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Comments
I can't really speak about Nissan/Infiniti other than knowing (from my pricing research) that Nissan has one of the biggest price differentials between the two countries.
I'd only argue that paying WA tax wouldn't make you a WA resident either. The dealer needs to take the car off the available inventory and register your real name/address/DL info in Nissan USA's VIN tracking system. In any case, you would probably still need to reveal your Canadian status if you wanted the dealer to issue you a few 3-day trip permits so that you can take the car off the lot and drive it to the boarder.
So if Nissan really has a no-sale-to-Canadians policy, then you would probably be out of luck even if you are willing to pay the 8+% WA state tax, right? If they are not so fussy, then by law you would not need to pay. You might also want to try Portland where state tax is a non-issue. But getting the required trip permits could be a hassle.
Now a few quick lines about my own importing experience:
I bought a 06 Subaru Forester X-P from Puyallup and found the purchasing, permitting, insurance, storage and US exporting, Canadian importing, taxation, inspection and licencing processes very logical and reasonably easy to handle. I just did what all the policies/laws permitted and found that nobody was really trying to put up red tapes along the way. Ended up saving over $8000 after all taxes, fees and expenses for a total of 40 hours of work.
(and just a side note to someone asking in an ealier message: I did test Subaru's roadside assistance and it was very very good - I was stupid enough to run out of gas on the first tank! :-))
Good luck!
I am looking at buying a new BMW from the US and noticed that you were considering a similar option. Did you ever end up following through. And if so, how was your experience?
Thanks,
There is a canadian company that does all of paper work
shipping to canada.
You can purchase a vehicle they will handle everything
delivered to your door.
It is in Ontario Professional Access Group
Honda and Subaru from personal experiences.
Did you have any problems with the extended warranty transferring into Canada?
Any difficulties with the purchase? new or used
I think we are going to wait for 07 SRX used inventory to start coming on the market.
Van G
1- Go to riv.ca and make sure your car is on the list of those you can import without major modifications.
2- Confirm with the car manufacturer that your warranty will be honoured in Canada.
Then if all is green lights, you do it!
The bureau claim they are investigating and will let me know if there's any merit to my comment that I can buy a LLBean Subaru for $20k less in the US. Heck you can't even get the LL Bean in Canada so I need to settle for what they call the 2007 3.0R VDC.
do you have a contact or a phone number from this canadian company?
Because i have to import my car...
Thanks :confuse:
Thanks
Insuring an imported US car with ICBC requires that the car is elligible for registration in BC by the owner, which intern requires that the car:
(a) has proper ownership document, namely the Statement of Origin for a new car;
(b) has proper importing documentation, namely stamped Form 1 from the RIV office, and
(c) passes the provincial inspection (can get it done at a local shop for $40 rather than paying $170 at Canadian Tire), which is similar but totally separate from the federal inspection included in the $200+ RIV fee.
Of course you also need to show the GST receipt (so that ICBC can calculate the PST payable), and bring DL, cheque, cash, or plastic, ... :-)
Good luck!
I am new at this and looking into buying one in the states
I am in alberta so assume it is pretty much teh same but no pst so could save even more
where did you get yours and how much did you save?
any warranty problems?
Cheers
2. You need to call the boarder crossing you will be using to get across the boarder 72 hrs in advace, and fax the title. They need the 72hrs to make sure the vehicle has no liens and is not stolen etc...
Joe Spitz (he has a personal site which you could google for) at Seattle Downtown was a very close competitor but he didn't have a blue one in stock at the time.
Whether you are in AB or BC, the most important thing is to understand the RIV (mainly the Transport Canada part) and Provincial Licensing processes and requirements. Also need to research the US export, storage (while you wait for the export), state trip permit, and binder insurance stuff before paying for the car. But as long as you don't miss any of these (very logical) steps, nothing is really going to trouble you - see my ealier message ...
PST was the least of my worries because even after all expenses, fees and taxes, I was guaranteed to save about 25% from the after-PST Canadian price. I don't see no PST being a reason why you could save more. On contrary, the higher the PST rate, the more you would save because the taxable value would be lower if you bought from the States. Wouldn't you have to pay for PST if you bought from Canada?
For CAD$8,000 savings on a US$23000+duty+expenses+fees (or C$34000) car, you could buy a lot of extra preventive maintenance or repairs north or south of the border.
But in the case of Subaru, the warranty is valid thoughout North-America. Canadian dealers shouldn't give you a hard time when you require warranty service - bottom line is that: they could either lose the sales opportunity but still have you as a service customer, or lose both.
Good luck, and enjoy the process!
My case was quite simple and logical, although there were many steps involved: (however, in your case, you need to make sure you have trip permits for each state you drive through!)
- send deposit to dealer secure a car (and get its VIN and sales agreement faxed to you)
- buy binder insurance using that VIN from ICBC
- pick up the car in WA and ask the dealer for enough trip permits to cover the entire period of time until the car crosses the boarder
- also ask dealer for a no-recall letter
- drive the car with the trip permits displayed to the border town (Blaine WA) and store at a local storage place
- come home and submit paperwork to US customs by fax/email
- wait a few days before confirming that US customs okays the export
- buy temp BC permit before going to pick up the car again
- drive to US customs and get inspection and export paperwork
- drive to Canada and go through the RIV process (pay fee, pay GST, get GST receipt and form 1)
- drive to home and store the car (better have storage insurance if permit expires before registration)
- wait for RIV to send you form 2 (the form 1 copy sent from the customs to RIV office maybe illegible so you might want to send it again yourself to ensure that RIV office works on your case and sends you form 2 quickly)
- get form 2 and take it to Canadian Tire for federal inspection, submit no-recall letter
- (assume fed inspection passes) get form 2 stamped and you are done with RIV, C-tire will send a copy of form 2 to RIV for you
- do provincial inspection at Canadian Tire or another independent shop listed on ICBC website, they have the right forms
- get the provincial inspection paperwork from shop and go to a ICBC agent
- submit provincial form and form 1/form 2/GST receipt and pay PST to get registration and insurance
and after that:
- enjoy driving and run out of gas on the road
- test how great the roadside assistance works (Subaru USA would work their butt off to find a towing company in Vancouver for you!)
- get some gas and don't ever run out of gas again :-)
Same thing for a metric version of speedohead - as long as there is km/hr shown, doesn't matter how small the letters are or what button you have to push to get them.
Same for 8km bumpers, LATCH system, etc. - most of them are standard equipment.
2. Phone the US customs office at the border you will cross to get detailed requirement. Then write a cover letter including all info they require and fax it with the title doc (Statement of Origin and sales receipt if new car).
Give them 3 full working days before calling/emailing to check if your export application is approved. Don't go pick up the car (from temp storage) before getting a positive response.
for governing law, see: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/export/export_docs/motor_vehicle.xml
The boarder office can also recommend a few local temp storage companys to you.
Seems to me that buying new may be problem only in that warranty would not be honored. But can anyone confirm if buying used Lexus was the same issue, or if Lexus Canada honored warranty? Appreciate any counsel.
Jerry
Does enyone knows how to instal DRL on US Acura MDX.
I am waiting for inspection and want to do that before.
Thanks,
I have tried to search this, but could not find reference so excuse if this has been discussed already.
I have a vehicle that I owned while living in the US and brought it back to Canada without importing/exporting it as I was unsure whether or not I would be staying in Canada (and I am sticking to that story! hehe). Anyhow, a few weeks ago, I brought the vehicle to the border to export it. I still have a loan on it from the US and I had a letter from the bank stating it was ok for me to export the vehicle. Since the bank holds the title, I provided US customs with a photocopy of the title and the letter 72 hours before I arrived. On the phone, they told me I did not need a "approved screen shot" since both my name and the banks name was on the title.
Well, I get to the border and NOPE, they now need the screen shot. They also told me I could not take the vehicle out of the US. I ignored them (I had to get home) and entered back into Canada. At the Canadian side, they told me I needed to import the vehicle. I said "sure, I want to but I have not exported it yet". They told me they would import it anyhow and did so. They also mentioned that the only way I would be in trouble with the US is if I brought the vehicle back into the US and they found out I imported it without first exporting it. I have no intention of bringing that vehicle back into the US.
Is this true? I am still waiting for my RIV package but are there going to be any issues because I have not exported it?
Appreciated,
Taurkon
I imported my used auto a year and half ago, and it seemed that there was no way for anyone to know whether or not I had exported the vehicle. Canada sure didn't care when I asked them about importing it. Guess who cared. When you go to get plates, they look for the stamp that US Customs stamps on your title. If that stamp isn't there, you're not getting plates buddy.
The only hassle with exporting is that they are so damn slow and treat you like you're trying to smuggle crap in. I sat there for about an hour and got questioned. Finally the yankee stamped my title and sent me on my way.
How the heck did you get to import a car with money still due on it!!! Nice, if I knew banks would approve that, I wouldn'ta dished out all the cash to pay it off first.
Oh well, enjoy!
On another note, I bought a brand new 2006 Nissan Frontier NISMO in Arizona and drove it back to BC at the beginning of the week. The border was a breeze, with US customs taking at tops 10 minutes and Canadian 30 minutes, although it was frustrating that the exportation can only occur M-F; 8:00-3:30. I have found the process to be quite smooth up till now. I am taking it after work to get the DRL installed and then await the arrival of form 1 and then the RIV inspection at Canadian Tire. One possible reason that it has gone so smoothly is that the truck was purchased at a dealership.
Irony: Honda did it to prevent Canadian units from going to the US when the exchance was under 65 cents.
I was wondering if you got an answer to your question about the modification work on the Merecedes? I have C230 Kompressor and I too have been given the same estimate.
If you are going to import a vehicle, you have to factor in the costs of modification as they can be significant.
stupid anchors (that are placed in the back of the seat
bottom both front and rear) that are for a baby seat
holddown..............
Another couple of recent US Fed. regs that come to mind are:
DRLs, Auto door locks, pull up to close (operate) window switches....................
US and Canada emission regs. are the SAME on any US or
Canadian built vehicle (some states are different..Cali. ?)!
someone would probably say "well, get a life man, buy it locally" (i am from vancouver, bc) and the answer to that is simple this car is rare in Canada, can't buy it period and i want it bad.
It looks like, first of all, you have to unload 750 bucks to some prick at mercedes benz dealership so that he could tell you how much more cash you have to unload further to bring car to canada standard.
I found a very VAGUE description on line of what will probably need to be done: "...may require modifications to the bumper and child tether anchorage before registration. please contact M.B. to determine exact nature and costs of modification".
My question is, does anyone know is it a FRONT BUMBER or REAR BUMPER ? or BOTH ?
I went to mercedes dealership it got a price quote on front bumper which was 2000 CAD + "support" which i am not sure what it is but also part of front bumper is another 1577 CAD. Taxes and installations are extra at 110 CAD per hour. Child thing was cheap at 40 bucks.
Service department guy at Mercedes told me they had SL500 2004-2005 from USA and he said customer paid around 6000 CAD for parts/work needed to be done .
Is there anything else needed to be done on a car besides “a bumper” and tether thing ? Any information provided would be great.
Cheers,
VD