Buying a car from the States - Page 2 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Sliver · 01-26-2011, 08:42 PM

You can arrange to have all your paperwork sent to the border in advance. I did that and flew to the States in the morning, picked up my van and drove straight home that day.

red sky · 01-26-2011, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sliver

It's not a gamble at all. If you have the cash/ability to get a bank loan you'd be nuts not to buy in the States. The border is 5 hours away...IF something catastrophic happens and IF your warranty won't be honoured, just throw the vehicle on a flatbed in the morning and you'll be having lunch in Great Falls waiting for your car to be repaired.

Here's what I saved when I did this in 2007...anybody who says it's a bad idea or not worth it either hasn't done it or didn't take the 20 minutes to research how to do it.

So now with a bit of a better exchange rate and 5% GST there should be even better savings, that is if the Canadian prices haven't come down.

red sky · 01-27-2011, 07:54 AM

I have another question, for those people that have done this, how do you negotiate the price? Do you agree on a price over the phone or do you negotiate when you get there? I ask this because if you need a money order made out to dealer specifically then you need to price before hand. I assume you are not going to bring $30K cash with you in your brief case on the plane... although that would make me feel very important.

Sliver · 01-27-2011, 09:07 AM

I negotiated over the phone, paid a deposit with my credit card, then wired the balance to them (that cost $29). If you have it paid in full before you get there, the dealership can have all the paperwork sent to the border 72 hours before you cross, which means you can do this all in a day.

The dealership I bought through does this for Canadians all day long and knew exactly what was needed at the border. So did I, but it was somewhat comforting that they were on the same page as me. The people at the border do this everyday as well...there shouldn't be any surprises as it's really simple to do.

red sky · 01-27-2011, 10:28 AM

Is there a particular State that offers better deals on vehicles? Seems like Arizona has good deals and I see that Sliver went to Washington state. Quickly checking Montana car dealers seems like there aren't as good deals to be had there.

DownhillGoat · 01-27-2011, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red sky

Is there a particular State that offers better deals on vehicles? Seems like Arizona has good deals and I see that Sliver went to Washington state. Quickly checking Montana car dealers seems like there aren't as good deals to be had there.

What are you looking for? There's a Volkswagen/Subaru dealer in Missoula that caters to canucks that had some decent deals.

Jackpot_Smooth · 01-27-2011, 03:41 PM

I've been looking at a few nissan dealers in montana and washington and the prices seem pretty close online now. could prices have evened out a bit?

I-Hate-Hulse · 01-27-2011, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sliver

The dealership I bought through does this for Canadians all day long and knew exactly what was needed at the border. So did I, but it was somewhat comforting that they were on the same page as me. The people at the border do this everyday as well...there shouldn't be any surprises as it's really simple to do.

Was that van used? Getting dealers to sell me a new car for export seems to be the hardest part of this.

Sliver · 01-27-2011, 08:34 PM

It was new. I was #### blocked trying to do it out of Montana so I just worked my way out to the next closest dealers to Calgary until I found a dealership that would do it. Keep trying man, it's totally worth it. Also, don't start with "hi do you sell to Canadians?". Let them put a little time into it before you spring that on them haha.

Table 5 · 06-09-2011, 07:23 AM

Just wanted to bring this thread back up as I'm considering importing a car to Canada.

Phanutier touched on this, but I'm wondering if anyone knows if you have to pay GST (not duty) on a used car when you bring it over. I would be driving the car for a few months in the US, so I'd basically be paying state tax beforehand. Would I still get dinged GST? Is there a time limit?

Also has anyone brought a VW/Audi/BMW over? How has the dealer warranty/maintenance experience been for you guys?

Kavvy · 06-09-2011, 07:51 AM

This is going to sound obvious, but make sure you get your temporary insurance down there. I have bought only 1 car in my life time, and it was in Canada, but my buddy who bought a car down there insists the system is set up differently.

Up here, apparently, you can't drive off the lot without insurance, down there however, you drive off the lot with good faith that you will be buying insurance. I don't know how accurate that is, but look into it.

My buddy learned this the hard way, nailed a deer coming driving it back home from the states.

red sky · 06-09-2011, 08:08 AM

I am still looking but have found out that most car companies will not sell NEW cars to Canadians unless you have a valid "garage" address.

Table 5 · 06-09-2011, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red sky

I am still looking but have found out that most car companies will not sell NEW cars to Canadians unless you have a valid "garage" address.

Will they sell to Americans who are moving to Canada?

red sky · 06-09-2011, 08:20 AM

I don't think you have to pay the state sales tax or at least you can get your money back.

Do you currently have a valid address? I am sure you get around it somehow.

bossy22 · 06-09-2011, 08:42 AM

I bought my 2010 Honda Pilot in the US. Was pretty painless. The dealer did all of the work for me. I just had to give him the day I was crossing the border. The Pilot is made in the US, so I didn't have to pay duty. I just had to pay for the Alberta inspection and GST. You are required to get an AB and Federal inspection. Federal is free. Canadian tire will do this for you.
I'm looking at Subaru's right now. Only the outback is made in the US. It's made in Indiana, so no duty, but if you buy and imprezza, it's made in Japan. At least that's what the dealer told me.

Here's the catch, I had to buy the vehicle, and register it to my place in the US. When the registration came in, I then sold it to my wife, so we could bring it across. The Canadian dealers will honor the warranty if it's a used vehicle. In the end I save about 12k. If I were to do it today, it'd be more like 14k.

bossy22 · 06-09-2011, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kavy

This is going to sound obvious, but make sure you get your temporary insurance down there. I have bought only 1 car in my life time, and it was in Canada, but my buddy who bought a car down there insists the system is set up differently.

Up here, apparently, you can't drive off the lot without insurance, down there however, you drive off the lot with good faith that you will be buying insurance. I don't know how accurate that is, but look into it.

My buddy learned this the hard way, nailed a deer coming driving it back home from the states.

This is true. At least in Montana. I didn't need insurance when I bought mine.

red sky · 06-09-2011, 08:52 AM

Thanks bossy.

I don't have a US address so I can't do what you did.

Quick question, if I buy a car in BC do I have to pay the total HST or just GST.

DownhillGoat · 06-09-2011, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kavy

My buddy learned this the hard way, nailed a deer coming driving it back home from the states.

Why would one think it's a good idea to not have insurance while trekking across 2 countries? Also, IIRC you can't get an in-transit sticker without proof of insurance, so your buddy was driving without plates, too. Smart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Table 5

Will they sell to Americans who are moving to Canada?

Why wouldn't they? You're a US resident, correct? ID and everything is from NY? The dealership doesn't know or care if you're moving.

Quote:

Originally Posted by red sky

I don't think you have to pay the state sales tax or at least you can get your money back.

I'm pretty sure that would only apply if he was from out of country.

Quote:

Originally Posted by red sky

I am still looking but have found out that most car companies will not sell NEW cars to Canadians unless you have a valid "garage" address.

Depends on the dealership. Some will sell the car to an employee of the dealership, then sell the car to the Canadian party after the minimum waiting period. It seems the closer you get to the border the harder it is to buy a car from a dealer in my experience.

bossy22 · 06-09-2011, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red sky

Thanks bossy.

I don't have a US address so I can't do what you did.

Quick question, if I buy a car in BC do I have to pay the total HST or just GST.

I don't know about HST. I would think you'd have to pay the same as if you bought the car in BC.

I know the work around is good for me. A friend of mine bought his car using a broker. I'm not sure what he paid. I think it was around $1000, but the guy dropped the car off in Calgary for him. It becomes a case of how much savings is worth the hassle. For me, I'll never buy a vehicle in Canada until there is parity.

Kavvy · 06-09-2011, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Why would one think it's a good idea to not have insurance while trekking across 2 countries? Also, IIRC you can't get an in-transit sticker without proof of insurance, so your buddy was driving without plates, too. Smart.
.

Never said it was smart, I thought that conclusion was fairly obvious. As for why he didn't do it, he never realized the situation until he hit the deer on the US side of the border.

It's a big purchase, with lots of issues, something can be missed very easily.