BC_MKV

Hi Guys,

I've been a member over on different Volkswagen forums for a while now. I shared this information and helped a few people over there so I thought I'd do the same here.

Well, last February I picked up a 2007 VW GTI from the USA. Mint condition, low kms, all the options I wanted and..... $7,000 less than the ones I was looking at in Canada!

After all said and done I paid $19k(this includes taxes, duty, shipping, everything) for more than I wanted and the same or better mileage than the one's I was looking at in Canada (they were all around $26,500+ after taxes)

The process took a while though and was frustrating even when looking online for help. Many people have the problem of wanting to import a car from the USA but not knowing where to start. I decided to solve the problem..

I spent about 2 months making the "Easy Guide to Importing". Breaking down the steps in a one-by-one fashion. If you guys wanna check it out and tell me what you think that'd be much appreciated! Spread the word too if you know anyone who's been looking at doing it.

www.easyimporting.ca

P.S. The Guide on the website is completely free! There is an option to buy the complete kit (more vid tutorials, tips, secrets, etc) but the guide is offered free to everyone.

wpgfordguy

Have fun!

I've been without my car for two weeks after having to ship it back to the US for warranty work.

if you want warranty in Canada You WILL pay the $5000 "bend over if you want warranty" fee at the benz store in TO. Then you wait for " whenever the hell they want" for them to clear it. EVEN IF YOU get the recall letter and lights activated in the US. My Car has Passed RIV, has the sticker, and MB says it's still not "compliant"

Let's say something MAJOR fails and you have no choice but to tow it to the closest MB store in the GTA, you're screwed.

I would not buy a USDM MB again. (I've imported over 200 cars)

McGG

I thought a gauge cluster change was around $1500, and the inspection was 750?

Are there more costs than that?

wpgfordguy

You don't need to change the cluster if the digital can be made to show km/h. I was originally told that the MB Compliance was $3750, then it became $5000, for nothing. The car was already in Canada, RIV passed, plated and insured!

Plus you have to wait fro the "rep" to physically put his hands on the hood, before any work can commence. He's in Toronto, I'm in WPG. So it would have had to wait for his next visit to WPG (I was told 2 months).

SO I'm pissed off, My 1st and Last MB. I bought the car in the US becasue I couldn't find one in Canada, I even gave the local MB store the chance to sell me a car.


I'm amazed that MBCAN hasn't pissed a lawyer off enought to start a class action / inhibiting free trade suit.

bucktown

that sounds a lot worse than any explanation ive gotten, or any of the research ive done. are there any extenuating circumstances in your case that would make this more difficult? compliance should be a ton cheaper than 5000, and surely there is an explanation for your price jump. what was the car you were importing?

edit: what was included in the price of your mb compliance? inspection, set fees, etc. but what needed to be changed?

xtremez

Totally agreed! No more MBs in the future. Seems they are really good at pissing their customers off. And they enjoy doing it. I dug out the reason. Guess what... we gave them the habit. So, starting from ourselves, no more MB buyers.

maximus16v

I used to import a lot of cars from the US for my business and all I can say is any Canadian looking at a US Mercedes... STAY AWAY!! The savings are there but the hassle with Mercedes is not worth it. I usually tell my clients to pay the extra and buy a Canadian unit. After all said and done you'll pay maybe an extra $2000 but save on the hassle. Some people have even told me what they paid to have one imported and I could have had a CDN unit for them for cheaper from mercedes financial and certified units.

Guides like this fool people into thinking they can save big dollars. With MB and BMW you can lose big time. His info seems pretty basic and doesnt cover a lot. Hell, even his claim of saving $7000 is fishy. $26000 for a 2007 GTi? I sold 3 2007 last year (same time he bought) and none were over $19,000CDN for local cars!!

Chii

Great information, thanks for all the info~

My other car was imported from USA, and it is quite a hassle I have to say as well. It is for that reason I have decided to purchase my Benz from Canada instead.

I have to say though, sometimes USA have more selections than Canada on certain models....

DAM

Yes, they want us to stop bringing MB to Canada from the US for a very simple reason.... money... our dealerships are greedy and go against all MB warranty policies world wide. MB is proud to honour their warranty anywhere in the world. However, not so true here in Canada as they are just trying to protect their market by TRYING to stop the import of MB and BMW products.

No difference at all in all MLs from Canada or the US. All MLs are built in the US with the only difference of the clusters are in Miles or KMS.

Sure, they will try to scare you and tell you otherwise.... I did my homework and brought two. Yes, I saved a bunch of money in each auto and the warranty was honoured in the Buffalo NY dealership. In fact they were very happy to have me there, and I was treated much better than I have at our Canadian dealerships. I will not support the Canadian MB dealers.

So what... I drove an hour. I had a beautiful dinner with my wife... and she went shopping while the car was being taken care. Now you may ask yourself... what about when the warranty expires?... Well, there are lots of mechanics that have migrated from EU and have set up shops in Ontario. They are NOT expensive and very good at their business.

I have not had any issues... and will continue to bring them from the US as long as the dollar allow us to save a good bundle. I dislike these scare tactics by the greedy ones.

Happy MB motoring.