.

Cross-border car buying now being done by dealers  

2008-01-31praetautomotive.pdf

1. He should back up his quotes with real numbers from the RIV, how many Canadians are importing cars themselves versus dealerships?   No one really knows!  
2. The RIV and Transport Canada continue to frustrate the average Canadian citizen, attempting to make the process complicated and frustrating when it really isn’t .   They are pushing the individual’s right into the hands of these dealers. Further more if you are a big dealer we understand that the RIV and TC  gives you better and preferential treatment!
3. So now the The Canadian Consumer will be “gouged” by these  dealers - refer to this quote ”

   “We see a real opportunity in 2008,” Mr. Priestner told investors at the RBC Capital Markets income-trust investor symposium last week. “There will be good margins on those” vehicles. The upside is so large that AutoCanada said it hired someone full-time to scour the U.S. market for product.

4. Finally, I don’t think it is appropriate to call Hard working Canadian citizens that avoid brokers and do it themseves as ” Joe Blow” ,  first of all it is insulting, and second of all he degrades himself and his newspaper by using this type of language.   We thought he had more class!!

So here is the pricing breakdown you have all been waiting for on a 2008 Volvo XC90 V8  AWD ASR7.  (assume Can $ = US $)

final-xc90-canadian.pdf  before Tax $78,510

Less $3000 Incentive  $75,510 before Tax. 

$ 85,231.91 TAX IN

———————————————————–

Final  US Quote                          $57,127

less discount      $6,708           $50,419  U.S. Funds

plus :     

         Fuel Tax    $1,000

         RiV Fee      $ 212

         Volvo Fee   $195

         Duty 6.1%   $2,571               $54,397

Plus Tax                                          $61,400    

Overall Savings $85,232 less $61,400    

 $23,831   

P.S.  No,  the RIV managers did not return my calls! , I suspect you will have a better chance.  RIV/ Livingston personnel spent over 99 minutes on our site yesterday!

2008-01-30googleanayltics.pdf    They could of spent 5 minutes and returned my calls!

Today the Auditor General  replied to our e-mails of December 7th and January 12th.  

2008-01-30reply.pdf

We would encourage you all to write and flood them with phone calls.  Make sure they know, that we all know something is wrong at the TC and RIV!

click here

Honda Motor Co posted a better-than-expected 38 percent rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by strong global sales of its new CR-V crossover and brisk U.S. demand for the Accord sedan.  

Honda Canada Inc. is headquartered in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, and is building new corporate headquarters in Richmond Hill, Ontario, scheduled to relocate in 2008.

 see the entire article

 If you are confused or a first time visitor, please check out my earlier post on “going shopping”!  — Thanks

Now what a surprise when I called Volvo Canada!  A customer service specialist Sheila, took my call, and proceeded to walk me through the new procedure.  I went over it several times with her trying to find some problems or issue.  But she insisted that if I followed the procedure everything would be ok.  But she declined to put it in writing.   So here it is: 

1. Before you Purchase the Car - call Volvo Canada with the VIN number and they will mail/fax you a “Letter of Admissibility” for the Border people.  ( check with the RIV if a Fax is OK?)
2. Call Volvo US at 1-800-458-1552 and request from them the recall letter.  It must be mailed to you and on Volvo letterhead. ( The Volvo rep also thought that the RIV, might accept a letter from the dealer, like they do for Honda) ( check with the RIV if a Fax is OK?)
3. (Editor’s note : I would have this done before purchasing the car, I might even have the U.S. Dealer do all this work for me. )
4. Once your Car is purchased, bring it across the border following the RIV process… Form 1 etc… and bring it to a Canadian Volvo dealer.  They will inspect it and do all the required modifications so the car will meet Canadian Safety Standards.  -  Cost for the Inspection $195. 
5. Fax the inspection report to Volvo Canada 1-416-850-5618 and they will mail you the Safety Compliance letter.  - no Charge-
6. Then send this letter to the RIV and they will send you Form 2, to then go to Canadian Tire and continue the same process as everyone else.

So I called the Volvo Dealer in Montreal to check out the story, the service department manager told me:

• Confirmed the process, they just finished doing 3 cars last week.
• I also ventured to find out what modifications could be required and found out the following:
  • Always buy AWD ( all wheel drive ) they don’t have parts for regular drive.
  • Always buy a U.S. Model With DRLS ( daytime running lights)
  • Always buy a U.S. Model that has miles and kilometers “combined” on the dashboard.
• I confirmed that the 2008 XC90 I was going to purchase had all these features, and he indicated that I would only have to pay the $195 inspection fee, and maybe minor work to the child tether strap mounts - I could could check this out myself.

So in summary, that is it.  Do I believe it will work - yes!  Would I bet my life on it - no! - I think I would call the RIV and reconfirm everything with someone like Moriarity or Natasha ( one of the managers ).  

My main thought at this time is that  that Transport Canada, the RIV , Volvo Canada and Volvo US have really done a good job keeping people employed at mundane tasks and attempting to frustrate the Canadian Public.  

But if I believe in the fine individuals that I have discussed this with today,  it appears this procedure will work!

Finally I received the final quotes from each one of the dealers.  

• The Canadian dealer wanted me to come in to the showroom, before he would give me the incentive he promised.   After some ackward discussion it turns out his manager was willing to offer me $3000.00 off.   We both agreed not to waste each others time anymore.
• The American dealer, indicated that he had a model on the lot, with more features than I was looking for.  If I purchased it prior to month end he would give me the  standard $3500 Volvo American Incentive plus an additional $3200 off.  He was willing to meet me at the border with all the paperwork.  He was even willing to help me rent an apartment and obtain a lease in order to complete the purchase.
• Note: all U.S. dealers can only sell their vehicles to buyers with U.S. adressess.  From what I understand the monthly rental business in the North Eastern U.S. is booming!  

Stay tuned tomorrow, I will let you know how much I saved, and what the RIV had to say! ( if they return my calls!)

Please note that I am just doing this to test the waters and confirm a the process that TC refuses to document.

If you would like to buy a 2008 Volvo XC90, V8 AWD Special Purp, metallic Black, with C70 Chesnut Brown/Sft/Leather, with Climate Package, with Nav. System, Convenience PKG and BLIS, plus the executive Package.  Let us know, we would like to follow you through the process, document your story and publish it on  our web site.  ( we will keep your name confidential if requested)

So you are all upset with the RIV!   They will not serve the Canadian Public. but appear to be in the pockets of the Car Manufacturers. 

One way to get even is to buy some of their shares  - LIV.un - and then go to the shareholders meeting and raise hell!    Even 1 share entitles you to vote and attend the meeting.  Maybe we should hold a CWB conference at the same local on the same day.

2008-01-29detailed-quotelivun.pdf     chart.pdf 

Another way is to sell their shares short!  If enough of us do it together what would happen?

Today was an ex-dividend day, watch how the boys at Bay street drop the price over the next couple of weeks!   They do this so they can buy it back at cheaper prices and take advantage of the monthly distributions!

 Are Transport Canada employees allowed to buy shares in Liv.un?  Would it be considered a conflict of interest?  I wonder if Mr. Cannon owns any shares?  Brian who you say?

 Here is their 3rd Quarter report - do they mention the RIV revenues that are around 10% of their revenues?

 What do our members think of this type of initiative?  Should we make it a “forum” topic? Or should we just wait until TC or The RIV decides to answer our e-mails and provide us with answers to our questions?  

 After reading in late December that Transport Canada and the RIV, had taken all Volvos off the admissibility list and simply stated:

IMPORTANT: Volvo Canada has not provided information to TC on the admissibility of vehicles that are imported after January 1,2008. Effective January 1st, 2008, if you wish to import a U.S. compliant Volvo vehicle into Canada, you will have to contact Volvo Cars of Canada at 1-800-663-8255 to determine if the vehicle is admissible for importation, and to request the letter of admissibility required at the time of importation.