Shelby's to Canada

[Ezkill]

Hello all, I've been lurking a while and have read just about the whole forum but haven't posted anything as I do not own a Shelby yet. I currently have 2007 Mustang GT but will be getting a shelby one way or another likely for 2011MY at this point.

 

I have a few questions for anyone that's purchased a car in the US and then brought it to Canada. You can of course purchase a car in Canada but the MSRP with only HID's added is 59,905.00 which is roughly 10,000.00 dollars more INCLUDING the exchange over the US MSRP. Now let me say I'm a financial guy so I can fully understand why the disparity exists between the prices and I can remember a time not so long ago when a lot of americans would buy cars in canada and drive them back to the US because it was cheaper. That was back when every one US dollar purchased 1.38 canadian, and even with higher canadian MSRP's you could save 15 percent by buying here. So I'm not going to get angry with Ford's pricing, it's a business and sometimes it sucks to live on this side of the border. All of this being said the fee's for importing are fairly nominal, a few hundred dollars. I haven't priced out the work the car would need to be legal here but it shouldn't be too bad(new spedometer facing in KM's, Daytime running lights and Child Safety restraint brackets). I don't really know much this would cost but I can only assume that import fees and these mods wouldn't be much more then 1,000.00 dollars. Still a substantial savings here. Ford will also honor the warranty fully with the work done at the local SVT dealership.

 

Now the part I need help with. Does anyone know what shipping this from lets say great falls Montana to Edmonton, Alberta would be? I *think* this is around 600 miles. The other option is to fly down and drive the car back, but then I would need a dealer to work with me and send the paper work to the border 72 hours ahead so I can get across. There are some logistical issues but I think they are certainly do-able and would like to hear if anyone has done this. I'm not sure if any US dealers can or will actually arrange or the shipping to Canada or if this violates some rule. I would also only be interested in using a trusted dealer on here like Michael Morris(who I've pm'd)as I've read many posts that rave about his service and ability to find these cars. They are plentiful here in town, and I would love to give my business to my local ford dealer as I have for many years...but the price disparity is too large.

[Canadian Bacon]

Hello all, I've been lurking a while and have read just about the whole forum but haven't posted anything as I do not own a Shelby yet. I currently have 2007 Mustang GT but will be getting a shelby one way or another likely for 2011MY at this point.

 

I have a few questions for anyone that's purchased a car in the US and then brought it to Canada. You can of course purchase a car in Canada but the MSRP with only HID's added is 59,905.00 which is roughly 10,000.00 dollars more INCLUDING the exchange over the US MSRP. Now let me say I'm a financial guy so I can fully understand why the disparity exists between the prices and I can remember a time not so long ago when a lot of americans would buy cars in canada and drive them back to the US because it was cheaper. That was back when every one US dollar purchased 1.38 canadian, and even with higher canadian MSRP's you could save 15 percent by buying here. So I'm not going to get angry with Ford's pricing, it's a business and sometimes it sucks to live on this side of the border. All of this being said the fee's for importing are fairly nominal, a few hundred dollars. I haven't priced out the work the car would need to be legal here but it shouldn't be too bad(new spedometer facing in KM's, Daytime running lights and Child Safety restraint brackets). I don't really know much this would cost but I can only assume that import fees and these mods wouldn't be much more then 1,000.00 dollars. Still a substantial savings here. Ford will also honor the warranty fully with the work done at the local SVT dealership.

 

Now the part I need help with. Does anyone know what shipping this from lets say great falls Montana to Edmonton, Alberta would be? I *think* this is around 600 miles. The other option is to fly down and drive the car back, but then I would need a dealer to work with me and send the paper work to the border 72 hours ahead so I can get across. There are some logistical issues but I think they are certainly do-able and would like to hear if anyone has done this. I'm not sure if any US dealers can or will actually arrange or the shipping to Canada or if this violates some rule. I would also only be interested in using a trusted dealer on here like Michael Morris(who I've pm'd)as I've read many posts that rave about his service and ability to find these cars. They are plentiful here in town, and I would love to give my business to my local ford dealer as I have for many years...but the price disparity is too large.

PM sent.

[calgaryshelby]

Hello all, I've been lurking a while and have read just about the whole forum but haven't posted anything as I do not own a Shelby yet. I currently have 2007 Mustang GT but will be getting a shelby one way or another likely for 2011MY at this point.

 

I have a few questions for anyone that's purchased a car in the US and then brought it to Canada. You can of course purchase a car in Canada but the MSRP with only HID's added is 59,905.00 which is roughly 10,000.00 dollars more INCLUDING the exchange over the US MSRP. Now let me say I'm a financial guy so I can fully understand why the disparity exists between the prices and I can remember a time not so long ago when a lot of americans would buy cars in canada and drive them back to the US because it was cheaper. That was back when every one US dollar purchased 1.38 canadian, and even with higher canadian MSRP's you could save 15 percent by buying here. So I'm not going to get angry with Ford's pricing, it's a business and sometimes it sucks to live on this side of the border. All of this being said the fee's for importing are fairly nominal, a few hundred dollars. I haven't priced out the work the car would need to be legal here but it shouldn't be too bad(new spedometer facing in KM's, Daytime running lights and Child Safety restraint brackets). I don't really know much this would cost but I can only assume that import fees and these mods wouldn't be much more then 1,000.00 dollars. Still a substantial savings here. Ford will also honor the warranty fully with the work done at the local SVT dealership.

 

Now the part I need help with. Does anyone know what shipping this from lets say great falls Montana to Edmonton, Alberta would be? I *think* this is around 600 miles. The other option is to fly down and drive the car back, but then I would need a dealer to work with me and send the paper work to the border 72 hours ahead so I can get across. There are some logistical issues but I think they are certainly do-able and would like to hear if anyone has done this. I'm not sure if any US dealers can or will actually arrange or the shipping to Canada or if this violates some rule. I would also only be interested in using a trusted dealer on here like Michael Morris(who I've pm'd)as I've read many posts that rave about his service and ability to find these cars. They are plentiful here in town, and I would love to give my business to my local ford dealer as I have for many years...but the price disparity is too large.

 

Living in Calgary, I looked into getting a Shelby out of Bison Ford in Great Falls last year. I believe they have a dedicated salesman who deals with Canadians buying cars and bringing them back across the border. They seemed to be helpful and even offered to put me up in a hotel room. I decided against buying an '09 last year and ended up buying a '10 from Healy Ford in Edmonton, who were great. There is a government of Canada website that provides info. on how to import cars and what needs to be changed on imported vehicles. I think that all that needs to be done is activate the daytime running lights. I think a Canadian dealer just hooks the car up to their computers and they activate the daytime running lights. The problem is, when I talked to Metro Ford in Calgary, they told me it would take a month or two to get the car ready for Canada - don't know if it was just the dealer that was trying to delay things because the car was purchased in the US or what, but I can't see why it would take so long. You could talk to Healy Ford in Edmonton to see what their policy is.

 

Or else you could try to get a better deal from a Canadian dealer. Winter is coming soon and I would think they need to get rid of some stock. Metro Ford in Calgary shows that they have 6 '09 GT500's and 4 '10 GT500's in stock on their website, so I would think they need to move some iron and should give a guy a deal.

[Ezkill]

Living in Calgary, I looked into getting a Shelby out of Bison Ford in Great Falls last year. I believe they have a dedicated salesman who deals with Canadians buying cars and bringing them back across the border. They seemed to be helpful and even offered to put me up in a hotel room. I decided against buying an '09 last year and ended up buying a '10 from Healy Ford in Edmonton, who were great. There is a government of Canada website that provides info. on how to import cars and what needs to be changed on imported vehicles. I think that all that needs to be done is activate the daytime running lights. I think a Canadian dealer just hooks the car up to their computers and they activate the daytime running lights. The problem is, when I talked to Metro Ford in Calgary, they told me it would take a month or two to get the car ready for Canada - don't know if it was just the dealer that was trying to delay things because the car was purchased in the US or what, but I can't see why it would take so long. You could talk to Healy Ford in Edmonton to see what their policy is.

 

Or else you could try to get a better deal from a Canadian dealer. Winter is coming soon and I would think they need to get rid of some stock. Metro Ford in Calgary shows that they have 6 '09 GT500's and 4 '10 GT500's in stock on their website, so I would think they need to move some iron and should give a guy a deal.

 

It's funny you mention these two dealers as I grew up in Calgary and have purchased many vehicles from them over the years, the salesman that I used to buy from there is actually the assistant general manager of the dealership. Sadly their inventory online is totally wrong, basically all of the Shelby's they have left are KR's and for some reason online it's omitting the KR package. Second option is Healey ford in Edmonton where I currently reside and I have a connection there as well as we buy dozens of fleet vehicles through them each year so my contact there is also willing to give me the allstar treatement and the best pricing possible. The problem is, the MSRP is so far apart and the exchange rate is so close there is absolutely no way to make up the difference of 8,000+ dollars. I'm saying 8,000 dollars because that's still the approximate difference using today's exchange rate and adding in shipping from Montana to my doorstep via covered carrier and coversion to Canadian specs.

 

As far as the conversion goes...I'm really not sure why metro hassled you like that. I've purchased 11 vehicles from them and they've always been #1 in my book. I've basically been told that any necessary modifications, daytime running lights and child restraint anchors can be done within a few hours. I'm really sorry you had that experience with them.

 

Again I'd ideally want to give my local dealerships the business but it's too much of a difference in money at this point. Maybe with the new fiscal year Ford will re-adjust the pricing a bit and make it more reasonable. If the difference was 3-4 thousand dollars I wouldn't even think about going down to the states.

[calgaryshelby]

It's funny you mention these two dealers as I grew up in Calgary and have purchased many vehicles from them over the years, the salesman that I used to buy from there is actually the assistant general manager of the dealership. Sadly their inventory online is totally wrong, basically all of the Shelby's they have left are KR's and for some reason online it's omitting the KR package. Second option is Healey ford in Edmonton where I currently reside and I have a connection there as well as we buy dozens of fleet vehicles through them each year so my contact there is also willing to give me the allstar treatement and the best pricing possible. The problem is, the MSRP is so far apart and the exchange rate is so close there is absolutely no way to make up the difference of 8,000+ dollars. I'm saying 8,000 dollars because that's still the approximate difference using today's exchange rate and adding in shipping from Montana to my doorstep via covered carrier and coversion to Canadian specs.

 

As far as the conversion goes...I'm really not sure why metro hassled you like that. I've purchased 11 vehicles from them and they've always been #1 in my book. I've basically been told that any necessary modifications, daytime running lights and child restraint anchors can be done within a few hours. I'm really sorry you had that experience with them.

 

Again I'd ideally want to give my local dealerships the business but it's too much of a difference in money at this point. Maybe with the new fiscal year Ford will re-adjust the pricing a bit and make it more reasonable. If the difference was 3-4 thousand dollars I wouldn't even think about going down to the states.

 

It's doubtful Ford is going to adjust the MSRP because the last time the Canadian dollar was so high, they took forever to react (Harley Davidson was the only such manufacturer that seemed to move quickly and adjust their MSRP accordingly). When the dollar was last so high, the salesman at Bison said they were selling 40-60 vehicles a month to buyers from Calgary.

 

I bought my current truck from Metro Ford, but when I was looking at getting the '10 Shelby, I spoke to two different salesman there and made it clear that I was serious and just needed pricing and to know when the car would be here if I ordered it. Both salesman indicated that they would call me back and both never did. Had the same problem with two other Ford dealers in Calgary. Given they were not so interested in making a sale, I called Healy Ford and within 10 minutes, had a price for me and a date when they could have my car here; as a result I purchased from them. That being said, when the A/C when out of my Shelby in the first week, Metro Ford did a great job and fixed it for me.

[Ezkill]

I doubt it as well, the situation that most companies don't want to get into is risking that things manufactured in the USA will be cheaper in Canada. You can imagine with the current economic situatin and with everything happening in the auto industry the uproar that would be caused if Americans started buying cars in Canada, again. A product made locally being cheaper in another country is always a cause for uproar. Most companies, ford included, simply aren't willing to hedge their bets on the price of the dollar. They will always basically make sure they are covered for the year, since they will only re-adjust once during the year. Unfortunately this is always bad news for us it seems.

 

I agree with you about Healey, I've spoken to our fleet guy for work there many a time and he would get me into a Shelby at the lowest possible price. We're such a huge account for them that they treat any staff wanting to buy personal vehicles very well. But like I've said before...his best price can't even come close to regular american MSRP .

[TRT 0403]

It's funny you mention these two dealers as I grew up in Calgary and have purchased many vehicles from them over the years, the salesman that I used to buy from there is actually the assistant general manager of the dealership. Sadly their inventory online is totally wrong, basically all of the Shelby's they have left are KR's and for some reason online it's omitting the KR package. Second option is Healey ford in Edmonton where I currently reside and I have a connection there as well as we buy dozens of fleet vehicles through them each year so my contact there is also willing to give me the allstar treatement and the best pricing possible. The problem is, the MSRP is so far apart and the exchange rate is so close there is absolutely no way to make up the difference of 8,000+ dollars. I'm saying 8,000 dollars because that's still the approximate difference using today's exchange rate and adding in shipping from Montana to my doorstep via covered carrier and coversion to Canadian specs.

 

As far as the conversion goes...I'm really not sure why metro hassled you like that. I've purchased 11 vehicles from them and they've always been #1 in my book. I've basically been told that any necessary modifications, daytime running lights and child restraint anchors can be done within a few hours. I'm really sorry you had that experience with them.

 

Again I'd ideally want to give my local dealerships the business but it's too much of a difference in money at this point. Maybe with the new fiscal year Ford will re-adjust the pricing a bit and make it more reasonable. If the difference was 3-4 thousand dollars I wouldn't even think about going down to the states.

 

There's a nice KR on display in the Calgary airport. Was getting a lot of attention when I was there on Sunday

[Joe Frito]

I imported my '08 from a dealer in South Dakota. Based on my experience, I would recommend that you drive or have the car shipped to the border and take it across yourself. An auto transport will charge you quite a bit extra to process everything to take it across. The process only took me about 30 minutes to get across both sides, and you will be charged GST and the green levy. All you need to do on the US is fax a form that you download from US customs 72 hours ahead to the border crossing you are taking the car through. They will check out your paperwork with the bill of sale and US title to the information you faxed in. The only thing that sucked was that it took awhile to find an auto transport to be able to bring me the car in a covered trailer. I can give you teh info for them if you want me to, as they did a great job.

 

Once you get it home, all you will need to do is get DRL's hooked up. I had them activated on the driving lights, as at the time Ford recommended not doing it on the headlights due to the HID's. They weren't available in Canada in 2008, so they possibly changed something to be able to have them on Canadian cars in 2009 that will allow you to do it. One tip I would give you, is I had an out of province inspection done along with the federal inspection, and the girl at the registry told me because the car was new that I didn't have to have the out of province done. Check with your registry first as it may save you a few bucks.

 

I was luck enough to get my car when the dollar was at par, and you are right about the savings. I have been thinking of upgrading to a 2010 as well, and I wouldn't hesitate to go back down to the US to get another one