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Another way, might be to use the internet move effectively, to get the message out to the average Canadian, that is too busy to spend the time investigating the pricing injustices...
Here is a simple message... create an email like the one below and e-mail it to everyone in you address book, relatives, freinds ..etc..etrc.
The folks at www.carswithoutborders.com will be adding more functionality to their site today. They plan to add an option for visitors to register their protest, thay have an option to also leave their e-mail address, in order to receive notices of the latest news.
see e-mail sample below...
Tired of Paying too much for your car? ( subject line)
Canadians pay on average $6,000 more per car than Americans
Canada USA Savings
Honda Civic EXL $29,954 $24,333 $5,621
Honda Odyssey EXL $47,469 $37,443 $10,026
Prices include MRSP 2008 + delivery + taxes -as of Nov 24. Can $ at par with US $
Fair for Canadians? Who's blocking the border?
For the full story - go to Cars Without Borders
http://www.carswithoutborders.com/about/
Standing up for consumers
Please pass on this message to everyone you know.
very simple message, but effective!
Note : carswithoutborders.com also has a facebook group carswithoutborders that will be using the same approach
I worry about the other many families in Canada that have not been able to find support within our group. We are all being treated very poorly.
On Nov 20 after Question period, Mr. Cannon stated that he would help us, he reassured us that our cases would be resolved.
Please refer to the script on our web site.. http://www.carswithoutborders.com/official-lawrence-cannon-transcript/ We all waited a few days for the announcement on the TC/RIV web site.
But Instead of a compassionate, common sense solution for the 1000 or 3000 Canadians trapped and in limbo, Mr. Cannon’s staff has started issuing “Expulsion” notices to Canadians. His compassionate message has not been relayed to his employees. This must be a major mistake! Again, I feel very sorry for those families handling all of this alone.
This is starting to get out of hand and very unreasonable, as I requested in the letter I wrote to you last week, please get involved and resolve the issues.
I first decided to really step up and go to the media, right after one of Mr. Cannon’s Quebec assistant’s told me that he was not going to help me is if I made my case public! He did not like to be threatened! This was after 4 e-mails and several conversations with him. I didn’t feel that was really the way to talk to a Canadian that had followed all the rules! Prior to that I had spoken and e-mailed several people.
I am being driven by a picture of my daughter driving her new car that is now parked in my garage. I am being driven by the arrogant and ruthless way that TC and the RIV is treating Canadian Citizens.
I have attached for your reference on this file a debriefing package that we have been sending out to the press for the last week. Hopefully those on your staff can quickly grasp the severity of the problem and provide you with a quick and compassionate solution.
I also attached a brief audio file, of one of our supporters, Mr. Roy Green, who was kind enough to host our team on his nationally broadcast show last Saturday. I am told that the caller response was very heavy and sympathetic to our cause.
It would be wise of you and your staff to put an end to this madness today. Please instruct Mr. Cannon to process all and every car that is in limbo today over this preposterous anti-theft hoax. Please then ensure that the safety standard is modified to accept the American Standard. There is little difference between the two.
I have many other great suggestions to improve the process, improve productivity, and make the department of Transport more service oriented.
Please end this silliness.
Please do not take this as a threat, but we will be launching our awareness and knowledge plans shortly and we expect to have over 500,000 registered supporters by the end of February! We want our cars on the road and we want fair pricing for Canadians.
Please “Tear down the WALL Mr. Harper”
all the members of carswithoutborders.com
" I followed all the Rules"
"Owner of a car without a Country"
e-mail; carswithoutborders@hotmail.com
Home: www.autossanfrontieres.com
www.carswithoutborders.com
I've checked the "carswothoutborder" site and have not found anyone that has had there car fully pass the import program (forms 1 & 2, CTC inspection and RIV decal) and get an export notice, so I hope I am OK. I have read able a few people that have made it through under amnesty or just by luck without any issues, so again I hope I am OK.
Shawn
It IS entirely possible to build a car in which almost no one would die.
That car would be so expensive only the Bill Gates of the world could buy it.
Alot of cars already have an ESC system of some kind.
If buyers want that feature, they can buy those cars.
If they don't,they hould be allowed to forgo them, even at risk of their own lives.
That is the interpretation I have received from TC agents and RIV agents.
disinflation even if automakers hold off on lowering MSRPs. This reflects the
fact that with macro economic trends continuing to weaken in the United
States, used car prices will face downward pressure south of the border, ... This should further bolster imports into Canada, ...."
In other words, hold off buying new or used.
See Scotia Economics' report here.
I'm wondering if you have had any luck getting your RDX approved to bring into Canada?
I am having problems getting RIV to provide me with form 2 although I was assured that having bought the vehicle before Nov 1st I would be fine. I agree that this is total BS.
I recently imported an '07 XC90 with no difficultly. Volvo's need no modifications to meet Canadian standards and are fully covered by factory warranty.
here are my earlier posts on the subject:
silver_fox, "Importing Car into Canada from US" #1174, 25 Oct 2007 12:04 pm!keywords=
silver_fox, "Importing Car into Canada from US" #840, 1 Oct 2007 9:18 am#839
Comment on this the more the merrier.
I didn't try getting an amnesty letter since most posts my others indicated that TC/RIV were not honouring it anymore.
The part that gets me the most is when I purchased the car, there was no vehicles listed as inadmissible under the MPV section. It was only after I took possession that it changed. TC should have made an effective date go forward for CMVSS 114 instead of making it retro-active.
1. exporting my car from the US
2. go through the RIV importing process to get a case id?
A friend in the US will buy me a V6 RAV4 Limited and then I will buy it from him. I will then import it to Alberta, Canada. This way I will lose the sales tax, since he will have to pay tax as a local resident, but as a US resident at least he is likely to get a better price. Also, it seems 99% of US Toyota dealers will not sell to Canadians, period. My question is: what are the pitfalls of this plan? Where am I going to get into trouble? It seems like such an obvious loophole, I bet someone already tried it. Any tips, suggestions would be much appreciated.
Also, I did find one Toyota dealer in Washington state who would sell me a new car directly, as long as I have a US address. This sounds too good to be true, I mean I could simply look up an address in the phone book, right? Also, all other dealers from the same city have all turned me down. Please let me know what you think about this offer. Has anyone done this? Does it have to be a legitimate address (i.e. an address where I actually know someone)?
Finally, let me share some information that could be useful. In Edmonton I was unable to get any significant discount out of Toyota (which is why I will be heading South). Hyundai gave me a better price than Toyota, still way more than the US price for the Santa Fe though. My best experience was with the 2008 CR-V EX-L: they offered $4,000 off, a $1,000 gas card and 5% GST: this is still not quite as good as the US price but it makes the trip South pretty pointless once you consider the hassle, the loss of warranty and the additional costs. So if you are in the market for a CR-V EX-L, make sure you get all these discounts (and try to negotiate sg., even better of course if you can :-)). Cheers and good luck to all those trying to import cars: besides saving money you are also helping the rest of the country get better prices - Honda would not be offering deals on the 2008 CRV w/o competition from US imports.
Also, if you get in an accident does the fact that the vehicle is inadmissible affect you in any way in terms of insurance (can they say no coverage because of it)?
Second, there isn't a flaw with your plan.
The reason more of your countrymen haven't tried it is A) they don't have anyone in the states to buy the car for them or
As for the dealer in Washington, yes you do have to have a verifiable address.
If you buy a demo you will be the first buyer/registered owner and the dealer restrictions apply.
Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca and
trembpo@tc.gc.ca
Find a 1 year old RAV4, preferably in Oregon or some other state with little or no sales tax(others work, but Oregon is best). Your friend buys it and resells it to you. You save a LOT of money this way and the car, while maybe not new, only has 10 or 15K on it.
Note - you'll have to pay the registration fees and your friend MUST be in a state where proof of insurance isn't required, but it's quite possible to avoid the new car nonsense.
Bought my car on yyy/mm/dd I was positive it was admissible because on that date..................................... If they confirm that it is inadmissible then follow up in writing to RIV with a copy to Transport Canada. Include your reasoning in the follow up letter. Also mention the Minister of Transport has stated publicly that he is looking for a solution and you want to be included with the rest of the claimants. Also look into carswithoutborders.com and if you think it would be useful put your car on their list.
I'm not a lawyer, but I suspect that insurance would still be valid as long as the inadmissable feature wasn't what caused the accident or caused an injury. i.e. you wouldn't want to be driving with an inadmissable bumper, or with a kid secured to an invalid car seat tether. I guess if you got your car stolen because they defeated the immobilizer, they could argue it's your loss, but we all know that isn't going to happen...
From Mercedes Benz Canada:
Thank you for your reply. Please note US and Canadian safety standards
are
not aligned; consequently, US certified Mercedes-Benz vehicles do not
meet
the following Canadian safety standards.
CMVSS 101 - Controls and display
CMVSS 108 - Lighting and Retroflective devices
CMVSS 215 - Bumper systems
CMVSS 210.0 - Tether Anchorages
Industry Canada - Radio Frequency Requirements
Subsequently, a US version 2000 CLK-Class model cannot be modified to
meet
CMVSS standards and is NOT admissible for import.
Best regards,
Erin Somerville
CSI Co-ordinator
Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.
smart Canada Division
email:cac@mercedes-benz.ca
1-800-387-0100
1-877-627-8004
Is this b/s or what. My car has both the miles and the kilometre gauges, the bumpers are Amg. This bumpers are exceptional and very well made, and radio frequency. Give me a f--king break. Are they kidding me. Don't buy Mercedes Benz. Conforming to Canadian standards is not a problem if they are legitimate.
Thanks
Serge Bergeron
P.S. I am getting my car (Prius 08 - Aug manufacture) plated tomorrow - the fight has just begun.
post your story on www.carswithoutborders.com and join the protest. Write your MP, PM, the RIV, TC, the media and anyone who'll listen. We are making a difference but we have to keep up the pressure to get this matter resolved.
netdog
your provincial vehicle registration office and the RIV fall under different jurisdictions so you may get it registered but that would not stop the RIV or TC from potentially issuing an expusion order some time down the road because they require the completed form 2 from Canadian Tire to close your file. I would suggest that you not take a chance. Also this thread's moderator has already instructed its members to stick to discussing how to legally import your vehicle so please keep it clean here and avoid this topic.
netdog
Relax... this guy was only asking if it is legal to register this vehicle. This is something that I am interested in as I am looking to import into Alberta. If you read the original post the guy was asking if it was legal. I don't understand why you would think this post isn't 'clean'.
The issue is directly related to importing a vehicle. I would much rather drive the car I bought for (even if only for a few weeks) while TC and RIV get everything finalized, if I can do it legally.
Why park the car if you don't have to?
We already have TC giving us sh*t, we don't need people who are with our cause to give us sh*t too. (no offence netdog)
On a side note, I was speaking to a Client Services supervisor ("Doug") at Acura USA, and he told me that if I were to long term relocate for work into the US, and bring my Canadian Honda/Acura over, I would have to open a case for review with Acura USA to obtain a compliancy letter. This means that they would have access to my VIN number and be able to bring up the required documentation based on my VIN number from the Canadian database of Acura vehicles.
I posed the same, but opposite question to Honda/Acura Canada, where I was an American relocating for long term work to Canada, and they said that even if I gave them my VIN number, they wouldn't be able to access the required documentation based on my VIN number from the US database of Acura vehicles.
Is it just me or are they blowing smoke up my rear-end? How can the US get documents on the Canadian vehicles, but Canada can't get documents on the US vehicle?
Fair enough, I will let the moderators moderate. But the question itself smacks of not-so-legal practices since Form1 must be stamped by CT for your provincial vehicle registration authority to recognize it and you cannot legally obtain this stamp without presenting Form 2 to CT and passing your compliance inspection.
I agree with your frustration - I am in the same boat - but if it was that simple to legally register the vehicle without a form 2 then we'd all be in the clear, wouldn't we?
netdog
I can order through dealer a Highlander Sport with the colour, interior, etc exactly the way I/she wants it. Delivery is approx 8 weeks away, and dealer tells me it will about 6 weeks before I could get the VIN #.
What do people think, any guesses if TC will change the list again. I know we won't know for sure but any guesses based on logic (I know TC...)?
If I could get the VIN within a couple weeks I would feel better.
Next problem will probably be attitude at the Toyota
dealer for warranty work but financially it
meant we could buy a new car within a retired couples means.
The immobilizer issue made for a few sleepless nights.
To those who expect this government to assist you
this is the same Mr Harper who promised not
to touch Trust units. His turnaround cost pension plans
mutual fund holders retirees approx 25% 0f their
investment alienating tens of thousands.
I will contribute to a fund if started for a class action suit
against TC incompetance and resulting damages.
thecannyscot
Doesn't it depend on the province you are living in?
(excerpt taken from Service Alberta homepage)
To register all new or used vehicles or trailers, the following is required:
-proof of ownership, such as a bill of sale or lease agreement
-proof of valid Alberta insurance, (not required when registering a trailer)
-two pieces of identification or an Alberta Operator's licence
-new vehicles require the original new vehicle information statement which the dealer must provide
-vehicles imported into Canada require a Vehicle Import Form obtained from Transport Canada
-an inspection certificate from Alberta Infrastructure is required for all first time Alberta registrations of used vehicles
-the vehicle must be in Alberta
-letter of authorization if someone is acting on your behalf
From what I read, the "Vehicle Import Form" is Form 1, and if you bring that plus the proof of insurance to a shop that does Provincial Inspection they give you a little green form saying that it complies to Alberta's requirements. You're right in saying that you could register it, but TC could still come back and ask you to export it? I think that's the question. I'm pretty sure rdxowner_edm just wants to be able to drive the new car that was purchased with plates legally.
Besides, there is really no money to be made for the dealerships in selling the actual cars anyway...there is money for the manufacturers but that is a different matter...it is the service that they generally want anyway so I can't imagine that they will give you too much of a problem...
Cheers
Cheers