'GREY MARKET' MINIVANS FROM CANADA

did you even know there was such thing as "grey market" minivans from canada? well, apparently there are, and apparently we have one. we bought this minivan after we found out that we were pregnant, knowing that with travel to eric's parents house and getting around, that minivans were super convenient. we have loved our honda odyssey, and have used it to travel and haul stuff. it's really been great, and we haven't even had the baby yet! little did we know that trouble was lurking around the corner. there was a problem with the transmission, but we were not worried, as it was still covered under warranty. well, eric takes it in only to discover that it's not covered because it's from CANADA!?! so basically someone purchased this vehicle in canada and brought it here to resell it for more money. they had to make some changes... miles vs. kilometers, something with the lights, etc. essentially, "americanizing it". we had no idea that we were buying a canadian vehicle. when eric first took it in, they told us we needed a new transmission and we were responsible for paying for it. YIKES!!! fortunately, we live in iowa and there are people here who actually care. both holmes honda and hummels nissan (where we bought the van) worked together, and made it possible for us to get a new transmission free of charge. (wow... now that is fortunate!)neither dealership HAD to help us out, but they felt bad for us. hummels paid for the new transmission, and holmes cut them a great deal. i still can't quite wrap my mind around the whole thing. crazy...