Canadian Dollar and the Cost of Bikes

[Sidmariner]

Last October, less than a year ago, I bit the bullet and bought my 02 R1150RT from a fine gentleman in Utah for $8900 US. At the time this translated into just over $10,000 Canadian, a large sum for me but still many thousands less than what I would have paid in Canada.

 

This morning, the Canadian Dollar is virtually at par with the US Dollar and might even be worth more than a US Buck within a week.

 

The thought of me being able to buy a bike in the US for nearly half what it goes for up here has my head spinning and I am now lying awake at night thinking about a GS or a GT.

 

I suspect there will be a great many more Canadian riders joining this fine group in the near future if the trend continues. I for one will be contributing to the US economy by paying many more visits in the future. Keep an eye out for Canuck plates!

[BCRider]

I'm with you there Pete.

I have found a 04 R1150RT in the Seattle area that is $10K US including lots of farkles. Today it's worth $10.2k Canadian.

This bike would be at least $14-15K in Canada.

I'm picking it up on Friday and riding it home.

Go with the GS, think of all those logging roads on the island.

BTW did you have any issues at the Canadian border? I have the US side figured out but I'm not sure what to expect going through Canadian customs.

[Smoky]

I bought my 2001 RT in 2004 when the dollar was $1.30. And I still saved thousands.

 

I'd like a 1200RT and I like the US prices.

[smiller]

If the US and Canadian dollar are near parity then why is there such a big difference in the cost of the bikes?

[BCRider]

That's the $64,000 dollar question. Nobody can give you a straight answer. It's a big topic of conversation in Canada.

BMW doesn't like Canadians buying bikes in the US and bringing them north because it supposedly hurts their dealers here in Canada. The Canadian government requires the purchaser to provide a letter stating all recalls have been done on the vehicle or they won't register it. As of June 1 I now have to pay a $500 fee to BMW to get this letter. It's seems to be just a way of discouraging me from buying in the US. I'm still ahead of the game so I'm reluctantly paying it anyway.

Can't wait to ride that 1150 RT

[smiller]

As of June 1 I now have to pay a $500 fee to BMW to get this letter. It's seems to be just a way of discouraging me from buying in the US.

Ya think..? It's sad that they can get away with that crap.

 

Well I'll buy my drugs from Canada and you buy your motorcycles from the US. I guess that's the average person's 'free trade.'

[Tim Yip]

I guess that's the average person's 'free trade.'

 

The major road blocks to Canadians importing vehicles (motorcycles and cars) from the United States is not a free trade issue. ('Free Trade' is an agreement signed between the governments of Canada and the United States.)

 

The hindrances to us buying vehicles in the U.S. are being put up by the PRIVATE SECTOR - the Canadian distributors (such as BMW for charging a $500 fee to provide a letter saying all recalls have been done), and companies (as have been reported on Canadian news lately) such as VW, Audi and Lexus, who have issued directives to their U.S. dealers they are prohibited from selling new vehicles to Canadian residents.

[Sidmariner]

I, my brother and my girlfriend have all now purchased a motorcycle in the US in the last year. (RT, 1200C, Honda PC800). We experience absolutely no problems with either US or Canadian Customs.

 

The rules are simple; get a recall letter, send the paperwork to the US Customs office, at the border you intend to cross, at least 72 hours in advance (bill of sale, registration, recall letter and receipt... fax is fine) and when you arrive the paperwork will have been scrutinized, title search completed, lein-free ownership confirmed and stolen bike registration checked. The US Customs Officer will stamp the Registration with an "Exported" stamp and you're free to go....no charge.

 

At the Canadian side you declare your bike. You pay the GST on the spot and fill out a form which is faxed by them to the Registrar of Imported Vehicles. In a few days you will get a form to take to your local vehicle safety examination centre (in my case Canadian Tire)for a free inspection. With the inspection form signed you proceed to the Provincial Licencing office, pay the Provincial Sales Tax and get your plates. That's it.

 

The only wrinkle will be which licence plate you travel with when you pick up your bike. In my case, my bike was purchased in Utah, where a licence plate is issued to the owner, not the bike (unbelievably sensible). I had to acquire a temporary permit, good for about a week, which I taped to my tank. I think it cost me about $20. My brother picked up his bike in Tennessee, rode with the owners plates on the bike, but had a temporary permit issued as well. My girlfriend's bike arrived with Texas plates after being shipped to Seattle and we picked it up in my pickup, therefore no plates were required.

 

I got the original copies of the Bill of Sale and Registration sent to me by the owner when he confirmed my money had been received by his bank. I called the bank and they agreed to hold the money (like escrow) until I arrived, so we could trade money for the keys to the bike right in the bank. With originals in hand, I was able to get Provincial insurance (ICBC here in BC) for the trip home.

 

In both my brother's and my case travelling to pick up the bike and meet the owner was a great experience. We were both hosted like visiting royalty. All of our bikes were in great condition, as advertised.

 

Like I said before...so simple and hassle free. My brother and I are now thinking about looking for our next bike in the south-east of the US, flying out to pick it up, and then explore the eastern seaboard before coming home.

[Sidmariner]

"BMW for charging a $500 fee to provide a letter saying all recalls have been done"

 

Tim, my Recall Letter came from BMW Motorcycles of USA not Canada. They were more than happy to send it to me by email, about 15 minutes after I asked for it. This makes sense because I bought a US model bike with a US model VIN number. BMW Motorcycles of Canada had nothing to say about it.

[BCRider]

That's history now. I tried that route and they say contact BMW Canada. The dealership in Seattle where the seller bought his bike will no longer provide it even to him, the registered owner.

They're all in the scam together.

I can forward you the letter I received from them. PM me your email

[UberXY]

As far as BMW Canada is concerned: I found an R80GS Kalahari for sale in Canada last year. I really really wanted it, but to import it, I had to have a letter from BMW Canada saying it met DOT standards. The people at BMW Canada were very nice - researched the bike for me, told me when it was made and where it was first sold (South Africa) but they absolutely, positively would not write the letter.

 

It's amazing but not surprising what has happened to the dollar. Look for more OPEC countries moving towards demanding payment in Euros rather than US$.

 

 

[Tim Yip]

That's history now. I tried that route and they say contact BMW Canada. The dealership in Seattle where the seller bought his bike will no longer provide it even to him, the registered owner.

They're all in the scam together.

I can forward you the letter I received from them. PM me your email

 

It sounds like the Seattle dealer and whomever you contacted at BMW USA made a mistake in advising you to get the letter from BMW Canada.

 

It would only be the distributor in the country in which the bike was originally sold (BMW USA) that would have records as to whether the machine they imported and sold would have all the recalls done.

 

BMW Canada would not have any records of recalls undertaken to bikes sold outside of Canada. (And if you think in this age of computerized records that BMW would have this fantastic system of record-keeping, BMW Canada does not even have a system that links Canadian BMW dealers to show a Canadian market BMW's service records performed at any authorized Canadian dealer.)

[BCRider]

The following is BMW Canada's story.

BMW USA tells me they won't give me the letter so I have no other place to go. Any ideas?

 

"Upon registering any imported US vehicle within Canada, RIV (the Registrar of Imported

Vehicles) states “Contact the original equipment manufacturer or authorized dealer of your

vehicle to obtain a recall clearance letter. You must have this document in order to pass

the federal inspection”. BMW Canada offers this letter once the imported vehicle is

brought to a registered BMW dealership where the importer will be billed $500.00 for the

service.

What do I get for my $500? The Retailer will conduct a visual inspection of the vehicle

to ensure all VIN plates are intact, then contact BMW with the VIN. We will run a Car Fax

to check the vehicle’s history and a copy will be given to the customer. W e will also check

for open recalls and advise the Retailer to complete any recalls that are required at no

charge. We will also enter the new owner’s name into all Retailer and BMW Canada data

bases so that future warranty work is done without delay and mailings reach them. Finally,

BMW Canada will produce the recall letter and provide it to the Retailer for presentation to

the customer.

Why is it so much money? Information on US vehicles is not kept on hand in either our

Retailer or BMW Canada regular data base sites, therefore we must initialize a check for

each unique VIN. Once this information is accessed, including data from Car Fax it must

be reviewed, stored and communicated to the Retailer, therefore additional admin help is

required. The purpose is to ensure that the new owner receive all pertinent information on

the vehicle they have acquired and to make sure that it is safe as far as recalls go while

adding the new owner information to all systems. In addition by visiting the Retailer, the

new owner may have the opportunity to learn more about their new purchase and other

services the Retailer can provide in the hope of making them a life time customer and

totally satisfied with their BMW.

What if I do not want to pay? Then no letter will be issued."

[smiller]

In addition by visiting the Retailer, the

new owner may have the opportunity to learn more about their new purchase and other

services the Retailer can provide in the hope of making them a life time customer and

totally satisfied with their BMW.

 

Ah, so the policy is intended to make you 'totally satisfied with BMW'...

[Tim Yip]

Why is it so much money?

 

What if I do not want to pay?

 

They charge that much money because they CAN. No other reason. There is little rationale regarding the cost and the amount of extra work it requires them to do. Likely, these import requests are not considered to be a 'mainstream' part of their business. For them, it's a PITA. So charging a seemingly exhorbitant fee will disuade many buyers from doing exactly what you're attempting. If they disuade imports by individuals, it supports their dealer network and their company.

 

Sadly, if you don't want to pay the fee, you're hooped.

 

But like my father always said, "It takes money to make money." Or, in your case, it takes money to save money.

 

I keep a running spreadsheet on the price differential between Cdn and U.S. prices. At today's Cdn/U.S. dollar exchange rate and using respective Cdn/U.S. MSRPs, a 2007 BMW R1200RT is 20.6-percent more expensive in Canada than buying in the U.S.

 

If you're considering buying a new BMW (which I believe you're not), then a $500 admin fee would be a paltry sum to pay given the $4435 dollar saving on the new RT.

[Lets_Play_Two]

"It's amazing but not surprising what has happened to the dollar. Look for more OPEC countries moving towards demanding payment in Euros rather than US$."

 

Just like the "world" currency was going to switch to the Yen in the 1970s...not going to happen.

[Smoky]

As stated above, I bought my BMW in Seattle before the $500 fee. The dealer provided the letter.

 

Shortly afterwards I met a Goldwind owner who picked his bike up in LA, and trailered it home behind his motorhome. He couldn't get the above letter from Honda Canada, they weren't being cooperative. He made up a letterhead, wrote the letter, signed it, and included it in his paperwork. No problem.

 

Just saying...

[Perlova]

I just bought an R1100RT from a gentleman in New York. He asked his local dealer to pull up the Recall Info on the BMW website and fax it to me, which the dealer did at no charge. I don't think that they all would do that but I guess I got lucky. RIV (registrar of imported vehicles) accepted the printout with no issue.

The interesting thing was that I met a person, who works for a small car lot, at the RIV office who had a handful of forms and was registering 3 Lexus, 2 GMs and 3 Fords. She said that she has never had any problems getting the forms from any of the car dealers she has gone to. Although she has never imported a BMW. She was shocked to hear that BMW wanted $500 for this letter.

 

BMW Canada is just shooting themselves in the foot. Even Harley Davidson has adjusted their Canadian pricing to match the strong Canadian dollar.

[Bob Palin]

BMW Canada is just shooting themselves in the foot. Even Harley Davidson has adjusted their Canadian pricing to match the strong Canadian dollar.

It's easy for HD to adjust their prices since they operate in $US, if the $CA is the same rate against the Euro but stronger against the $US what are BMW supposed to do? I'm no fan of BMW corporate but they don't control the exchange rates.

[Tim Yip]

It's easy for HD to adjust their prices since they operate in $US, if the $CA is the same rate against the Euro but stronger against the $US what are BMW supposed to do? I'm no fan of BMW corporate but they don't control the exchange rates.

 

You are exactly correct.

[Perlova]

you will notice that the CDN dollar has also strengthened against the Euro. It used to me around 1 dollar for .5 Euros now it is close to .7.

 

Corporate greed is corporate greed....

[notacop]

After reading several of these posts, I'd like to say welcome to America, the worlds' newest third world economy.

With all due respect to our northern neighbors, how did we fall so far so fast.

Just a few years ago I spent a vacation up in BC. Wonderful!

Now I need a passport and a bucket of money to survive there.

[DaveC]

While you Canadians are rejoicing at the bargains you are finding, we Americans are lamenting lost opportunities.

I was up in BC Canada this summer on business, and saw a used personal watercraft for sale in a local paper. I really wanted to buy it and bring it home, but the exchange rate made the prices too high. A similar craft in the US would have sold for $3.5k, and the seller in Canada wanted $5.6k.

I decided to not buy it, and continue my search back in the USA for a similar boat.

[Bob Palin]

you will notice that the CDN dollar has also strengthened against the Euro. It used to me around 1 dollar for .5 Euros now it is close to .7.

Then they have some wiggle room, as I said in another thread I haven't looked up the Euro exchange rate, I follow the pound since I'm English and it has strengthened a lot against the $US, assumed the Euro had too.

[marcopolo]

After reading several of these posts, I'd like to say welcome to America, the worlds' newest third world economy.

With all due respect to our northern neighbors, how did we fall so far so fast.

Just a few years ago I spent a vacation up in BC. Wonderful!

Now I need a passport and a bucket of money to survive there.

 

Lord knows I'm no economist, but deficit spending will eventually bite you in the a**. Invading Iraq was costly in more ways then one. Presumably the sub-prime mortgage fiasco doesn't instill great confidence either. We continued to have much stricter mortgage lending practices up here, as yours loosened up. Our federal government eliminated deficit spending a number of years ago. We also have a lot of what you need, i.e., energy. We are your largest foreign supplier of energy -- oil, natural gas, electricity and uranium.

 

There is a downside, of course. Our exports to you are now more expensive, and it doesn't do much to promote Americans vacationing in Canada. On the upside, our imports of US goods are less expesive than before.

 

Trained economists will correct me I'm sure.

[Lets_Play_Two]

you will notice that the CDN dollar has also strengthened against the Euro. It used to me around 1 dollar for .5 Euros now it is close to .7.

 

Corporate greed is corporate greed....

 

The relative rates of the Cdn$ and US$ to the Euro are going to stay the same. If they didn't arbitrage would quickly correct that. I think Canadians pay more because of competitive issues. BMW would charge more in the US if they could, but it is a more significant market for them...nothing against Canada, but more sales opportunity in US. Exchange rates have nothing to do with why the bikes are more expensive in Canada. If it were purely exchange rates, the bikes in Canada would now be priced the same as they are in the US!!

[Lets_Play_Two]

After reading several of these posts, I'd like to say welcome to America, the worlds' newest third world economy.

With all due respect to our northern neighbors, how did we fall so far so fast.

Just a few years ago I spent a vacation up in BC. Wonderful!

Now I need a passport and a bucket of money to survive there.

 

Lord knows I'm no economist, but deficit spending will eventually bite you in the a**. Invading Iraq was costly in more ways then one. Presumably the sub-prime mortgage fiasco doesn't instill great confidence either. We continued to have much stricter mortgage lending practices up here, as yours loosened up. Our federal government eliminated deficit spending a number of years ago. We also have a lot of what you need, i.e., energy. We are your largest foreign supplier of energy -- oil, natural gas, electricity and uranium.

 

There is a downside, of course. Our exports to you are now more expensive, and it doesn't do much to promote Americans vacationing in Canada. On the upside, our imports of US goods are less expesive than before.

 

Trained economists will correct me I'm sure.

 

A weak US dollar actually improves our international trade deficit, making US exports cheaper and imports more expensive. Encourages foreigners to come to the US and spend their money and keeps Americans at home to spend their money. Also just some historical perspective...in my life time there was a time when the Cdn $ cost $1.25US!! There was also a time when the Euro was $.80US and we were happily making travel plans!! Buy American and you won't care about exchange rates!!!

[Tim Yip]

Trained economists will correct me I'm sure.

 

My favourite quote from university (and it was an economics prof who said it):

 

"There are two kinds of economists - those who don't know, and those who don't know that they don't know."

[Bob Palin]

you will notice that the CDN dollar has also strengthened against the Euro. It used to me around 1 dollar for .5 Euros now it is close to .7.

Actually over the last year the Loonie has barely changed against the Euro at 70c (Check here) where it has gone from 89c to $1 against the US dollar so I wouldn't expect BMW to reduce their prices.

[Ken H.]

Recognizing that this thread is rather old, and possibly the info in is is dated, never-the-less I thought I would add our experience on the whole Recall Clearance Letter and the RIV.ca thing on just having brought our '05 R1200GS into Canada.

 

Before we left KC I got from our dealer a, "Warranty Vehicle Inquiry" printout from BMWNA USA. Which included on it a statement, "NO OPEN CAMPAIGNS".

 

At the border we did the USA export and CA import thing and received the "Vehicle Import Form - Form 1".

 

A couple of days latter I paid the fee to RIV.ca online.

 

A couple of days after that I received from RIV.ca an email asking me to fax the Recall Clearance Letter to a specific fax number, which I did.

 

Today I received from them an email with the approved "Federal Vehicle Inspection" form, which among other things states - "Recall information has been verified on this vehicle - yes."

 

So for us at least, in this one instance at least, at this particular point in time at least; no $500 letter from BMWNA Canada was needed.

[SpaceKing]

If you buy the vehicle privately, the dealer that the bike came from will supply that letter to the original buyer but a dealership won't do it because of their agreement with the corporate offices. I bought an '05 Element in Sacramento and the guy I bought it from provided the letter for me. I was looking at other cars at Honda dealers - some of them said they would not provide such a letter.

Obviously there is collusion to keep US vehicles out of Canada to protect Canadian dealers. This flies in the face of the NAFTA and in my opinion is illegal. Under that agreement I can buy anything in the States and bring it in without tarifs, penalties, duties or other surcharges aside from Canadian Taxes.

[gthorpe]

Last year I listed my '05 F650 Dakar on E-Bay with a "Buy it Now" price a couple hundred dollars higher than KBB (wishful thinking I thought).

 

Before the day was over I had inquiries from 3 people, all Canadians. The next morning a female firefighter from Vancouver, BC paid the "Buy it Now" price and transferred funds to my account that day.

 

 

[stubblejumper]

The price difference on new bikes has sure been reduced.Last year the difference between my local Alberta dealers,and Dealers in Idaho and Montana was about $5000 on a bike in the $20,000 range.A few weeks ago,the difference was about $2000.

[Ken H.]

If you buy the vehicle privately, the dealer that the bike came from will supply that letter to the original buyer but a dealership won't do it because of their agreement with the corporate offices.

Actually that doesn't seem to be our recent experience...

 

All three of our vehicles (a bike, a car, and a pickup) were purchased used from private parties, I got a U.S. letter from three different U.S. dealerships (a BMW, a Toyota and a Ford) that were not (could not) be the original buyer's dealerships(s), and RIV.ca accepted all three letters.

 

Maybe the rules have relaxed a bit, maybe we just got lucky.

[SpaceKing]

Hmm . . . RIV will accept any letter from any dealer, that's not the issue . . . maybe it depends on the brand? I know Honda won't do it, three different dealerships in three different states declined, though one in Indianapolis said no problem . . .

Are you living in Canada now Ken? You had to come a long way to get away from loud pipes

[Jerry in Monument]

That's the $64,000 dollar question. Nobody can give you a straight answer. It's a big topic of conversation in Canada.

BMW doesn't like Canadians buying bikes in the US and bringing them north because it supposedly hurts their dealers here in Canada. The Canadian government requires the purchaser to provide a letter stating all recalls have been done on the vehicle or they won't register it. As of June 1 I now have to pay a $500 fee to BMW to get this letter. It's seems to be just a way of discouraging me from buying in the US. I'm still ahead of the game so I'm reluctantly paying it anyway.

Can't wait to ride that 1150 RT

 

Could it be VAT?

[Ken H.]

Are you living in Canada now Ken?

Yeah, we moved to the Edmonton area two weeks ago.

You had to come a long way to get away from loud pipes.

Not sure yet that we did though!

[Dietrich]

I bought my '08 RT in Canada. The price difference was about $1800 more here than in the US. $500 for some letter reduces it to $1300, now the cost of travelling to who knows where to pick up the bike or have it shipped, plus all the hassle, just wasn't worth it to me. Not sure about bikes, but with US cars you'll find the penalty comes when you want to trade it back in here in this country. At least 20% less value than a Canadian car is my experience. Possibly similar for bikes.

I don't even want to blow the "Support the Canadian economy" horn.

[SpaceKing]

I don't even want to blow the "Support the Canadian economy" horn.

That's good because a "Canadian Economy" is a total crock. Don't get me started