04/22/2025
Why you should avoid buying a Canadian Vehicle!
You will often see in my used car listings that my vehicle is NOT Canadian. I get asked quite often why I say that or why shouldn't they buy a Canadian used vehicle. Over the last year there has been an excessive amount of Canadian used cars flooding the U.S. market. These cars are being brought to many US Auto Auctions and dealers are buying them for their inventory. Dealers like to buy them because often they are significantly less expensive than the exact same one that was made for and spent its life in the U.S. These same dealers can make hundreds even thousands of dollars more when they convince you to buy one. Don't make a $2,000 mistake. Here are a few things to consider.
#1 Canada has a much harsher climate the here in Michigan. Many people would rather buy a vehicle that did not come from a northern state let alone from an even higher northern country. I have seen many of these come from very rural areas of Canada like Nova Scotia and Newfoundland( island). Two months ago I had a customer considering one of our vehicles and another one down the road at another dealer that was $500 less. I pointed out it was missing a few options and Canadian(from Newfoundland). I then pointed out that the brake lines all had recently been replaced. I have been selling used cars for over 23 years and have never changed all the brake lines on a 4 year old vehicle because of corrosion. I am positive there were other items that were probably needing replacing very soon. Once corrosion and rust starts it is very hard if not impossible to stop.
#2 These vehicles were not made to be sold the the U.S. Market. The USA and Canada have different standards for their vehicles. I am positive these may be very minor differences and not be all that concerning but nonetheless it could also effect things like recalls and Service Bulletins. Even warranties could be affected. I have seen manufactures replace defective parts or extend the warranty for known issues. Many times these are only in effect when in their home country. Vehicle features and options may also be packaged quite differently in these vehicles.
#3 Carfax- Now this is a bigger factor than most people realize. Everyone wants to see the Carfax before they buy a used car.....and even if you don't, I implore you do INDEED LOOK AT THE CARFAX. Carfax has been in the US market for over 20 year and is not perfect by any means. Carfax has only recently been in the Canadian market for a very short time. They are just now setting up their sources for all the information you find on the report. A vehicle from Canada may be missing very important data that Carfax just doesn't have yet. Most consumers would rather not buy a vehicle that has had 3 owners or been in a bad accident. If Carfax does not have the data source yet, you could be buying a vehicle with an truly unknown vehicle history report even when the Carfax states One Owner(or is blank) and lists no accidents reported. It may be a few years before Carfax has everything up to date on vehicles from Canada. Until then......it might not be worth the risk.
#4 Resale Value - here is another point that can really impact you later down the road. If Canadian cars are not all the desirable now and have a lower value today, just think what this will mean when you want to sell or trade it in a few years from now. It could bring hundreds to thousands of dollars less. There are some people(and even dealers like me) that have no desire to have a Canadian vehicle at any price. It could make it harder to get rid of down the road. The last thing you want is to buy a vehicle today and then find out Carfax finally added an accident to the history report and no one wants your car because it is Canadian.
#5 This point is rather small but worth noting. Right now there is enough of a used car shortage to make the prices of used cars a little higher than normal. Cars that are in Higher Demand sell pretty quickly and dealers can make higher than average profits. Do you think that Canada is sending us their good ,Above Average, high demand, higher profit and quick selling vehicles? Of course not. They are sending us the ones they can't sell in Canada. Ones from rural areas of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and other cities with inventory just sitting around. If they don't want that car in Canada......do you really want it here?
In the end it is your choice on which used car to purchase. Make sure you have all the facts and don't let a salesman sugarcoat the process or the vehicle. If something feels off, walk away and look into it a bit more. Don't make a $2000 mistake if you can help it.
