Topic: Advice about US purchase

[sdba]

I am thinking about importing a 2009 Forester 2.5X Limited from the States. I have 3 concerns

• how will the resale value be affected since it is imported from the US and has an imperial cluster? Will people be selling them over in the States or will they be able to trade them in here?

• how easy is it to change the readings to metric and will this make the car even more difficult to sell because it would be considered to have an altered odometer?

• has anyone had any warranty issues?

Since I have to pay duty on the Forester the savings are only about $5-6000. Is it worth it?

[sandynw]

We had problems trying to get the local (Vancouver) Subaru dealers to take our car in for even paid service work, oil changes and such.  Our Impreza was purchased across the line in Seattle, and the local dealer refuses to even service the thing. 

Check with your local Canuck dealer and ask them straight out if they will service your US-bought Subie.

[sailor723]

Subaru Canada will not honour the warranty....Your options are to either return the vehicle to a US dealer for warranty work or pay to have the work done here and then submit the receipts to SOA to repayment.

This is just a guess on my part but I would expect that the longer the CDN dollar stays at or near par the less impact whether a vehicle was originally from the US or Canada is going to have on it's used value. (As more and more US vehicles appear in our market US vs Canadian used values will start to merge)

Only you can decide if the 5-6,000 savings are worth the hassle.

[kevlar]

my father in law bought an american outback from buffalo and had a small warranty issue.  the dealer in toronto had no problem fixing it for him.   he paid the 300 or so out of his pocket and in a week and a half had a cheque from subaru usa.  i don't think resale will be an issue at all.  5 or 6k dollars is a lot of cash any way you look at it. 

[sailor723]

My daughter has had no warranty issues with her US Tribeca yet but the local Sub dealer seems more than happy to service it.

[PMREdmonton]

I am thinking about importing a 2009 Forester 2.5X Limited from the States. I have 3 concerns

• how will the resale value be affected since it is imported from the US and has an imperial cluster? Will people be selling them over in the States or will they be able to trade them in here?

• how easy is it to change the readings to metric and will this make the car even more difficult to sell because it would be considered to have an altered odometer?

• has anyone had any warranty issues?

Since I have to pay duty on the Forester the savings are only about $5-6000. Is it worth it?

The resale issue would be uncertain.  I think as it is fundamentally the same vehicle, I doubt it will matter much.  If you intend to keep the vehicle around 7-8 years, I really wouldn't worry about it at all.  If you're going to keep it for only 3 years, then it would be of more concern.

In terms of warranty, you will be able to get warranty work done in Canada but you will have to pay upfront and then submit to Subaru of America for reimbursement.  For the most part, most Subaru dealerships have been compliant as far as I know.  The odd dealership may be difficult, though.

The duty will be 6.1%. 
If you are getting the limited in Canada at MSRP+freight+AC tax for about $33, 880 + GST + PST
In the US, MSRP+freight+RIV+duty+AC tax =28, 686 + GST +PST.
My guess is savings about $6K.


In terms of the instrument cluster, there will probably be both metric and imperial on the odometer (that was the case with the 2008s).  If you can live with the imperial being dominant, there is no issue.

If you search redflagdeals.com there is a thread about Subarus.  There is also information on carburner.com.  If you are in the west some of the dealers that get mentioned are Eastside and Carter Subaru, and on the East coast I think Van Bortel gets mentioned alot.

In terms of whether it is worth if for $6K, only  you know what you level of discomfort will be with going ahead with this - decide then if it is worth it.  If you want someone to deliver it to your door and take the whole importation issues off your mind, consider hacheyimports.com who will get you a competitive quote and arrange importation to you to your door if desired.