MB response to me trying to import a e300 to Canadafrom US

[kosracing]

I last posted "help tryng to import a 300e from US to Canada" Well I sent a serial number for a 1997 e300 series to mercedes to find out if the mercedes import police would be so kind as to let me import it. this was there reply

Dear Mr.

Please be advised that the technical differences between a canadain version mercedes-benz passenger vehicle and one which was produced for any other of the Dailmer AG markets comprise the entire vehicle.
the subsequent conversion of the above referenced US version passenger vehicle to meet applicable Canadian safety requirements is not possible.
We recommend not importing into Canada a non-conforming Mercedes-Benz US version model E300 DIESEL vehicle under any circumstances.

sincerely
janice thompson


well that anwsers that!! I guess I will stick to something more conforming to canada like maybe a gas efficient 6.0l chev pickup
gary

[LaRondo]

What is the "Mercedes Import Police"?

Apparently there are differences in the vehicle standards required by each country.

On the other hand, ofcourse they want to remain in control of the markets, so they throw in a few limitations as to how far you can modify vehicles, in order to meet regional compliance.

It's the same, if you wanted to re-import a previously exported MB vehicle back to Germany, you may end up in a dead-lock situation and never get the car to pass registration requirements, unless you'd be willing to dish out irrational amounts of cash.

The good thing in your case is, you were smart enough to inquire up front.

[davidmash]

I was always under the impression that the US had the most restrictive safety and most stringent emissions.

Guess I was wrong.

[LaRondo]

They're trying to keep a lid on the market and avoid cross border trade conducted by individuals.
It's part of the latest and upcoming NAU agreements.

Telling us, it'll make things easier for us, but than it turns out to the contrary. With more ordinances, limitations and restrictions designed to make you go through their bureaucratic chanels and submit yourself.
Your intention, your data, your money ... it all becomes property of bureaucracy.

[kosracing]

What makes me laugh is the fact that mercedes dictates as to what vehicle is good to import not the canadain government.
I always thought all mercedes were built in germany with the upmost safety stanadards for all there cars not just a chosen few...

[POS]

It's difficult to move vehicles from one country to another when they're not classified as "Antiques". This just confirms that.

[Emmerich]

My company had a Calgary office and we moved people there and back. All they had to do was change the speedo to metric and back again. These were not Mercedes, I can't imagine the countries make a distinction. Maybe being diesel adds a wrinkle or two.

[rickg]

That sounds like a CYA letter. They just can't endorse you doing anything like importing a vehicle not specific to a region/country without sticking thier necks out, and chancing a lawsuit. Bet if you asked them about impoting a "grey market" car from europe to the USA, you'd get the exact same response.

[uberwgn]

This same thread is running in several other forums. There are some issues with importing the W210 from the USA to Canada. It sound like the bumper standards are significantly different when reviewing the technical details. Somebody outlined it earlier this week. It's far more complex than changing from MPH to KM/H and grafting on DRLs.

I'm under the impression that MBUSA will not provide the certification for this series permitting them to move from USA to Ca.

[arvy]

Yet another complication to importing cars from US to Canada is the requirement of electronic immobilzers for all new cars after Sept 2007. Apparently the Canadian standard is that the device must foil a thief for 5 minutes or longer. Apparently, US cars equipped with immobilizers do not necessarily meet this standard. My question is how do they measure the "5 minute standard" as each thief has different level of ability.

Recently the Canadian government relaxed standards that allow importation of cars from the US built after Sept. 2007 as long as it has an immobilizer. They are not applying the "5 minute standard". Don't know if this will last or if it was just designed to reduce the backlog of angry owners who got their cars stuck at the border after Sept. 2007.

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by kosracing

What makes me laugh is the fact that mercedes dictates as to what vehicle is good to import not the canadain government.
I always thought all mercedes were built in germany with the upmost safety stanadards for all there cars not just a chosen few...

This is correct. I looked into importing an E430 into Canada. No dice. The manufacturers themselves dictate the conditions of import, not the other way around. So you are correct - Mercedes makes the call, not the Federal government.

If you download the list of allowed vehicles, it's good for a laugh. See link below. Almost all manufacturers have most models listed as 'permissible', with only a few exceptions. When you get to Mercedes-Benz, no models are listed, it just says 'see notes'. See page 12 of 41 below.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/VAFUS/list/VAFUS.pdf

[jlomon]

It would be very interesting to write MBCAN another email advising them that you live in the US and are moving to Canada, and want to know what is required to do to your 1997 E300 in order to make it compliant. I bet you get an entirely different response.

[cscmc1]

Does this apply only to new cars? I recall that some states (CA and NY among them, I believe) did not allow new diesel passenger cars to be sold in their borders, but one could buy a "used" car and bring it in. IIRC the car had to have 12K miles on it to be considered "used."

[DuckMuck]

I just wanted to add that given the strength of the Canadian dollar (which worth slightly more than the US dollar nowadays), there is a flood of Canadian buyers crossing the border to buy a new/used car down south...to combat this, car manufacturers, since they apparently have the power to dictate whether or not their cars can meet US/Canadian standards, are registering their cars as not being able to be imported/exported across the border...A LOT of people have been running into this problem lately...especially for new cars, but used cars are also being affected too...no real "concrete reason" was given by the manufacturer, other than a very vague reply saying the vehicle does not satisfy Canadian safety standards...which I think for the most part is bogus...

I have been following this topic on a Canadian "hot deals" forum regarding importing cars from the US to Canada...I think if people on this site cannot help, you might be able to get some pointers from these guys...they seem to have quite a bit of experience, but they seem to be mostly dealing with new cars...but I see a few threads on used cars...furthermore, they are quite knowledgeable about the import law/process...

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307601

[kosracing]

I think thats would be a good experiment. I going to send another letter to mb requesting importation of the same model, but this time I will be moving from US to Canada.
With todays tech for diesel engines (egr, vgt turbos, electronic direct injection, particulate filters ect.. you will find a diesel engine to produce far less emissions and higher efficencies then its counter part the gas engine. On that note it suprises me to hear some US states that will not allow diesel passenger cars..
gary