buying a car that was shipped over from Canada?

[rocx5m]

So I been on the hunt for a 2018 x5 m in white or black with red interior with under 30k miles since September and lets just say its been a very long search. Its also hard playing with these dealers and their fees they are charging now. A few deals already fell through with dealers trying to gouge another 5-8k outta me with markups which I just cant seem to stomach just giving them 5-8k for nothin. anyway I finally found a nice truck that has low miles and is clean, but the prob is its in fl and im in nj. The dealer I spoke to has been so helpful about doing the process online and arranging shipping to my state, everything seems too good to be true. When I looked at the CARFAX on the truck theres literally zero information about the truck just a bunch on nonsense about the registration being renewed. doesn't tell me how many owners or any service records it just says no accidents. which is strange so Im digging deeper into this CARFAX and come to find out this truck was originally from Canada that somebody shipped over here and now this dealer is trying to sell it. The price is rite on the truck but what gets me is this whole canada thing is turning me off. Im also worried about selling the vehicle down the line if this will come back to bite me or not. I found a bunch of these truck on private sales but Its hard to get a personal loan with a good rate even with good credit. What's your guys thoughts on buying this truck?

[Ascotgrun]

If it has been previously registered in the US and isn't a fresh import that needs an extra layer of paperwork I wouldn't have a problem. Well, not with paperwork, I would be more concerned with corrosion from winter salted roads.

[rocx5m]

Originally Posted by Ascotgrun

If it has been previously registered in the US and isn't a fresh import that needs an extra layer of paperwork I wouldn't have a problem. Well, not with paperwork, I would be more concerned with corrosion from winter salted roads.

I would be the first registered owner in the us but the car went thought all the inspections already and is ready to be registered to me. I also dont know if bmw will warranty the car here in us, which is another question I have, I agree with the sale corrosion thats another reason I considered buying it from fl because of it not being through wintery conditions. I dont plan on driving it in the winter here in nj. im gonna park it in a garage and use it once in awhile during winter when theres no salt on the ground. Out here in nj all the ones I have seen so far have been beat and they all have high miles. all the clean low mile ones are out west I seen a few in fl as well. its just so nerve-racking buying a car across the country.

[momoboy]

Many cars built in Canada are built "federalized" to U.S. standards and BMW might be one of them. There is some sticker somewhere that says "valid for U.S. distribution" or something like that. Other than that the only thing that might be different is the speedo. It will most likely be in KPH but if you have a heads up display you can display it in MPH

[rich4life611]

Legally as far as I know a previous Canadian car needs to be marked somewhere on the ad that it is previously Canadian. All warranties are void. As far as purchasing a warranty from BMW I'm sure if you bring them the car and they look it over they will approve a warranty. I would think they would just have to do an inspection to make sure all is well with the vehicle in order to offer a warranty.

[rocx5m]

The dealer tells me that the truck is still covered under warranty, They put the truck on a lift and took a good video for me of the underside, although it wasn't rusted like crazy there was visible signs of pitting on the transfer case and stuff like that, some of the control arms have rust so I dunno. There was nothing on the ad that states the truck was from Canada I caught it on the carfax. If I buy a truck from nj the underside will most likely be the same condition with all the brine and salt they use here. I dont have a clean underside that never been in salt to compare it to as well. I will most likely walk away from it, but it is such a disappointment tho as I thought I found my gem! I been eyeing up a x5 m for about 2 years, the prices of these trucks now is absolutely insane! I remember before all this madness I could be in a 18 for under 70k. This truck was at a Mitsubishi dealer and was priced at 71,500 which seemed cheap for a truck with 20k miles, executive package too. After fees this truck came out to 77,500 otd I would also have to pay to ship the truck here which I dont have a problem with since I thought I was getting a Florida car. I just wish it had more info on the carfax. A local dealer here had the same truck 31k miles but had an accident on the car fax and the dealer wanted 79,900 I walked away from that one too. Hopefully this bubble pops soon but before I make this purchase! Im also willing to wait till spring since winter is here and I dont plan on driving this truck in the winter anyway.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...Type=spotlight

[blue dragon]

Are you going to have the truck in 10 years? I ran my e70 35D for 10 years in Canadian winter, racking up 240k km (150k miles). There was no rust on the body.
By the time you have any sort of concern with rust on that F85, you would have long sold the car

[N1ck]

What province was the X5 registered in?

If Ontario / Quebec I believe those are heavy salt users. BC would be prime as there's virtually no winter.

[Lighting.Grey]

Originally Posted by momoboy

Many cars built in Canada are built "federalized" to U.S. standards and BMW might be one of them. There is some sticker somewhere that says "valid for U.S. distribution" or something like that. Other than that the only thing that might be different is the speedo. It will most likely be in KPH but if you have a heads up display you can display it in MPH

The speedo from the ads shows it's in miles. Interesting...... who did the conversation

[rocx5m]

here's what the carfax says:

Date Mileage Source Comments
05/05/2018 New Brunswick Registration issued or renewed Motor Vehicle Dept. - First owner reported
Miramichi, NB

05/05/2019 New Brunswick Registration issued or renewed Motor Vehicle Dept.
Miramichi, NB

04/15/2020 New Brunswick Registration issued or renewed
://www.carfaxonline.com/cfm/Display_Dealer_Report.cfm?partner=VAU_0&UID=D40164 371&vin=5YMKT6C5XJ0Y83513


11/15
/21, 2:05 PM CARFAX Vehicle History Report for this 2018 BMW X5 M: 5YMKT6C5XJ0Y83513
Motor Vehicle Dept. Miramichi, NB

05/01/2021 New Brunswick Registration issued or renewed Motor Vehicle Dept.
Miramichi, NB

06/21/2021 6 Clark Chevrolet Vehicle sold
Sussex, NB - Odometer reported as 10 kilometers
506-433-1160 clarkssussex.ca/

06/29/2021 Prince Edward Island Registration issued or renewed Motor Vehicle Dept. - Registered as commercial vehicle
- Vehicle color noted as Black

07/19/2021 Ontario Registration issued or renewed Ministry of Transportation - Passed safety inspection
- Vehicle previously registered in New Brunswick - Vehicle color noted as Black

07/21/2021 19,956 Dealer Inventory Vehicle offered for sale

07/22/2021 US Dept of Transportation Vehicle imported and declared to meet US highway safety Port Huron,MI specications
-
Bond released on 08/20/2021

07/22/2021 Michigan Vehicle purchase reported Motor Vehicle Dept.

08/23/2021 20,172 Auto Auction Listed as a dealer vehicle - Vehicle sold
Millions of used vehicles are bought and sold at auction every year.

08/25/2021 Dealer Inventory Vehicle offered for sale

08/25/2021 Michigan Title issued or updated
Motor Vehicle Dept. - Dealer took title of this vehicle while it was in inventory
Burton, MI
Title #MI0010673959

08/31/2021 Dealer Inventory Vehicle sold

10/19/2021
20,179 Bonita Springs Mitsubishi Bonita Springs, FL
239-319-2900 bonitaspringsmitsubishi.com
4.8 / 5.0 16 Veried Reviews 1 Customer Favorite
Vehicle offered for sale

[rocx5m]

my other question for you Canada guys, does carfax in Canada record service information and keep track of how many owners a car has? if not do you guys use a another site to check this information?

[CanadianLurker]

Originally Posted by rocx5m

my other question for you Canada guys, does carfax in Canada record service information and keep track of how many owners a car has? if not do you guys use a another site to check this information?

Ownership changes, plate renewals, and collision repair from insurance claims are all pretty well reported.

Service history is not as thoroughly reported and is very hit or miss. No record found on service doesn't equal no service was performed.

[rocx5m]

Originally Posted by Lighting.Grey

The speedo from the ads shows it's in miles. Interesting...... who did the conversation

I’m thinking that whoever did the conversion could have altered the miles as well.

[F15_SGM]

Well, I wouldn't buy a Canadian car since the warranty might only work at BMW of Canada. Car with minor damage on carfax you can get a very good deal on those and since it's minor it really not an issue. I've been sold cars at a BMW dealer with a clean carfax and upon registering the car title the carfax updated and had minor damage on the report and never was issue quality Also I would work with a local credit union to finance a car, they don't care if it's a private party and will give you the lowest rate. I've attached a couple of cars in my region. In this area, cars don't have much to any wear mechanically compared with larger cities. I would offer the Dallas BMW dealer 68K or 69K out the door. Also, I've noticed at some BMW dealers don't report to carfax for services. I would call the BMW dealer directly and ask for service records in their system instead. Also the 74K one is a CPO.
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/1...-8edab1e8ce60/
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/0...-effa23f0fa38/
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/8...-a3ea3150729f/
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/0...cal_position=7
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/a...-7526f93a0062/
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/4...-542e3e1d9963/

[MrJayhawk85]

I would be wondering why with used cars in short supply, a BMW dealer didnt jump on this at auction. Why did it wind up at a Mitsu in FL? Also, AC recharge? I wonder if that is a FL used car thing or it needed it. I think for peace of mind you should get a prepurchase inspection at a BMW or an indy there prior to pulling trigger.

[bobbycheeseballs]

It is a risk but it’s whatever you are willing to do. I bought a Canadian gray market 2017 X6 in January of this year that I was willing to take a risk on, had low miles, good price and tons of upgrades (MPPK Performance Kit II, M Exhaust, etc) that the dealer didn’t even have a clue about. I have had zero issues so far, car is obviously out of warranty. The one odd thing is it defaults to kilometers and metric, so if you reset the computer or something you have to go into the options and change everything back. I also had to code the speedometer with Bimmercode because it had some weird km/h issue always appearing within the speedometer. Everything was worth it in my opinion, but definitely do research and don’t do it haphazardly

[rocx5m]

im most likely going to walk away from the deal unfortunately, theres just too many unknowns. This dealer has been fantastic to work with tho, by far the best dealer I have delt with so far...All the dealers out here in ny/nj are all pissed off all the time they dont wanna negotiate anything and they just got this take it or leave it attitude. These guys were top notch to deal with, no attitudes ,absolutely zero pressure, they gave me allot of detailed videos of the car at my request. They even put the car on the lift and took a video of that too and were very understanding of my concerns. I would have loved to do business with these guys, very professional group over there for sure.

[bobbycheeseballs]

Originally Posted by rocx5m

im most likely going to walk away from the deal unfortunately, theres just too many unknowns. This dealer has been fantastic to work with tho, by far the best dealer I have delt with so far...All the dealers out here in ny/nj are all pissed off all the time they dont wanna negotiate anything and they just got this take it or leave it attitude. These guys were top notch to deal with, no attitudes ,absolutely zero pressure, they gave me allot of detailed videos of the car at my request. They even put the car on the lift and took a video of that too and were very understanding of my concerns. I would have loved to do business with these guys, very professional group over there for sure.

Hahaha i hear you…i got mine in Long Island, total a**holes didn’t want to hear anything….worked out so I can’t complain, but I def know what you mean

[F15_SGM]

This is also a picture of the car at import.
I also get free carfax reports if needed lmk.

[T4RUSAF]

Originally Posted by osmansiddiqui95

Attachment 2747074This is also a picture of the car at import.
I also get free carfax reports if needed lmk.

Can I snag a carfax from you? I JUST went through this with a Canadian originated car and want to see what the Carfax looks like (I used carchex initially)

[F15_SGM]

Originally Posted by T4RUSAF

Can I snag a carfax from you? I JUST went through this with a Canadian originated car and want to see what the Carfax looks like (I used carchex initially)

Yes no problem. Just post the vin I will upload screenshots of the report

[atwal187]

If you get a Canadian car make sure it's from west coast Canada BC( not the interior as it snows a lot there) just to make sure there's no chance of rust from large amounts of snow.