This is my first post, and I am thinking of joining the Viffer legion:) I got my licence a few years back, and ever since I saw a VFR while I was filling my old '82 Suzuki up at the gas station, I have been in love with the VFR. I have been thinking long and hard, and after finally being able to test ride one a week ago, I am sold on the VFR.
I was going to buy a used '06 VFR here in Canada for about $9,000 CDN (about 15K kms, stock, non-abs), and then a friend told me to do some research about buying from the US. I found a dealer in Buffalo, and he has a new '08 VFR, Silver/Titanium in colour, and he's offering me the bike for $10,500 USD out the door (this includes all required NY registration fees, etc.)
Is this a good deal? I am thinking of trying to talk the dealership down to about $10,000, or $9,500 USD if I am lucky. Either way, I'll be saving a ton of cash by going to the States since a new '08 goes for about $15K up here in Canada.
I have already checked the import fees, and the only thing I will have to pay is the provincial and federal sales tax, along with a $204 import/registration fee. No other duties apply.
I'm just wondering if the dealership in NY is charging me too much money.
If ya could stand a brand new leftover 06 or 07 which are identical outside of paint then you could probably save quite a bit more. Worth considering idea3.gif
AussieinUSA, Jan 26 2008, 01:25 AMIf ya could stand a brand new leftover 06 or 07 which are identical outside of paint then you could probably save quite a bit more. Worth considering idea3.gif
+1.gif You can save a couple G's, going that rout. 10,000 is not bad, for a new one, but it will lose $1,500, just riding it off the lot.
There will be no warranty on the US bike once you import it into Canada. You also have two inspection fees to pay, one for federal, and one for provincial. Federal can only be done at Canadian Tire. You also need to forward the title info to the border crossing point 72 hours before crossing, and can only cross during business hours, and only at certain crossing points. Plus the stuff that you have said you already know about. You will also want to confirm with the dealer that he will actually sell you the bike to import into Canada. Last I heard, Honda was pressuring the border town dealers to not do this. Unless you happen to have a US address to register the bike to?
I have not done any research regarding the cross border warranty issue, but I do have some questions for those that have. How can the warranty coverage stop after a bike is imported? If the bike is imported legally, how can the factory deny warranty service? What about travelling across the border and needing warranty work done there? Also, what about safety recalls? How can any motorcycle be legally imported, experience a safety recall, and then not be covered? I question whether insurance companies, which have considerable power, would condone the possible pay out on an item with let's say for example, a major electrical issue, which could knowingly cause a fire. At risk would be the motorcycle, automobiles, the garage the bike was parked in, and the house to which the garage is attached. Big money items to say the least.
I'm not saying it's incorrect to say that warranty / recall rights would be withdrawn. It's just that without researching the information, I can't say that I feel it stands up to my scrutiny of common sense. Where can I learn more about cross border warranty information?
I understand that Honda warrantee work can still be performed, but only for work completed in the US, not in Canada. It will certainly an inconvenience doing that, but based on a lower purchace price, basically, I would do it with the bet that I may never need to invoke a warrantee piece of work.
Honda will cover safety recalls (because they have to) but will make you take an imported bike back to usa for other normal warranty work. I'd import one because 1) chances of needing warranty are slim and 2) i live near the border so returning there for warranty would not be a big deal, the savings would be worth it.
jimmer, Jan 26 2008, 10:55 AMI have not done any research regarding the cross border warranty issue, but I do have some questions for those that have. How can the warranty coverage stop after a bike is imported? If the bike is imported legally, how can the factory deny warranty service? What about travelling across the border and needing warranty work done there? Also, what about safety recalls? How can any motorcycle be legally imported, experience a safety recall, and then not be covered? I question whether insurance companies, which have considerable power, would condone the possible pay out on an item with let's say for example, a major electrical issue, which could knowingly cause a fire. At risk would be the motorcycle, automobiles, the garage the bike was parked in, and the house to which the garage is attached. Big money items to say the least.
I'm not saying it's incorrect to say that warranty / recall rights would be withdrawn. It's just that without researching the information, I can't say that I feel it stands up to my scrutiny of common sense. Where can I learn more about cross border warranty information?
EDIT: More information in the Canada Forum
Honda Canada has specific rules for importing bikes and warranty coverage. An american can move to Canada, bring his possessions, and register the bike here (following the rules for that part as well), and Honda Canada will cover the bike. But a bike bought for the purpose of import will not be covered by standard warranty.
Recalls are different, and not all recalls will be applied in Canada. You have recalls that only pertain to the US, no recall in Canada for same vehicle. I doubt you would get the recall done here for that imported vehicle. You also need to get Honda USA to give you a letter stating all recall work has been done on the brand new vehicle before you can import it. They do not have to give you one, but you must have one to import it.
Personally, it seems like too much work/risk for too little savings. But to each their own
If ya take a look at the VIN the "M" states that it was built in the Hamamatsu Factory in Japan.
To each is their own I say. If a saving $$ is worth the hassle thats cool. For me my time and effort is worth more than $$ a couple grand... couldn't care less. The CDN 15K quoted is just that. There is no need for anyone up here to pay that. I imagine you can get an out the door close to around 12K-13K. You can get a new 06 for even less with an extra year or two of warranty that will be valid.
Midnight, Jan 26 2008, 03:22 PMI had the impression the VFRs are made in the US, so no import duty to Canada, which is why TeacherMan says only taxes apply. Wrong?...
I guess Honda Gold Wings are made in the USA. In Ohio? unsure.gif
Having recently purchased a bike stateside for import, I can shed a few details from what I learned.
1. Motorcycles, unlike cars, are not subject to duty irrespective of country of production. You pay GST upon import and PST at the time of plate registration. You also have to pay a $200 fee to the RIV and whatever Micky Mouse fees a local dealer / Canadian Tire charges for a basic inspection.
2. Motorcycle warranty issues didn't matter to me at all. Most bikes in Canada come with a basic one year dealer warranty with the option to buy in for a longer period at a really insulting rate. If we're talking about a Honda/VFR here, we're talking about pretty reliable machines out of the box.
3. Price difference with the Canadian dollar at par is really insane. I got a new 2007 CBR600RR in the USA for an out-the-door price of $8200 USD. I paid $500 GST, $650 PST, $250(approx.) RIV fee and a total of about $100 for inspection. That's $9700 taxes included for a brand new 07' 600RR. MSRP on the bike in Canada is $12 500 and even if you could get one for $3000 under MSRP (good luck), you'd still be nickel and dimed with dealer freight/prep charges (substantially higher in Canada due to lower sales volumes) and federal/provincial taxes on top of that.
In the end, for a little leg work and learning some interesting things about the vehicle import business, I figure I saved about $1800 off of what a really GOOD Canadian selling price (e.g. $9500) would have cost me. I figure that whenever you can save close to $2K on a relatively inexpensive vehicle such as a 600cc motorcycle, you've got to let free market forces take over.
By the way - I purchased in early Nov when the Canadian dollar was temporarily as high as $1.10 USD. This only exaggerated my savings but I really hadn't planned for it to end up this way when I started shopping stateside in mid-October. I was just lucky.
Skuuter mentioned last week that Southern Powersport had several 07's left, and they have very aggresive pricing as well as a fing02.gif from most that have dealt with them, they would be worth giving them a shout.
jimmer, Jan 26 2008, 07:55 AMI have not done any research regarding the cross border warranty issue, but I do have some questions for those that have. How can the warranty coverage stop after a bike is imported? If the bike is imported legally, how can the factory deny warranty service? What about travelling across the border and needing warranty work done there? Also, what about safety recalls? How can any motorcycle be legally imported, experience a safety recall, and then not be covered? I question whether insurance companies, which have considerable power, would condone the possible pay out on an item with let's say for example, a major electrical issue, which could knowingly cause a fire. At risk would be the motorcycle, automobiles, the garage the bike was parked in, and the house to which the garage is attached. Big money items to say the least.
I'm not saying it's incorrect to say that warranty / recall rights would be withdrawn. It's just that without researching the information, I can't say that I feel it stands up to my scrutiny of common sense. Where can I learn more about cross border warranty information?
EDIT: More information in the Canada Forum
Just went through this on my 05 us bike Honda has taken a hard line Honda US will NOT issue a future recall once bike is registered in canada as far as they are concerned no longer exists. Honda ca will not pay for fix either. I guess thats one of the reasons why they need a recall clearance letter before you can import [u]just something to consider when you buy across the line[/u]. still saved enough that I'm not worried ill just fix the wiring harness recall my self not a big deal, but if it was somthing major in future that could be a problem
This is my first post, and I am thinking of joining the Viffer legion:) I got my licence a few years back, and ever since I saw a VFR while I was filling my old '82 Suzuki up at the gas station, I have been in love with the VFR. I have been thinking long and hard, and after finally being able to test ride one a week ago, I am sold on the VFR.
I was going to buy a used '06 VFR here in Canada for about $9,000 CDN (about 15K kms, stock, non-abs), and then a friend told me to do some research about buying from the US. I found a dealer in Buffalo, and he has a new '08 VFR, Silver/Titanium in colour, and he's offering me the bike for $10,500 USD out the door (this includes all required NY registration fees, etc.)
Is this a good deal? I am thinking of trying to talk the dealership down to about $10,000, or $9,500 USD if I am lucky. Either way, I'll be saving a ton of cash by going to the States since a new '08 goes for about $15K up here in Canada.
Thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!
TeacherMan.
Canadian dealers are willing to deal find a deal down south and then go shopping up here its amazing how fast they drop their price. they couldn't come close to a us price last year but thats changing. its worth a try cross boarder shopping has definitely effected them.
End of thread · 19 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 21 Jun 2008