Expected Discount
- Thread starter msheppard
- Start date
bl_smith25
Member
Good luck on that. You'll likely have to work for it since the Plateau XL is so popular that PW can't build them fast enough and dealers can't keep them on the lots, so they can easily sell them for whatever they want to someone else if you low-ball.
I would think you should get some, but wouldn't count on much unfortunately. Maybe one of the new owners will share their transaction information and give us an idea.
I would think you should get some, but wouldn't count on much unfortunately. Maybe one of the new owners will share their transaction information and give us an idea.
We just went through this exercise. We were willing to drive to a dealership anywhere in Canada or consider having it shipped to us. We made one offer on a new PW at 25% off MSRP and it was rejected. We found several dealers willing to give 10% off the MSRP and only one that went as low as 15% off MSRP.
In our humble opinion, it's really a dealership thing. On top of that you have to have a salesperson who is motivated. You have to shop around and find a dealer that is willing to take less. Many models of PW are snapped up so quickly that many dealers are not willing to discount too deeply. We also found that several dealers were only giving one or two thousand dollars off the MSRP because of how quickly the new PW's are selling...
In our humble opinion, it's really a dealership thing. On top of that you have to have a salesperson who is motivated. You have to shop around and find a dealer that is willing to take less. Many models of PW are snapped up so quickly that many dealers are not willing to discount too deeply. We also found that several dealers were only giving one or two thousand dollars off the MSRP because of how quickly the new PW's are selling...
Be very careful and do your homework well ahead of time if you wish to purchase a Pleasure Way in Canada for import to the U.S. (or any other vehicle or RV that's made for the Canadian market). If you don't it could cost you thousands of dollars to get it registered in the U.S. Here's my story...
Almost a year ago I purchased in Cranbrook, BC, Canada a 2006 PW Plateau TS that was in mint condition and for thousands less than those for sale in the U.S. I had no problem getting it into the U.S, but I had to be very creative getting it registered once back home since there are two criteria that have to be met. First, there needs to be a sticker on the engine that says that the vehicle meets EPA emission standards. No problema there amigos as it had the sticker, however.... There needs to be a sticker on the driver's side door jamb that states the vehicle meets U.S. DOT safety standards.... Big problem: My vehicle's sticker states that it meets Canadian DOT safety standards (which happen, BTW, to be higher than those in the U.S., but that does not play a role, unfortunately).
At the Idaho/Canada border I was told at U.S Customs that to get it registered in the U.S. I "simply" need to get a letter from the vehicle manufacturer, MB or Dodge/Chrysler, that states the vehicle meets U.S. DOT safety standards. Here's the problem.... Manufacturers, probably due to liability issues, no longer issue such letters. Multiple calls to MB, Dodge/Chrysler and PW in Canada and U.S. were unsuccessful.
After much research I learned that I needed to hire a U.S. certified automobile importer to do the paperwork to verify that my 2005 MB Sprinter chassis meets NHTSA and FMVSS regulations. As it turns out, a nearby auto dealer that I had bought a car from several years ago is a certified importer. The first question he asked me was what the first letter of the VIN is. I said, "W." His response, "not good," since it means the MB chassis was made in Germany, not subject to NAFTA and I would have to pay a few thousand $$$$ in import duty. On top of that, the services of a certified auto importer cost a couple of thousand dollars. My options were to bite the bullet and hire the importer, return the vehicle to Canada and sell it there or go online and see if there was some way around this mess. I chose the latter, but only that evening after giving the importer all the documents he needed to do his work.
Late that evening (about 3 a.m.!!), after many hours of sleuthing at the NHTSA and FMVSS websites I found what I needed: certified government documents from a California-based importer proving that 2001-2005 Sprinters are essentially equivalent to those in the U.S. that meet US DOT safety standards. What a goldmine!! (see the attachments for details)
All I needed to do now was get a 24 hr vehicle license from the licensing agency in town, drive the PW to U.S. Customs at the Port of Seattle (only 45 minutes from home), show them a copy of the import documents and then hope that they would stamp the one page U.S. government vehicle import form required to legally import and license the vehicle in the U.S. The customs agent took a quick glance at the paperwork, walked outside to check the VIN and then stamped the form. I was out of there in no more than 10 minutes! Best of all, there was no mention of import duty! I was one elated camper!
I returned to the licensing agency with the stamped import form and had the vehicle licensed in 10 minutes, but a few thousand dollars poorer due to WA state taxes....
Moral of the story.... Do the necessary due diligence before buying a vehicle in Canada that was manufactured for the Canadian market!! Not doing so could be very costly!!
Almost a year ago I purchased in Cranbrook, BC, Canada a 2006 PW Plateau TS that was in mint condition and for thousands less than those for sale in the U.S. I had no problem getting it into the U.S, but I had to be very creative getting it registered once back home since there are two criteria that have to be met. First, there needs to be a sticker on the engine that says that the vehicle meets EPA emission standards. No problema there amigos as it had the sticker, however.... There needs to be a sticker on the driver's side door jamb that states the vehicle meets U.S. DOT safety standards.... Big problem: My vehicle's sticker states that it meets Canadian DOT safety standards (which happen, BTW, to be higher than those in the U.S., but that does not play a role, unfortunately).
At the Idaho/Canada border I was told at U.S Customs that to get it registered in the U.S. I "simply" need to get a letter from the vehicle manufacturer, MB or Dodge/Chrysler, that states the vehicle meets U.S. DOT safety standards. Here's the problem.... Manufacturers, probably due to liability issues, no longer issue such letters. Multiple calls to MB, Dodge/Chrysler and PW in Canada and U.S. were unsuccessful.
After much research I learned that I needed to hire a U.S. certified automobile importer to do the paperwork to verify that my 2005 MB Sprinter chassis meets NHTSA and FMVSS regulations. As it turns out, a nearby auto dealer that I had bought a car from several years ago is a certified importer. The first question he asked me was what the first letter of the VIN is. I said, "W." His response, "not good," since it means the MB chassis was made in Germany, not subject to NAFTA and I would have to pay a few thousand $$$$ in import duty. On top of that, the services of a certified auto importer cost a couple of thousand dollars. My options were to bite the bullet and hire the importer, return the vehicle to Canada and sell it there or go online and see if there was some way around this mess. I chose the latter, but only that evening after giving the importer all the documents he needed to do his work.
Late that evening (about 3 a.m.!!), after many hours of sleuthing at the NHTSA and FMVSS websites I found what I needed: certified government documents from a California-based importer proving that 2001-2005 Sprinters are essentially equivalent to those in the U.S. that meet US DOT safety standards. What a goldmine!! (see the attachments for details)
All I needed to do now was get a 24 hr vehicle license from the licensing agency in town, drive the PW to U.S. Customs at the Port of Seattle (only 45 minutes from home), show them a copy of the import documents and then hope that they would stamp the one page U.S. government vehicle import form required to legally import and license the vehicle in the U.S. The customs agent took a quick glance at the paperwork, walked outside to check the VIN and then stamped the form. I was out of there in no more than 10 minutes! Best of all, there was no mention of import duty! I was one elated camper!
I returned to the licensing agency with the stamped import form and had the vehicle licensed in 10 minutes, but a few thousand dollars poorer due to WA state taxes....
Moral of the story.... Do the necessary due diligence before buying a vehicle in Canada that was manufactured for the Canadian market!! Not doing so could be very costly!!
Yes, if we (Canadians) buy a US vehicle, we have to meet the 'RIV' requirements in Canada. Generally, it has to sit at the border for 24 hours (maybe 48 - can't recall) and the Canadian border people query the vehicle status etc. We pay the taxes for the vehicle and bring it into Canada. Then we take it to a vehicle inspection facility where they ensure it meets Canadian requirements (often running lights, speedo that has km/hr, etc.) Some vehicles are not allowed in Canada, and some are very expensive to have the required changes made to meet the standards. I agree, do your homework before considering which vehicle to purchase across the border.Be very careful and do your homework well ahead of time if you wish to purchase a Pleasure Way in Canada for import to the U.S. (or any other vehicle or RV that's made for the Canadian market). If you don't it could cost you thousands of dollars to get it registered in the U.S. Here's my story...
Almost a year ago I purchased in Cranbrook, BC, Canada a 2006 PW Plateau TS that was in mint condition and for thousands less than those for sale in the U.S. I had no problem getting it into the U.S, but I had to be very creative getting it registered once back home since there are two criteria that have to be met. First, there needs to be a sticker on the engine that says that the vehicle meets EPA emission standards. No problema there amigos as it had the sticker, however.... There needs to be a sticker on the driver's side door jamb that states the vehicle meets U.S. DOT safety standards.... Big problem: My vehicle's sticker states that it meets Canadian DOT safety standards (which happen, BTW, to be higher than those in the U.S., but that does not play a role, unfortunately).
At the Idaho/Canada border I was told at U.S Customs that to get it registered in the U.S. I "simply" need to get a letter from the vehicle manufacturer, MB or Dodge/Chrysler, that states the vehicle meets U.S. DOT safety standards. Here's the problem.... Manufacturers, probably due to liability issues, no longer issue such letters. Multiple calls to MB, Dodge/Chrysler and PW in Canada and U.S. were unsuccessful.
After much research I learned that I needed to hire a U.S. certified automobile importer to do the paperwork to verify that my 2005 MB Sprinter chassis meets NHTSA and FMVSS regulations. As it turns out, a nearby auto dealer that I had bought a car from several years ago is a certified importer. The first question he asked me was what the first letter of the VIN is. I said, "W." His response, "not good," since it means the MB chassis was made in Germany, not subject to NAFTA and I would have to pay a few thousand $$$$ in import duty. On top of that, the services of a certified auto importer cost a couple of thousand dollars. My options were to bite the bullet and hire the importer, return the vehicle to Canada and sell it there or go online and see if there was some way around this mess. I chose the latter, but only that evening after giving the importer all the documents he needed to do his work.
Late that evening (about 3 a.m.!!), after many hours of sleuthing at the NHTSA and FMVSS websites I found what I needed: certified government documents from a California-based importer proving that 2001-2005 Sprinters are essentially equivalent to those in the U.S. that meet US DOT safety standards. What a goldmine!! (see the attachments for details)
All I needed to do now was get a 24 hr vehicle license from the licensing agency in town, drive the PW to U.S. Customs at the Port of Seattle (only 45 minutes from home), show them a copy of the import documents and then hope that they would stamp the one page U.S. government vehicle import form required to legally import and license the vehicle in the U.S. The customs agent took a quick glance at the paperwork, walked outside to check the VIN and then stamped the form. I was out of there in no more than 10 minutes! Best of all, there was no mention of import duty! I was one elated camper!
I returned to the licensing agency with the stamped import form and had the vehicle licensed in 10 minutes, but a few thousand dollars poorer due to WA state taxes....
Moral of the story.... Do the necessary due diligence before buying a vehicle in Canada that was manufactured for the Canadian market!! Not doing so could be very costly!!
NorthPotomac
New member
I have been told that Canadian dealers cannot sell a new PW to US buyers, or Mercedes will take back their franchise. However I'm also told (by a dealer) that there is no limit to selling USED Class B's to US buyers, and that they provide all the paperwork we will need at the border. Prices seem much cheaper in Canada, given the exchange rate, so I'll be looking for a used 2016 or 2017 PW Plateau FL next year.
But what of the original posting in this thread? What kind of discount (in the US) should we expect off list price for a new PW? And (purely out of intellectual curiosity, since apparently we cannot buy new ones in Canada) is the same discount given off list for new PW's in Canada?
But what of the original posting in this thread? What kind of discount (in the US) should we expect off list price for a new PW? And (purely out of intellectual curiosity, since apparently we cannot buy new ones in Canada) is the same discount given off list for new PW's in Canada?