Re: CANADIAN VS USA OUTBOARDS
Ah Canada, land of the 62 cent dollar. <br /><br />What you guys are talking about is something we probably pay more attention to up here than you. There is a lot of deliberate misinformation put out by dealers and manufacturers about cross-border shopping.<br /><br />As our dollar fluctuates against yours the price of the same goods in the two countries sometimes gets out of whack. In university I had a job driving used trucks to Seattle to sell in auction there. The trucks were sold new when the canadian dollar and us dollar were at par then depreciated at the same speed in both countries but meanwhile the Canadian dollar nosedived so the guy I worked for could make 20% on a truck just by driving it 150 miles south.<br /><br />Right now, the canadian dollar is so low that many companies sell things in Canada much cheaper than they do in the U.S.. The prices haven't risen to compensate, perhaps because our wages haven't kept up with the drop in our dollar and they're afraid to raise the prices (and under a lot of pressure from retailers). <br /><br />Companies know that a few people will try to take advantage of this and cross-border shop. They sometimes write restrictions into warranties to discourage this. However, they also have to weigh this against bad PR if an ordinary buyer innocently crosses the border due to a transfer or a vacation and can't get service. Recently I have heard that Ford and Chrysler have bitten the bullet and you can buy a ford or Chrysler in Canada and take it south and get full service. <br /><br />The short answer is you have to read the warranty every time. If it doesn't say you get coverage outside the country where you bought it then you likely won't get any coverage. There may also be restrictions. You are sometimes covered while travelling in another country but not if you move there. The only way to find out is to read it. I would be careful taking any dealer's word for it or the word of a customer relations guy at the manufacturer either way (they have a serious conflict of interest)<br /><br />As for EPA standards preventing import, I wonder Wooly Bugger if a U.S. Dealer or Honda U.S. told you that. Ask a customs broker instead because I think your info is dead wrong. Canada has a free trade agreement with the U.S.. It is true that the two countries sometimes have slightly different emission standards but, except maybe for California, it's my understanding that most engines meet both sets of standards and can be freely imported (I remember before free trade arguing the point with U.S. customs guys many times when the truck I was importing was missing the US EPA sticker). It is not against the law for a Canadian dealer to sell an outboard into the U.S. or for you to import it (although it may be a breach of their dealer's agreement with the manufacturer to sell to an American). You will not get in trouble but you will have to fill in some paperwork. Customs brokers help you do this for a small fee.<br /><br />One final warning, beware of "grey marketers" who make a living out of cross border shopping. We have had trouble here with companies that offer their own warranty to replace the lost manufacturer's warranty. Not surprisingly, these businesses don't last past the next rise or drop in the dollar and the warranties are useless.
