nickgailloux

Hey Everyone,

First post. Great forum, I've been lurking a while. I'm thinking about getting a 2005 C230 Sport Sedan. I test drove one last week and was impressed. I'm in Vancouver, and there are not a lot of C230's to choose from. I have some specific things I'm looking for: a) has to have a sunroof, b) has to have the 10 way power / memory seat option, c) has to be black. Since its almost impossible to find any C230's here with the memory seat option (not one of them on mercedes-benz.ca's inventory has it), I've decided it might be best to buy one from the US and import it into Canada.

I got a quote from a local Mercedes-Benz body shop and they quoted me $4672.36 CAD to do the conversion. This includes a new instrument panel, a rear bumper that meets Candian safety standards, and a bunch of other misc small stuff.

It seems all C's are cheaper in the US right now, and even factoring in travel, shipment, exchange rate, and modifications to meet Canadian regulations, it works out to be about the same price as buying one locally. I'd rather buy locally but finding power seats is impossible.

What do you guys think? Anyone have experience doing this conversion? What about the quote, is it too high? Can I do any of the work myself or does it have to done by them? I think I could change a bumper myself, but who knows. I'll post up the quote too. Thanks.

nickgailloux

Here's the quote. I wonder what the $500 admin fee is all about? That seems a little steep.

Nuvolari

As a fellow Canuck I'll gladly give you my take on your quote. First of all it is very high but then again it is from an MB shop and they are always very specific with everything. Heck I'm sure they would charge you to change the air in the tires to Canadian air if they could. Now for my assesment:

1. The $500 charge appears to be for paintless dent removal which is shown as a judgement item. Just about any car has a ding and this is to get it out so that your new to you used car looks like new. This should not cost more than $100-$150 so MB is being very generous with their mark up to pick up the phone and call the repair guys. That is your 'admin' fee

2. The instrument cluster is a straight plug in. 1 hour labour for installation is insane. 5 minutes is more like it

3. Daytime running light programming is another 5 mins.

4. The parts cost what they cost and it is best for the shop to buy them because they need to be painted and fitted. Any problems is their baby. Don't skimp here because the cost of even the smallest mistake is not worth the savings.

As for buying the car in the US make sure that MB will honour the warranty and GET IT IN WRITING!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough. With the strong CDN dollar a lot of people are buying in the US and car companies are voiding warranties to deter cross border shoppers. Porsche and Honda have already done this and I'm sure MB would do it too.

My advice is to find a car in Canada if the price is close. When I bought my C230 new the difference between Canada and the US was almost 10K Canadian but after crunching all the numbers the hassle just was not worth it (taking into account lower re-sale for a US car in Canada; fact of life). I hope I could be of help. Good luck.

rlee02135

why doesnt the US rear bumper meet canadian standards?

moosejaw

exactly what's so different about the canandian bumpers?

Buellwinkle

Hey, I want a Canadian bumper! Can't you just get European delivery of the car of your dreams, equipped they way you want to Canadian specs and at a discount?

Nuvolari

Canadian bumpers look the same as US ones on the outside but the re-enforcements underneath are totally different. As such the bumper cover is also different to accomodate these changes. We have stricter crash standards requiring beefier bumpers. On the bright side importing a 360 Ferrari to Canada will cost you $15K PER BUMPER so all of a sudden the MB prices look pretty good.

As for European delivery it is not all it is cracked out to be. The discount is 10% off of list but the car is subject to a 8.25% duty when it comes into Canada so your savings are only 1.75%. This is definatly an amount you can negotiate in Canada. When I bought my car I researched EVERY money saving angle and ended up buying in Canada.

14cue

i suggest buying it locally.
i am from vancouver too and there are tons of 230s around but it is rare with the options you want. they're fairly cheap now. i would buy one w/o the memory seats and get that installed afterwards. 5k is a lot of money!

moosejaw

Why coudn't you just say you upgraded the bumper to canadian standards? Who's gonna check?

And why would canadian standards be more stricter than US versions? Is this b/c you have a higher accident rate than we do?

nickgailloux

Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be possible. Any vehicle being imported from the US into Canada that was manufactured after January 1, 1971 is subject to strict inspection. First you have to get a "letter of admissibility" from the manufacturer saying its able to undergo the necessary safety standards modifications. Then once you get it into Canada, you have 45 days to complete them, and following that, you have to have it inspected by an authorized inspection centre, who will stamp your forms, which you need before you can permanently insure the vehicle.

Basically, there's no way around it, unless you know some shady inspection centre employee who's willing to look the other way and stamp your form; highly unlikely, and probably illegal...

Well its looking more and more like buying locally would be the best course of action, and I can always retrofit memory seats later if I really want them. I read on here that its complicated and pricey, but maybe the challenge will be interesting.

nickgailloux

By the way, if anyone's interested in the importing process, check out http://www.riv.ca. Its got all the information required.

carlssoncclass

i am in Vancouver, and I am selling my car. Let me know if u want to see it in person. Btw, my car is black, but is a 320. Pm me if u interested.

Nico

ClayJ

That's what I would recommend that you do.

Rick

Why don't you order your car exactly the way you want it and wait for it's delivery? That's got to be less expensive than all these conversions and alterations.

ZedStyle

why don't you just get one without the power seats in canada, and then buy the seats off ebay or from a scrap yeard or something... it might take a bit of time to find them, but at least you'll be driving your benz around. i can't see retrofitting power seats being more expensive than the time and money you'll spend on importing and doing all this crap to a us spec car

nickgailloux

One important point that some of you may have missed is that the cars are a lot cheaper in the US.

The cost of picking up a 2005 C230 in the US:
~$33,500 CAD (with all the options I want, memory seats, etc)
~$5000 CAD To do the conversion
~$1000 CAD In other expenses (shipping, paper work for importing, etc)
--------> $39,500 CAD (plus tax)

The cost of picking up a 2005 C230 in Canada:
~$38,000 CAD (with some options, likely no memory seats)
--------> $38,000 CAD (plus tax)

The cost of getting a brand new 2007 C230 in Canada with the options I want:
~38,400 CAD Base
~7,680 In options (heated seats, sunroof, automatic, sport, bi-xenons)
--------> $46,080 CAD (plus tax, minus haggling)

So it looks like it will basically be the same price used either way, but going locally means I likely will not get power seats/memory option. If I want to retrofit it, it would mean getting a new drivers seat, new door panel with the buttons, the parts required to motorize the steering column, etc, etc, I can see it adding up to be a good $2000.

Then warranty issues also come in to play. I have no idea if Mercedes Canada will honour a warranty on a car that came from the US. Either way, I think there's also peace of mind buying a local car, just the fact that it came from the factory as a Canadian car means no surprises.

For now, I'm keeping my eyes open for a Canadian model. I think I've come to terms with the fact that I likely wont be having the memory seats, but there is still slim pickings on the Mercedes Canada web site. There's only about eight 2005 C230's out there, a whopping three of them are black. As soon as one comes along with sports package, heated seats, bi-xenons, and a sunroof, I'm goin for it. Meanwhile, I can save a few more pennies towards my downpayment.

pmb600

I'm not sure if you will have a significant other driving your car, then you might want the memory seats. If you are the only one driving your car it doesn't matter much. I thought I HAD to have them too when I bought my car and ended up buying used so I was stuck without. I don't miss them one bit, I set my seat and steering wheel the day I bought it in June and haven't changed it since. Just my 2 cents.

Now if I could have found a used with mem seats, bi-xenon, and COMAND--that would have been a different story, I would have gone to any trouble to get all that factory installed.

nickgailloux

For me its a matter of finding balance. It seems like bi-xenon and command are quite simple to retrofit, so I dont care if the car I buy has them.

Memory seats, heated seats, and the sunroof, on the other hand, all seem like a lot more hassle to retrofit, even though people on this forum have managed to do all of them.

My girlfriend will be driving my car from time to time, but I'll be driving it 95% of the time, so power seats are not that big of a deal, I just really wanted them for the cool factor.

My grandparents just picked up a 2003 Cadillac CTS for like well under $30,000 CAD, and it has: sunroof, heated seats, full power/memory seats, auto dim mirrors, tilting passenger mirror, homelink, etc, etc. Even though I prefer the interior styling of the Mercedes, I feel as though if I'm spending $37,000 CAD for my car, I want some value. Sure theirs is a GM, but it's a hot car, they got an awesome deal. Its too bad theirs is beige, lol. Its really a shame about the interior on that thing though.

Dont worry though, my heart is set on the C230.

Arn560

Why not relocate to US and buy your car here; save yourself a lot of hassle.

pmb600

Yeah I understand about wanting the cool factor...I think it looks cool when you start the car and the steering wheel moves down. I know COMAND and Bi-Xenon can be retrofitted easily, I have read lots of forums on here about them. My only concern is voiding the Mercedes warranty which I recently started a new thread about but no one has posted anything. lol

My dad had a Cadillac CTS he just traded in last month. It was a fully loaded Silver with two tone interior (light grey and dark grey on the perforated leather.) It was a nice car but just didn't have a solid feel and felt much much cheaper inside than a C-Class. He traded it in for the new V8 STS. You can definately get more features for less money with other brands. My concern with Mercedes is that they have wanted to keep the base price of the C-Class around 30,000USD for the past ten years, and they have accomplished this by removing standard features. A power driver seat used to be standard on the C-Class.

Oh just so you know, the US C230 doesn't have both driver and passenger power seats as an option. You can only get the optional power driver seat. Both power seats are standard on the C280 (now standard for 2007), and C350 models.

nickgailloux

lol hehe that would be nice... I actually would consider it, last time I was in Seattle I could not believe how cheap rent was on some beautiful places, but I just landed a wicked new job here, and the girlfriend is settled in too, we're a little tied down.

rlee02135

its better to buy one that has factory comand and bi-xenons

mercedes will not honor the warranty if something goes wrong.

pmb600

Thank you! That settles it I will not be putting the bi-xenons in. As for COMAND, I have had two dealerships saying that they could install it and that it would be covered by the warranty. Also COMAND is listed as a dealer installed accessory for the 2007 C-Class models. I know it will cost more at the dealer, but if that means avoiding any difficultly later its well spent.

Nuvolari

Remember one other thing. A MB is subject to a 6% import duty once it enters the country. Be sure to factor that into your calculations.

nickgailloux

What is this 6% for? Does it only apply to Mercedes vehicles are all vehicles? Is this above and beyond PST and GST?