donq

Hey guys, just wondering if any of you who live in Toronto have had experience buying parts and accessories in Buffalo. Any recommendations on a place to go in Buffalo or near to the US border? Cheers,

dq

ABDomega

I live in Buffalo.

What parts are you looking for?

acupower

I bought a thousand dollars worth of parts from Lia Honda of Williamsville NY after my girlfriend crashed my accord. Based on my experience, ALL parts were cheaper! Depending on the part I saved between 20-40%. The parts that were significantly cheaper were the engine mounts (front and back) as well as suspension components.

acupower

I will soon need to change my timing belt, water pump and a couple of other things. I am thinking of heading down to the casinos at Niagara for a night and then crossing the border to Buffalo the following day to get the parts.

There is an Acura dealer there:
http://raylaksacura.com/

And they have an e-store:
http://estore.honda.com/acura/parts/....asp?dl=251071

donq

I'm considering these things:

- rubber floor mats
- wood automatic shift knob
- remote starter system

All of this is dependent on price of course. Also I'd rather not pay online and ship it because shipping and duties are killers! If you go down to the US for a couple of days and spend under a certain amount then no duties are charged...

dq

acupower

Check the prices on the e-store first. The prices you see on the e-store will most likely be the actual Dealer prices down there.

Then after you find your parts, I would suggest you call them and pre-order them. That way your parts will be waiting for you once you get there.

C8N

HA!
I used to work at Ray Laks Acura about 15 or so yrs ago!
Looks like couple of the guys I used to work with are still there too.

Tonyware

It use to be great buying from US parts web sites (Canadian here too) when the dollar was at par. At some point in time actually Canadian Honda/Acura lowered a bunch of parts prices because they realized they just couldn't justify their prices. But now with the Canadian dollar down by 10% and sliding further, it may not be too attractive anymore. Perhaps for seriously expensive items, like a catalytic converter or an alternator, it makes sense. But for little, like a bolt or brake pads, it doesn't make $ sense to buy from the US. Shipping, taxes, the dollar difference, all adds up.

What makes sense in Canada, and some dealers do these things... if you buy a lot from a specific dealer, the parts manager may give you professional discount rates at about 10% off. So, build a good relation with a Canadian based Acura/Honda dealer to get that 10% off.

PS. For really crucial items such as a timing belt, I would go buy in-person from a dealer, not from the internet and I don't care how many references some web site has. Call me paranoid, I just like peace of mind.

nismod05

I beg to differ - the Canadian prices are severely marked up and I have no reservations about purchasing in the US. I'm getting an underbody spoiler kit from the US as the CDN prices are so bad.

acupower

Fully agree with you here. For small parts it makes no sense. But for anything over a grand it is still worth going south. And when I say over a grand, I mean the total cost of parts you intend to buy.

The way I see it, I drive down to Buffalo and I buy everything I need or expect to need for the next year or so plus a bunch of accessories. Whatever I have saved in $$$ you could spend having fun in Niagara

Nowadays, you could still save a bunch on tires for example.

donq

Any recommendations on where to get tires in Buffalo?

ABDomega

I recommend Dunn Tire. That's where I got my Conti DWS's. Free rotations for the life of the car.

nismod05

How's this for a price comparison. Acura East wants $1440 for the underbody spoiler kit for a 2010 TL. The Buffalo dealer wants $1090 US for this and I can get it shipped form California even cheaper. So why wouldn't I buy from the US right now?

Tonyware

As I said, for big ticket items (maybe over $1k) or a big order with lots of parts, yes it makes sense. But for small stuff... no. For example I recently broke a fog light. For an $80 part it is not worth it to get it shipped from the US and get dinged with shipping, customs etc, even though the part, after currency conversion, costs $50 in the US! Shipping it from the US it will come to around $95 with taxes and shipping. A torque converter on the other hand costs around $1200 retail in Canada. In the US I Can get it for around $800. Somehow with shipping it will come to Canada total $1000. Savings of $200.

What really bugs me is that some of these parts, believe it or not, are made in Canada for the Alliston plant by small suppliers, for the dealers service shops and for general public! Still they are cheaper in the US! Go figure! I guess someone has setup a nice little business because of NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement) and the rest of us are getting screwed.

There is a way to beat the system, however highly illegal and I am not promoting any of this... but what if you ask someone on the other side of the border who is willing to play along to write on the box "warranty return"? Again, I am not suggesting anything illegal, I am just asking - lol.

First TSX BWP

I would also check Bernardi Acura (http://acura.bernardiparts.com/), they have fantastic prices, even with shipping.