exchange rate the DAY I BOUGHT the car, as opposed to the day it crossed the border (ie. 0.99 vs 0.94!)

Tricky part: So apparently, during this summer, the MTO changed the rules, so that the inspection must be done before issuing any temporary driving permits----doesn't make any sense, cause once the inspection is done, I won't NEED any temp plates, I'll get the permanent ones!!?!! I tried to explain this to the moron at the MTO, to no avail---so I just drove ihome t w/o plates---that was a friggin nightmare, cause I never went by so many cops on the streets in my life. In retrospect, I should've brought my old plates and a screwdriver with me.......

At home, I put on my old plates from my tercel (RIP).

Another helpful hint to save time and get your car on the road:

After paying the duty and GST and obtaining the Form 1 from Customs, rather than paying the RIV fee there and waiting for the Form 2 in the mail, the customs officer (God bless him---I never thought I'd be saying THAT) informed me that if you go to the RIV office directly (in Mississauga--burnhamthorpe and 427, I believe---PM me and I can tell you exact address), you can pay the RIV fee there with all your documents (including Form 1 stamped by customs and Recall printout, title and Bill of Sale), and they'll give you the Form 2 right there!

Take the Car with the Form 2 to CanTire, activate your DRLs thru the computer beforehand, get the Fed inspection, Emissions Test and Safety if the car is used.

Once that's all done, make sure your car is INSURED by your auto insurance, and take all these documents (Form 1, 2, Insurance, Title, bill of sale, and ID) to your local MTO license office, where you'll pay PST and register the car, and get plates.

VROOM VROOM!

Once my car arrived to Customs Mississauga, I literally had the car registered/plated within 24hours.

To be on the safe side, I would fax the Form 2 to the RIV yourself, as I called a couple of days after and the RIV had NOT received it, so I faxed it myself.

If anyone has any questions, PM me, will be happy to help out.

I love my car....I just love this thing.....hopefully doesn't give me any problems....best money i ever spent, and flippin saved about 15k buying in the US.

Best of luck to you all, and PM me if you have any questions...


marty (MK786 are my plates--honk if u spot me!)

[fizzerd]

Congrats man! Any pics of your ride?

[smartys]

I took some pics, but the files were too big to upload on here....now the car's dirty again after the rain.....this weekend i'm gonna wash again, and i'll post some pics.....thanks for asking!

Marty

[wilS.]

to a great thread!

I'm actually starting to look at importing a 335i cab to Vancouver and wanted to know what you guys think of the options available:

1. local dealer imported a 07 335i cab loaded and is asking for 59,900CAN. the vehicle was purchased from BMW Financial auctions in the US (Mannheim) from California. The condition is great, the only thing is that the title states Lemon Law Buy Back (original customer returned vehicle under lemon law, fixed then auctioned off)

2. just across the border there is a US dealer that strictly deals with auctions and have a similar vehicle in the $46500US price point. I'm assuming that the auctions are the same, haven't had a chance to pay a visit

3. on bmwusa.com, i priced out a brand new 09 cab and the price came to approx $56000. Now it seems like I get a better deal for $10k I get an 09vs07. But will a US bmw dealer sell a new car to us Canadians?? (ie your dealer in Buffalo)

thanks for the info guys