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09-08-2011, 09:17 AM | #1 |
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BMW Recall Clearance Letter..screwed
Bought a 2008 Z4 (US car) from a dealer here (not BMW). No one knew if it still had factory warranty, BMW dealer couldn't find the VIN (this was on Friday). They told me to call BMW Canada on the Tuesday to find out about the VIN (at this point I had already purchased the car). Called BMW Canada and was told they can't find my VIN in the system, apparently meaning they were never given the $500 Recall Clearance Letter BMW requires when coming from the US. I have warranty up till March 2012 (original factory) and now have to pay $500 to honor that warranty basically, else I'm left without it.
Am I SOL? Have to pay the $500 I guess right? |
09-08-2011, 09:20 AM | #2 | |
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No way they could have imported the car here without that letter and gone through the RIV process. I never sent my recall clearance letter to BMW Canada and I highly doubt the BMW dealer in the US I bought the car from did. They were pretty clueless about the process. Unless RIV did it for me no way it got sent. I have already had warranty work done to the car here in Canada and had no issues. You sure the VIN is legit? |
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09-08-2011, 09:40 AM | #3 | |
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BMW Canada has no record of this car ever being serviced in Canada meaning that this car was brought over and never brought in to a dealership. They don't have records of a clearance letter, which would make sense. Where can I find the RIV sticker? I will call BMW USA to see what they say, good idea. You had warranty work done on your imported car without using a recall letter? Please tell me how because all I want is to have warranty work done, only reason I need this letter. How would I know if the VIN is legit? |
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09-08-2011, 10:04 AM | #4 |
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Try this website to decode the VIN... http://www.decodethis.com/
It will give general info... at least it's a start.
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09-08-2011, 11:31 AM | #5 | |
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BMW USA can't help me, cant tell me where it's been serviced either. Told me to call BMW Canada and figure out how to allow the warranty on the car. Back to square one. |
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09-08-2011, 11:52 AM | #6 |
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My Z4MC originated from the U.S. as well. With the VIN, my service advisor at BMW Toronto can only retrieve warranty claims record.
I called Towne BMW in Buffalo (where it was first sold at) and they were able to obtain service records. It is possible that there was no warranty claim on your car and the previous owner did not have it serviced at a BMW dealership.
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09-08-2011, 12:51 PM | #7 | |
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Canadian Tire does the RIV inspection, maybe go there first to fix things before BMW gets their hands on it? |
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09-08-2011, 02:54 PM | #8 |
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Contact RIV office, let them know your situation and give them your VIN.
http://www.riv.ca/ContactUs.aspx There has to be record of the car with them coming into Canada. In order to complete that entire process they need the Recall clearance letter. The RIV sticker is something you get in the mail after you pass the long process. Supposed to stick it on the inside driver side door panel with the other manufacturer stickers. I put mine on the inside of the driverside door since there was no room in the spot desigated by RIV. I had no issues with BMW Waterloo. I brought them my car and they knew it was a US vehicle. I didn't have to show them any recall clearance letter and they had no issue finding my car in their system. Weird they can't find yours on their system. Maybe try another dealer?? Canadian tire does the RIV inspection but you don't give them the recall letter. That is mailed or in my case emailed directly to RIV. Don't let them BS you about Canadian worthy. If the car passed RIV they can't make you do anything more (ie. turn on DRL if not already done). I have the rings on for mine and I passed the inspection. This dealer sounds a little shady. Also as a side note don't spend the $500. I will look in my old emails I had a friend who did it and they paid less from a BMW Dealer in Ontario for that letter. I think 350-400 or maybe less ... not sure but it is the legit letter. So if you run out of options PM and I can pass along the contact. Last edited by Mirko; 09-08-2011 at 03:01 PM.. |
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09-08-2011, 06:04 PM | #9 | |
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There is a record of the car coming into Canada, but no record of it in any BMW in Canada. It is possible to import a BMW without the clearance letter, but you wont be able to use the warranty (which is my situation now apparently). The reason I mentioned Canadian Tire was to double-check the car is up to standards (although I'd assume since it's registered and been here a while that this has been done already), and at least I have some backup to tell BMW where to go if they try to screw me when I bring it in. Either way, my goal is for them to honor my warranty and then have them fix my whole car (there are some things that feel wrong with the car, might as well check the whole thing while they're at it). Anyway to spend less money is always appreciated, if you have that contact still. Or if there is another way to do this process. |
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09-08-2011, 06:21 PM | #10 |
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Wasn't able to send you a PM, you must not have enough posts yet. I'll put this up for a little bit and then take it down.
Good luck Last edited by Mirko; 09-08-2011 at 06:59 PM.. |
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09-08-2011, 07:04 PM | #12 |
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Well now I'm fucking pissed off.
I was just sifting through all the papers my dealer gave me and came across one that I completely forgot about... WARRANTY WORK! From?... PARKVIEW TORONTO BMW. But wait, BMW Canada told me they have no record of my VIN being serviced in Canada, let alone Toronto right? What a huge scam. I'm staring at the papers right now. It clearly says warranty on the paper as well. So they were trying to scam me into buying the letter, when I don't need to. Unbelievable. |
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09-11-2011, 10:02 PM | #13 |
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Oh boy you don't know the half. When I imported mine they wanted me to pay to have my DRL reprogrammed (1300$) only then could I purchase the 500$ clearance letter. Scams.
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09-12-2011, 12:06 PM | #14 |
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BMW Canada tried to do this to me. I imported mine just before the rules changed about needing to get a letter from BMW Canada for $500. After receiving some warranty work already approved the next year when the car was in for more they tried to deny me warranty until I paid the $500 for the letter. I told them that the car had all the paperwork required at the time and have all the papers to show it was imported properly. They then said OK, and warrantied all my work after that.
I hope you get this resolved.
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09-13-2011, 03:02 PM | #15 |
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Little update.
Brought the car in Saturday and the Manager took pictures of my seat (ripped leather, cracked etc.). They call me today and say BMW disallowed the warranty work because it's wear and tear. Fine, not a big deal, figured they would say that. So I told him I need to bring it in because the braking/transmission, somethings wrong. Tells me that they will run a diagnostic, then they have to send it to BMW again to approve or not approve the warranty work. If they don't approve it, I need to pay for the diagnostic (140 bucks). I'm going to give BMW Canada a call and see how far I can get, but looks like I'm even more SOL now. Just a little heads up to anyone thinking of buying a US car in Canada. Warranty is transferrable yes, but the pain you have to go through is not worth it. Thinking of driving to Buffalo to get the warranty work done, hassle-free. Any suggestions are appreciated. |
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09-13-2011, 03:06 PM | #16 |
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^you can get that kind of run around regardless where the car came from.
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09-20-2011, 01:22 PM | #17 | |
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To compare, I called a Canadian dealer for the same thing. $500 and not a penny less. In this period when the Canadian dollar is on par or better than the US dollar, I think it is immoral, unethical and bordering on illegal anti-competitive behaviour of BMW to maintain the price disconnect with the US, and then punish those folks who are willing to import a car. After all, if a Z4 were out of reach at Canadian prices, absent importing one, the person might buy some other manufacturer's car domestically in Canada. At least with the imported Z4, a dealer who treats the owner fairly stands to get the ongoing service revenue. What is wrong with that? And if BMW normalized Canadian pricing to approach US pricing, they would sell more cars domestically. For example, Accord V-6 or BMW 3 Series, for not that much more? Canadian exporters are getting nailed in the US because our exports are now more costly as our dollar is high re the US dollar. To fairly balance this, Canadian consumers should see the benefit of the value of their dollar. But so far, retail products, including cars, cost way more than they do in the US. High time for that to stop. End of rant.
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09-20-2011, 01:39 PM | #18 |
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^well put. ..standing 'O'
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10-02-2011, 05:24 PM | #19 |
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This is all fishy. I imported mine, got the recall letter prior to shipping from the non-bmw dealer in the US without cost, and did the inspection at CDN tire. RIV was happy and the sticker arrived later. At the time, an independent shop set the DRL and odometer for a modest fee.
The warranty is beside the point IMHO. BMW clearly states that the warranty is fully transferable to Canada (unlike Nissan and GM et al). Don't release the moths in your wallet until we have a chat. Send me your email and I'll put you in touch with my guy. |
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10-17-2011, 09:37 PM | #20 | |
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Hi, could you email me? hardeep_s96@hotmail.com Thanks |
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