WA State- Can't buy new Kubota Canada?

[toukow]

I posted in the New Holland section on looking to sell my Ford 1700 and buy a L2501 Kubota. Given I'm in WA, I figured I'd explore taking advantage of exchange rate and contacted a dealer in Vancouver, BC. I was surprised when he said hew would not sell me a new tractor, only a used one. I asked why, and he said it was a Kubota Canada policy. I can understand why they would want to prevent undercutting the local US dealers with a 30% exchange rate advantage. Is this common for the other manufacturs as well?

He stated to bring a used tractor back into the US of this size (not sure of the HP cutoff point) would simply take a 'Bill of Sale' and my ID, so I will keep an eye on prices there out of curiosity. Most likely I'll keep what I have, but it's always fun to look. Thanks, Toukow

 

[davesl708]

Glad that Canadian/US policy does not apply to other things. I have found some good deals when I am up there.

 

[tcartwri]

Pretty much universal with all the equipment and vehicle manufacturers.

It was the same for us going down when the dollar was high. Subaru being the most famous example. Same car in the States could be $10K cheaper and you could not buy them.

 

[Paystar]

I've heard that, but my dealer seems to sell more stuff to the U.S. side than here?
And there is a JD/Kubota dealer on the Michigan side. Needless to say they don't like each other very much, LOL.

 

[rgr33]

Last year I talked to Scholtens Equipmennt in Lynden Wa. Which is close to the Canadian border. He said they keep an extra large stock of used Kubotas for the Canadian customers. They seem to move them out pretty quickly.

 

[Travelover]

How do you exchange a large amount of currency without getting gouged on the exchange rate?

 

[Farmer495]

I think Kubota has all kinds of "we will yank your dealership if you do the following" rules, I can't think of any other reason he would turn down a sale.

I looked at the US Kubota site and CDN one a few weeks back, not all the models are the same as well.

 

[varmint]

Usually your bank, or credit union, or financial institution can get Can. dollars, or US dollars if you are Canadian, for you at pretty much the official exchange rate. Just don't hold on to them too long. I still have some French Francs from long ago- not worth squat since France has been using Euros for what, 10-12 years??

 

[toukow]

Last year I talked to Scholtens Equipmennt in Lynden Wa. Which is close to the Canadian border. He said they keep an extra large stock of used Kubotas for the Canadian customers. They seem to move them out pretty quickly.

It was Scholten's who provided the quote I stated in my other post on the Ford 1700. They had quoted me $22,780 ( $1,000 rebate for paying cash) out the door for a L2501 with loader. It is more than I wanted to spend (actually, when is that not the case? ), which is why I thought about the exchange rate, and any possible advantage it may have offered. I even wondered if I could 'game the system' and have an Canadian acquaintance pay cash for one and turn around and sell it to me. Might present a problem if one had warranty issues though.

Oh, well, at this time I intend on just keeping what I have, as the only reason I was looking at a new one was accessibility issues. The newer tractors are sweet for easy access without the gear shifts and fenders in the way. Then again, this one's paid for!

Good to know this applies to the other manufacturer's as well. I will probably keep an eye on the used market there as I've learned I like to shop. Thanks for the comments, Toukow

 

[firemech]

Can't speak to Kubota dealers but lots on snowmobile, ATV and marine dealers have "used" product that seems to be very low in hours or kilometers (miles) like 6 hours or 40 km magically appear along the border areas when the dollar is just "so". It might be said that a few years back when the Canadian dollar was high a lot of U.S. dealer seemed to have the same issue.

 

[Sprinklerman]

Show up with a canadian friend in their truck . Dont tell them you are not canadian . Just show them the money . When they ask for an address , give them your friends .

 

[Rustyiron]

I thought that most "dealerships" have a factory appointed/protected territory as part of the factory/dealership agreement. (besides the US/Canada border issue)

 

[The Fred]

Also being two separate entities warranty issues could be a problem.

I remember snowmobiling in Quebec and a buddy's new Yamaha broke down but the Canadian dealers told us the repairs had to be paid for by the customer then the bill submitted through Yamaha USA they would rebate the coin involved.

2 separate companies.

That 30% exchange rate sure looks good huh? Fred

 

[Kubota 2350]

I know guy's that live in Canada and have bought new Honda motorcycles in the US and taken them back without any problems.
Wonder why the tractors would be any different?

They do have to come back to the US for warranty issues though.

 

[check]

Pretty much universal with all the equipment and vehicle manufacturers. It was the same for us going down when the dollar was high. Subaru being the most famous example. Same car in the States could be $10K cheaper and you could not buy them.

Same problem with the Bombardier ATVs. (They are now called CanAm ATVs.).

They were made in Canada, and yet you could get them a lot cheaper in the US! Only problem was, all the US dealers were told not to sell to Canadians.

 

[ultrarunner]

It was the same both ways on cars... when I bought my US spec BMW in Germany my German co-workers could not understand why the price I paid including US Delivery was 19% cheaper than the price they would be charged... taxes is the answer.

Prior I had a friend that was importing Grey Market Mercedes from Europe and reselling in the U.S. and made money because of the very favorable exchange rate at the time... yes, there were warranty and parts issues.

It was interesting that another friend was driving his mercedes around the world... had a problem in the United States and Mercedes came through citing it was a German registered car owned by a German on Holiday...

 

[MHarryE]

It was the same both ways on cars... when I bought my US spec BMW in Germany my German co-workers could not understand why the price I paid including US Delivery was 19% cheaper than the price they would be charged... taxes is the answer. Prior I had a friend that was importing Grey Market Mercedes from Europe and reselling in the U.S. and made money because of the very favorable exchange rate at the time... yes, there were warranty and parts issues. It was interesting that another friend was driving his mercedes around the world... had a problem in the United States and Mercedes came through citing it was a German registered car owned by a German on Holiday...

Same thing for me - when living in France and getting ready to return to America, I had my French dealer quote an American spec car in hope that I could make a trade for the Euro spec BMW he had sold me when I arrived. There was no way he could get around my having to pay VAT so I ended up buying mine on the Internet through a dealer in New Jersey, picked it up in Munich, dropped it off at the airport in Paris, got on my flight back, and got an extra 7% discount for taking the European delivery. One thing about the European countries VAT though, I had highways to drive on in France versus potholes to negotiate in America.

 

[ultrarunner]

I still get a smile everytime I get behind the wheel thinking of the fun I had driving the autobahn in Germany with this car.

I saved the tax, negotiated a great price and traveled Europe without having to pay for a rental car and it was a BMW at that... my one new car purchase.

It would seem any Kubota Dealer issues could be worked around as long as customs isn't a problem... I would hate to buy something only to find I could not import it or the cost to do so made it unattractive.

A sale is a sale and I would not be surprised there are not brokers that specialize in this.

So if it is possible the next question is at what price makes it desirable...

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

the issue here is that Kubota Canada and Kubota USA are two separate companies. I believe quite a bit of stuff is different, product registrations, warranty systems, etc. Canada even has some models and attachments that don't exist in the USA. Not discouraging cross border sales would open a huge can of worms.

 

[Rock knocker]

I thought that most "dealerships" have a factory appointed/protected territory as part of the factory/dealership agreement

Enforcement of that in the US by a US company upon US citizens would be illegal due to colusion and other anti-trust violation. I don't know the legal status of sales to Canadians, but if you notice, many of the other discussions involve CanAm ATVs, and those discussions occured in 2007.

But a dealer in Whatcom county who would decline a sale to an individual in Pierce county because the South Sound was outside their sales area would be in violation of Federal law. The dealer can decline to go to Pierce to make the sale, and maybe even decline to deliver to Pierce, but if a Pierce county farmer drove up to Whatcom the dealer could legally not decline the sale.