British Columbia Dealerships Continue to Charge Exorbitant Fees for Safety Inspection
Comments from a frustrated Volvo Importer:
I just spent 30 minutes with a Lower Mainland Volvo dealer 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 Inspection 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 (that they wouldn't otherwise already have) and he just danced around it and could not provide anything to me. He also tried to tell me that a US v70 was totally different car than a Canadian v70. I told him that was udder cow poop, that I was a mechanical engineer that had studied car manufacturing and sure there would be some differences but that they were not totally different cars.
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 and said he had wished they would just let the market take care of the pricing.
Anyway it appears to still be $1900 and up in BC for the "safety inspection"
(nudge-nudge-wink-wink) in order to get the Compliance Letter from Volvo Canada. Don Docksteader still refuses to do them and they told me to save my time calling around the other dealers in the Lower Mainland because apparently they are all owned by Jimmy Pattison so the prices weren't likely to be any different. This is so brutal!
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20 comments:
This is my story above. And to add insult to injury Volvo of Canada seems to have added me to their email marketing list when I requested a admissibility form via their website a few days ago as I just received a spam email from them offering their latest deals including a currency discount on new XC9O's.
It has to be a Volvo dealer to do the safety inspection? I've heard most people who buy U.S. cars just go to Cdn Tire. Comments anyone? I need to know as I'm looking at purchasing an S60 (2004 or 2005)
Hello, here in Edmonton there is only one Volvo dealership...in Calgary, just one as well. SAME SITUATION...$1950. Their attitude was one of complete & utter arrogance..."oh well, that's what you get for buying in the states".
I was going to purchase a US vehicle however decided against it, even though I would still incur an $8000 savings, after taxes and inspection.
This savings could be greatly reduced however IF, the modifications required were priced in the same manner.
So, out of principle, I decided against it. I certainly hope the dealers eventually receive a "cease & desist" from the "Mother" company before their name is blemished any further.
I got the same response from a Victoria Volvo dealer. They told me straight out that the price was $1895, in which case I asked why so much for a couple hours of inspection? The response was that it is directive from Head office, and that they are hoping to discourage people from importing!!! I guess they aren't trying to hide it anymore!
I am wondering if they are actually charging this amount if you take it in and get the inspection done?
Before you proceed with your Volvo importation know that you require a Letter of Admissibility and a Compliance Letter (Safety Inspection Letter) from Volvo.
You will be charged for both letters/inspection by the dealership.
The inspection you are referring to is the Federal Inspection which you will have to complete at any Federally Designated Centre (such as Canadian Tire), once you have the Letter of Compliance/Safety Inspection Letter from the Volvo dealership.
The cost for the inspection at the dealership will range from $270 in Ontario to $2,450 in Saskatchewan so please call your local dealership for a quote.
The need for this letter of compliance is stated on Form 2 (Federal Inspection Form) and you will not pass the Federal Inspection if you do not have the letter from the Volvo dealership.
Unless someone knows any different, this is the latest information we have from RIV.
To Anonymous in Edmonton, I'm sorry to hear that you will not pursue your importation.
It really is aweful what the dealerships are doing - a punishment against the people they say they wish to serve!
As far as we know there are no modifications required to Volvo vehicles and that if required, these modifications can be done anywhere. The $1,950 blood money is for a "safety inspection" nothing more.
And here we thought Volvo had built a reputation on having one of the safest cars on the road! Such bunk!
Has anyone in Alberta considered filing a complaint with AMVIC under the Fair Trading Act? It seems to me that charging such an exorbitant fee for the inspection is contrary to the act.
I think filing a complaint is a proactive and necessary step. I do understand that there is a process under the competition act or something similar to get an inquiry started with a minimum of 6 people who complain.
I strongly suggest that folks in Alberta who have been affected by Volvo contact each other through this blog or by e-mailing us at info@ucanimport.com
If someone would like to volunteer as the lead contact for the Alberta-based complaints, I will forward all e-mail addresses to you as they begin to come in.
Here is an opportunity to speak and be heard.
Has anyone inquired about a complaint with the competition bureau? I sent an email inquiring about this but it would appear Volvo is clearly violating the Competition Act.
Here is the response I got;
The Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency responsible for the administration of the Competition Act (the "Act"), which includes provisions against price fixing, price maintenance and abusive behaviour by a dominant firm resulting in a lessening of competition. The Bureau's mission is to contribute to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.
As a statute of general application, the Act does not attempt to regulate individual transactions between buyers and sellers. Rather, the Act seeks to develop and maintain the conditions necessary for a competitive marketplace by defining a number of anti-competitive practices. Some of these practices are prohibited as criminal offences. Other practices, perceived to be potentially but not necessarily anti-competitive, are subject to review and remedial action by the Competition Tribunal. The Tribunal has a number of remedies at its disposal, such as an order prohibiting the continuation of the anti-competitive practice as well as an order directing any such actions as are reasonable and necessary to overcome the effects of the practice. However, the remedies do not include any form of compensation for complainants under the relevant provision of the Act. The Act does not provide the Bureau with any regulatory authority to decide the law or to compel entities to adopt a particular course of conduct in respect of their activities.
The Act recognizes that suppliers should be free to determine how best to distribute their products. There is no general obligation for businesses to supply all those who wish to obtain their products. Manufacturers may also impose various restrictions on importing products from the U.S. Market restriction, where a supplier requires its authorized dealers to sell only within a specific geographic area, is generally permissible. Pursuant to section 77 of the Act, the Tribunal can prohibit market restriction where it is likely to substantially lessen competition in a market as a whole. In this case, the practice only restricts imports of Volvo's own vehicles and does not restrict competition among the relatively large number of vehicle manufacturers in the overall market. Therefore, the market restriction is unlikely to result in a substantial lessening of competition in the market as a whole. Accordingly, this matter does not appear to raise issues under the Act.
I'd like to know how Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen were fined so severely in the EU?
Does the EU have better mechanisms in place to protect their consumers than we do under NAFTA?
Restraint of trade, price protectionism, and exploitive fees that punish the importer cannot go unreported or unpunished.
Any thoughts on a NAFTA-based policy that these practices could fall under and be scrutinized for contravention of the free-trade agreement.
Otherwise the Europeans have figured out something we haven't...
Import fees - from Volvo for the compliance letter ? ( to meet the RIV requirements ?)OUT TO LUNCH !!!
Has anyone else had any luck on this issue... I did read that someone found a REAL CTC person, that said this is BS... and signed the RIV form.. as required ?
Did this satisfy the RIV department ????
We've been following this blog while in the process of bringing a volvo across and had been keeping our fingers crossed that RIV would simply ignore the Volvo letter requirement. They didn't (though the Cdn Tire inspector was surprised to see the check box asking for the letter from OEM as it wasn't there 3 weeks prior).
Nevertheless, same inspector had recently imported a new volvo and told me to contact directly Customer Care at Volvo North America, which supposedly is parent of Volvo Canada. I did, and they have issued me a letter stating "vehicle was originally designed and built to comply with all USDOT safety and WS EPA 50-State emissions standards in effect on date of manufacture. In addition, except for minor labelling req's, this vehicle would comply with all Canadian Emission and Safety Standards as well, including CMVSS Numbers 210 and 215."
As far as I can tell from discussions with RIV, this should suffice. Keeping my fingers crossed, but can't wait to uncross them and show one finger in particular to Volvo North Vancouver.
BTW: has anyone contacted the media to see if some investigative journalist might not be interested in exposing further this situation?
Thank you for your post Larry.
Over the course of the last week, UCanImport has heard from a number of Volvo importers who followed our recommendation to obtain a compliance letter from Volvo of North America.
Using this letter, which states that the vehicle meets both US and Canadian standards, our importers have saved the $2,000+ Volvo inspection fee.
If anyone wants a sample copy of the letter, please send us an e-mail at info@ucanimport.com
We celebrate your savings and encourage you to share your success stories with us.
As for the media, yes, we continue to look for ways to inform the public of these price discriminatory practices by the auto manufacturers.
hey larry
excellent keep running with ball
the safety inspection that volvo does is
b.s. they're not a registered in the province
to conduct a safety standard exam, such that cdn tire performs. i live on the northshore as well and love my 2004 S60, as i cruise by the volvo waiving my middle finger ( all i'm mearly saying is that they're number one in my book :) )
i argued the point anyways with riv that volvo wasnt authorized and the OEM clause was taken off my form 2 requirement. why pay for a test that isnt
a real safety inspection
rock on... hope to see u on the road soon ...enjoy
damn theyre a nice car
Thanks for your posting and congratulations on your importation success.
We worry that once the Volvo dealerships see that we have been able to register our Volvo vehicles by bypassing the $2,000 inspection, that they will dream up a modification that only they can perform.
As many of you know, BMW insists on completing an instrument cluster changeover for about $2,500 to $3,500. Since no one else is allowed to do this changeover and BMW insists that imported vehicles must have it done before they will issue a compliance letter, we suspect the dream weavers at Volvo will also come up with a bogus modification sooner or later.
If you are a Volvo importer, please take a moment to respond to the proposed class action lawsuit. Even if you did not pay the $2,000, your story is valuable and will show the courts how close you did come to having your hard earned money thrown down the bogus inspection hole.
To access the lawsuit info:
http://www.ucanimport.com/lawsuit.aspx
Thanks to all for your ongoing support.
Just wanted to let you know that I have successfully completed the importation of a 2005 XC90 without a compliance letter from Volvo Canada. I used the compliance letter from Volvo US and sent it to RIV as if it was the Canadian letter and had no problems. It feels great to have my $2000.00 still in my own pocket!
Hi There,
Just an update - RIV also accepted our Volvo North America compliance letter. Canadian Tire had accepted it but I was reluctant to count unhatched eggs until RIV gave the final approval by sending along the compliance sticker.
All's well though and it is a done deal.... This looks like the way around the Volvo Canada extortion, at least until Volvo NA gets pressure to cease and desist ...
Good luck all!
Hi
I'm thinking of importing a volvo and have read, with interest, all of your comments. I note that they are from 2008. Do you know if anything has changed up to Oct 2009?
We are unaware of any significant changes to Volvo policies. Very recently we have had importers request and receive written confirmation from Volvo Canada and US confirming the status of recalls. These letters were accepted by RIV.
Others have simply asked for the internal dealer printout from the Volvo dealer/seller in the US and have used this screen capture for RIV.
It's definitely a good idea to understand all your documentation requirements, including how to obtain them, and where to submit them, before you commit to the purchase of any vehicle in the US.
If you can spare the time and money to source a vehicle in the US, you should take the time to understand each step of the importing process (in advance of collecting the car) so that your overall experience is enjoyable.
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