This is a repost from the Suspension & Brake forum, but it's Canadian specific.
Has anyone in Canada had Gravana Tuning ship rotors and pads to them in Canada? If so, how much was Duty, Brokerage, Taxes, etc to get them to your door?
I want to order them, but this could make a huge difference in the final cost.
Thanks to anyone that can help.
- Darryl
'02 Z24
This is not exactly what you asked for but I will tell you my experience. I purchased a set of KYB AGX struts from a company in California. The price was $395US (including shipping). I asked them to document the shipping paperwork as "Warranty Replacements" and they valued them at only $35US. Upon delivery to my house in Burlington, Ontario (just outside Toronto), I only needed to pay the brokerage fee which was $24.88 Cdn.
Thus all total for AGX struts shipped to my door was less than $535 Cdn!!! This is more than $250 less than anything I could find in Canada.
I hope that helps you out.
tygriff
i ordered a set of GC springs from them... i cant remember specifics. but i remember the duties were rediculous, almost as much as the springs themselves...
if possible STAY AWAY from UPS... apparently they are the worst for rip of fee's
good luck
***Thanks again to stargrrrl***
mikeyb wrote:i ordered a set of GC springs from them... i cant remember specifics. but i remember the duties were rediculous, almost as much as the springs themselves...
if possible STAY AWAY from UPS... apparently they are the worst for rip of fee's
good luck
avoid the brown ; )
My Cav
I give up...
i'm buying a VW those people love trees, so they should love eachother too... "Andy"
Thanks guys, so far. I'm hoping someone will post who actually ordered the rotors/pads with specific numbers. He said that he has shipped at least 20 orders to Canada, so I'm hoping atleast a few were here in Ontario.
He didn't say which company he ships with, so I emailed to ask him again.
- Darryl
'02 Z24
Jim uses UPS only from what he told me in regards to the coil-over GP he's running.
<img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/nothing13/thumbnail_sig-jpeg.jpg">
Yup. I just got an email from him saying UPS.
Well this sucks. Anyone have any recommendations for slotted rotors with pads here in Canada?
I need these ASAP.
- Darryl
'02 Z24
i paid a great price for corss drilled rotors and CF pads AND install from racetech... im sure he has slotted aswell..
and as for ups, i didnt want to use them. but for some reason it seems all these companies insist on using them. its like they get a cut or something
good luck.... cant the person your buying them from tell you how much the people paid for them? im sure he has talked to them since, or atleast can tell you where in canada it was.. could be in BC? who knows
***Thanks again to stargrrrl***
Thanks Mikeyb,
How much do you remember paying for them at RaceTech? I went to them a couple of years ago when I first moved to the city and I found that unless you are a regular with them, they don't seem to care much for your business. I had an appointment for an oil change and twice they bumped my appointment without calling. Only after I arrived did they tell me they couldn't do it. The second time I told them that they said the same thing the day before, so they did it, but about an hour later.
I was new to the city and people on here recommended them so I went. Not a good experience. I don't want to show up there and have them give me a "we don't know you, so you pay double" type of price.
The person I was trying to buy them from is Jim Gravana from Gravana Tuning. He has about 10 "group purchases" in the Group Purchase forum and based on my years of being here he seems to be an upstanding guy, but he is charging about $47USD for shipping to Toronto and that is through UPS. That doesn't even include Duty/Fees/Etc.!
He said he's shipped to people in Canada about 20 times and to post in the forums to find out.
- Darryl
'02 Z24
ok if you can have them shipped via usps do it cause it will save you alot of money
also if they are of us origin then you wont have to pay duties on them, just taxes (GST,PST) and whatever they will charge you for filling out the forms,
the great this with USPS is that it comes in through canada post and they only charge you a flat rate of 5$ (8 if it is registered) where as with Fedex or UPS you have no idea what they are goin to charge you
if you have any futher questions about this feel free to ask me, i work for canada customs in postal so i deal with this @!#$ everyday
Thanks 1fst4dr,
Jim (Gravana Tuning) doesn't seem to be very interested in helping so I think I will take my business elsewhere. I guess perhaps Canadians are a nuissance. He keeps telling me to post on www.jbody.org to ask.
Some customer service.
He refuses to ship anything other than UPS.
I'm either going to try to find somewhere local to purchase them, or find a different US company. I've bought many things through the US and the companies can usually tell you pretty close to how much it will cost.
Maybe I'll see what Karo (Car Customs) has available. I've bought things from him before with no issues what-so-ever.
If anyone knows of local shops that carry decent slotted rotors with good pads in the GTA, let me know. I'll check with Racetech.
- Darryl
'02 Z24
RSM racing has slotted rotors for $60 each and carbon ceramic pads for $60 per set.
ya i was goin to say give RSM a try, i think thats where i am goin to get mine when i need them next
That's $60 USD in case anyone else notices this. I'll go check them out this weekend while I'm in Mississauga.
Jim Gravana now won't return my emails.
Thanks guys. I'll let you know how it goes.
- Darryl
'02 Z24
Sorry for the delayed response...
I have had NO problems with racetech, they have done soo much extra for me, and yes it could help because i have been going there from the begining... BUT it has to start somewhere... the first time i ever went, i bought springs and they were staying late just to install them for me. I have had many problems with my parts or previous installs which they fixed or checked free of charge...
and im not positive about the price, it was a while ago... but I can tell you, i paid for parts and instals on KVR cross drilled and KVR CF pads AND he maintained my rear drums for LESS then the dealer wanted to just maintain the fronts.. which was the reason i wanted to get them in the first place. i paid less to get new performance parts..
I have had a couple occasions where joe got a little backed up, unfortunately some of his jobs go a bit long, but most of the time it seems his customers like to come late.. they try their best and i try to call before to make sure.. I had to wait a day or two extra once to get some work done because things got messed up... And as for charging you double, they would never do that... They have some lower prices if you can pay cash im sure, like all other businesses... but NEVER increase the price becuase he doesnt "know" you... its such a small community, you would be amazed how many people you meet there from the board..
good luck
***Thanks again to stargrrrl***
Thanks Mikey. Best post I've read in quite some time.
I'll give them another shot.
- Darryl
'02 Z24
anytime...
good luck
***Thanks again to stargrrrl***
I bought the slotted rotors and carbon ceramic pads from RSM Racing. You should be able to get the whole package for around $225 CDN.
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Four doors have to be twice a good as two.
<img src="http://www.j-body.ca/images/sig1.jpg">
ok I just ordered a tach adapter and tranny mounts from gravana tuning, is that a bad idea?
damn I was hoping gravana would be a good experience
ah well I guess carcustoms is still my only other option.
I know gravana only ships UPS, thats total BS, but if UPS were to gauge their prices fairly it wouldn't be such a big hit to the wallet.
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stevefire wrote:ok I just ordered a tach adapter and tranny mounts from gravana tuning, is that a bad idea?
damn I was hoping gravana would be a good experience
ah well I guess carcustoms is still my only other option.
I know gravana only ships UPS, thats total BS, but if UPS were to gauge their prices fairly it wouldn't be such a big hit to the wallet.
I've ordered from gravana once and it was a good experience. After ordering from Car Customs though i'll probably be a repeat customer there. His service is amazing.
agreed, at this point my favoured company to buy from is carcustoms.
I ordered thru Jim because he had a tach adapter that was less expensive then the autometer, and does the same thing.
I just figured I'd throw in 2 tranny mounts just to make it worth my while.
I hope to hear back soon from him regarding the shipment, so I can at least prepare my wallet for the shock
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Sorry if I gave the impression that Gravana is a bad company, that is not my intention. I don't mean to make you worry. I am just saying my experience wasn't good with them, and when questioning their shipping practices to Canada, they didn't seem too interested in helping.
When it was at the point where I wanted pricing and shipping, they were great. They answered all of my emails (about 4 or 5) within a few hours and at least by the next morning. As soon as I questioned about Duty/Brokerage and any other related issues, they seemed to not care any more. I got the impression that they were aware that their Canadian customers get hit with high additional fees.
They kept referring me to www.jbody.org without dealing directly with me.
I finally sent a long email explaining basically that I wasn't happy with their lack of customer service and that if they don't want me as a customer, to tell me. Not refer me to a board that is not their company.
After a longer than normal wait for a response, I decided to not deal with them. I did however receive an email from them saying they were sorry and that they are aware that they have issues when sending to Canadian customers because their company is not currently set up for optimal international orders.
I was happy that they finally responded and acknowledged that they have problems, but to get my business, it was too late. It's too bad for me too, because I was going to order 2 strut tower bars and the whole bushing/mount kit based on this transaction. Now I'll have to look elsewhere.
I hope everything works out for you and please share how much you need to pay UPS when your items arrive. I personally don't like having at least a ball park figure before I order.
- Darryl
'02 Z24
I dont agree with UPS and their brokerage fee calculations.
If I had time to, I would clear customs myself and pay ONLY what its worth.
I definately prefer USPS, and Karo (carcustoms) seems to be willing to ship with them. I'd recommend carcustoms over anyone else selling in the US at this point. He shipped my pistons overnight with UPS, just to make amends for the long wait.
Im only sharing my US shopping experience. So far I haven't heard back from Gravana.
How long has anyone waited for items to be shipped from Gravana?
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