Buying a car from Quebec - convince me not to

[Superman403]

I found a pretty good deal on a BMW x5, the problem is it's from Quebec.

You hear horror stories about unreported accidents, roll back odometers (I don't know how you could even do that on newer cars without changing the whole cluster), etc.

Is this all urban myth now? Has anyone ever gone through with this? or know someone who has?

The sales man says I have to pay PST then claim back from Alberta Govt. True? He has never sold to Alberta before, just many to Ontario and that's how they do it.

[bjstare]

1. Don't pay PST. No idea how you'd get that back from our government.
2. French Canadians suck. Don't give them your money.

That's all I've got to offer :rofl:

[JRSC00LUDE]

The fact that it's from Quebec should convince you not too, if that's not enough then no one else can say anything to change your mind.

[killramos]

My volkswagen was originally from over there. Annoying that all the stickers were in french :rofl:

I don't think being from Quebec makes it any more or less likely to be fraudulent.

and you definitely don't get PST back from the Alberta government( you never gave them money why would they give it back to you). Most dealers in BC wont charge you pst if you are going right back to Alberta.

[ExtraSlow]

If it's a great deal including the hassle and PST (that I doubt you'll ever get back), I guess giv'er. You have to wonder why a popular vehicle like that would be for sale cheaply if there was nothing wrong with it.
At minimum, I'd do the carproof on it.

I'm the kind of guy who likes to buy vehicles locally, but maybe I'm just distrusting.

[Rocket1k78]

There seemed to be more choice and way better pricing from quebec when i was looking. Have it inspected at a Bmw dealer before hand

[Dumbass17]

Originally posted by Rocket1k78
There seemed to be more choice and way better pricing from quebec when i was looking. Have it inspected at a Bmw dealer before hand

I take my X5 to Vitek and they've been great.

I didn't do an inspection prior to buying mine. I think I got a good deal because the water pump went 2 weeks later but has been awesome since:D

LOVE my X

[SkiBum5.0]

First off, the dealer has every right to ask for you to pay PST - they have to pay it. It's a risk for them not to charge you PST, because if you don't register the vehicle in AB, and they get audited, the dealer is responsible for the PST. Claiming it back from the AB government is easy but takes 6-8 weeks at best. When I bought my car from an ON dealer, I just gave them a CC deposit (delta between AB and ON tax) that would be returned once the car was registered in AB. That way if I screw them they can just keep the deposit.

Secondly, all the items you brought up about Quebec are true plus the fact they use salt liberally there in the winter. I would only buy from QC is its from a brand name dealer and it comes with a PPI. Same goes for Ontario.

[FraserB]

Originally posted by cjblair
1. Don't pay PST. No idea how you'd get that back from our government.
2. French Canadians suck. Don't give them your money.

That's all I've got to offer :rofl:

Came in to post this.

And rust.

[Superman403]

Originally posted by SkiBum5.0
First off, the dealer has every right to ask for you to pay PST - they have to pay it. It's a risk for them not to charge you PST, because if you don't register the vehicle in AB, and they get audited, the dealer is responsible for the PST. Claiming it back from the AB government is easy but takes 6-8 weeks at best. When I bought my car from an ON dealer, I just gave them a CC deposit (delta between AB and ON tax) that would be returned once the car was registered in AB. That way if I screw them they can just keep the deposit.

Secondly, all the items you brought up about Quebec are true plus the fact they use salt liberally there in the winter. I would only buy from QC is its from a brand name dealer and it comes with a PPI. Same goes for Ontario.

Thanks for all the info guys.
Good idea to get inspected at the authorized BMW.
I think Quebec has a bad rep because of the language barrier sometimes.

Anyways, How did you get your car here SkiBum? Ship it, or fly down and drive back?

If it is shipped I think the dealer has proof that it wasn't registered / sold within QC and thus doesn't have to charge PST. I know that was the case when I was bought a car from states.

[heavyD]

Cars last maybe 5 years from new before they are rusted out in Quebec. That's why their cars are so cheap used. I would only consider it if the car is log mileage and two years old or newer. Anything older than that and you will have major rust issues in a few years.

[heavyfuel]

Make sure the seller throws in a few cases of maple syrup prior to further consideration.

[RX_EVOLV]

I was looking at a used M3 Cab from a BMW dealer in Quebec a couple years ago. It looked like such a good deal. Newer car (<4 yrs), low mileage (<60k), car looked good in high res photos, carproof is clean, price is good (<$6K less than AB equivalent), and from an official BMW dealership.

However I finally convinced the guy to send me the service history and it raised some red flags. After painstakingly translating everything from french using google translate, it seems like the car was in the shop over 20 times in under 4 years, with stuff like alignment issues repainting bumpers, etc. including alot of recurring issues. Decided to walk away.

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by heavyD
Cars last maybe 5 years from new before they are rusted out in Quebec. That's why their cars are so cheap used. I would only consider it if the car is log mileage and two years old or newer. Anything older than that and you will have major rust issues in a few years.

Rust. Rustrustrustrustrust.

On top of that, I've said this before, but so what if it is "inspected at an authorized BMW dealer"?

People seem to think that this somehow prevents there being issues with the car, and in reality, it really doesn't matter. It is still a crapshoot.

Never buy a car without driving and/or inspecting it yourself. Otherwise, you are taking a gamble.

[Dumbass17]

Maybe I should sell you my beloved X5?

just rolled over to 100k kms. 2006. Midnight blue. Only used as a 'soup kitchen' twice

[rage2]

Buying a car from Quebec is like banging a cheap hooker bareback. Sometimes you get lucky and you've got a great story to tell about how cheap and awesome it was, but more often than not you'll be stuck with the pain for a few years.

[Superman403]

I decided against it. Thanks.
Too much risk involved. And even if I was lucky and got a good deal, there is no getting away from losing that re-sale value in a few years.

I think Rage said it best though. Good laugh.


Originally posted by rage2
Buying a car from Quebec is like banging a cheap hooker bareback. Sometimes you get lucky and you've got a great story to tell about how cheap and awesome it was, but more often than not you'll be stuck with the pain for a few years.

[SkiBum5.0]

Probably a good choice.

Btw I flew to ON, verified the car was a summer only car (through service records at BMW and storage receipts), then had it PPI'd by Engineered Automotive in Vaughan. Some items were noted (valve cover gasket weeping needed rear tires and maintenance required). Had the dealer split the cost with me and then had the maintenance done by Bimmersport in Toronto before I accepted delivery. That meant the car had been seen by me, one high end auto service place and then finally by probably one of the top M service places in the country.

Only then was I comfortable buying the car and driving it back here. Dealer was excellent to work with, if maybe a bit "quiet" on the rear tires and maintenance required.

[Redlyne_mr2]

They still repair vehicles the "old fashion" way in Quebec as well. Say you have a small fender bender, here they replace the damaged body panels with new ones. IN In quebec they still do lots of panel repair (bond, fiberglass, etc).

[Asian_defender]

Originally posted by rage2
Buying a car from Quebec is like banging a cheap hooker bareback. Sometimes you get lucky and you've got a great story to tell about how cheap and awesome it was, but more often than not you'll be stuck with the pain for a few years.


:rofl: :rofl: QFT

[M.alex]

Originally posted by heavyD
Cars last maybe 5 years from new before they are rusted out in Quebec. That's why their cars are so cheap used. I would only consider it if the car is log mileage and two years old or newer. Anything older than that and you will have major rust issues in a few years.

I thought they used about the same amount of salt we do?

[BBursey]

Hi -

Since you've already decided to pass, I'll only hope my story helps convince the next person that searches for and finds this thread.

I bought a 2004 S4 Avant with 30,000km in May 2011 from Quebec. I had a PPI completed at an Audi dealership before completing the sale - no issues found.

We had the car shipped to Calgary and on our way home from the pick-up point, the airbag light comes on. No big deal - it's a known issue with an under-seat connector - except that wasn't it. It turns out that our super-low-mileage wagon was a rolling show car / boom box and had been wired with some crazy competition-grade speaker system. We had to tear the dash out, found burned cables, holes in the firewall for this stereo wiring, left-over parts that hadn't been fully removed, etc.

The dealer was sketchy and the Audi dealership PPI was a pencil-whipping exercise. Buyer beware (as always).

Cheers,
Bryan

PS> Since getting the wiring sorted, we've also replaced the front subframe and front fenders due to rust. Other than that, it's been normal (for an S4) maintenance and issues - control arms wearing out, rocks damaging the aux radiators, etc. It's a bloody expensive car to run, but a V8 station wagon with a stick is still worth it.

[btimbit]

It'll fall apart, 49% of it will want to separate from the rest, but it will be the federal government's fault.

[killramos]

Originally posted by btimbit
It'll fall apart, 49% of it will want to separate from the rest, but it will be the federal government's fault.

:rofl:

[01RedDX]

.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by M.alex


I thought they used about the same amount of salt we do?

They use more because they get more snow and it's very humid and it's the humidity that really promotes rust. Calgary is bone dry in comparison.