Aug 06
Good News! Volvo Canada Backs Down and Transport Canada supports Canadians!
Well we didn’t believe the rumor at first, so we called up the RIV today. A chap by the name of Chas confirmed to us that the RIV and Transport Canada had worked with Volvo Canada to ensure that the Compliance letter and inspection was no longer required if:
The Car that was being imported met all the criteria as spelled out in first page of the RIV admissibility lists. All that was required was the Canadian Tire Inspection. 
Therefore those Canadian Volvo dealers out West, that were charging and “gouging” $2,000 to $3,000 for a 5 minute inspection and letter , are out of business.
We understand this will hold true for BMW, Mercedes and all the rest. If you pass the Canadian Tire Inspection you do not need a Compliance letter or an inspection from the Canadian dealer!
Please be advised, make life easy on yourself, purchase a car that meets all the criteria, Factory Installed Immobilizer, Day time running lights that can not be shut off, child tether strap holders in the right positions, digital speedometer that converts from miles to kilometers or an in dash speedometer that has miles and kilometers. and any other criteria as indicated. If uncertain call the RIV first.
If you find we have helped you or just want to support our cause, any donation you can make would be really appreciated .. just click on the “donate” button on our web site.. www.carswithoutborders.com if you haven’t please sign our petition.
Disclaimer: CarsWithoutBorders provides information and advice to our members and supporters only. Although we do our best, we are not to be held responsible for the quality of the advice or each individual dealer or broker’s integrity, professionalism, customer service or vehicles. We certainly can not be help responsible if the RIV or Transport Canada change their minds. In other words… use your own best judgement and do your proper due diligence.
August 6th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
It´s hard to believe, but this may be the straw that broke the camel´s back. I bet that the execs at BMW and MB are burning the midnight oil trying to figure out how to continue screwing the Canadian consumer. Surely there´s a fat bonus for whoever figures out how to avoid the consequences of this development.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I don’t see any wording or clauses in the latest RIV list that would indicate that the manufacturer inspection is NOT required. Does TC plan on adding something to this effect? According to the RIV list, BMW and Volvo require an inspection before the recall clearance letter will be released. So I guess even if you don’t require the inspection you will have to get a recall clearance letter from the US dealer, because i’m sure the Canadian dealer will not be providing it for free. With BMW North America preventing their US dealers from providing these letters, we might be back at square one.
August 7th, 2008 at 8:01 am
I must agree with aloha eric. We may be inside the 20 but no touchdown, yet.
Still, we’ve put together a pretty good drive!
August 7th, 2008 at 9:00 am
I don’t know if it was a stroke of luck but I have requested a recall letter from MB USA and should be receiving it in the mail for a ‘05 C320 no questions asked.
What I do question is RIV’s response:
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Since when does the odometer need to be metric?? Does anyone know?
Appreciate in advance the info
August 7th, 2008 at 9:22 am
A few questions here:
1) You still need the recall letter right? So does BMW still charge $500 for this, and will Honda simply refuse?
2) It would be a great idea to have a running list of confirmed vehicles that have that meet the required criteria. It would require a group effort, and hopefully would include people and their vehicles that successfully accomplished the import process.
August 7th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Wow… this is great news, I would like to see a blurb on the RIV admissiblity sheet indicating this change! Now, its the recall letter issue, TC should place a law into effect that the dealers and/or manufacturer MUST issue a recall clearance letter or printout free of charge if requested. These were free before, and issued with no problems.
August 7th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Most recall letters are currently free. It’s only BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, and i guess Lamborghini now who hold their customers in such contempt and charge for these. I think TC simply needs to add a new rule to its existing Transport Safety Act to set the fee that the manufacturer is allowed to charge for the recall letter to stop the gouging. The ongoing class action lawsuits will likely come to the same result, but at a much lower cost to TC for their mismanagement of this process. They already have a regulation like this on their website:
REGULATIONS AUTHORIZING THE MINISTER OF
TRANSPORT TO DETERMINE THE FEES TO BE
CHARGED FOR SERVICES AVAILABLE IN
MOTOR VEHICLE TEST FACILITIES
Short Title
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Authorization of the Minister of Transport to Determine Fees Regulations.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations,
“Act” means the Motor Vehicle Safety Act;
“Minister” means the Minister of Transport.
Authorization
3. The Minister is hereby authorized to determine, by order, the fees to be charged for the provision of any facility or service made available under paragraph 9.3(c) of the Act and the manner of calculating the price payable for any material or part made available for the conduct of tests or for any other purpose under that paragraph.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/acts-regulations/GENERAL/m/mvsa/regulations/001/mvsa003/mvsa003.html
August 14th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Unfortunately RIV has posted their latest Admissibility list stating that the modifications are to be done by the manufacturer before providing the recall letter, looks like their trying to put the final few nails in the coffin for some manufacturers. That includes Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lamborghini, and Volvo.
August 15th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Does Volvo still charge a fee for inspection for warranty purposes?