99' 4runner from Canada

[biophase]

I probably should have posted this earlier, before I purchased it but I have a few questions...

I recently purchased a 99 4Runner limited from a Toyota dealer. This 4runner was originally a Canadian car, imported in 99'. The dealer told me that to import a car in from Canada, the entire dash must be replaced with US units and that other safety measures must be put in.

There are a few differences in my 4runner that I've noticed. First is that the temperature gauge is in Celsius. The second is that on the back, next to the Limited badge, it doesn't have a '4WD' badge.

Does anyone know of any other differences between a Canadian and US model?

 

[MR RY]

On Canadian models the speedometer is in km/h, with mph in small numbers, the odometer is in km's as well.

 

[biophase]

Speedometer

Yes, that was replaced with a US version, I have large MPH and small km/h, along with my odometer, which is in miles now.

 

[GatorGreg]

I think Canadian vehicles are required to have day time running lights standard (not sure when that requirement kicked in though). Also, with many vehicle makes the Canadian versions get things like heated seats and mirrors standard that either are not available at all or cost extra on US versions. Not sure if that's true for the 4Runner or not :dunno:

 

[biophase]

I do have daytime running lights. No heated seats though.

 

[LBC99]

Was there any price difference? Is it worth it to get the car from Canada?

 

[MR RY]

Cars in Canada are generally cheaper for the exact same model than in the US. I dont know why this is, but im not complaining either...

 

[peter78]

Cars in Canada are generally cheaper for the exact same model than in the US. I dont know why this is, but im not complaining either...

When two Countries have slightly different Ecomonies the car compaines sometimes change prices to suit the market.

This has lead to a big GRAY market. People who buy a gray market car should be concerned about their warranty and possible re-sale value.

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/specialreports/articles/64615/article.html

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?threadid=215&highlight=gray+market

 

[biophase]

Yes, the price of the vehicle was about $2k lower than US models that I looked at. I also read the articles about gray market cars. The biggest thing is that the warranty on them is no longer valid, but with this being a 99' with 50k miles, I wasn't too concerned as there wasnt a warranty anyway. Another thing is that a Canadian model can not be 'certified' by Toyota. I do realize that when it comes time to sell, I may not get the same amount as a US model, but I got my savings up front in the buy. However, I think that if you went to Carmax or a dealer to trade it in, I don't know if they'll know its a Canadian model since the only place it showed up was on the Carfax by point of origin.

 

[peter78]

I must admit I know very little about gray market cars, but I would think the risk of ownership would go down with a used car. Like you said the warranty is expired and I would think selling a 99 in a few years would be less risk of a big loss as opposed to a newer vehicle. From what I have read it is not that uncommon.

Still I would research it as best you can. Here is a link to a forum about importing Canadian cars to the U.S. (You may want to read all 20 pages.)

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/[email protected]@.ef05a3f


Also here is a Canadian car magazine that may have some info on used 4Runner specs???

http://www.canadiandriver.com/index.htm