Finally made decision to pull trigger, only to discover the woes in cross border shopping. | FerrariChat

Finally made decision to pull trigger, only to discover the woes in cross border shopping.

Discussion in 'McLarenChat.com' started by Night life, Apr 26, 2018.

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  1. Night life

    Night life F1 Veteran
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    Dec 1, 2007
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    The city that rhymes with fun in Canada
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    Roberto
    After months of deciding wether or not to try McLaren out as brand I finally made up my mind to pull the trigger. I know the 720s will be in my stable one day but to get my feet wet with the McLaren brand I thought I would try it with a new 570s spider.

    I reside in Canada in the mid Provinces, there are no McLaren dealers close to me in, in fact closest one is in the US. That being said the prices in Canada on average are 20 to 30% higher than the US, not to mention the inventory is slim to none in what I am looking for.

    So I found my car in Palo Alto CA, Curacao Blue with off white interior and orange callipers, being it is a British car those colours remind me of the Gulf Livery colours.

    Just about ready to finish deal when I looked on Registry of imported vehicles to Canada and to my disbelief it is not allowed in :mad:. Not because of any known issue only because they are trying to keep sales up in 2 McLaren dealerships both of which are 2 to 3 days away from me, one in Vancouver the other Ontario, they both have zero cars that come close to what I want, and they are both slightly overpriced :mad:

    RIV Canada will allow any and all McLaren up to 2016 including the 570s which unfortunately are all coupe, but no 2017/18 models, only the 2018 are spider which is what I want. There is no difference between the 2016 and 2018 model, this is nothing short of trying to appease 2 dealerships in Canada :mad:

    NOT HAPPY!!!!!!


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  2. frefan

    frefan F1 Veteran

    Apr 21, 2004
    7,370
    I'm confused, its not McLaren that set Canadian import laws or am I misunderstanding?
     
  3. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    Feb 11, 2008
    98,539
    Vegas baby
    I think Canadian and US laws are different from the vehicle specs. It has nothing to do with "McLaren". I'm surprised the dealer in Palo Alto didn't bring this issue up. Your beef is with them if you told them.
     
  4. Night life

    Night life F1 Veteran
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    #4 Night life, Apr 27, 2018
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2018
    To answer both your questions YES it has everything to do with McLaren, I contacted transport Canada they informed me that McLaren did not provide them with what is needed to import the 2017/2018 line up. In 2 years time the same cars will be allowed in with no questions asked simply by McLaren providing the right information required.

    They do this on purpose to accommodate the dealerships in Canada (so Canadians are forced to order from the Canadian dealerships) this isn't anything new, Lambo has done it, Ferrari the same, as well as many others, and now McLaren is following suit.

    It just makes me angry as the Canadian dealerships have very little in-store inventory, they want you to buy brand new and actually order the cars from the Factory which increases the cost exponentially.

    As far as Palo Alto is concerned they have been fantastic to deal with, it is not their fault at all as they do not sell to Canadians on a regular basis, this was a learning curve for both.

    Looks like I am going to have to either wrap my head around getting a 2016 650s spider or go back to either Ferrari or another Lamborghini.

    I chuckle when I read this as this is clearly 1st world problems, who really cares, but it just disappointing.
     
  5. Gh21631

    Gh21631 F1 Veteran
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    Feb 24, 2011
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    Get a 675 LT spider and drive it until you can get a 720.
     
  6. tifoso2728

    tifoso2728 F1 Veteran
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    It's been my experience with manufacturers that they "frown upon" dealers selling outside their marketing area. There's really nothing they can do about it while inside the USA. However, I can see that they might change a bit of the homolagation specs just to stop cross border shopping of new cars.
     
  7. gtjoey

    gtjoey Formula Junior

    Aug 12, 2014
    692
    Get the 720 s and forget about everything else.......:)
     
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  8. Robin

    Robin F1 Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
    2,931
    Arlington, VA
    ^^^^ This all day long

    The 570 spider is a great car but the 720 is a future legend. You're basically getting LaFerrari/P1/918 performance with Bentley comfort for $350ish... If you need the drop top just make a deposit and save up for another 18 months to get the 720 spider :)
     
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  9. JAM1

    JAM1 F1 Veteran
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    During my search for a 720 I found that even within the US dealers weren't interested in selling outside of their region. There were a couple of cars that didn't make it to their owner due to finance issues, but the dealers wouldn't sell to me being outside their area. Fortunately I got the perfect car through my local dealer so it worked out in the end.

    And for the record, and not knocking the 570, but I agree with Robin. Just get the 720 and be done with it. However... I wouldn't (didn't) elect for the spider over the coupe. The one piece cockpit/canopy and door design was something I didn't want to trade for having a drop top. Plus, I've already got a couple of convertibles for those top down days and didn't want to compromise the 720 in any way.
     
  10. speedy_sam

    speedy_sam F1 Veteran

    Jul 13, 2004
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    Roberto. won't it better to buy the car in Canada itself given that they frown upon you servicing it at a non-Mclaren dealership. Would the guys in Canada refuse to service a US sourced car?

    Also given that your nearest dealers are a couple days away, I am wondering if it is better to look for another make who has dealerships or private service shops in or around Regina??
     
  11. ekovalsky

    ekovalsky Karting

    Jun 17, 2017
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    Eric
    Some dealers are very willing to sell outside their area.
     
  12. Night life

    Night life F1 Veteran
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    The point of me not buying from Canada is they have little to no inventory, I would have to order and wait 6 to 8 months for delivery and end up paying way more $$$$ for a car that is available now at another McLaren dealership.

    Answer to your second question is YES that is probably what I will need up doing is buying either another Lambo or Ferrari from Calgary.

    To bad I was hoping for a new car experience.

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  13. slm

    slm F1 Rookie
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    Dec 5, 2004
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    Get a 650 spider. It is an amazing car. Will not disappoint.
     
  14. Night life

    Night life F1 Veteran
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    I am seriously considering it, the leaking coolant clamps scare me a little.

    How long have you owned yours?
    How far are you from a dealership?
    How many times have you had to take your car in thus far?

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  15. slm

    slm F1 Rookie
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    I had a 12C and absolutely loved it. One of the best cars I have owned. The 650 is that much better. I had no problems with mine. Traded it for a GT3RS - big regret. Don't necessarily need a dealer. Any reputable shop should be able to work on it. The 650 is a heck of a lot of bang for the buck. As I recall, you had a Diablo before, a McLaren should be easy comparatively. Lol. :)
     
  16. Night life

    Night life F1 Veteran
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    Thank you for reply, I will consider the 650s spider.

    And I Still have the Diablo Roadster, it was my pinup poster car :cool:


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