Importing Cars from the US

[Bertuzzied]

Has anyone does this before? I'm looking at Transport Canada's website and it only says that it costs $195 plus GST and you need to do an inspection. Do you have to pay any extra duties or tax?

They are selling the new 2006 Honda Civic SI in Canada for $31k while in the US it's only $20kus. With the exchange you still save over $8k. Any catches? That is a huge saving.

I'm thinking of getting one from Alaska so i'm sure they will have a block heater in it and with the civics you can change it from mph to kph with a click of a button.

[jolinar of malkshor]

The $195 is just a vehicle importation registration fee. You still have to pay GST and also it may be subject to 6% duty since it is from Japan. I will see if I can find something for ya.

Be careful tho as somecars cannot be imported into Canada.

Another thing is if the cars doesn't have day time running lights wou will have to pay to have those installed

[jolinar of malkshor]

Heres a link.

Something went haywire with my computer. Not sure why it posted like that.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Heres a

[ernie]

I believe if the car was built in North america you are fine for duty. If it's built elsewhere you have a duty charge.

You will definitely pay the GST (and whatever provincial sales tax).

Day time running lights are mandatory in Canada while many cars in the states do not have them.

Not sure about this in Canada but I know when going the other way depending on the state you are bringing the car to you may need to replace the spedometer/odometer to have mph as the dominant (i.e. in big numbers instead of the small ones).

When we brought our 1 year old car that we had just bought out the lease on (~$12,000 left) to the states a few years back it only cost us about $800 or something for duty (japanese car). It was reasonable going that way across the border. I'd imagine it would be something similar coming back the other way.

Also be careful when registering the car. I know stories of the registration places trying to re-charge the taxes and what not on the car at that time.

[Hack&Lube]

Somebody on redflagdeals did it and saved something like $13,000 on a brand new vehicle.

Warranty and everything perfectly transferable.

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Somebody on redflagdeals did it and saved something like $13,000 on a brand new vehicle.

Warranty and everything perfectly transferable.

Not always it depends on the maker.

[g_railed]

If you have a certificate of orgin I believe your only tax would be the GST. The car was likely made in Canada or the US even though its a Japanese brand as honda has plants in both ontario and ohio. There may be a small broker fee at customs, but that may just be the $195 registration fee.

[Clarkey]

So why is the car be so much cheaper in the States?

[g_railed]

The prices are still based on when our dollar was worth $.70 US.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by g_railed

The prices are still based on when our dollar was worth $.70 US.

Yep. Dad bought a new Lexus in Vegas and saved over $20,000. The border can be fun, make sure all of your paperwork is in order.

[ken0042]

A friend of mine looked into this, and decided against buying in the US. He was looking at a lower model type of vehicle (ie Toyota instead of a Lexus.) He found a couple of things:

- There is two inspections needed; one federal and one provincial
- Said inspections cannot be done at the same time.
- There is a possibility of your new car not meeting Canadian emissions standards.
- US models tend to have fewer option by default. For example we tend to have more vehicles with power locks in Canada than the US.

In the end he figured he could save about $1500 buying in the US. He decided the hassle wasn't worth it.

Of course, YMMV.

[Looger]

riv.ca

have to give the exact border crossing you want to use 72 hours notice.

also have to have registration secured for every state you drive through, insurance for driving down there you should be able to get here. may have to arrange some canadian insurance at the border, in BC they have an ICBC rep they can summon usually.

there's a $240 one-time charge in canada, and as mentioned within 10 days ( i think ) you need to get a letter from a dealership here that says the car is up on recalls.

haven't done it, was very very close but a travel agent screwed my ticket and i didn't find out until it was too late... but i will do it eventually, the cars are too choice and the prices too low.

[Bill Bumface]

Check out www.beyond.ca, there is a huge how to thread on this. Lots of guys are saving a lot of cash bringing cars across the border!