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Good job you found out before taking the trip, I suppose... You do realize that simply because part of Canada speaks French doesn't mean they get all the same things as France?I'm sure about five people a year do so while visiting family down there, just for the hell of it. Otherwise, no.All cars have VINs. I'm sure there is an ass-backwards way of fooling your DMV and insurance company into thinking it's a Nissan of some sort, but even in that unlikely scenario, what happens when you need to service it or get into an accident?More of a curiosity at this point is why in the world would the Fluence be the car for which you'd be willing to go through the troubles of importing one (even assuming for a second that it was possible)??
+1's ...
its a fairly cheap large enough luxury that would be unique. no one else has one so i would be first.
+1's ...
its a fairly cheap large enough luxury that would be unique. no one else has one so i would be first.
It may be cheap to buy, but not to import, own, operate, etc. So that argument is out the door. Luxury? To each their own, but it's just another Nissan Sentra in different clothes, so I'm not quite sure what features you find to be luxurious.
My mind struggles to fathom how this uniqueness would, in any way, shape or form, be desirable. Nobody but the most fervent of enthusiasts would know what it is and most people would just ask what the hell it was and why you'd bother, so I'm not sure you'd get the attention you're seeking. There are plenty of cars in the U.S. market that, while not having that diamond on the grille, would be much better options. I get wanting to have something that nobody else does, but is the Fluence really the car to pick for this job?..
You know you are talking about hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to get the car to pass US crash tests, emissions approvals, et al?
didnt think that was necessary. i assumed (wrongly) that all that was needed for manufacturers to sell in the u.s.a. and that i could just drive it across the border like any normal car.
didnt think that was necessary. i assumed (wrongly) that all that was needed for manufacturers to sell in the u.s.a. and that i could just drive it across the border like any normal car.
You could, but it needs to be registered in another country and, I believe, there are limits to it even in that case.
hi, i was planning to drive to montreal from boston in order to test-drive one but i was surprised that they dont even have them in french speaking canada.
I think you have an interesting idea here, and I wish you luck with it.
I heard that years ago, servicemen stationed in Europe would ship European cars back to the U.S. I don't know if that's still a thing, but maybe you could ask someone who's been stationed in Europe with the U.S. armed forces.
P.S. I had a Renault Alliance. It cost about $5 grand back in 1984 and I drove it until 1995. It was a pretty good car for the money and got great gas mileage.
The Renault 5 was originally marketed in the U.S. as the "5", complete with cartoon frog singing "Thank Heaven for Little Cars" a' la Maurice Chevalier and with the company name pronounced as "Ren-awlt", but it was eventually changed to Le Car. Other cars marketed by Renault were the Encore which was an Alliance hatchback, and the Medallion which replaced the Alliance/Encore.
You know you are talking about hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to get the car to pass US crash tests, emissions approvals, et al?
+1
A fairly accurate portrayal of this process can be seen-albeit briefly--in the movie Rainman.
Tom Cruise's character is involved in the importation of exotic gray-market ultra-high performance cars (think...Ferrari, Lamborghini, and the like) and the extremely complicated process of getting them certified for sale in the US.
The necessity of retrofitting Euro-market-only cars for different air pollution standards and different safety standards tends to be VERY expensive, but the cost can be absorbed to a certain extent by gray-market importers of cars like that because they are dealing with...maybe...10 or 20 cars per year, and because the potential buyers of these cars have very deep pockets, and are willing to pay a large premium in order to possess a car that is not normally seen in The US.
However, for one person to attempt the same process with a decidedly down-market car, such as what the OP is contemplating, is simply not workable on any practical basis.
And then, of course, there is the issue of a warranty (NONE!), and the problem of servicing and repairing a vehicle in a country where there are no technicians who are trained to work on them, and where there is no parts network for the vehicle. Back in the days when Renaults were sold in The US, it wasn't unusual to have to wait...perhaps weeks...for certain parts to arrive from France. Getting the proper parts to repair one of these trouble-prone cars in a country where there is no parts network in existence would likely mean that the car would be out-of-service for months at a time when the inevitable happens and it breaks down.
hi, i was planning to drive to montreal from boston in order to test-drive one but i was surprised that they dont even have them in french speaking canada.
i see on their website the closest place would be mexico. do people from l.a. drive to mexico to test-drive cars that arent sold in the u.s.a. ?
if i do end up getting it what complications would there be for getting it back here. like spending 4 grand to get it delivered to the north east; would the state put an inspection sticker on it; would i be able to get it insured; are vin numbers just a u.s.a. thing or do all cars have them; ...
more of a curiosity at this point since i will unlikely buy one.
I doubt any Renault is worth even trying to import. My friend had one long time ago and it was a total piece of junk.
They are slightly less junky today, but the OP is contemplating importing a new car that would have NO warranty, which is something bordering on lunacy with any new car, but especially with a European make with a poor reliability record.
Where does the OP think that he will find technicians qualified to work on this car?
Where does the OP think that he will find parts for this car when it breaks down?
Or...does the OP even think...?
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