Hi,

I am wondering where the Bilstein shocks are made? I want to order some from US to bring to Canada. If there are build in US, then I don't have to pay duty according to NAFTA, but if they are build overseas, then I'll have to pay duty.

Thanks...

Pretty sure they're made in Germany.

I know they have a plant in Ohio
Thing is I am buying aftermarket, but aftermarket for the X does not mean that it's not OEM for another make.

What about if you buy them and install them in the US?

It's an option, but I was only planning to be in the states for 10 minutes. I called the Canadian Customs anyway and they said that if they were not made in US, the duty is 6%, so on 300$, it's not enough money to try to smuggle them in.

Yeah im gonna do the same as well when i order bilsteins. You know what, i wouldn't stress over the duties, 18 bucks. I would make sure you know what shipping carrier is bringing them over the boarder.

Brokerage fees are what's going to kill you. UPS is the worse, probably gonna pay like $40 for the shocks, Fedex and DHL are slightly cheaper. If the place/website that's selling them to you would ship by USPS that's the way to go.

USPS charges like $5 flat regardless of what it is, plus the duties/taxes..

Trust me, im an Ebay whore.

Thanks Arterra.

I only live 120Km from the border, so we usually have stuff shipped to Calais, Maine and go pick it up there. Lots of US stores offer free shipping in the continental US, so it makes it worth driving there to save on the brokerage fees and extra shipping to Canada. I heard UPS is a bitch, charging anywhere from 40$ to 90$ for brokerage fees. The worst is that they don't tell you what the fee is until they come knocking at your door with the parcel.

No prob. Not totally true though. When i got my wheels from DBax he shipped via UPS. I gave UPS a ring and they told me exactly how much i had to pay up to the cent.

Here are UPS and Fedex's Brokerage fees breakdown.
http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html
http://pdftohtml.spiritofanime.com/pdf2html.php?url=http://www.stokecity.ca/FTN-FXG%20Brokerage%20Schedule%2003-01-04%20English%20Version.pdf

and here's a great Canada Shipping 101 site:
http://www.stokecity.ca/orderfromus.shtml

They probably started listing their fees after this lawsuit from your neck of the woods: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/061024/K102418U.html

The brokerage fee would be roughly 40$ for me, when it only costs me 20$ of gas to go pick it up in Maine. And then I will be able to fill up in Maine and save close to 15$ on a gas tank.

The alternative is find a place that ships via USPS since Canada Posts has a flat fee of 5$ on brokerage fees.

In a factory!

What's my prize?

I'm in a good mood, so I gave you this:

Not sure about the 5100's but the custom ones are made in the US, I think in Ohio or something.

Bilstein.com

"Bilstein of America then set up their first production facility in this country in Hamilton, OH in 1995 to supply their original equipment customers.

also:
"A Friendly Reminder: Bilstein does not sell direct to the public. For questions or information
regarding the purchase of a Bilstein product, we recommend you contact one of our highly
qualified retailers."

Sorry to revive an old post, but I started it, so might as well finish it. I got my new Bilstein's HD last week. There's a sticker on each and all over each box that says "Made in Germany".

The shocks for the Gen1 are not OEM, they are aftermarket. The one for the Gen2 Offroad would fall under OEM and maybe are made in Ohio.