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Importing Canadian Vehicles to the U.S.

391 messages,  Last post on Dec 07, 2008 at 6:29 AM

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#353 of 391 Gray Market Vehicles - Revisited by Car_man HOST Feb 20, 2003 (5:24 am)
Replying to: dikran (Jun 29, 2002 12:11 pm) Hi everyone. A while back we had a discussion about gray market vehicles here on the Smart Shoppers Message Board. Essentially gray market vehicles are cars and trucks that are purchased from dealers in Canada and imported to the U.S. Many people were and I suppose to some extent still are importing these vehicles from Canada because manufacturers price their products lower there to help offset the higher taxes and exchange rates. To combat this, manufacturers refused to honor the warranties of Canadian vehicles that are imported to the U.S. As you can imagine, this upset many people. Apparently, yesterday a group of consumers filed a class-action lawsuit against several automakers because of this situation. Here are links to two articles on this subject: USA Today - Lawsuits filed over auto prices and Automotive News - Lawsuit Claims Automakers Block Canada-to-U.S. Sales. Enjoy, and please feel free to share your thoughts on / experiences with gray market vehicles and this lawsuit in this discussion.   Car_man Host Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
#354 of 391 good articles by masspector Feb 21, 2003 (4:56 am)
Replying to: dikran (Jun 29, 2002 12:11 pm) Essentially wraps up both sides of the arguements that were discussed previously. Hopefully now the courts will decide which side is crying foul.   Class action...so let me see, if consumers win I may see $3.00 for my 2002 new car purchase. At least maybe the courts will put an end to the practice of not honoring Canadian warranties in the US.   Are there any websites that list manufacturer policies on this issue?
#355 of 391 Good or Bad ...? by rroyce10 Feb 21, 2003 (5:17 am)
Replying to: dikran (Jun 29, 2002 12:11 pm) ..... They can Class action this one, til' the cows come home .. they tried it in 89, 92, 96 .. even including the dealers -- what they forget is ~ it's part of their dealer agreement.            I'm not taking sides here .. but, the overhead in build cost, is also about 25% less in Canada (alot has do with Govt subsides and allowances there) --          So, should we just close all the plants in the US, knock 500,000+++ folks out of work and open all production in Canada -- Or, let's get really aggressive, let's close every plant in the US and Canada, then open up 9/10 plants in China, that should get the prices waaay down ..!                Terry. Replies to this message: Car_man (Feb 21, 2003 12:10 pm) Car_man (Apr 22, 2002 3:51 pm) leadfoot4 (Apr 23, 2002 2:23 am) millerro3 (Apr 23, 2002 7:24 am) alwaysfords (Apr 24, 2002 6:15 am) masspector (Apr 25, 2002 3:32 am) alwaysfords (Apr 25, 2002 4:33 am) rroyce10 (Apr 25, 2002 11:19 am) shipo (Apr 27, 2002 8:07 pm) im_brentwood (Apr 28, 2002 7:36 am) tboner1965 (Apr 28, 2002 10:26 am) Car_man (Nov 03, 2002 7:10 am) rroyce10 (Nov 03, 2002 8:04 am) sonjaab (Nov 03, 2002 11:11 am) isellpotiac (Nov 04, 2002 7:42 am) rbrenton88 (Nov 04, 2002 10:41 am) landru2 (Nov 04, 2002 11:54 am) sonjaab (Nov 08, 2002 10:11 am) visionxp (Nov 09, 2002 2:38 pm) landru2 (Nov 09, 2002 3:42 pm) janz (Nov 11, 2002 11:41 am) masspector (Feb 21, 2003 12:10 pm) wrobel (Jul 12, 2005 10:04 pm) and 1 more...
#356 of 391 Factories plot strategy to fight gray market imports by Car_man HOST Feb 21, 2003 (12:10 pm)
Replying to: rroyce10 (Feb 21, 2003 5:17 am)
#357 of 391 Factories plot strategy to fight gray market imports by Car_man HOST Apr 22, 2002 (3:51 pm)
Replying to: rroyce10 (Feb 21, 2003 5:17 am) Hi everyone. I just came across the following article on the Web site DealersEdge.com and thought that many of you would find it very interesting. Enjoy and please feel free to use this discussion to dalk about this article or your experiences with importing a Canadian vehicle to the U.S.   "Factories plot strategy to fight gray market imports   Last year, nearly 200,000 cars and light trucks were imported from Canada to the United States, up sharply from 16,000 in 1996, according in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But Detroit's automakers, which have ignored the importing or tacitly encouraged it by dumping excess cars in Canada, say dealers and analysts are finally taking a hard line. The factories say the growth of gray market imports is costing them millions of dollars -- because they are selling more cars at discounts in Canada and fewer in the United States where sticker prices are higher. And the influx of vehicles is disrupting the distribution network.   Chrysler plans to take steps within weeks to curtail the resale of new models across the Canadian-U.S. border, but isn't prepared to discuss details. General Motors is also close to taking action on the matter, a spokeswoman said.   There are no laws that prohibit importing cars from Canada, though it is a violation of a Canadian dealer's franchise agreement if it knowingly sells to a third party. And there is nothing to stop individual consumers from going to Canada to buy cars.   Ford has started fining Canadian dealers who sell cars that become exports. The so-called "charge-backs" are usually the difference between the Canadian price and U.S. price for a car. But two recent attempts by Ford to penalize Canadian dealers have stalled. A provincial court in Alberta has blocked Ford of Canada from charging a Calgary dealer $125,000 for exporting 23 vehicles. In another case, Ford tried to shutter a dealership in Quebec that had been exporting cars. The dealership remains open, though, pending a court-supervised arbitration."   Car_man Host Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
#358 of 391 If the factories are so upset.......... by leadfoot4 Apr 23, 2002 (2:23 am)
Replying to: rroyce10 (Feb 21, 2003 5:17 am) Then why are there two prices for the same car?  I live in the metropolitan Rochester, NY area, which isn't all that far from the Canadian border. On many occasions, I've seen dealers here selling cars that originated in Canada. I was never aware that there were two pricing structures. I realize that there are exchange rates to deal with, etc; but why two prices?
#359 of 391 why are people by millerro3 Apr 23, 2002 (7:24 am)
Replying to: rroyce10 (Feb 21, 2003 5:17 am) buying American cars from Canada? I thought the idea of buying american was to support OUR auto workers and economy, not Canada's? How much were these poseurs saving?
#360 of 391 by alwaysfords Apr 24, 2002 (6:15 am)
Replying to: rroyce10 (Feb 21, 2003 5:17 am) The Canadian $$ is weak compared to the USD, and the pricing reflects it. The Pathfinder board is full of people hwo have done the Canada trip, both on the East and West coast. The cost difference is around 4k on a 28k vehicle. Nissan also has clamped down on the practice in the same way Ford has. This sort of stuff is not limited to cars, it happens on lots of products. I am in a different field, and our products are priced differently all over the world. You charge what the economy can support. We have also recently been stung by false distributors setting up shop in second and third world countries, buying our product at the prevailing rate, and reselling them into the US at full price.
#361 of 391 Question by masspector Apr 25, 2002 (3:32 am)
Replying to: rroyce10 (Feb 21, 2003 5:17 am) Can a Canadian citizen/company set up a business of purchasing vehicles from Canadian dealers and then selling them to Americans? Sounds like a no brainer to me. Canadian broker buys Nisaan at $4000 discount sells it to me at cost plus $500. I would do that all day long. Then the dealer and manufacturer are out of the loop.
#362 of 391 by alwaysfords Apr 25, 2002 (4:33 am)
Replying to: rroyce10 (Feb 21, 2003 5:17 am) One little hitch - by the VIN they know where the car was sold and can refuse warranty service on that vehicle in the states. Nissan is reportedly trying to address the problem that way now. Your concept was used quite frequently on European cars as well when the exchange rate was more attractive. Even private purchasers got into the act - you could order a Benz for delivery in Germany, pick up the car at a reduced price, vacation with it in Europe, ship it back, and still be ahead of the US price.

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