Buyinig a bike in Canada but live in US???

[LRice85]

I've been pricing 2002 CR's and I started looking in Canada. I got a quote of $6700 Canandian which is about $4200 US! That's a really good price as we all know! BUT... I've been looking at Canadian Honda Dealer Websites and none of them list a 2002 CR250! Why is that?

Anyone ever buy a bike from Canada. Are there any differneces between the US and Canadian models? I can't imagine that Honda would not release the 2002 model in Canada.

Does anyone know what a good price for a 2002 CR would be in Canadian $$.

Any input is appreciated
Thanks
Larry

 

[Camstyn]

$6700 is a pretty good price.

The popular pick bikes are scarce in Canada, because a lot of them are sold out of the country. Enough are imported to supply Canada with what they need, not a lot of excess, before a large amount of them aren't even sold to Canadians.:moon:

 

[scar tissue]

Mines on order from Canada right now.(WR250F):) It'll be here monday! The story I got is since its winter alot of them aren't getting there next years stock in yet. Some do some don't. There are no hassles currently, however I've heard that the US dealers are squaking and some Manufactuers are trying to stop the importing. If you can't find it at one dealer look to another. Theres plently of them. I even found some with the crf450 but I acted to slow and they were gone. FYI have them ship it also, you get the same exchange rate deal on shipping only $250 US from canada to LA. in 4 days (roughly $4500 US total cost to me ) good luck.

 

[LRice85]

you didn't pay Canadian tax did you?? IF you did you can get it refunded. You probably know that I just wanted to make sure.

I looked up the Canadian Customs webpage. You have to pay tax at the dealer but it will be refunded when you leave (export) the bike.

Larry

 

[WR 250]

I just went through this last week with a KLR 650. Some things worth noting:
1. Brokerage fees, I don't know if this is pertanent to a dirt bike but it was for a street legal KLR. Cost $50 U.S. dollars.
2. Bonding, because I was shipping the bike to the US I was required to pay bonding fees in the total of $150 U.S dollars. The bonding fees cover the cost of customs to inspect the shipment.
3. No warranty. I was told by both the Fairbanks and Eagle River Kawasaki dealers that the Canadian KLR would have no warranty in the USA. I never found out if this was true. The Campbell River, B.C. dealer told me that the US dealers had to warranty the bike and that they were just BSing me. Something to look into for sure.

Basically I could have bought the KLR for $4179 Canadian. The bikes MSRP is $4999 US. I had $200 in fees and $350 in shipping (all US dollars) so my margin below the MSRP was under $300. Not all that good considering I had to put the bike together myself. The deal breaker for me was that I wanted to take advantage of the 0/0/0 incentative and it wouldn't work buying from a foreign country. I ended up buying in state.

The guy I talked to in Canada was pretty straight forward and said he sold a lot of machines to the lower 48. I would imagine shipping to the states is much lower than AK. Forward Air only dealt with the lower 48.

The warranty issue still puzzles me so maybe someone could shed some light on it? I found out my Kawi card wouldn't work before we got as far as him faxing me some paper work proving that the warranty was indeed valid in the US. Another thing to consider is that the US dealers got downright hostile when I mentioned that I had a price from Canada. Even in the future if I was able to prove to them that they had to warranty the bike I'm not sure that I'd really want them touching it, know what I mean.:p

Still, a guy can save some bucks if you can drive to the dealer and pick it up. You save the bonding fees this way. If you have to ship, anything under 500cc doesn't fall under bonding fees. Over 750cc and you pay 2.5%, ouch!

 

[Peer Lovell]

Firstly, the supply of bikes is very scarce in Canada. Our population is on 1/10th. that of the US. Most bikes are sold by the end of March. The 2002 CR250 is still available.
Keep mind you will have to pay 15% tax,regardless of where you live. Whoever said you can get the tax back is totally wrong.
In addition you will pay about 2% tax at the U.S. border.

 

[LRice85]

Rock,
Idon't think MX bikes have warrenties anyway so that isn't much of an issue. The bikes we are getting are going to be assembled. If they were in a crate it would be difficult to get through customs.

I think the fact that they are non road bikes under 600cc will negate most of the fee's you encountered. Even if we do run into some unexpected fee's it will still be worth it in both money and experience.

thanks for the input. I will investigate further
Larry

 

[LRice85]

Peer,
I checked Canada's customs website. If you bring the bike over the boarder within 60 days you are expoting it. Due to some export tax law you do get the $$ money back

Not being a resident of Canada I can get taxes back on hotel stays and most things purchased and brought back. As long as provide origninal recipts.

 

[CAL]

I was told by the US Government that the only way you are exempt from the tax is if you will be in Canada 48 hours or more before bringing it back.

Call the White house and tell them what info you need. They will transfer you (about 40 times) until you get the right person. They will give you details on the transaction. That's what I did.

 

[fatty_k]

Here is a currency converter I found to make converting US to CDN $ or vise versa a lot easier. It uses live currency rates so it is always exact.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/

 

[JTT]

Originally posted by rockrider
3. No warranty. I was told by both the Fairbanks and Eagle River Kawasaki dealers that the Canadian KLR would have no warranty in the USA. I never found out if this was true. The Campbell River, B.C. dealer told me that the US dealers had to warranty the bike and that they were just BSing me. Something to look into for sure.

Well, look at it this way, you are a US citizen, living in the US, you drive your new GM pickup to BC on vacation. It developes an engine problem and won't run. Do you think the Canadian dealer is going to turn you away and say, sorry, you didn't purchase in Canada? The dealers are just bitter about cross bourder shopping, and rightfully so, as it is really unfair competition and not really accepted business ethics. It has always been a problem and probably always will be :mad:

 

[WR 250]

I'm still wondering about the warranty situation. The US dealer's arguement was that because I was a US citizen and bought the bike in Canada then the US dealers had no obligation to warranty it. He said if I lived in Canada and bought the bike there and then brought it over he would honor the warranty. That is similar to your truck analogy.

I'd still like to find out for sure. The B.C. dealer didn't have the paper work handy to fax and I got the feeling over the phone that he would have to do some digging to find it. I did get the impression that I would have to have something in writing to get a US dealer to touch a Canadian bike and then it would almost be like forcing them to work on it. Perhaps in the states it is a different situation? More dealers to choose from? I only have three Kawi dealers that are located on the road system. For all I know they may be able to make up their own rules. :mad:

 

[scar tissue]

Lots and lots of different info here.

Re: not saving that much. It may be different in other parts of the country your local dealers may make better deals, but in Socal the best deal I could find on a new WR250f out the door was over $6000. To me, saving $1500 is a lot. Sure different bikes have different mark ups and I know there 's a bigger headache(and fees) for street legal bikes (like rock riders KLR). Honestly a few months I also priced the crf450. all the local dealers were over $7000 + fees, CDN dealers were $5100 + 250 shipping.

I am a fan of supporting American industry. But to the people that say that, do you realize you are buying a Japanese (or other) product anyway? I would support my local dealers if there was one I liked. Honestly, there are only 2, one is a KTM dealer(Three Brothers Racing) and the others a Suzuki dealer.

Besides, Its not like I'm pocketing the rest of the cash I saved,I am supporting American industries by buying a pipe, steering stabilizer, bars etc for my bike with that cash. :aj:

 

[eldenh]

My 00CR250 was from Canada and came through with 755 tires. I,m not aware of any other differences. But it does not qualify for Honda contingencies in US.

 

[Camstyn]

As for the warranty situation, I don't see it was being a big deal. It's like taking your KLR650 into a shop for warranty, which doesn't happen to be the same shop you bought it from.

The serial number will come up as invalid in their database, in which the explanation that it's a Canadian model will make the story check out. If they won't warranty a bike because you didn't buy it from them, screw 'em. Take it to a better dealer.:moon:

 

[Hucker]

Most of the dealers near me have bikes coming out of their #$$'s Its unreal. My buddy just picked up a 2001 RM250, for $3000 CDN. Thats a unreal deal anywhere. A local Honda dealer has 2 CRF450's just sitting there. If I was living in the US, and the exchange is the way it is, I wouldn't think twice about buying a bike from my northern neighbours.

 

[Reon]

Why are bikes cheaper in Canada than the US ? Does the US Dollar not have more buying power ? These bikes come from Japan, surely you guys should see equal pricing either side of the border, possibly lower in the US because you shift more volume ?

I cringe when I see what you guys pay for KTM (I dont have knowledge of other brands) spares in the US compare to where I live and our currency is crap. You guys are getting shafted imho.

 

[Camstyn]

Hucker, how beat up was this RM250? Don't tell me it was a brand new one, if so your buddy has got to be pulling your leg. Retail price on a RM250 is over $7k, no dealer in their right mind would sell one for $3k. Dealer cost is close to $6k.

 

[LRice85]

I always said I would never buy a Suzuki but if I could bring one into the US for $1800 USD I would consider it. That has to be wrong.

When I was talking to dealers I got the impression that RM's and KX's were about $1000 CDN cheaper that Honda's. I'm sure it has to do with the high demand for the 2002 CR's.

IF you could double check the CDN price for the RM that would be great
Larry

 

[mp4798]

why cheaper in canada?

Jap bikes are imported directly into canada....thus the gain with exchange rates. KTM is imported into the USA and then exported to canada. thats why the exchange rate gain with jap bikes versus KTM.

 

[Hucker]

Originally posted by Cam Mitchell
Hucker, how beat up was this RM250? Don't tell me it was a brand new one, if so your buddy has got to be pulling your leg. Retail price on a RM250 is over $7k, no dealer in their right mind would sell one for $3k. Dealer cost is close to $6k.

You want me to photocopy the receipt? It had a season of riding on it. I almost died when he told me, I thought to myself there was no way in ^&*% that he got a deal like that. I saw his Visa statement for the month. $3450 purchase. Don't ask me how or why, or whatever, but thats what he paid for it.

 

[A.J]

The local dealer here was trying to move a '01 RM250 this summer. He kept lowering the price until it was at 5400 sometime in July (3400 US).It would have sold before he got that low but Suzuki's are not that high up on the wanted bike list. Usually the going rate is 68ish depending on the popularity of the model in question.
One thing for sure, if I was from the states I would definitely be taking advantage of the exchange rate also.

 

[Camstyn]

<quote>You want me to photocopy the receipt? It had a season of riding on it. I almost died when he told me, I thought to myself there was no way in ^&*% that he got a deal like that. I saw his Visa statement for the month. $3450 purchase. Don't ask me how or why, or whatever, but thats what he paid for it.</quote>

Nah, I'll take your word for it :P
I thought you meant he got a brand new one for $3k.

Even if the bike WAS trashed, $3k would be a great deal. If the bike's in half decent shape then that's a steal. Kudos :confused:

 

[stepup]

CANADIAN BIKES

CAN EVERYONE SAY....THANKS N.A.F.T.A. NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE ACT. YES YOU DO GET YOUR MONEY BACK AT THE BORDER AND IN THE MAIL WHEN YOU RETURN TO THE USA. IT COMES IN THE FORM OF TWO PAYMENTS. GST GUEST SALES TAX AND THE OTHER ONE IS PST(?) ONE IS REFUNDED AT THE BORDER AND THE OTHER IS MAILED TO YOU WITHIN TWO WEEKS TO YOU AT HOME. PUT THE TAXES ON YOUR CREDIT CARD AND BY THE TIME THE INVOICE IS DUE YOU HAVE YOUR REFUND AND BASICALLY USED SOMEONE ELSES MONEY FREE FOR AN ENTIRE BILLING PERIOD. WORKED FOR ME!!!!

 

[Camstyn]

Re: CANADIAN BIKES

Originally posted by stepup
GST GUEST SALES TAX AND THE OTHER ONE IS PST(?) ONE IS REFUNDED AT THE BORDER AND THE OTHER IS MAILED TO YOU WITHIN TWO WEEKS TO YOU AT HOME.

That would be Government Sales Tax and Provincial Sales Tax.