As a Jeep newbie, I've still got a lot to learn about he best sources for parts and mods. It seems like most of the best online sources are based in the U.S.. Anyone know of some good Canadian based parts suppliers? If not, has anyone had much experience with online orders of things like bumpers, cargo cages and wheel packages? I'd like to find out what sort of damage duty, and shipping can do to the wallet. Thanks

 

I did recently come across a website for a Canadian company which has a branch in Fredericton.

http://www.national4wd.com/index.php

I hope others have a better answer than that because I'm in the same boat. I would love a good Canadian source with good prices. We don't even get Amazon. I'm shopping for a window roll!

 

Yo! jeepers

This will sound strange but Canadian Tire could help they have a special catalog for car accessories,,,,the distributor is Keystone.

But most of the stuff comes US anyway, so I prefer to cut the middle man and oder directly for the State.

 

NorthRidge4x4.ca is a good place to start. They're out of Alberta and have free shipping options for orders over $100. Another thing you can do is order from anyone that deals with UPS and get them to mail it to a UPS store just over the border in the US. Drive down when your stuff comes in and then pay the duty and tax, this method is still cheaper as you save a ton on shipping charges.

 

Agreed. Northridge 4x4 in Ponoka, Alberta or National 4WD's branch in Fredricton are your best bets, both are forum sponsors and carry a pretty wide variety of parts + accessories. If you live near Fredricton you can save on shipping charges with National 4WD if you just drive there and pick up your stuff, Northridge 4x4 offers free shipping on orders over $100.

 

Thanks for the helpful info. I've been in to the local National 4wd and the guys there were really helpful and seem very knowledgeable. The only difficulty I'm running into is with pricing on some special order items. I was quoted a little over $600 for a cargo cage that I'm interested in, but when I compared pricing online, a large supplier in the US has the same product listed for $350.

I do realize we end up paying a bit of a premium for products that are brought up from the US, but was surprised to see that big a price difference. Other products don't seem to show the same sort of price discrepancy, so I'm not sure if it's because it is a special order product with import costs or what the case is.

This is certainly not a knock against their business, the majority of the products I've been pricing for a potential build are in the same range as their competition and I plan to make other purchases there but will most likely keep the purchases focused on their normally stocked items.

 

You also have to take into account that often the prices from the internet vendors have shipping on top, plus there can be duty once it crosses the border, and you can get hit with GST as well (HST now for us in Ontario) When I did a comparison on some recent parts I ordered from the US versus Nationals pricing there was only a few $ difference.

This is not always the case however at times I have found significant price advantages by ordering from the US. Just do your homework and crunch the numbers first. I support local whenever I can and give them the opportunity to match pricing if they can.

 

You're right about the shipping and duty. I should have mentioned those in my previous post. I actually had figured that those were a big part of the discrepancy but wasn't sure if the two combined would cause that large a difference. I've actually emailed the companies who produce the racks i'm looking at to see who makes theirs in the US (no duty thanks to NAFTA) but haven't had a response yet. Once I know if or how much I'd be looking at for duty then I'll have to make my decision about the supplier. My preference is to support our local guys, so even if I have to source the rack elsewhere, I'm sure I'll be back to see them for other parts.

 

I've found that National 4WD is kinda high on items they have on their online store. They are a forum sponsor so maybe if you message or email Jay AKA TrailJunkie he might be able to give you a better price/discount or something because you're a member. Personally I havent bought anything from them yet but i've spoken with Jay once or twice about items I was looking at buying and i've gotta say that he's pretty reasonable and a good guy to deal with. Same goes with Stan or Dave at Northridge, they know their shit when it comes to jeeps, good to deal with, excellent customer service and their prices are very good.

 

X2 on Northridge4x4.ca....Also, bonus for us Provincial people that pay PST/HST....you only PAY GST (5%) on the parts which is a nice savings on top of the Free shipping over $100.