[rickyd]

I've never bought a car out of the states but it seems that every tom, dick and harry seems to be going accross the border to buy so I thought I'd give it a shot too . I have even seen a few car dealers with imported 335i's. So is the warranty valid? What modifications are needed? How much do you really end up saving? It seems pretty big when you compare dealer cars here to dealer cars there. but is it really worth it? I'm looking for a 335i or an m3 basically brand new (I was told it can't be brand new if purchasing from the states so some miles on it will be ok)

ricky

[bimmerbimmer]

Well, look at your garage....





why do you care about saving 15 to 20k ???

[alanchan]

My co-worker just bought a Japanese car Z350 from US
he drove back from Seattle.
he said the process is very simple, a few small MODs and some documentation involved.
he is no expert and he did everything himself and saved $8000 Can $ after taxes.
It makes me wonder why should I buy from the local dealer if they are not competitive.
especially you have to pay for the loaner car now....when your car is in for service.

I will get more information from him.

[rickyd]

Originally Posted by bimmerbimmer

Well, look at your garage....





why do you care about saving 15 to 20k ???

Because if you stop caring about 15-20k you will end up pissing away everything you have pretty quick!!

Originally Posted by alanchan

My co-worker just bought a Japanese car Z350 from US
he drove back from Seattle.
he said the process is very simple, a few small MODs and some documentation involved.
he is no expert and he did everything himself and saved $8000 Can $ after taxes.
It makes me wonder why should I buy from the local dealer if they are not competitive.
especially you have to pay for the loaner car now....when your car is in for service.

I will get more information from him.

Thanks I appreciate it! I have been searching on the internet since I posted this topic as well and it seems bmw charges 5,000 just for a cluster change? Is this true for all models? I would think dealers are going to make stuff up so you buy cars from them only.

[rbehniwal]

One of my cousins imported a 06 5series and in total he spent $1300 at BMW for certain things that needed to be changed. I don't expect a 3series to be much different than that. My parents bought a 06 lexus GS300 and it was a total of 4 days from the time we bought the car till the time the car was insured with BC plates. It took me longer to buy my car in BC, so the import process is very very easy. On top of that my parents ended up saving about $12k.

[Rossland]

Search--- there is a bunch of previous threads on this topic. You should also go to www.ucanimport.com/

Good luck. You can save big bucks, and get a better warranty to boot.

[DinoMite]

Originally Posted by bimmerbimmer

Well, look at your garage....





why do you care about saving 15 to 20k ???

Just because someone has money, does not mean they should be stupid, and pay the dealer for nothing... instead they can invest the 10K they save into something worthwhile, or maybe a vacation

[bimmerbimmer]

"DinoMite", ,

Just READ between the lines.

[picus]

If you can find an '08 demo odds are you'll save in or around $10k, give or take maybe 15% depending on options, mileage, etc. You'll need the admissibility letter, recall clearance letter, and any modifications BMW currently requires (not sure if it's just gauge cluster now, or if they still want you to swap headlights too). I brought a Cooper S over last year, saved ~10k.

[DinoMite]

Originally Posted by bimmerbimmer

"DinoMite", ,

Just READ between the lines.

I just want to support anyone in the market for an Import that is all.
I want BMW to lower their MSRP by 10 percent across the entire 1 and 3 series lineup.

[DinoMite]

Originally Posted by picus

If you can find an '08 demo odds are you'll save in or around $10k, give or take maybe 15% depending on options, mileage, etc. You'll need the admissibility letter, recall clearance letter, and any modifications BMW currently requires (not sure if it's just gauge cluster now, or if they still want you to swap headlights too). I brought a Cooper S over last year, saved ~10k.

THey want the instrument cluster changed, i guess they found something oddly "Wrong" with it... bunch of ripoff artists imo.

[Inzane]

I'm not so sure it's worth importing a new E90 from the US into Canada. When you factor in the MSRP in each country, the current dollar exchange (which is not exactly "par" anymore... it's more like 1.08 CDN/US), duty, any travel and/or transport costs, inspection fees, and the BMW Canada cash incentives (when in effect, like they had recently, and hopefully again next spring/summer), the difference on a new 335i sedan was very small between the two countries.

[SPACEMANRICK]

Difference is very small, especially if you took advantage of the $5,000 rebate from BMW Canada on 335i's last month...........

[CurlyFatAngry]

I've done quite some reading on the topic before going for a Canadian, two points tipped the balance in favor
- Maintenance
- Paying the price of the car in cash

There are threads on the topic everywhere; here, bimmerfest and redflagdeals.com

[f30Seth]

Used vs. New = Heaven vs. Hell

[PBureno]

Could someone give me some ideas on what I should do?

I found a 2006 BMW 330i, automatic trans. That's 33k and It's pretty mint(12k miles, black/black, AWD(ix), SP/PP/CWP/PDC)

So right now, I would have to pay $33 000 + 19.1%($6303) + $500 for BMW Letter. That would take me about 40k. Then factor in our current exchange rate..$43000 give or take a hundred or two.

Is there anything I'm missing? What would I have to change from BMW to be able to get my car here?

Should I buy it or what should I do? Any comments?

I've been looking a Brian Jessel's site as well(used) and a Silver 06 330(manual) with only sports package(heated seats are included already) and 22k km's goes for about $38900 + taxes.

A silver 06 330(auto) with PP and 26k km's goes for $38900+ tax as well, an artic 06 330 with sports package(auto) with 28k km's goes for 38900+tax too...06 330 silver/black(manual) 27k km's with sports is $39900 +tax..

just some examples of prices =/

[Rossland]

Originally Posted by PBureno

Could someone give me some ideas on what I should do?

I found a 2006 BMW 330i, automatic trans. That's 33k and It's pretty mint(12k miles, black/black, AWD(ix), SP/PP/CWP/PDC)

So right now, I would have to pay $33 000 + 19.1%($6303) + $500 for BMW Letter. That would take me about 40k. Then factor in our current exchange rate..$43000 give or take a hundred or two.

Is there anything I'm missing? What would I have to change from BMW to be able to get my car here?

Should I buy it or what should I do? Any comments?

I've been looking a Brian Jessel's site as well(used) and a Silver 06 330(manual) with only sports package(heated seats are included already) and 22k km's goes for about $38900 + taxes.

A silver 06 330(auto) with PP and 26k km's goes for $38900+ tax as well, an artic 06 330 with sports package(auto) with 28k km's goes for 38900+tax too...06 330 silver/black(manual) 27k km's with sports is $39900 +tax..

just some examples of prices =/

I can't tell you if these are good prices or not. You will have to shop around.

When we imported our 330xi from the US the only extra cost (over what we would have paid if we had bought in Canada) was $200 RIV fee, $100 air conditioning tax, and 6.1% duty because the car was not made in North America. We also had to get a new Emissions test ($35) and an Ontario safety check ($90. they wouldn't recognize the New York one). We did not pay any state sales tax because we never registered the car in the US. Instead we got a "trip permit" ($15) which allowed us to drive it home and around Ontario until we got the RIV paperwork. Our Canadian insurance company gave us a letter of insurance that was good for 15 days before we registered the car in Ont. Because we bought the car used from a BMW dealer, we did not have to pay extra for the recall letter. Oil changes, wiper blades, and brakes are covered by the US warranty, but you will have to go to a US dealer to get that work done. Canadian dealers will only do work that would be covered by the Canadian warranty.

Hope this helps. We saved about 11G's importing ourselves.

[nerf26]

Okay, do I order in the GTA a new 2009 335xi or do I take the

2008 335xi
auto
prem
pdc
metallic paint

16000km, $47000


help....what do you all think....should I get;

2009 335xi
sport, audio, exec

58Gs???? %3.9 finance


GTA PEOPLE UNITED??????

[Saintor]

Can somebody state the final straw about the instruments cluster change. I remember having read a thread (that I can't find) about this 'requirement' being bogus.

EDIT: found it
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160460

[Universal_Magnetic]

I am pretty sure you do NOT have to change the cluster anymore...i cant remember which forum i was reading on but for this one example i was reading about he did not have to change it, savings of an additional ~$1,200

[DinoMite]

Originally Posted by Universal_Magnetic

I am pretty sure you do NOT have to change the cluster anymore...i cant remember which forum i was reading on but for this one example i was reading about he did not have to change it, savings of an additional ~$1,200

BMW Duffield says it is still required to change the cluster on a 3 import from the USA.

[07BSM328]

I've been looking into this as well. my question is do you have to pay GST on a used car or just the a new one when you bring them across the boarder?