Modifying a US C230 To Meet Canadian Standards
#27
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Vancouver, BC
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2005 Mercedes C230 Sport Sedan (W203)
#28
The Canadian standard stipulate an impact to the front or rear of the vehicle at 8 km/h (5 mph) and pendulum impacts on the corner of the vehicle at 4.8 km/h (3 mph).
In contrast, the US requires only half that speed at front 2.5mph and corner at 1.5mph.
The US gov't reduced their bumper speed requirements after US car companies lobbied that doing so would reduce fuel consumption as a result of reduced engineering/weight from lighter bumpers. This change was done in the 70s during the mid-east fuel OPEC scare.
Canadas has maintained the higher standards.
In contrast, the US requires only half that speed at front 2.5mph and corner at 1.5mph.
The US gov't reduced their bumper speed requirements after US car companies lobbied that doing so would reduce fuel consumption as a result of reduced engineering/weight from lighter bumpers. This change was done in the 70s during the mid-east fuel OPEC scare.
Canadas has maintained the higher standards.
#29
Senior Member
#30
Senior Member
Here's another vote for buying in Canada. Save yourself the headaches.
MB Canada Inc advises RIV on the modifications required to import any MB into Canada. As you can see from looking at the RIV website (linked in a post above), MBCI has been about as restrictive as they could be. They want to protect their local dealers, most of whom are company-owned stores. MB is the ONLY manufacturer listed in the RIV tables to require reference to the company for each car imported.
That's what the $500 payment is for. You don't get anything for that except the letter of authorization, because it's an administration fee that goes straight to head office. The required modifications MUST be done by an authorized dealer to complete the import process and allow the car to be registered. And, of course, the dealer's flat rate charges are set by MBCI, who would like to discourage you from doing this. Four hours to change the settings and program the DRLs is an example.
Did you include duty in your cost calculation? If I remember right, the import duty is 6%, which is tacked onto the base price of the car before GST and PST are calculated.
MB Canada Inc advises RIV on the modifications required to import any MB into Canada. As you can see from looking at the RIV website (linked in a post above), MBCI has been about as restrictive as they could be. They want to protect their local dealers, most of whom are company-owned stores. MB is the ONLY manufacturer listed in the RIV tables to require reference to the company for each car imported.
That's what the $500 payment is for. You don't get anything for that except the letter of authorization, because it's an administration fee that goes straight to head office. The required modifications MUST be done by an authorized dealer to complete the import process and allow the car to be registered. And, of course, the dealer's flat rate charges are set by MBCI, who would like to discourage you from doing this. Four hours to change the settings and program the DRLs is an example.
Did you include duty in your cost calculation? If I remember right, the import duty is 6%, which is tacked onto the base price of the car before GST and PST are calculated.