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Importing Car into Canada from US

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Comments

  • chrisjwchrisjw Member Posts: 6
    sorry for being obtuse.

    The point I am trying to make is:
    If US dealers are told they should not sell to Canadians, then it seems to assume they can recognige a Canadian. How?

    If I just walk into a dealer and buy a car, and I refuse to give my nationality (or lie) how do they know I am a Canadian????
  • crikeycrikey Member Posts: 1,041
    Oh, OK. No need to apologize. I just didn't get it. I guess I needed you to smack me in the face with clarity :)

    I think the issue is that with most Canadians, a valid US address and SSN are not available. If they had them, then it shouldn't be a problem, I suppose. But that would be how a dealer, IMO, would recognize a Canadian buyer or any buyer with intent to export.
  • eddy11eddy11 Member Posts: 11
    I think that companies who are trying to put restrictions on the cross-border sales (Toyota etc...) will only lose customers by the end of the day. Many potential buyers are ready to try other models since fortunaely there is a huge variety of different cars and models on the market and not all companies are so restrictive.
  • thecannyscotthecannyscot Member Posts: 45
    What is the best way to get a recall clearance letter on a Toyota. I am buying a highlander from my brother-in-law.

    The RIV will accept a "screen printout" from the Toyota dealer but they said it should be from the Toyota network. I am assuming this means that Toyota dealers have access to the Toyota US mainframe which keeps track of the recall notices. Can anyone shed some light on this or tell me what they did??

    Need to move fast so any help would be appreciated
  • netdognetdog Member Posts: 66
    chrisjw --

    They don't and wont know you are Canadian if you give them a US address and US insurance but if you are attempting to complete an out-of-state purchase to get around paying state taxes, the dealer is obligated to obtain proof of residency at the out-of-state address you gave them (e.g. phone/utility bill, state licence, etc...) to exempt your purchase from local state taxes. This is a requirement for any out-of-state sale and has nothing to do with canadians. Many deals have fallen through at the last minute because of this.

    Carl --
  • thecannyscotthecannyscot Member Posts: 45
    Did they know you were taking the vehicle out of the US to Canada?
  • benji99benji99 Member Posts: 13
    Hello There

    All you have to do is call Toyota US, give them you VIN number then they will fax it.

    Cheers

    Ben
  • thecannyscotthecannyscot Member Posts: 45
    Thanks Ben.
  • henry23henry23 Member Posts: 2
    Question about 2) - Even issuing a temporary tag/permit is associated with paying the sales tax (which we want to avoid). Can someone confirm? Was someone able to get these without paying the tax?

    Is it possible to get one permit that would let you drive all the way?

    One option is to put some existing Ontario (or other canadian) license plates and hope net to get pulled over. But would like to explore the official way first..

    Imrich
  • subahondasubahonda Member Posts: 75
    Issuing the temporary tag does not lead to sales tax if the car is for export - that is why the tag is issued. I did precisely that with a NY tag. It would be illegal to put Ontario plates on the vehicle if it has not been registered in Ontario and you could be arrested - the registration and VIN would differ. The temporary tag gets you to the border. You need no plates in Canada until your car is registered. The import documents serve the purpose if you are pulled over. Your insurance company will cover you based on the the VIN, not the licence tag. It all makes sense when you think about it. Obey all the rules - don't make them up.
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    Hmm...I've got a daughter going to school in California. Do you think I could go to Washington State, give a dealer my daughter's California address, hence no state tax, and then I bring the car up north instead? Or would my name have to be listed to the California address?
  • benji99benji99 Member Posts: 13
    Hello There

    If you are willing to ship your new car, then you can use your name and address in Canada, because I believe under California law, as long as you are not driving you new car in california, it can be title first then ship anywhere you want and do not pay Cali tax, because your address is Canadian address.

    PS: I did it with my new Lexus.

    Cheers

    Ben
  • evenparevenpar Member Posts: 10
    Hey Ben ... is that you out in Montreal (remember OK) ?

    evenpar
  • timhorton1timhorton1 Member Posts: 3
    that site has a bunch of info.. pretty decent.

    importcarcanada.com
  • benji99benji99 Member Posts: 13
    Hi Evenpar

    Sorry i'm Ottawa

    Cheers

    Ben
  • sr123sr123 Member Posts: 12
    you donn't need the recall letter till you get the car back and want to get it certified.for toys the # in cdn is 800-263-7640 or 416-438-6320 fax 416-439-5796 ontario cnd.
  • evenparevenpar Member Posts: 10
    Sorry mistaken identitiy !
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    Well, I figure if I bought in Washington, then I could drive it home and save on the shipping, and use my daughter's California address to avoid sales tax. But thanks for the tip nonetheless. :D
  • benji99benji99 Member Posts: 13
    Hi Bodble2

    If you still want to buy in Washington, then there is another way to do it, and still don't have to pay sale tax.

    Cheers

    Ben
  • shunxshunx Member Posts: 17
    What are differences between a tag and a temporary registration or plate?
  • ex_tdierex_tdier Member Posts: 277
    A few of us were just shooting s*** the other day and a point was made about driving your new car long distances and at high speeds during the break-in period. Most manufactures warn not to drive over a certain limit for certain periods of time during the first 1000 km or so.

    Just something to consider when buying a car from the US. I do think though we have to fight harder in Canada to get the prices in-line with the US prices because the manufacturers here are just gouging the crap out of us.

    BTW, if anyone has any business skills this may be a good venture to get into: buying cars [in the US] for their clients and selling them back for a few hundred dollars or so as a used car.
  • subahondasubahonda Member Posts: 75
    "tag" refers to a paper plate that is placed in your rear window. "Temporary registration" is what the paper displays. "Temporary plate" is the paper itself.
  • gooddeal2gooddeal2 Member Posts: 750
    Just something to consider when buying a car from the US. I do think though we have to fight harder in Canada to get the prices in-line with the US prices because the manufacturers here are just gouging the crap out of us.

    I haven't heard anyone here says I will go to my boss on Monday and ask him/her to lower my salary b/c I'm making too much compare to my friends/relatives in the U.S. b/c of U.S $ is getting lower. :P

    Just kidding guys.
  • generaljunkgeneraljunk Member Posts: 9
    Im looking to buy a 2008 Honda Odyssey and like many I want to take avantage of the lower US prices. Im in Ottawa and contacted the Honda dealership in Watertown today. According to the sales guy, about 2 weeks ago all dealers got a stern letter from head office warning not to sell to Canadians. Up until that time they were selling to Canadians. They even canceled a dozen new car sales. What are my options now? If anyone knows of a way that I can buy a new Honda without paying the US tax contact me. I'm willing to pay a resonable finders fee.
    Paul
  • jake0624jake0624 Member Posts: 4
    What dealer did you get the Hyundai from. I live in NB and want to get a Santa Fe. Did you get anything in writing that indicates that the warranty is still valid in Canada. I just received an email from a guy at Darlings and he won't sell me a new one.
  • ex_tdierex_tdier Member Posts: 277
    I haven't heard anyone here says I will go to my boss on Monday and ask him/her to lower my salary b/c I'm making too much compare to my friends/relatives in the U.S. b/c of U.S $ is getting lower.

    For someone even to think in this abstract or twisted way is astonishing. Are you a business man, manager or supervisor by chance who has slaves working for you? :P
  • chrisjwchrisjw Member Posts: 6
    I am also surprised this information is missing from this blog. But from what I understand the further you go south, the more likely you will find one. But Honda is particularly painful because they won't issue the recall clearance letter nor honour the warranty.

    If anyone reading this knows of an US Infinity dealer willing to sell to Canucks please advise.
  • ex_tdierex_tdier Member Posts: 277
    You may want to post which border town you live or are close to.
  • gooddeal2gooddeal2 Member Posts: 750
    For someone even to think in this abstract or twisted way is astonishing. Are you a business man, manager or supervisor by chance who has slaves working for you?

    Haha, no. BTW, I also think for a company to reduce their prices in Canada by 25 to 30%, they might have to increase that much in the U.S (or somewhere) in order to make about the same profit as they do now. They might make more $$ from Canadian now but I'm sure they make less in the U.S b/c of weak U.S currency.

    I think we all want to see that much reduction. However, we never want to see a 25 to 30% increase in either countries b/c our salaries won't get increased that much in one year.

    Anyways, I'm glad that you guys can save some $$ by buying from the U.S + it helps the U.S economy keep running. ;)
  • ryandkryandk Member Posts: 18
    The RIV site is pretty vague about cars from other countries, just stating that they must meet Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

    I'd like to import a BMW 1-series hatchback. Has anyone else done this? Are safety standards pretty uniform across Europe? Do European safety standards meet Canadian safety standards?

    If someone could direct me to a different forum or website that would help me, that would be great.

    Thanks.

    Ryan
    rakewell@hotmail.com
  • jorya3jorya3 Member Posts: 2
    I was planning on purchasing a 2006 Audi in Seattle. But the seller has offered to come up to Vancouver to sell the car. Does this change anything? Or would we still need to export via US customs and import directly at the border vs. a local office?

    Thanks,

    Jory
  • asrivastasrivast Member Posts: 8
    hi Ben,

    I am also in ottawa and am looking to import a 2007 Lexus (wanted the 2008 highlander but the 2008 are not on the import list). What dealer did you deal with to get your car and the transport company. Please E-mail asrivastca@yahoo.com

    much appreciated. Regards Arv
  • jake0624jake0624 Member Posts: 4
    what part of the US...I live just north of Maine.
  • sergelbergeronsergelbergeron Member Posts: 138
    First - great reading - thanks Edmunds for this space. I used Edmunds to shop around - I was looking for Toyota dealers who sell to Canadians. I wrote to about 10 dealers, clearly saying - Hey I am a Canadian and I want to buy. I received 3 dealers who were ready to deal. Let's say my search was in the 500 miles of Cornwall Ontario. So I found my car (close to Philadelphia) , did a few e-mails and I got the #5 package at about $600 below the MSRP. That was the easy part. I made about 100 phone calls to Toyota USA, Toyota CAN, RIV, TC, etc. And read about 500 e-mails.

    Here is my situation if it can help, because I learned a lot but I am not out of the woods yet. I figure it is a good time to buy a new car. The CAN/US $ well who knows the future - I like the $1 for $1. So I amde the deal on the internet - paid (by draft) the garage. They
    sent me an invoice and then I was able to get easily the no recall letter from Toyota USA. There are lots of dealers who will sell. Grab it. Extended Warranties - I got a very good price which is honoured in Canada and USA. Don't take the first price you get, do some research on extended warranties and you can get a 7yrs/100,000 miles for about $1,000. ( They were asking $1400) Winter tires - get them at the TireRack.com. Have em delivered to the nearest border area ( $80 Michelin x-ice instead of $140 at Canadian Tire). Sales taxes ,sorry no sales tax for out of country sales. Sales tax on warranty - no it is a service for an out of country sale.(also there will be no GST on this as GST applies on imported goods not services) I picked up my new 2008 Prius, Saturday and had a nice ride in the PA mountains. Now the car is in Massena New York , waiting for the 3 days until next Thursday.

    My last problem, getting the RIV to accept the car. I sent them an e-mail this afternoon, with a picture of the USA certified label in the door with other pictures. The car sells in Canada, it sells in the USA but you can't import it in. So this is what I need to continue working on. I have written to CBC Radio Canada (who are doing a special on October 30 on Can-US $) - you guys can write too. I don't mind a delay of a day or two, but I will get this car certified - I garantee that. TC are very passive as others have mentioned. My ray of hope is that last time I was arguing with Toyota Can, they told me it was a questions of a few days before the 2008 Toyotas are listed on the RIV.

    Oh in the end all things calculated I will save about $8,500, and I am quite upset with Toyota Japan. They are the ones making the money. It is not the local dealers nor the USA or Can companies but everything is decided in JAPAN. Sorry I will not give out the name of the dealer but I am sure you can find some but so close to the border.
    Finally Prius 2008 doesn't have DRL which will need to be fixed. Why are these cars not on the list...They try to stop us shoppers every way they can, but it is trouble but we will succeed.
  • sergelbergeronsergelbergeron Member Posts: 138
    Paul Hi I,m in Cornwall - read my post - it's number 1221. So far I have my new car Prius 2008 - paid about $10,000 below Cornwall prices - when all is done it will be about $8500 - this is taking into account the federal tax rebate that I will not get. The dealer I went to - in PA - had about 25 byas in the garage and were extending to 42 bays. Quite a big garage - they always have about 5-6 Prius in stock. Anyway - try to find about 500 miles away - there are many dealers out there. Is the Odyssey Warranty honoured in Canada - and you know - Ottawa - Odgenburg is not very far away if you have to use the warranty..
  • franckfranck Member Posts: 6
    Well three months have gone by since we bought our 2008 Toyota Corolla and still no updates to the RIV site on 2008 cars. Yes we screwed up buying a 2008 instead of a 2007 and yes we are paying the price. So does anyone know when Honda and Toyota are going to post the 2008 cars of RIV? Oh and to the Honda/Toyota analysts who I am sure are monitoring this site, if you think you are doing yourself any favours by protecting local markets you're wrong! I have owned Toyota's all my life but never again after this garbage!
  • sergelbergeronsergelbergeron Member Posts: 138
    Franck,
    Join me in writing your story to CBC Radio Canada - the National - they are reporting on October 30 - stories on the dollar. Car manufacturer don't like to see their name in the news. 2008's of BMW, Hyundai and others are on the list - what is Toyota waiting for.
    You can cut and paste this link: http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/video/politicseconomy/dollar_for_dollar_1.html
  • asrivastasrivast Member Posts: 8
    Hi,

    I am in ottawa and looking to purchase a lightly used 2007 Lexus RX350 (hopefully this will be easier than getting a 2008 new one from a lexus dealer) to import into canada. Any suggestion in dealers that are good to deal with and willing to sell to Canadians and help in the process. Help much appreciated. Please email asrivastca@yahoo.com
  • jadeboyjadeboy Member Posts: 11
    Well, I tried emailing Lexus (Toyota) about when they will have the car on the riv.a list. As expected they never reply, maybe you want to phone Toyota USA and asked them directly.
  • generaljunkgeneraljunk Member Posts: 9
    Im in Ottawa so Ogdensburg is the closed US town. Syracuse and Rochester aren't that far away though.
    Paul
  • crikeycrikey Member Posts: 1,041
    I'm planning to give my almost 10-year old Acura 1.6EL, that I imported into the US when I moved, to my younger sister. Since the car originated from Canada, it already complies with all Canadian requirements. I was able to properly title it here in the US and I will be handing the title over to her when she comes down to drive it back up. What I'm not clear about is what tags will she use on her drive back up? I don't think I should give her the tags currently on the vehicle. Does she need to get tags from Canada first and have it with her when she drives it? I have the old Ontario tags on it, but those have not been renewed since I moved down to the US and they are in my name so it may not be useful to her anyway.

    If anyone has imported a used car bought privately, I would appreciate it if you can share your experience. Thanks.
  • scrolllockscrolllock Member Posts: 126
    Great news and I wish you luck with the RIV. Let us know how it turns out. I would be interested in knowing which company you dealt with to Purchase the extended warranty.

    I would also like to understand why you are dealing with Toyota Canada for the safety compliance letter, when it is my understanding that the letter has to come from Toyota US. Have you found a way around the bureaucray?
  • spottedmoosespottedmoose Member Posts: 5
    the only way to make this problem go away is to pressure the politicians and the media..below is a copy of a post i made on another forum.

    Originally Posted by spottedmoose View Post
    below is a copy of a letter sent to RIV and the ministers of finance and transport..i urge you to send a letter to them to express your own frustration with the process.

    "as you know Toyota/Lexus have apparently not sent to transport Canada info to determine whether or not the 2008 are admissible to Canada.
    Lexus,since 1991,has only had 1 model in 1 year(2000 sc300/400) inadmissible and Toyota hasn't had one since 2000..they are all obviously admissible, as they are being sold at dealerships now in Canada.

    my question is "why hasn't Transport Canada (or the appropriate authority who grants admissibility of cars) simply used the info provided by the auto maker so they could import their own 2008 cars to their canadian dealers..

    this admissibility criteria approval process is being hung up simply because a car company won't fill out some form and the thousands of us who wish to buy in the US cannot because of this beaueaucratic inability to be slightly creative..the way you are looking at the situation,toyota/lexus may never provide the information and no one would then be able to import a 2008 car.

    i guess i have to ask "whose best interests are you and the government looking after.?" they do not appear to be the Canadian citizen rights,but those of a Japanese located company whose profits are inflated because we in canada are forced to pay such high prices for the cars..i don't expect the prices to exactly equal as i do respect the claims that it costs more to do business in canada, but the prices are too far apart to believe that claim.

    Mr. Flaherty,i realize that you are facing problems with the high $cad. as it pertains to Canadian industry and the loss of jobs ,but there is a way to increase the living standard of every Canadian voter to offset the loss of jobs,and that is to do everything possible to allow Canadians to benefit from the higher dollar..we don't get this chance very often and by doing what is necessary to get wholesalers and retailers to pass on the benefits of the higher dollar,we have a good chance at improving our standard of living..this was cogently pointed out in the Globe and mail editorial about 10 days ago."

    email to mr flaherty---jflaherty@fin.gc.ca
    email to mr cannon---mintc@tc.gc.ca

    let's get the fingers flying on the keyboard !!!
  • netdognetdog Member Posts: 66
    I understand that the export/import requirements are very much the same for used vehicles and new vehicles. However, if you will be gifting this vehicle over to your sister then I believe the rules are a bit different and you should check with RIV about that.

    I also understand that both PST and GST are payable on private used car sales from the states, although private domestic vehicle sales are normally exempted from PST (I called our DMV and confirmed this). I am not sure what the deal is with PST/GST when a vehicle is gifted. RIV should be able to clear that up for you.

    netdog
  • crikeycrikey Member Posts: 1,041
    Thanks. I sent an email to RIV for confirmation. I'll call them if I don't hear back.
  • dayfutdayfut Member Posts: 11
    So, I checked the RIV site this morning and it finally updated the 08 Hondas, but now only the S2000, Element and Pilot are admissible...all other 2008 models are inadmissible. Does anyone know why?
  • scrolllockscrolllock Member Posts: 126
    I would like to know why as well.
  • lindajames48lindajames48 Member Posts: 2
    I have just been informed that the new policy at Toyota USA is that they will NOT issue any letter of complience as of now and that 2008 cannot be imported. Any one who was caught in the process of waiting for this letter or riv listing is in a mess. I cannot register this car, cannot drive it as the temporary transit plate is expired, am told that it will never be legal. I cannot sell it in Canada, and cannot drive it across the border to sell it. Toyota USA customer service as been told to tell us that their policy as always been to discourage imports (which is a lie as they have been listing will the riv every year until this one and when I called Toyota USA before and after purchasing the car was always told to be patient that the complience letter would be cleared up soon) Well now they have decided how to clear it up and those of us who were told to be patient are now being told that they are not to deal with us any longer and that our problem is with the dealer who sold the car to us.
  • sergelbergeronsergelbergeron Member Posts: 138
    I talked to Toyota USA, Canada, RIV, Transport Canada all the same we don't know ????
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    Wow, they've really put you in a nasty mess. Guess Toyota has not heard of public relation! :mad:
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