[sheldan2]

I bought a bike in Arizona in February,took it to north carolina, spent a few months tweaking it, fixing small issues. My brother flew down to me, I gave him a bill of sale, the title and proof of insurance and he rode the bike back to Ontario, went through import at the border , paid the duty etc and all was fine. Now he tells me they require a recall letter from BMW for whatever reason, he got hold of the dealership in Keswick near where he lives and they told him, they would give him one but it would cost $500.00. Anyone else ever had to deal with this issue?

 

[Mugszy]

The recall letter is BMW Canada's way of grabbing more money. There are a number of posts on this rather controversial issue. BMW is trying to discourage Canadian buyers to buy from the lower priced US market. If you live in the states, your best bet is to go to your BMW dealer who should be willing to provide you with the letter for little to no cost.

Hope this helps.

Mugz

 

[05hexhead]

The recall letter is BMW Canada's way of grabbing more money. There are a number of posts on this rather controversial issue. BMW is trying to discourage Canadian buyers to buy from the lower priced US market. If you live in the states, your best bet is to go to your BMW dealer who should be willing to provide you with the letter for little to no cost.

Hope this helps.

Mugz

+1 Try your local dealer running the VIN for recalls. Have them print it off.

Here is a link with some other attachments on the subject.

http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60816&highlight=import

 

[saddleman]

Hey Mike if you go to our local dealer for the recall letter apply for your 100,000 mile BMW award while your there. I just got mine last Saturday.

 

[sheldan2]

DAVE, I already spoke with them, they were very helpful but refused to give me the letter, stating BMW will not let them give the letter out. They did say that there was dealers in the states that will and do give the letter out but they could not tell me who did it. I suppose i could always call every dealer and see who would do it.

Tried getting the 100k award from the dealer and did not have all the origonal paperwork with me so maybe one day.

 

[bobst2]

i got one from bmw usa but riv did not want to accept it but after a long dissussion informing them that bmw canada had to go to bmw usa for the info. and asking them why they were in kahoots with bmw canada to steal 500 dollars from me they finaly accepted it. that was a couple of years ago and mabey i just hit a simpathic ear that day.i also had a copy of the service records from the dealer in nevada.
it does clearly state in the riv documents that a recall letter is required.you should of done the reaserch prior to purchase. some manufactures give it out for free & some charge fees. ducati also charges 500$. after the local dealers told me they were going to charge me the 500$ fee i informed them they would never see me or the bike for parts or service and they never have or will.i buy everything in the u.s. and do my own repairs.

i feel for you but you might be condemed to pay it

 

[itspossible]

I just imported a 2008 RT from the U S and had the dealer letterhead recall letter for the bike, RIV refused it even though I used the same type of letter 5 years ago to import an LT. They now demanded a type of Corporate letter from BMW stating no open campaigns on the bike. I was dealing with Fort Myers Gulf Coast BMW. They initially refused to fax me that letter however after praising them for their great bike and service they did fax a corporate letter to RIV however they said they would blackout certain parts, it did the trick. They had been specifically warned against doing so by BMW but I guess they felt an obligation to a good customer. I really had a tough time getting this bike into Canada but eventually succeeded in getting around the $500 penalty.

Phone RIV and get the name of the 2 acceptable documents and try to get a dealer to supply one...you may get lucky.

Ron

 

[sheldan2]

Thanks for the replies, I have forewarded all replies to my brother and am now letting him deal with the situation, he will either get around paying the fee or he will have to deal with it.

 

[gladiator99]

I had to deal with the same issue 3 years ago when I bought a 2006 Lt in Washington and brought it back to Canada. I phoned 3 or 4 US dealers to get a recall letter or service record and none of them would comply. A local dealer in Canada told me I would have to leave the bike there for 2 weeks to get the recall letter. I called a dealer in Vancouver and he told me to drop by on my way home and in 5 minutes he came out to get the vin # and after paying $580.00 with taxes, They would have BMW Canada send me a recall letter. There is a class action lawsuit in process against BMW and RIV Canada for what is really extortion.
I havn't heard when this might be finalized but at least I have my name in for compensation if it is successful.
Good luck,
Jim :dance: