Warranty Bullcrap With My Imported Car

So out of curiosity I called BMW Canada Customer Service, to register a change of owner on my vehicle. They couldn't find the VIN in their system and asked if it was a US car. The CSR said that they couldn't register me until I got the recall clearance letter and if I don't register, my warranty isn't valid in Canada. Has anyone gotten warranty issues denied in Canada for an imported Bimmer that has not gone through their stupid recall letter and inspection process? My car is already properly imported so I don't need their letter and I'm not about to pay $500 now. Can anyone who has had warranty issues addressed in Canada provide some insight into their experience at the dealer? Thanks.

Vancouver_M3 wrote

So out of curiosity I called BMW Canada Customer Service, to register a change of owner on my vehicle. They couldn't find the VIN in their system and asked if it was a US car. The CSR said that they couldn't register me until I got the recall clearance letter and if I don't register, my warranty isn't valid in Canada. Has anyone gotten warranty issues denied in Canada for an imported Bimmer that has not gone through their stupid recall letter and inspection process? My car is already properly imported so I don't need their letter and I'm not about to pay $500 now. Can anyone who has had warranty issues addressed in Canada provide some insight into their experience at the dealer? Thanks.

Their warranty, their rules.

Like it or lump it. No way around it.

How did you get the car validly into Canada without the recall letter?

Wow , you're lucky if you only need a letter cause I had to change the cluster to transfer my warranty when I imported my M3 10 months ago !! And the letter as well so total 3000$ !

HP Man wrote

How did you get the car validly into Canada without the recall letter?

From the importing sticky on the top of our Canada page:

The Famous Recall Clearance letter

Before we get into the import procedure we need to address the biggest piece of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) about the Recall Clearance Letter being propagated by BMW Canada today.

What is a Recall Clearance Letter you ask? It is the one critical document you need to begin the import process with the RIV. In principle it is a letter issued by BMW stating that any and all factory recalls have been addressed on the vehicle in question, hence the famous term “Recall Clearance Letter”.

In practice a printout of BMWs centralized Warranty Vehicle Inquiry, available to all authorized BMW dealers will, by it’s very nature, indicate if recalls have been rectified and as such be accepted by the RIV as equivalent to a Recall Clearance Letter.

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But more importantly, didn't know we had any ESS superchargers in town. NICE, HP Man.

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OP, I don't think you have any way around it...

+1 to what Chowster said. Basically I just asked the Audi dealer that I bought the car from, to go to their BMW contact and get a Warranty Inquiry printout. It has the full service history, service date, and recalls if any on it. I emailed it to RIV the day before I went to import the car and they approved it before I even went to the pick up the car. So my car is insured and registered legally without BMW's 'input'. Everything BMW makes you do is their requirement and not required by law to be done. Most people that I've talked to say they haven't been given any hassle. But things always change without notice and I'm wondering if anyone recent has had problems with Canadian dealers and US cars.

Don't go through BMW Canada...go right to the dealer unless you have done so already...

To import my car, I got the clearance letter from a US dealer when I bought my car. I used this for the importation process and all was well.

I had some minor issues with some interior trim - took the car to the local dealer, got it into their system, they asked if it was a US car, I said yes. That was the end of it. No charge for warranty repairs.

Alex07M3 wrote

Wow , you're lucky if you only need a letter cause I had to change the cluster to transfer my warranty when I imported my M3 10 months ago !! And the letter as well so total 3000$ !

you got hosed my friend.

apecush wrote

you got hosed my friend.

yep , and my sister too a couple of months before me , she bought a 335xi at a different place with a different importator , same things she had to do , same price , 3000$ for nothing !

Alex07M3 wrote

yep , and my sister too a couple of months before me , she bought a 335xi at a different place with a different importator , same things she had to do , same price , 3000$ for nothing !

Not to bum you too much, but you did not have to do it. I imported 3 BMWs over the last 3 years without it and it never even came up. Also all 3 got warranty service without issues.

To OP - as long as you have RIV sticker on your car, it is legally imported, and recall clearance letter is irrelevant (because it was already provided). Just take it to a dealer and get it fixed if you have any warranty issues. If dealer gives you crap, take it to another dealer. I've been to 2 and no one gave me any trouble ever... Once they got nasty about me not buying the car in Canada, I just told them the set up I wanted was not available in Canada at the time, and that was good enough. You can also take it back to US for FREE maintenance (they replace oil, brakes, wipers, filters, bulbs - all except tires and washer fluid)

apecush wrote

you got hosed my friend.

+1

I've had the car in on several occasions completely covered under warranty.
I also suggest doing a search as this issue has come up on three previous threads if I remember correctly.

Good luck

Here are the two threads which come to mind:


http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=571357&highlight=importing+canada

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=628491&highlight=importing+canada

Good stuff, lots of learning here, albeit some too late.

Alex07M3 wrote

Wow , you're lucky if you only need a letter cause I had to change the cluster to transfer my warranty when I imported my M3 10 months ago !! And the letter as well so total 3000$ !

wow... 3K... were there significant savings overall? There are a couple people here who swear by having the M3 imported because according to them it is significantly cheaper.

kasimmmmm wrote

wow... 3K... were there significant savings overall? There are a couple people here who swear by having the M3 imported because according to them it is significantly cheaper.

yeah sure there are still some savings since the M3 sell for 15k more in Canada and at the time I bought the car Canadian money was woth 5-6% more , so I saved maybe 7-8k after all the differents charges but also I had a lot more choice of cars ! I will defenetly do it again with my next car , but I'll make sure to not change anything I don't need to !! At least my car is in km now !

hmm... not bad. 7-8k is a decent amount. The dollar's cooled down now, I wonder what the overall impact is if someone wanted the exact same car today.
I'm thinking of bringing a 911 later in the year... should be interesting.

apecush wrote

I had some minor issues with some interior trim - took the car to the local dealer, got it into their system, they asked if it was a US car, I said yes. That was the end of it. No charge for warranty repairs.

Hey apecush, have you had any more substantial warranty work done on your car (in Edmonton, I presume?) and if so did it also go smoothly?

Thanks.

The leather on my front drivers seat went to shit because of the seat heating element in the seat pad. Edmonton BMW replaced both front seat pads and leather under warranty to the cost of around $5000. And my car is from the US. Never had a problem. FYI for US car owners in Canada. My warranty runs out at the end of the month, and just I put on Coverage One Warranty that I got at EEC Motors. It covers everything and I got it for a great price. And it covers you anywhere in Canada. Even at a BMW store.

spadafora77 wrote

Hey apecush, have you had any more substantial warranty work done on your car (in Edmonton, I presume?) and if so did it also go smoothly?

Thanks.

I'm actually taking the car in tomorrow to get the heater motor looked at - it's making some intermittent clicking noises at 1/2 to 3/4 speed...I'll let you know how it goes.

If only they could sell cars with prices similar to USA, we would not need to go through all this trouble. Every dealership says they only make a VERY SMALL AMOUNT of PROFIT on selling a $80k+ car. LOL!

BMW needs to follow the price practices of Mercedes Benz. I think it's a crime how much more BMW Canada charges compared to the US. Thats why I will never buy a BMW in Canada:(

Puckmaster wrote

BMW needs to follow the price practices of Mercedes Benz. I think it's a crime how much more BMW Canada charges compared to the US. Thats why I will never buy a BMW in Canada:(

Thanks for sharing. I didn't know MB has matched both USA and Canada price until now. Time for me to test drive a C63 coupe now.