Porsche Follows BMW and Mercedes-Benz By Imposing Compliance Letter Fees

Importers Face Payment of $1,250 For "Importation Inspection"

As of June 24, 2009, Porsche is insisting that it can no longer issue Recall Clearance Letters and that any such confirmation may only be obtained from a Canadian Porsche dealership once the vehicle has been imported.

The cost of the importation inspection is $1,250 and results in the issue of a Letter of Compliance from Porsche.

Here's what importers ought to know before completing their purchase:

1. RIV does not require a Letter of Compliance to issue Form 2; RIV only needs recall clearance confirmation, copy of Form 1 and payment of the RIV fee.

2. 1. If purchasing your Porsche vehicle from a US dealership, ask them to print off the Porsche warranty inquiry report off their internal systems. This is a screen capture that dealerships have access to and it will be accepted by RIV.

3. If purchasing from a private seller in the US, have them go to the dealership that does their service work for them and get this printout.

If the vehicle you desire to import into Canada is shown as admissible on the RIV website then Porsche has confirmed that the vehicle may be imported into Canada and can be modified to meet Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Please post your Porsche importing stories here for others to read and learn from.

We're disappointed that Porsche has followed BMW and MB down this path.

For all of you who have paid the $1,250 fee, please sign on to the Class Action Lawsuit

RIV Launches New Website

Vehicle Importers Can Track Cases Online

RIV has leaped into the 21st Century with a brand new, easy-to-navigate website.

If you are importing a vehicle from the US into Canada, RIV offers more comprehensive manufacturer information, a customizable Importer Checklist, and links to border crossing information.

Please note that not all manufacturers will issue recall clearance information to you when you contact them. These include BMW and Honda among others. UCanImport suggests using this blog for tips on how to obtain recall information. Additionally, RIV does not provide exact documentation requirements for the US border, so you may choose to use UCanImport's border crossing information for ready access to fax numbers and other document details.

Overall, we applaud RIV's efforts to make importing information more transparent and love the fact that importers can now use a handy Case Tracking tool to keep up with the documentation approval process needed to receive the Federal Inspection Form (Form 2).

Importing a vehicle from the United States into Canada just became friendlier...