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U.S. Bikes: Who's honoring warranties and who's not?

3K views 39 replies 20 participants last post by  scubaphil 
#1 · (Edited)
So now that the Canadian dollar is closing in on $1.10, 50% off motorcycles are becoming unavoidably attractive. As in, you cannot pass up deals like this. Essentially you can look at the sticker price of a U.S. bike being more than what you'll pay once RIV and taxes are done and an even better deal when GST goes down 1 more point after January 1st (wow)! Pretty unbelievable stuff!

I'm wondering if we can compile a list of brands and their attitude towards honoring warranties in Canada as this can be a deciding factor for many of us to buy, not buy or switch brand loyalties.

If you choose to reply, please only post up if you know 100% about a policy - please reduce speculation as to avoid confusion.

From the article http://www.cmgonline.com/content/features/articles/US_CA_Pricing/index.html

Ducati: Will honor U.S. warranties.

Triumph: Will honor U.S. warranties.

Honda: Will NOT honor U.S. warranties.

Kawasaki: Will honor U.S. warranties.

Suzuki: Will honor U.S. warranties.

Yamaha: Will NOT honor U.S. warranties.

Harley-Davidson Will honor U.S. warranties.

KTM: Will honor warranties.

So far I don't have info on Buell, BMW, Aprilla, Moto Guzzi or Benelli but I'm hoping to find out tomorrow on BMW.
 
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#2 ·
BTW, I want to say that there's nothing more that I would love to do than support my local dealership and keep my purchasing here in Canada. But the factories have made it so there simply isn't any reasonable competition, at least not right at this moment. I feel bad and I hope the factories adjust prices for 2008 so we can keep our buying local. I know the dealerships are stuck in between a rock and a hard place. But I'm more than happy to continue to support my local dealer by taking my bike in for service and parts locally. And a big part of that is warranty work should the need arise.
 
#5 ·
http://www.cmgonline.com/content/features/articles/US_CA_Pricing/index.html

A very good article on the price differential, with explanations and warranty issues.

Basically, the manufacturers are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they increase US prices, they will lose massive sales and plunge their US dealer network into chaos. If they keep the prices the same, they lose money on every unit sold in the US. For Canada, it's a 'choose to do nothing' thing, hoping the problem with go away (which it won't).

Sorry for clogging up your informative thread Adam.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Well, a huge problem for lowering Canadian MSRP is devaluing the used bike market, which will frustrate current bike owners and dealerships that deal in used bikes.

My prediction is that you'll see a 10 to 15% mark up on motorcycles in the U.S. and a 10 to 15% mark down on motorcycles in Canada - meeting somewhere in the middle. Which makes sense because the Canadian dollar is stronger against the yen and the Euro and the U.S. dollar has grown weaker.

I'd say that right this instant is the best time to take advantage of the market and buy a motorcycle in the U.S. I don't think you'll get a chance to see these types of savings for much longer, unless the dollar continues to rise and the factories continue to sit on their hands. My guess is we've got until the New Year to take advantage of the current situation.

But as soon as the factories lower prices on Canadian models, be aware that the motorcycle you own now will have a substantially lower trade in value. Be prepared for that.
 
#9 ·
That was a good read. Interesting to note the various differences between manufacturers comparing US vs CDN pricing. Harley Davidson had the closest pricing followed by Triumph and Ducati. And Kaw/Hon/Suz/Yam were the worst. They only selecated a few models from each line, but 30%+ differences looks simply absurd.

Knowing which OEMs wont honour warranties on US bikes is great. They should pull their heads out of their butts and realize this is NOT incentive for me to buy Canadian. If anything, it makes me far less inclined to buy any of their products, period, if they need to resort to lame protectionist tactics like this.

While the dollar stay strong, I wonder if there isnt a small business opportunity for someone to import 'bikes on demand'... ie. Someone will do all the paperwork, go get the bike, import it, then transfer it to you for a fee (maybe a $500-$1000 or so)? If price differences stay large, it could still be worth it for both buyer and importer...
 
#10 ·
While the dollar stay strong, I wonder if there isnt a small business opportunity for someone to import 'bikes on demand'... ie. Someone will do all the paperwork, go get the bike, import it, then transfer it to you for a fee (maybe a $500-$1000 or so)? If price differences stay large, it could still be worth it for both buyer and importer...
Oh yeah, there is. It's called a car and motorcycle broker. My best friend Steve Rogers does this for a living. He (and other brokers) can get you any vehicle, new or used out of the States and he does all the leg work, including finding the best deal available and he delivers to your door. His fee is somewhere around $1200 for a motorcycle, I believe.
 
#12 ·
Steve Rogers: pacglobal@dccnet.com

Just tell him Adam Sky sent you. But please don't contact him unless you're very serious about purchasing and you've got your financial ducks in a row. He's quite busy as you could imagine.
 
#14 ·
Will 'honour' is very different from 'willing to work on'.

I know at least one dealer that would make no bones about not booking bikes from the US; particularly for warranty or recall work. Oh yeah - 6 month advance - middle of December does not really count as an appointment.
 
#16 ·
You know I just don't this one bit? Is the owner of the dealership retarded? Isn't there good money to be had for warranty work? I know they flat rate it, but if you can churn it out fast, you make extra money on it. I know that in the electronics industry, warranty work is a license to make your own money. I can understand getting "front of the line service" if I buy the bike there, as in quicker appointments, but still...to turn money and customer satisfaction away. Why go into business then?
 
#15 · (Edited)
K, I called Steve and these are his breakdowns...


His fees:
- $1200 for a bike (new or used).
- $2500 for a car (new or used).
- $1500 for a car if you locate the car in advance and negotiate the price yourself. Although he doesn't suggest this as part of his service is to locate cars and find the lowest possible price and negotiate that price on your behalf.

Costs above and beyond:
- Cars pay 6.1% duty. No duty on bikes. No duty on cars manufactured in North America.
- $206 RIV fee
- $200 provincial inspection.
- For cars, $250 to install daytime running lights (if applicable).
- Delivery and shipping (having a car or bike crated and brought up to the border).

Anyhow, his job is to locate the car; haggle price on your behalf; arrange for delivery and then deal with customs and inspection and then deliver the car to your door.
 
#19 ·
1200 to import a bike ? i find that expensive considering a car is close to the same price to ship, 1200 is way to high of a price to ask considering the mark up is alot lower than a car, now if you were to buy a car sure youll save alot more on a car
 
#21 ·
I think it's a matter of how much value you put in someone else doing a lot of leg work for you.

For instance, for $1200 the broker will research and source out the best deal he can find, then contact the seller and negotiate price on your behalf. He'll then either go and pick up the bike personally, or arrange shipping, then handle all of the details of getting that bike over the border, going through inspection and it literally arrives in your driveway without you doing much more than talking on the phone a few times.

If you're a hard working person who's time equates to a lot of money, it can have some inherent value for certain. For instance, if a day's work for you is worth a thousand bucks, then obviously it's a greater value to hire someone else to do all the work for you.

But if you can take a day or three off to do everything yourself, then perhaps saving the money and doing everything yourself makes more sense from a financial standpoint.
 
#24 ·
KTM: Will honor warranties.

Shane, in actuality some Japanese bikes have a much larger disparity, such as the new Concourse with a $6000 difference in price (yaw)!!!!

Ducati has a somewhat more limited disparity, with between $1500 and $2000 between most models.

A Honda 1000RR has a $4000 disparity on 07's but I noticed on their web site that their '08 line up has MSRP to be announced.... hmmmmm

But BMW has up to a $10,000 disparity on some models! Truly amazing!
 
#33 ·
Most likely. I'd travel an hour to get warranty work for a $6000 savings. Which of course ostracizes your relationship with any local dealership even more.

Furthermore, I'm sure a lot of consumers would switch brand loyalties to a brand that would honor global warranties. A Kawasaki customer is still a Kawasaki customer no matter what country they buy their product in. If they don't want me to be a Kawasaki customer in America, then I'll be a Suzuki customer and Kawi won't see any of my money.
 
#36 ·
Car brokers offer a premier service.

If you're able to find a bike, do the paperwork and so forth, then arranging shipping shouldn't be an issue for you either.

A car broker services people who are professionals and don't have the time to do all of the leg work involved in bringing a vehicle in to Canada.

For instance, if you're an executive making a few thousand dollars a day at your job, you can't break away to go hunting for a vehicle. A car broker does all of this for you. Steve brings in a lot of high end vehicles - cars like Mercs and Porsche, Ferrari's and so forth. For a customer to drop over $150,000 on a car, spending $2500 on a broker to do all of the arrangements is a nominal expense and a tax write off when it's all done. A broker can save you a lot of money, too as brokers can negotiate deals and haggle on your behalf. More often than not, he'll save you more money than he charges with his fee.
 
#39 ·
BMW: Will honor warranty but with $500 recall letter fee and in shop vehicle inspection.
 
#40 ·
thx tattoodles for your post.. this is amazing...
if you think 1000 is too much then yeah, go right ahead and do the 3 days wait and then fax to customs and then you might have to go down and inspect the bike etc...
1000 is nothing compared to the time you waste trying to haggle and worry about the border waits...

it's always cheaper for me to make my own burger and salad and buy from drink froms safeway, but sometimes it's just better to just get someone to do it for me.
 
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