[AMM]

Do any of you living in the U.S. have experience with buying and Ody in Canada? I live in the U.S. and have relatives in Canada so I thought I could save some money by buying from a Canadian dealership. It seems that the MSRP in Canada is almost $4000 cheaper than in the US. Is it feasible to do this?? It seems like for that much saving it would be worth it. What are the differences between the Canadian and U.S. versions? could I trade in a car I bought in the U.S. to the Canadian dealer? would I have to pay canadian taxes? Please help.

 

[PD55]

I am Canadian - and though I have not done this, I think the big issues would be with US Customs. You may be subject to pay very large and prohibitive duties to bring your Canadian Purchase into the USA. (Has NAFTA changed any of this?)

Yes CDN taxes would apply - 15% in Ontario (7% Federal GST + 8% Provincial Sales tax) but you could probably apply later in writing to get some of those back.

Differences between US and CDN Models:
1. Daytime Running Lights have been mandetory here for years and are included
2. Sometimes Colour selection - I know the CRVs are always offered in different colours between our countries.
3. Our Speedo and Odometers are calibrated to Metric - Kilometers, although we have the Imperial measurements on the speedo in smaller letters.
4. Many car lines include cold wheather stuff on CDN cars that are not included in the USA - heated mirros and seats, engine block heaters.
5. We do not get the NAV (no maps of CDN cities?) or the RES options here.

Just call US Customs and ask them.

 

[robr2]

AMM - Honda US will not honor the factory warranty on any Honda sold in Canada that is not currently or was previously registered there. Hence, if you buy in Canada whilst a resident of Canada and then move to the US, you will have a warranty. If you are a Canadian tourist travelling in the US, you have a warranty. Buy it there and register it in the US without first registering (and paying taxes in Canada), no warranty.

Also, speedo/odometer is in km/kph. If you decide to convert them, you must now state unknown mileage when you sell the van. This hurts resale.

Why does Honda do this? MSRP is lower in Canada to reflect purchasing power of the market and buying cross border screws up the marketing. Same thing applies if you buy a US spec laptop and try to service it in South America. You save here, but no one will touch it down there.