ajs76

Hey guys,

I'm bringing a wagon in from Canada, so I can easily swap to MPH digitally, but there is still the speedo surround and the temp gauge which is in crazy ol' metrics.

So let's imagine that I could either
1) Swap the instrument cluster entirely
2) Get someone to stick a mph surround on there and re-code the needle to move correctly (there is a local place that does exactly this)

If I did this swap, would it increase or decrease the value of the car? I can see both sides of the argument, but curious to those of you shopping for these things...do you trust a seller that is willing to have someone take apart the odometer? Sort of a scary prospect right?

shardul

iTrader: (1)

IMO It won't affect the value of the car

CliffJumper

If you had it done at an MB dealership in the USA and had proof in the MB records, I'd probably be okay with it. If not, I personally would place a lower value on a car with it swapped b/c I don't know if anything got screwed up in the process.

sleeperZ96BT

It'd raise 'what else was done' questions for me, even if that was the only thing done.

bbirdwell

My '99 E55 is Canadian-spec; speedo surround replaced with English units (at the dealer) and I'm not bothered by the metric readings on the rest. I find it kind of cool....

Chappy

What shows up on the Carfax?

nynd

It would decrease it's value. People have this phobia that there is something wrong with a car not from the American market. Canadian vehicles are spec'd for daytime running lights and then on some car lines, the way TPMS is handled is different for US vs CDN(tire sensors vs abs). Complete cluster swap is ideal - dealer can do this with keeping the mileage intact. Carfax would show where the car was bought - Canada and then DMV record updates once registered in USA state. May want to verify warranty coverage (if applicable). Sometimes this is denied until the MB USA or MB Canada bless the car (meaning force you to change cluster and get a recall clearance letter).

ajs76

Yeah, I'm going to pickup the car from Vancouver on Thursday so wish me luck at the border. Got a lot of advice from this forum already that was SUPER useful.

1) For anyone interested, the warranty is NOT honored at any USA dealer. EasyCare also won't warranty it, but haven't really looked into other options yet.
2) EPA and NHST will both say the car is ok except the speedo and a compliance letter from MB is super easy, so they don't stop you from bringing it in. In theory the state should let you register because you can put it in miles...so no swap needed
3) My local dealer, despite Seattle being so near the border, is NOT willing to do a cluster swap so my only option would be 3rd party place. Even if I could find a local dealer to do it, you're talking like 3k for a new one probably which definitely feels not worth it.

Based on reading comments above, it sounds I'd be wasting money doing the swap because it would raise more questions about the car than it answers so you know what? Forget it. I'll just enjoy the car.

Minimization

Are you in the Seattle area? Good luck with the buy! I am up there a lot. Almost tried to go for that nice Wagon that's been up for sale in Montreal but after all was said and done it was not quite worth the effort.

I would just leave the cluster as is.

ajs76

I'm in Kirkland (just east of Seattle). I bought a wagon from a friend who was leasing it, so he gave it to me at his lease buyout rate. Based on MB terrible residuals and exchange rate you can probably imagine that I essentially am stealing this car

The wagon is at a shop just south of vancouver today getting it's resonator out. HA!

Pickup tomorrow...pics soon.

HPMan

It drives me crazy to see how uncooperative automakers are in facilitating cross-boarder transactions. When the USD was on par with CAD, we saw the opposite thing up here. Manufacturers were quite difficult and obstructive in issuing recall clearance letters, they would not provide warranty coverage and they were generally difficult to deal with.


I hope in the end that your process is relatively simple.

Alex Bel

Is the opposite true? I am talking about import US car (2014 GLK250) to Canada?
Any taxes involved?

Jimminez

Are you relocating or just importing without owning the car previously? As there are slight differences between the two.

This is a great resource if bringing in a US car to Canada. I imported one in 2007.

http://www.riv.ca/ImportingAVehicle.aspx

But short answer to you question is yes. 6% duty and then HST which will vary on which province you are going to register the vehicle in.
As for modifications to the car, has to be able to display kph, air bag stickers that are in English and French I believe, and DRL.

Alex Bel

Well, let say we are (Canadians) returning back to Canada (Ontario) maybe in 2018 or so (relocating) after long time in US with our US cars (I am the owner). One is 2016 GLE300, another 2014 GLK250. Both can switch display mph<-->kph; the menu offers DRL on/off; airbags are in English only. The GLK made in Bremen and I drove her for 2 weeks in Germany with European Delivery program which was legal.