Selling to Canadian Customers

[SHACOS]

Has anyone had experience selling vehicles to Canadian customers? It has been my experience the manufacturer does not "encourage" the selling of new vehicles to Canada (the manufacturer does not take a firm stance one way or another until recently).

I know Chrysler allows you to turn a couple vehicles a month to "demo" status so you can turn around and sell them as used cars to Canadian customers and still collect on the incentive.

I've also heard of selling vehicles to a middleman such as a used car dealer to turn them into used vehicles, but this puts incentive money at risk.

What has been everyone's experience with dealing with Canadian customers?

[okcarl]

From a GM stanpoint I can tell you it is frowned on heavily and can cost a dealer their franchise. The last store I ran was one of the largest Corvette dealers in the country and we got requests all of the time from Canadian customers. We found that the simpilist soloution was to sell them very late model units with a few thousand miles on them. This took any heat away from us. Also there are several things from the customers standpoint that they will have to have modified before the cars can be imported into Canada. I also heard that Canada was making it more dificult to import newer models with tougher restrictions.

[XDCX]

I remember four or five years ago when the imbalance with Canada was reversed - the wholesalers were making tons of money selling Canadian vehicles to U.S. Dealers.

It seemed like it hit Chrysler vehicles the most and I recall there was a Dodge Dealer with his picture on the front page of Automotive News indicating that he could purchase vehicles from Canada for $4,000 - $6,000 less than he could from the Factory.

Like okcarl indicated, the Factories don't like this exchange and will try to keep it under control. Additionally, the Canadian market is only about 1/10th the size of the U.S. Market - I don't think we'll see huge volumes.

That said, it's a great topic and I'd love to hear more from dealers that are right on the border.

[bluechevrolet]

I have sold several used vehicles to Canadians off of ebay, but also working at a GM dealership, never new.

[XDCX]

I found a website earlier today that provides information about importing a vehicle into Canada and immediately thought of this thread.

Here's the link: http://www.riv.ca/english/html/how_to_import.html

The website provides information regarding the import process, fees, vehicle modifications, etc.

Bottom line: If you're going to be selling vehicles into Canada to take advantage of the current exchange rate, this is a site that's worth checking out. :)

[bluechevrolet]

Thank you for this web site! This will help me tremendously!

[XDCX]

This thread may take on additional significance given the apparent strength of the Canadian economy.

Car sales in Canada surged 14.3% higher in February based on strong consumer demand. That's in stark contrast to the double digit decline that most manufacturers saw in the U.S.

With their strong dollar and a strong economy, selling to Canadian customers might be something that more U.S. dealers want to investigate. :)

Here's a link to the news report: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080303.wautoscanada0303/BNStory/Front

[bluechevrolet]

I just sold another truck to a Canadian. He's flying in to pick it up.

Had a call today from another one inquiring. A lot of them shop on find me on ebay.

[XDCX]

I just sold another truck to a Canadian. He's flying in to pick it up.

Had a call today from another one inquiring. A lot of them shop on find me on ebay.

Congratulations - it sounds like you're having success with Ebay - that's great. :)

I've been noticing more dealers in the Seattle area are trying to sell to Canadian customers. One dealer even states "We speak Canadian..." in his ads. :rolleyes:

[SHACOS]

I just saw a Molle Chevrolet vehicle out here in Denver. Small world.

There is a ton of opprotunity with Canadian customers. If I were on the Sales side living within 1000 miles of the border, I would be actively looking for Canadian customers. It just makes sence. Unfortunately, there is also plenty of opprotunity to turn new vehicles into used vehicle in order to sell them to Canadians. That tends to piss off the manufacturer. :)