Marie asked:

I sell re-conditioned Volvos in Abbotsford BC. Until January 1, 2008, RIV indicated which Volvos were admissible into Canada (the majority of manufacturers have it spelled out very clearly.

At this time, rules were changed and Volvo Canada has to issue a letter. I have contacted them and they refuse to give me this letter in an effort to discourage Volvos from coming north.

I was told that "all Volvos qualify" verbally but they refuse to put it in writing.

Mario Cywinski answered:

We decided to do some digging on this topic. We looked up the Transportation Canada web site and it stated the following about all Volvo's imported into Canada.

• "Volvo Canada stipulates that importers must contact an authorized Volvo Canada dealership to determine exact nature & costs of modifications and that ALL modifications MUST be performed by an authorized Volvo Canada dealership.
• "Volvo Canada has not provided information to TC on the admissibility of vehicles that are imported after January 1, 2008. Effective January 1st, 2008, if you wish to import a U.S. compliant Volvo vehicle into Canada, you will have to contact Volvo Cars of Canada at 1-800-663-8255 to determine if the vehicle is admissible for importation, and to request the letter of admissibility required at the time of importation."

What this basically means is that you need to ask Volvo for clarification as to what cars they allow and which they do not. If you can not get a hold of someone at their head office, I would suggest going to a dealership and asking a sale manager or salesperson for advice.

If you need more information, here is the Transport Canada document outlining which vehicles are allowed to enter Canada, www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/VAFUS/list/VAFUS.pdf.

About the author

Mario Cywinski was the Assistant Editor of Canadaone.com and a graduate of Humber College's Journalism Program. Mario is currently the Managing Editor for Canadian Automotive Fleet and Fleet Vans and Trucks magazines, and is a member of AJAC. He has also worked for Trajan Publishing Corporation as a copy editor, and interned at ABC News, OMNI Television and Global TV.

 
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