mmartin061

I know a few memebers here have sold cars from Canada in the know that they would meet US regulations. I am all for it. But how much differnece can they be? I talked to a a Toyota service adviser and said people that have Canadien model Toyota's it can cause a lot of headaches come repair time of something breaks. He did say that the parts are not always the same. Anybody have any take on this??

Sylvan

iTrader: (6)

They are exactly the same aside from wheels on 08/09 models Canadian cars had the same wheels as Neiman Marcus edition.

The dealers don't like the cross broader shopping either way. When our dollar was better lots of people from Canada were going to the US to buy cars and the Canadian dealers tried making excuses not wanting to service or warranty US cars.

RCFC89

iTrader: (1)

I looked into buying one not too long ago. The currency exchange makes it very tempting but In the end it didn't seem worth it. First is the wheels. I'm not a fan. 2nd is getting the gauge cluster switched out and have the odometer calibrated to match. Can be expensive and a headache later on for potential buyers. 3rd is the likelihood of rust. Just like east coast cars the value is diminished because of this. Lastly is it will always be a Canadian car. No matter what you do to change it. For whatever reason these cars are usually worth between 20-25% less when it comes to resale in America vs a U.S. Spec ISF.

mmartin061

Now that is hugely interesting. I did not know the value is diminished. And I on the other hand like the wheels lol. The rust aspect i have a hard time swallowing though sometimes. My mom had a 94 Celica before the motor blew up from not changing the timing belt and it was show room perfect at 14 years old. I mean minus the fact a good buff was in order. But as long as the paint doesnt chip and the car was properly painted from the factory one should be good. I have noticed in the past it can rust around the welds and such where paint may not have coated it. Common in older cars when things weren't as tight fitting as nowadays. Just my opinion though. My 2001 IS300 has no rust except where I had body work done.

j3ff

If you get a 2011+ you won't have to change the gauge cluster. They have the digital speedometer and you can toggle between miles/kms. You can also change est range, kms/tank, etc all into miles.

mmartin061

But as in my situation my "hope" is thay i have this car to where it wont be worth much if i sell it. You can legitimately save 5-6 grand buying from up north.

j3ff

Well if you plan on keeping it forever then resale shouldn't be an issue. As far as parts go, they're exactly the same. All of it. Minus certain year wheels as mentioned above.

mmartin061

Very good. Thanks for the knowledge

FNSSESPORT

I can also confirm that all the parts are the same. I actually order all of my parts from the US because, even with the exchange rate, they're often less expensive. In terms of the rust, it may take more time, but you can probably find an IS-F that hasn't been winter driven. I don't drive mine in the winter.
-R

mmartin061

I appreciate the piece of mind. Im not sure how many hurdles you have to go trough to get one here but i know there is a %2.5 tax rate and a letter as a previous seller stated to get it to the states from lexus I believe about emissions or something and then paperwork that needs to be filled out during customs. But not sure what is exactly needed to cross over. But the cluster in KMs can change over to miles or like previous poster said yu have to switch that also. I just want to get all ducks in a row before buying. Because as we all know what can go wrong will go wrong lol

mmartin061

But yours isn't for sale either

j3ff

Not sure which part of the US you're in.. but here on the west coast of Canada, we rarely see any snow during our winters; at least not in Vancouver.

Rebel22

2010 and lower ( I think that is the non-digital speedo years) will not display the stability control and traction control lights on the dash. Both functions still work, but you will have no indication that it is on/off. There is a slight difference in the wiring of the U.S. vs. Canadian instrument cluster. The other difference is the climate control will always read celsius too.

BLKLBL

Not sure what you mean about the Stability and Trac lights in the dash....I'm pretty sure my Canadian ISF works the same as the USA ones in that respect.. VSC and "car skidding" lights... hold button 5 sec for VSC and trac OFF lights stay lit, indicating the systems are turned off... car skidding light flashes when wheel spin. etc etc.

However, I do know for a fact, the little symbols for Headlights in the gauge cluster are different for US spec cars then Canadian spec cars (check your owners manual)

clarionguy

There are small differences in the ECU - one example is the DRL cannot be disabled