Cost of Safety Inspection May Be Decreasing
We have just been informed that the Volvo of Durham is charging $270 for the Safety Inspection, instead of the outrageous $1,950+ fees that other Canadian dealerships have been charging.
The completion of a Safety Inspection by a Volvo dealership is necessary - as of this moment - to obtain a Letter of Compliance from Volvo Canada.
Letter of Compliance Alternative
However, we have heard accounts where RIV accepted a letter from Volvo Cars of North America LLC (issued at no charge) that states that the vehicle in question was manufactured to comply with both US and Canadian standards. We believe that this letter satisfies the RIV requirement to receive a Letter of Compliance.
To contact Volvo Cars of North America, use (201) 768-7300 and ask to speak with a Customer Care Consultant. You will have to have a VIN for the vehicle to provide to the Volvo representative.
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12 comments:
I just spent 30 minutes with Volvo of Surrey after getting a quote of $1895 for this inspection. Interestingly I asked for the service dept, got passed through to service until I told them that I was looking for a Safety Letter for a US import. I was then transferred to a another person that I later found out was the General Sales Manager. At any rate - he tried rather unsuccessfully to defend the rate but couldn't back it up with anything other than some general statements like they needed special tools and special training to do the inspection. I asked him to provide a list of tools or training that was required specifically to do the inspection and he just danced around it and could not provide anything to me. What's interesting is that after the 30 minutes were up and I started joking around with him I told him that I thought this was gouge and that off the record the $1895 was nothing more than an artificial barrier to importing vehicles - and he agreed with me.
Anyway it appears to still be $1900 and up in BC. Don Docksteader still refuses to do them.
As of April 11/08, the Volvo of Victoria has given me a price of $1895 for the inspection.
I wonder if the letter of Compliance alternate method works or not? I have an email into RIV in regards to this, so i guess I see what their response is.
If you wish to see a sample of the letter, please e-mail me at info@ucanimport.com and I will send it to you.
Since the letter specifically states that the vehicle complies with both Canadian and US safety standards, it seems to satisfy RIV's requirement for a "compliance letter". Best of all it is issued at no charge.
I'd be happy to send it to anyone who wants it. If Volvo will issue this letter to one importer in March 2008, maybe others in April will be as fortunate...
I was able to get the same compliance letter from Volvo April 18. I faxed the compliance letter along with my passed provincial inspection to RIV. Still waiting to hear back. Anyone know how it takes to get a form 2 or any response from RIV? Do they just send the form 2 regular mail?
From what other Volvo importers have told us, RIV will release Form 2 when you have paid their fee and sent in a fax copy of Form 1.
I suggest you telephone RIV and request Form 2 by e-mail.
On Form 2 it will have a check off box for the Federal Inspection Centre. This check-off box will state: "Statement of Compliance Issue by OEM"
From the way we read this, Volvo of North America is as much an OEM as Volvo Canada. The check off box does not request a Letter of Compliance from Volvo Canada, nor does it state that the letter must be issued by the Canadian office of the OEM.
The letter from Volvo of North America satisfies this criteria and has been accepted as suitable proof of compliance.
So, call RIV, ask for your Form 2 by e-mail and go to your Federal Inspection with the Letter from Volvo of North America.
If folks from Volvo of Canada are reading this posting, you can expect that within a few days RIV will change its Form 2 because of backlash from Volvo Canada.
This seems like the tail wagging the dog doesn't it? Or, as an astute fellow once remarked, "they let the lunatics run the asylum."
But don't say we didn't warn you. The auto manufacturers tell Transport Canada what they can and cannot post and/or publish when it comes to importing vehicles, and as you may have seen from our posting last week, Transport Canada refuses to accept any responsibility for, or take a stance against, these punitive charges.
I say that if Volvo Canada is so offended by imports coming from the US, they shouldn't punish their customers. Just lower your prices and we can all be a lot happier!
Doesn't that seem easier than all this redundant paper-shuffling?
Well just an update for all those paying that $2000 fee. I had a provincial inspection done and then got a compliance letter using a copy from this site. I sent everything off to RIV and waited. I then phoned to find out about form 2 and they said all they needed was my letter of admissibility. I faxed that and bingo My form 2 was faxed to me tomorrow I will take to canadian tire for the federal inspection and off to insure the car. Thanks for all your help here!
Our pleasure.
To date several dozen importers have informed us that they used the Volvo of North America letter of compliance to save about $2,000 on the redundant Volvo dealership inspection.
I guess we should think about taking a commission on all these savings. But, then we'd be thinking just like the auto manufacturers wouldn't we?
If anyone would like a copy of the letter e-mail is at info@ucanimport.com.
Congratulations to all of you who saved $2,000 plus on your Volvo importation!
WOW. All this is very informative. Thanks all! I am thinking about importing a 2008 C30, and have been delaying talking to the dealer here in BC until I have all the facts. Now I won't fall for the $1900 inspection! If only Volvo Canada would even just lower their prices 4 or 5k, I'd save myself the hassle of buying down south and pay more up here for the same car. I am going to test drive one soon in BC, and lay it all out for them. All they are doing is shooting themselves in the foot if they refuse to give me an amazing deal. Thanks again for all this info, especially www.carwwithoutborders.ca.
Just to clarify the info here - if I go to Volvo Canada for the letter of compliance, they well make me pay $1895 for an inspection, but if I get the letter of compliance from Volvo North America, I don't need the inspection from the dealer in Canada, or to pay the dough?? This seems too good to be true! Such a simple way around the gouge. So can the US dealer selling me the car give me the letter of compliance that will allow me to get around the inspection fee? If not, where would I go to get that? Thanks.
Oops. Ignore that last post. I just saw the original post and the phone number for Volvo of North America. My apologies.
You people are getting taken on this Volvo inspection crap by BC Volvo dealers. Firstly the only special tool required on these inspections is a Vida cart which interfaces with the vehicle's systems and reads DTC's (diagnostic trouble codes) and any shop (read that non-Volvo) can buy one of these carts and a Vida subscription. Secondly this inspection they perform is the same as a CPO inspection (Certified Pre-Owned) that the dealer would perform on a lease return or trade-in with under 50,000Km on the clock so they could resell it as a CPO unit with a 5Yr/168,000Km warrenty. In BC the tech's at Volvo shops (exc Docksteader's and possibly Volvo of Kelowna) are paid flat-rate or piecemeal and for a CPO they would be paid 1.5Hr but on this BS RIV inspection they are paid 3Hr. to do the same thing as a CPO inspection. So if the door rate of the dealership is $100.00/Hr then the cost of the RIV inspection is $300.00 + GST. Now your asking where does the $1895.00 price tag comes from? Back when the dealers started whining about losing deals to the US they lobbied your wonderful Harper government to allow them to charge up to $2000.00, I believe the number was, to allow these imported vehicles into Canada. Now in BC only 2 Volvo dealerships are NOT owned by the same man. In this man's dealerships $1500.00 is skimmed off of each new car sold and given to the 'house' as it is known. The salesperson generally will receive ~$300.00 for selling you a $55,000+ vehicle. The rest of the profit goes into the dealership or some is lost to pricing incentives & discounts and advertising costs. I'm sure it is the same for other make's of vehicles and their dealerships ... know any dealership owner who is NOT a millionaire? So now if you take the numbers and add the 'house' take with the REAL cost of the RIV inspection you come up with the ~$1895.00 cost. In essence you are providing the dealership with the lost profit at the top they did not get because you did not buy the vehicle in BC. As far as special training..... non is needed as this is mostly a visual inspection and since all the Volvo's I have seen are '07 and newer with less than $20,000Mi on the clock there is nothing wrong with them. The inspection form you will receive is identical to the Volvo CPO form except it says at the top Importation Inspection instead of Certified Preowned. The letters of recall compliance I have seen from Volvo of NA in Rockleigh NJ all state that, and I quote, 'According to our records, this vehicle was originally designed and built to comply with all U.S. DOT Safety and U.S. EPA 50-State Emission Standards in effect on the date of manufacture. In addition, except for minor labeling requirements, this vehicle, as built, would comply with all Canadian Emission and Safety Standards as well, including CMVSS Numbers 210 and 215' unquote. I can not turn a blind eye to what I can only term as highway robbery so do your homework and see who owns Volvo of Surrey, Coquitlam, North Vancouver and Victoria and get yourselves a class action suit going and get your money back! At the very least make your voices heard as this whole thing is right at the root of your freedom of choice which you should find entrench in your charter of rights as a Canadian.
I just bought a 2006 XC90 V8AWD. Its sitting in Seattle waiting for the letters from Volvo Canada and Volvo NA to arrive and for me to bring it home. I just want to thank you all and UCanImport for all this great info. I will post my experience once I bring it across. You can bet I'll leave teeth and nails behind before I give Jimmy P $2k of my hard earned $$
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