Are Canadian spec N.American cars worth less ?

Depends where. I'd say in the US, yea. They've had the speedo changed from km's to miles if they are down here. Some other things like temp guages would be in celsius and may or may not have been changed. I think anything that alters the way the car came from the factory lowers its value imo.

 

We imported 1 of our Canadian cars out here to AZ when we moved, guages are still in KM & our local Nissan dealer would NOT take the car in on trade for whatever reason.

 

I think that's because the car's VIN does not register anywhere down here so it becomes a pain when you want to sell etc. I'm sure it would not show on a Carfax for example.

 

They're not cheaper up in Canada from what I've seen... maybe KDS or others have more insight. But what I've noted is that prices are a little higher in Canada, mainly because cars have to have different specs (ie. bumpers, etc) from US cars, so the low number of Ferraris made for the Canadian market hold their value a tad more.

I just saw a '95 355B at an independent dealer for $135k Cdn = $102k USD. It needed a service too, I think the 30k. Not a bargain. But the salesguy told me (obviously I wasn't buying, so no reason to BS me) that it's difficult to bring US DOT spec Ferraris to Canada.

 

Not true. I purchased, and imported a 2001 BMW 540 last summer. I ran a Carfax on it recently and all the information came up, both from British Columbia, Canada, and all the recent stuff here in Washington State (registrations, etc.).

 

Not necessarily true. Speedometers only need to be changed if they do not read MPH. If MPH is displayed in lower case, then you are "good to go". The odometer display is irrelevant, and can be left in kilometers. *If the car is imported for retail sale, or is later sold by the individual who originally imported the car, the odometer must also be converted to read in miles. If imported for personal use, then the odometer can be left reading kilometers. As you can imagine, in spite of the federal law, most cars that are later resold, never have the odometer converted to read miles.

Unfortantely for me, when I imported the BMW from Canada, it only display KPH, so I had the local dealer in Vancouver, BC convert the dash to the USA version (around $800 usd). US Customs will check or ask for the documentation of the conversion.

 

Generally, I would say "yes", if only because it is marked as a Canadian market car. On cars made in the last 10 years, other than the gauges being in Celsius and KPH, and perhaps daytime running lights, and 5 mph bumpers, the cars are identical to USA spec cars. There is nothing on them that would preclude their importation to the USA, other than making sure the speedo reads in MPH. The trick is to have the documentation from the manufacturer, stating that the very car you are importing (identified via the VIN) is the same as a USA car of the same year (US Customs will require this documentation). Most all manufacturers will provide you with that documentation (assuming the car is the same), at no charge to you. BMW Canada did it for me, and faxed me the document the same day. If you cannot obtain this document, then you must work through a "registered importer" who will somehow certify that your car is in compliance, and charge you a fee to do so. (not sure how much)

I wonder whether FNA would be as helpful or if you would have to use a registered importer?

 

They do.


Vasco.R
Toronto

 

Well.......it all comes down to this IMHO........

"If it was a great used car like you are saying Mr. Vendor........why didn't it sell in it's local market first ?"

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US cars are worth less up here....."marginally" less mind you......it's not enough to worry about frankly......the big problem is trying to explain "the story" why the car is where it is.

It works both ways.......Canadian cars can be worth less in the US very easily for the same reason.

It has nothing to do with specs, as any car can be modified to meet OEM specification for the marketplace it's going to....in fact this is a requirement of importation actually......the manufacturer must sign off on the car (more or less) in writing......recall letters.....compliance letters, etc......work orders from franchised dealers showing compliance done to spec as per the letters from the manufacturer.

Carfax is no problem......it usually works on both sides of the border as Dave pointed out.

Ferrari's "DO NOT" bring more here (just my opinion FWIW....they merely sell faster if they are CAD cars).........in fact I know of more than one guy who made a killing 2-3 years ago buying every Canadian F-car they could get their hands on, and selling them for big bucks to US dealers when they were bringing $50-100K over list.

Every deal I do on a Canadian spec high end car is usually within 5% of the price of a landed US car after all the smoke clears. Every client I deal with wants to know this as they are pretty savvy about the variables involved in the transaction.

It's becoming a real wide open border.....more so on cars 15 years or older.

There are US spec Ferrari's here as well....legally imported and licensed. There is one for sale in Calgary as we speak. It's a 1998 355 F-1 Spider with 30K miles and the guy wants $165K CAD ($100K USD after exchange, duty, freight, conversion costs,etc, are backed out)........it's been for sale for a year !!!

If you post here "Dino" you should have taken my offer on your car last May.