US Bikes

suzuki2000

suzuki2000

Well-known member
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Been looking at options for the next bike purchase...

It is interesting to see some the the much cheaper prices that you can find on ebay for used bikes in the US. With current exchange, it is intriguing to investigate as an option.

I know bringing the bike back has customs issues, and other beauracratic hurdles... As long as you have paperqwork in order and are patient, I don't think it's too big an issue.

So my question is what risks are there say from buying from a US vendor ebay or direct for a bike that is not seen in person? Many will offer lenghthy descriptions and pictures to point out problem areas ( I am not so daft as to believe you will be told of every problem cosmetic issue) but what protection do you have against any misrepresentation cosmetic or mechanical? I know here you could go through OMIVIC, BBB,...

Many dealers here are reluctant to provide test rides anywhay, so what would you be giviing up buying somewhat blind as far as riding.

I know there aren't definitive answers, but I am looking for thoughts from members.
Would you take this risk to save a few hundred to a couople thousand dollars?
It seems often there is so much more selection at US dealers 8-12 hours from the border. it would be easy to make a long weekend out of it to run down, pick up the bike and trailer back to the border
 
The guy I bought my bike from sent pictures of the only scratch on the bike. It was so low on the fairing you wouldn't even think to look. The bike was close enough to the border that if it wasn't as described it wasn't a major loss if the deal fell through.
If the bike is on the RIV list the border process is simple. Read the "be all and end all" sticky.

Risk and reward. I saved about $4K by taking a day trip. Patience is the key. I watched for about six months before the right bike, seller and place came together.
 
If you were to sell the bike now would you be able to command the Canadian asking price or are import bikes harder to sell / sell at a lower price once imported in Canada?
 
Tomo said:
If you were to sell the bike now would you be able to command the Canadian asking price or are import bikes harder to sell / sell at a lower price once imported in Canada?
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Why would the bike sell for less than what it's worth? I pressed on button on my bike and it switched from miles to km on speedometer and odometer. So the only thing that differentiates it from "Canadian" bike is the RIV sticker on the frame.
 
ViperZ said:
Why would the bike sell for less than what it's worth? I pressed on button on my bike and it switched from miles to km on speedometer and odometer. So the only thing that differentiates it from "Canadian" bike is the RIV sticker on the frame.
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I was wondering if grey imports fetched the same as the official counterparts that's all.

The reason I ask is because i'm in the UK and generally a foreign import will not get the same price as a UK spec would. Insurance is also generally a bit higher on an import.

Just trying to establish if that was the case with US - Canada imports. If not then seems like a good way to save some money and then get back what you paid for the bike after a couple of seasons riding.
 
Tomo said:
I was wondering if grey imports fetched the same as the official counterparts that's all.

The reason I ask is because i'm in the UK and generally a foreign import will not get the same price as a UK spec would. Insurance is also generally a bit higher on an import.

Just trying to establish if that was the case with US - Canada imports. If not then seems like a good way to save some money and then get back what you paid for the bike after a couple of seasons riding.
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Yes it's the same in Canada. That's why you see people advertising that's it's a Canadian bike in the adds
 
Gray market is not US-spec bikes, it's generally bikes imported from Japan. And I LOL at people who say that their bike is Canadian in their ads and try to sell it for more than others. Guess what, the bikes were made at the same factory to the same spec (except probably for California bikes).
 
I would assume these days most people are on several bike forums, including some big US ones.

When I bought my VFR (to replace my katana) down in Virginia I posted up on katriders.com asking if anyone was near Harrisburg and could check out a bike for me. Within 6 hours I had 2 people who offered to go check out the bike in person. 2 days later I had an impartial first hand opinion of the bike and a slew of high res pictures.
 
ViperZ said:
Gray market is not US-spec bikes, it's generally bikes imported from Japan. And I LOL at people who say that their bike is Canadian in their ads and try to sell it for more than others. Guess what, the bikes were made at the same factory to the same spec (except probably for California bikes).
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I laugh at the guys selling USA bikes that cost less to purchase and then try and sell them for the same as canadian bikes in Canada. Especially when their warranty is only valid in the USA.
 
murf said:
I laugh at the guys selling USA bikes that cost less to purchase and then try and sell them for the same as canadian bikes in Canada. Especially when their warranty is only valid in the USA.
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Warranty on a used bike? What warranty? If you got pwned buying a bike here, don't be jealous of people who got a great deal on a bike down south. LOL
 
Definitely worth buying in the US. Save thousands of $. Me and my buddies all bought our bikes from there. Do your research first though.
 
Beleieve it or not people sell used bikes that have warranty. Crazy eh?
I bought a brand new CBR600RR in Quebec for $7500.
LOL
Just stating the facts that people will not pay the same for an imported bike.
 
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murf said:
Beleieve it or not people sell used bikes that have warranty. Crazy eh?
I bought a brand new CBR600RR in Quebec for $7500.
LOL
Just stating the facts that people will not pay the same for an imported bike.
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People pay the same for the same bike. I haven't seen a difference in the 2.

There may be a deal here and there. However, you stand to save a great deal - thousands even - by buying in the US.

Warranty - some dealers will warranty the bike as they rightfully should. Squeeky wheel will get the oil if they don't! Or, the manufacturer may step in if it's a true warranty claim.

JUst basing this off experience of myself and friends.

Ymmv!

Savings would even pay for a repair if needed.

On another note, why are bikes and related merchandise so expensive here???
 
I'm not entirely convinced...

Buying a brand new bike, yeah theres probably SOME savings there... but I don't think you'd save much with a used vehicle, especially after import fees, RIV fees, registration fees, taxes.... you'd probably end up with exactly what it would of cost to just buy it here and less hassle too.

Case in point: My parents donated a 2002 Camry to me for FREE and by the time I had it over the border, fully registered, all taxes payed... almost $4000. Could of just bought a used vehicle here.
 
RicoChet said:
I'm not entirely convinced...

Buying a brand new bike, yeah theres probably SOME savings there... but I don't think you'd save much with a used vehicle, especially after import fees, RIV fees, registration fees, taxes.... you'd probably end up with exactly what it would of cost to just buy it here and less hassle too.

Case in point: My parents donated a 2002 Camry to me for FREE and by the time I had it over the border, fully registered, all taxes payed... almost $4000. Could of just bought a used vehicle here.
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I am very convinced. I just started long process of choosing my next bike and was watching allofcraigs.com and bike specific forums for a long time now. You can save a lot. You can save even more if you buy fall/winter.

My buddy has been buying bikes in US for several years now. He buys them way cheaper then in Canada, rides them for couple of seasons and sells for usually more then he paid in the first place.
 
RicoChet said:
Case in point: My parents donated a 2002 Camry to me for FREE and by the time I had it over the border, fully registered, all taxes payed... almost $4000. Could of just bought a used vehicle here.
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My extra costs to import a bike consisted of RIV fee, RIV compliance test, cost to rent a van + gas. All in all, I was about $2K up on the $6K bike. All you have to do is check out craigslist in the adjacent US cities (Rochester, Buffalo, Detroit, or a bit further places like Cleveland) and compare prices to local trader/kijiji/craigslist prices. If you do everything right, like we did, our extra wait at the border was less than an hour. Of course, those who care about warranty on used bikes bought from private individuals are more than welcome to buy locally and pay extra couple grand for their peace of mind. YMMV LOL
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