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I just finished importing a 2008 S60 with little issue.

Here’s my experience.

Continue reading “Another Success Story!”

It looks like Volvo Canada is making it easy for Canadians to buy a Car in the U.S.   A while back when we reviewed the procedure with the Customer Service folks they were reluctant to put anything in writing to us.   Now they have an online “request letter of Admissibility” along with other questions and answers. 

Q: I want to import a Volvo from the US. What forms do I need to obtain from Volvo?

A: You will require the following four items from Volvo before filling out the required forms to obtain a Certificate of Compliance from the Canadian Government’s Registrar of Imported Vehicles:
- Recall clearance letter to be issued by Volvo Cars of North America
- A Letter of Admissibility to be issued by Volvo Cars of Canada Corp.
- Proof of safety and mechanical inspection and required modifications from an authorized Volvo retailer in Canada
- A Safety Inspection Compliance Letter to be issued by Volvo Cars of Canada Corp.

 Check it out.  

 Has anyone followed these procedures?   Do they work?  Please let us know.

 It appears that TC has put up another new list.  Again they appear to be back dating the list.  It wasn’t there Thursday 28th, when we checked and we are sure we didn’t see a new one yesterday. 

So is this intended to come  out on the same day as the Lawsuit?   We have noted some of the changes below, but most significantly check out what they took out on Volvo! 

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. section.

•  They took this out! 
•  Other minor changes were as follows: 
• Mitshubishi, 2008 Porshe 911 and what appears to be minor cosmetic changes.  (see below)
• diff2008-02-21and2008-02-27.pdf 

It is not to late to change Mr. Cannon, you can just “jump those Bad Boys” at the RIV and TC now.  Or  beware of Mr. Green’s warning!!!!  

 

 A warning to Mr. Cannon - : Play Now

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!

 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)