[AmericanInToronto]

I have two options:

a. Buy a 2008 328xi for 2% interest rate, 30,000 miles. Heated leather seats, navigation. White on Red. Assuming 1USD = 1CAD, all taxes and duties included (also HST included): $33,500. This would be a US car. No warranty except the remaining factory warranty that expires in 10 months and will need me to buy extended warranty before then (at least $2500 more?).

b. Buy a 2008 328xi for 3.9% interest rate, 89,000 kms (55,000 miles...apparently has had the SHIT driven out of it). Heated leather seats, navigation, Logic 7. Black on Red. This will be $35,000. Car will be CPO till April 2014.

What to do? I'm inclined towards the US purchase because:

a. Lower interest rate
b. Car doesn't need to be modified in any way if I go back to US in the next few years.
c. Car has less mileage on it (equals less wear and tear)
d. Car is $1,500 cheaper

BUT: is lesser mileage and 1500 worth getting into the hassle of US import + dealing with GTA BMW dealership bullshit when it comes to warranty service?

[pHo_e92]

honestly i think option A is your best bet. if all the paper work is done correctly then there is no reason for the dealership to not do warranty work on your car. if they give you a hard time i say take your business else where and give them a bad rating on the survey. just my .02

[decx]

I can't really say much about importing into Canada as I don't have any experience about it, but if I remember correctly, others in this forums have reported some pricey issues regarding BMW inspection required by RIV and some pricey modifications including replacement of the dash. It might be more trouble than it is worth, especially if it's wasn't a well kept specimen.

As for warranty, the remaining warranty should transfer if you import your vehicle properly. Though I would not expect the local dealers to provide you with a courtesy car (they usually only do it if you purchased the car from that specific dealership).

As for GTA dealerships? I'd avoid T&C in Markham. They can't seem to fix problems on the first try, plus trial and error diagnosis is just so professional.

[AmericanInToronto]

Originally Posted by pHo_e92

honestly i think option A is your best bet. if all the paper work is done correctly then there is no reason for the dealership to not do warranty work on your car. if they give you a hard time i say take your business else where and give them a bad rating on the survey. just my .02

Fair enough.

But is CPO in Canada worth buying a car with 89,000 kms on it that's been driven almost 45,000 kms/yr?? Isn't that a lot of wear and tear?

Even if they lower the price of this Canadian car, isn't the fact that this car has lotsa miles on it a problem?

It does have Logic 7 on it which is nearly impossible to get on a US car!

[AmericanInToronto]

Originally Posted by decx

I can't really say much about importing into Canada as I don't have any experience about it, but if I remember correctly, others in this forums have reported some pricey issues regarding BMW inspection required by RIV and some pricey modifications including replacement of the dash. It might be more trouble than it is worth, especially if it's wasn't a well kept specimen.

As for warranty, the remaining warranty should transfer if you import your vehicle properly. Though I would not expect the local dealers to provide you with a courtesy car (they usually only do it if you purchased the car from that specific dealership).

As for GTA dealerships? I'd avoid T&C in Markham. They can't seem to fix problems on the first try, plus trial and error diagnosis is just so professional.

The RIV requirements do not require ANY custom modifications. Even BMW warranty doesn't require that.

I'm not too worried about the warranty -- it's only got 10 months of warranty left on it....I can easily drive down to Buffalo to get warranty done on the US car (in the WORST case if NO dealer in GTA honors it). I know with the US car, i'll have to shell out 2800 bucks within the next 6 months.

[2kaccordocoupe]

Do you still have your American address, drivers license, insurance etc...? If so pick up a car from the states and just drive it around up here and don't even worry about it.

My grand parents are US residents, they live in Florida Dec to Mar then drive the car up here the rest of time to live. Don't even bother with the importing and changing things over blah blah blah.

If something goes wrong under warranty it's covered, if not pay out of pocket and BMW NA will reimburse you the charges.

[AmericanInToronto]

Originally Posted by 2kaccordocoupe

Do you still have your American address, drivers license, insurance etc...? If so pick up a car from the states and just drive it around up here and don't even worry about it.

My grand parents are US residents, they live in Florida Dec to Mar then drive the car up here the rest of time to live. Don't even bother with the importing and changing things over blah blah blah.

If something goes wrong under warranty it's covered, if not pay out of pocket and BMW NA will reimburse you the charges.

i still have it but dude, i can't do that! If i get into an accident, i'll be screwed because an American insurance company isn't gonna cover me (a Permanent resident) who's driving a car around in Canada, that's 100% garaged in Canada. Never mind that if Customs Canada finds out, they're authorized to seize it.

It works for your grand parents because they live in the US for half the year. So they can claim to be US residents. I can't claim so any more.

[2kaccordocoupe]

Originally Posted by AmericanInToronto

i still have it but dude, i can't do that! If i get into an accident, i'll be screwed because an American insurance company isn't gonna cover me (a Permanent resident) who's driving a car around in Canada, that's 100% garaged in Canada. Never mind that if Customs Canada finds out, they're authorized to seize it.

It works for your grand parents because they live in the US for half the year. So they can claim to be US residents. I can't claim so any more.

Sheit... I just thought I would throw it out as a suggestion, I thought you would be going back and forth.

I think option a looks be the winner. Less mileage, cheaper rate plus it does not have the "beat up comment" attached to it. If you look at the total price including the extended warranty it's pretty much on par.

[pHo_e92]

honestly i think 89k on a 08 is a lot. i bought mine at 59k in January.

[AmericanInToronto]

Originally Posted by pHo_e92

honestly i think 89k on a 08 is a lot. i bought mine at 59k in January.

I think so too....89k is A LOT of driving....someone must have driven it a LOT on the highway.

59k is reasonable. That's 30,000-something miles.

[AmericanInToronto]

Originally Posted by 2kaccordocoupe

Sheit... I just thought I would throw it out as a suggestion, I thought you would be going back and forth.

I think option a looks be the winner. Less mileage, cheaper rate plus it does not have the "beat up comment" attached to it. If you look at the total price including the extended warranty it's pretty much on par.

The money saved in interest over 5years alone pays for the extended warranty. The only thing the US car doesn't have is Logic 7

Interesting fact for y'all: i pay $750/yr on my US insurance. My lowest quote here in Toronto downtown is $240/month. And that's with renters insurance!

[decx]

About the RIV requirements, some people on this board has reported a cluster/dash change is required in addition to the inspection. Though I don't understand why as the US dash has metric measurements (the Canadian models don't have imperial on the other hand).

http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/safev.../list2/BMW.htm

[AmericanInToronto]

Originally Posted by decx

About the RIV requirements, some people on this board has reported a cluster/dash change is required in addition to the inspection. Though I don't understand why as the US dash has metric measurements (the Canadian models don't have imperial on the other hand).

http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/safev.../list2/BMW.htm

RIV isn't a problem with US cars. Actually, there's no problems with a US car except FUD up here in Canada....

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=386003

[decx]

Originally Posted by AmericanInToronto

RIV isn't a problem with US cars. Actually, there's no problems with a US car except FUD up here in Canada....

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=386003

Thanks for the link, that info is refreshing. Guess the only thing an importer lose is the included scheduled maintenance, acceptable given the price difference, and certainly not much of an issue for a 2008.

[AmericanInToronto]

Originally Posted by decx

Thanks for the link, that info is refreshing. Guess the only thing an importer lose is the included scheduled maintenance, acceptable given the price difference, and certainly not much of an issue for a 2008.

And the loss of CPO which BMW Canada won't honor up here (and post-export isn't honored in US either). This is what really brings US cars closer to Canadian used cars because now, one needs to shell out for an extended warranty.