I use Globex Foreign Exchange. Large firm, reputable, good rates & only $15 wire.
Were you able to compare the exchange rate offered by Globex with that of a bank and can you tell us what size of dollar savings were realized in your transaction?
hey woodytwo, how did your friend get a temp permit from NY state? I am trying to do the same. Getting the car shipped from Florida to Buffalo. Then I was planning to get the temp permit and then do the export thing at the border. I called NY DMV but they told me that in order to get a temp permit, i need to have insurance from the state of NY..
Can you ask your friend how did they do it? Thanks!
I was reading this and realized that my mother's Buick LeSabre has a button that switches everything from English to Metric. A lot of GM vehicles do, actually. The speedometer doesn't say KPH or MPH - it has a little LED/bulb in there that lights up the one in use - and all the computer information also converts to metric.
Plus, it was made near Toronto, so there's no extra import tax as it's technically a Canadian vehicle already.
Just something to think about. (dunno - but I think the replacements have the same setup - saves a lot of time and problems, IMO).
If you purchase a car in florida and put plates on it, you will not be able to drive it in canada. Canadians are not allowed to drive american titled cars, even if a friend from the U.S brings up his car on a visit, you to are not allowed to drive it.
the good news is there is a solution to the problem. If you have florida drivers licence. which is easy to get if you have a U.S address ( yours or a friends). I have florida drivers and this is what I did. To avoid paying the florida tax and tags, I simply found a car in North Carolina. It was a $99 flight with southwest to raleigh and then a $10 taxi ride to the dealer. I drove my 2008 sienna up to a small town near the border and stored it for two weeks while i waited for the MSO. I got the MSO last week dropped it off at export control and waited the manditory 72hrs. On monday faxed the documents on to riv and I just recieved my form 2 by email and I'm on my way to canadian tire.Also if you buy in florida you have to pay the tax and that tax is added to the toal value of the car when you get to canada customs therefore more tax to pay. All the neighbouring states of florida will issue you a temporary tag and charge no tax.
"If you purchase a car in florida and put plates on it, you will not be able to drive it in canada. Canadians are not allowed to drive american titled cars, even if a friend from the U.S brings up his car on a visit, you to are not allowed to drive it."
Thanks gtxkarl1. When you say Canadians aren't allowed to drive US titled cars, I assume you mean in Canada? Is this an insurance issue as opposed to a Canadian law? Do they stop you at the border if you have a US vehicle and only a Canadian Drivers Licence?
I am a Canadian with a Florida residence. I can buy and insure a car in Florida and drive it with a Canadian Drivers license. The issue of address may come up if pulled over, where the vehicle title address doesn't match your driver's license address, but it isn't illegal. However, there may be an obligation to get a Florida drivers license to have title and residense addresses match if challenged. I don't do this, but a snowbird friend of mine stays in Florida ~6 months and drives his Florida car home to Quebec every spring and I haven't heard that he has had a problem crossing the border.
I learned my lesson the hard way a few years ago I bought a brand new R.V in New York, using my florida drivers license I had the dealer register it in florida with florida tags. My thinking was that I would just drive it home to Canada with my florida tags on it. Man was I wrong when I crossed the border all hell broke lose. Because they didn't see my florida plates until after I crossed over( the R.V was 35' long). They had the siren going like I was some escaped prisoner trying to make a break for it. Which is kinda funny seeing i was basically driving huge monstrosity with absolutley no acceleration whatso ever.I was told then and there that It was illegal to drive a U.S titled car in Canada.Long story short, they wanted to impound my R.V but after much begging and pleading ( i lost a lot of my dignity that day) they allowed me to bring it in and follow the steps to import it (riv, etc). The down side to that was I had already paid tax on the R.V so when they calculated the value they included the tax. Basically whatever it says on the bottom of your invoice. So I was paying tax on tax. And tax on a R.V hurts alot
Now if you have an address in florida and a valid Canada drivers license you can get a florida license. All it takes is your passport, birth certificate and your canada license. It costs $12 and it's a simple eye exam. It basically piggy backs onto your canadian license. It's only valid in Florida, so if you get stopped in a different state you use your cdn license. But when you buy a car you use that license to make your purchase and then just drive it home with the temp tag.
I just passed the inspection at cdn tire on my wife's Sienna and on friday I'm heading down to New Hampshire to pick myself up a Highlander Limited.
I've always been a Honda guy, but I just sold my pilot and I'm putting my acura for sale today. The way they handled this whole thing is disgraceful. At least Toyota honors it's warranty and will issue a recall letter no problem. I have heard that Subaru is easy to import, the dealers are all willing to help and Subaru is playing ball with transport canada by stating some models have immobilizers that are conform.
I don't know how your friend is able to drive his Florida car in Quebec. I would really love to know how he does it. Because I used to assume the same thing but when I got stopped at the border thet were explicit. CDN's cannot drive american cars in canada, I did research after it happened and it turns out your not even allowed to drive an american titled rental car into canada.Is it possible he has duel citizenship? I'd love to know if there was some loophole I missed.
I can't believe the way you were treated! How were they to know you weren't just coming up for a couple of weeks to tour cottage country, visit relatives and then return? Surely it can't be illegal for a Canadian to bring a US vehicle to Canada? I'm sure there are a lot of Canadians who have retired to Florida, who retain their Canadian residences and come back to Canada for a few months a year. I can't believe Border Services treats them as criminals???? Are we living in a police state?
I guess their thinking is that you might be bringing it in to sell it later on, Or maybe it has to do with the goverment insurance on the license plates, who knows? Makes no sense to me
"...it turns out your not even allowed to drive an american titled rental car into canada."
But it is not uncommon for people to take trips whereby they fly one-way to the US, and then drive home with a one-way rental. Would the rental company have to issue some written authorization for these people to cross the border?
Here’s an excerpt of an e-mail sent to Dan Davis @ Transport Canada on December 4th. I suggest all of us consider the proposed wording and the potential loopholes that still exist for manufacturers to exploit.
As an aside, Tom S, where did you buy your 2500HD SLT? That’s what I’m looking for, and if the price closely mirrors the US price, would like to contact the dealer.
Thanks for the great website, and lets continue to keep the pressure on!
I have read the proposed amendments and have concerns with regards to Subsection 4.1 (b) “unless the manufacturer has indicated in writing that the vehicle cannot be fitted with an immobilization system.”
I believe the presence of this language will allow manufacturers to continue to use this issue to frustrate the import of their vehicles to Canada. I do not subscribe to the manufacturer’s logic that the vehicles’ safety could be compromised. The installation of an aftermarket immobilizer by a qualified installer should be sufficient to accomplish the goals of the amendment.
The manufacturer(s) have a vested interest in trying to frustrate any imports of cars from USA to Canada, due to significant pricing differential between the USA and Canada. Additionally, (and I have direct correspondence from GM to this effect) GM Canada is attempting to further frustrate consumers by stating that warranties on GM vehicles purchased in the US and imported into Canada are not valid for 6 months or 12,000km after a vehicle has been put into service.
In some cases, this applies to vehicles that are built in Canada!
Rather than adjust Canadian prices to be in line with their equivalent US counterparts, GM is using unfair (and I believe illegal) tactics to gouge consumers. If they are willing to use these tactics, rest assured they will exploit the presence of the above wording, too.
Given the language outlined above, a Manufacturer could simply declare that the vehicle cannot be outfitted with an immobilization system. There is no burden of proof required by the Manufacturer, nor a reasonableness test on behalf of the Manufacturer.
In this regard, for these reasons I implore Transport Canada to strongly consider omitting the words in Subsection 4.1 (b) “unless the manufacturer has indicated in writing that the vehicle cannot be fitted with an immobilization system.”
The deletion of this wording will not adversely affect the intent of the amendments.
Great letter. You may wish to send this to the following people who have the ability to allow these vehicles to be imported and licensed this week, particularly the Treasury Board.
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, M.P. Ambrose. R@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable John Baird, P.C., President of the Treasury Board Baird.J@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Maxime Bernier, P.C., Minister of Industry and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernier.M@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, M.P., Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable David Emerson, P.C., Minister of International Trade Emerson.D@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable James Flaherty, P.C., Minister of Finance Flaherty.J@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Steven Fletcher, M.P. Fletcher.S@parl.gc.ca
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada Harper.S@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Robert Nicholson, P.C., Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Nicholson.R@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Bev Oda, MP Oda.B@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Jim Prentice, M.P., Minister of Industry Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Charles Strahl, M.P., Deputy Speaker Strahl.C@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Vic Toews, P.C., President of the Treasury Board Toews.V@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Peter Van Loan M.P., President of the Queen’s Privy Council VanLoan.P@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Gordon O’Connor, M.P., Minister of National Revenue OconnG@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Christian Paradis, Secretary of State (Agriculture) ParadC@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Jay Hill, Chief Government Whip HillJ@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Senator Marjory LeBreton, Secretary of State (Seniors) lebrem@sen.parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence MackaP@parl.gc.ca
I actually called BMW Canada. You have to pay $350 for the letter and it has to be from them. BMW Canada convinced Transport Canada and hence, the RIV that importers can only get admissibility letters and re-call clearance letters from BMW Canada. Unless the customs official doesn't notice, maybe you can get away with a letter from BMW USA. But the re-call clearance letter has to go to the RIV and the RIV probably wouldn't fall for it.
I think there are people on this forum that have already been rejected by the border and the RIV....
I am also driving to new Hampshire to buy either pilot or Highlander, can you give the details that how much you are paying for your highlander and dealers name and address. my email is nadeemahmed1@rogers.com Also, I don't have any address in New Hampshire so how can I get register my vehicle and get temp tag. Do I register it in canada only and get it shipped from New Hampshire. What is the best solution.
Hmm...interesting. I guess perhaps the people who do the one-way rental to return home from the US have to rent cars that are registered in Canada and driven one-way down the US.
Unfortunatley Toyota and Honda dealers aren't allowed to sell to canadians. You would have to call each dealer and find out if they would sell to you. Expect a lot of rejection. I'm not sure if the pilot is admissible because of the imobiliser issue, You would have to check with riv . Have you gone to see the subaru Tribeca? I've seen the limited model sell for about $29,500.US. In canada it sells for about $45,000. It's fully equipped and it's all wheel drive. The good thing is that they will also help you import the car by suppling the needed documents. Also the Tribeca is made in the US so there's no duty to pay where as the Highlander is made in Japan and therefore has a 6.1% duty.
The Subaru May not be your first choice but it would be the easiest way for you to benefit from the price difference in the US.
I suspect the Avis statement on their website, that Canadians are not permitted to drive U.S. rental cars to Canada is for insurance issues. If you think about it, a Canadian renting a car in the U.S. and taking it back to Canada would not likely be covered by the U.S. insurer. So the only recourse that Avis would have in the event they wanted to allow a Canadian to drive a U.S. rental car into Canada, is to obtain a Canadian insurer. If they can't find a Canadian insurer to cover that risk, the simplest thing to say is that it is against Canadian law. The few people who would want a rental of this nature are unlikely to question that statement. That's why I think it is an insurance issue, not a statute law issue.
I can't imagine why Canada would pass a law saying a Canadian can't bring a U.S. plated vehicle into Canada if it was going back to the U.S.. The only law I can find on the issue is the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, which requires a foreign-owned vehicle to be plated with Ontario plates after 3 months in Ontario. And most of us can point to a person who has moved up from/back from the U.S. with a vehicle and didn't get plates within three months.
I can't believe there is a problem with a US car being brought into Canada by a Canadian. But you're probably right that getting a U.S. driver's licence would help answer some questions at the border.
My understanding is a Canadian citizen, entering Canada with a car plated in the USA has to go through the importation process, i.e pay taxes and maybe duty, the RIV and have the inspections done, and then get Provincial plates.
If you cross the border you will pay even if you intend to drive back in a couple of weeks.
incidental56 in Post 2883 wrote "I am a Canadian with a Florida residence. I can buy and insure a car in Florida and drive it with a Canadian Drivers license. The issue of address may come up if pulled over, where the vehicle title address doesn't match your driver's license address, but it isn't illegal. However, there may be an obligation to get a Florida drivers license to have title and residense addresses match if challenged. I don't do this, but a snowbird friend of mine stays in Florida ~6 months and drives his Florida car home to Quebec every spring and I haven't heard that he has had a problem crossing the border. "
rutilus is saying that it is illegal to do so. It could be that there is some obscure law or regulation to this effect, but so far no one can point to anything definitive. It doesn't make sense to me that it would be "illegal" to drive a U.S. plated vehicle across the border. It could belong to your friend or relative, it could be the car you use in the states when you are down there, it could be you are intending to sell it if a friend wants to buy it. In my opinion, only in the latter case would CBS have a right to stop you from driving into Canada. Why does CBS need the US Customs Export Form, if they treat all U.S. plated vehicles as coming in for import? Something doesn't add up.
dont forget, to get another juristiction driver licence (USA or other) you need to surrender your existing canadian (AB, BC, whatever) driver licence. Easy to get around this though however not exactly legal to carry 2 licences. go to registry & tell them you misplaced yours. they will give you a new one to use for throwdown.
I just priced a Dell Vostro 14" laptop at Dell.ca and Dell.com 948 CA$ vs 700 US. Tried to buy from Dell USA and was told "we don't sell to Canadians".
If you get a second license in Texas they don't care aslong as your canadian one is valid. They will run a 5 min check and you take the written test. You pass and you have a valid US license. I have been doing that for years. When you renew it they don't ask about your Canadian one. There is a lot of dealers in Texas that will sel to Canadians.
I received my form2 yesterday from riv, passed the cdn inspection and had to wait until today to go to the license bureau. Once I got there they told me that all new cars entering Quebec from the US had to be inspected. After much confusion I found out that the Quebec govt has to do a search on the vehicule to make sure it was never totalled or in a flood etc. They faxed the documents and 2 hours later I got a call that everything was fine and to come and plate the van. It took me 2 weeks to find a pre sept Sienna and another 3 weeks by the time i had it registered in Quebec. Grand total with all taxes and riv fees comes to $28,259.60 cdn. If I bought the same Sienna in canada the price with tax (after toyota's generous $1,500 rebate) would have been $42,389.40. For a savings of $14,129.80. It makes no sense to me how they can over charge us this much.
I know that's the case in some States, but in florida (probably because of the amount of cdns down there) they let you have a florida drivers license and a cdn one. The florida license is only valid in florida. Anywhere else you drive you have to use your cdn license.
Your price with taxes seems very low. Based on Canadian price I am assuming you bougt LE. I have to assume you paid arround 26000US$. Plus 14% tax that makes around 30000$. Did you get a deal bellow 25k? What state did you buy from?
I purchased a 2008 Le with some options that made it equal to the CDN Le. The only thing that is not the same as the CDN Le is that I don't have fog lights. If I didn't have to concern myself with the build date I would have had a lot more choice. Also Toyota USA is now giving an additional $250 rebate. When I purchased my sienna the rebate was $750 and now it's $1000., the price I paid was $24,800 US from a dealer in North Carolina.
When I spoke to GM, they told me 6 months AND 12000 KM. I specifically asked about "or" and the lady said no...."and". They do whatever to throw up roadblocks.
The rebate is done at the dealer at the time of purchase. You would have to see if he already included the rebate in the price he quoted you. The MSRP on my van was $27450 + dealer fees of $350. So my price of $24800 was what I paid at he dealer including the toyota discount. The car dealers in the US are suffering some rough times right now, so if you find the right dealer and are patient you can get some amazing deals. I am going to purchase my Highlander limited today and I'm paying $450 under invoice. You just have make your price and wait, after a week or two they really start to negotiate. Also the prices I have recieved have been through the internet dept of the dealers, for some reason they give better prices and give you less hassles.
Thanks for this info. The price is lower than I expected, so that is good news. Can you please tell me how did you started negotiation. Did you tell them up front that you will be exporting this car? Did they got recall letter, or you had to do this? Did you send Title documents to custom or they did it? I read that customs stop accepting faxed title documents, so how did send original documents to customs?
As you can see I have a lot of questions. I am trying myself to find dealers that would sell to me Sienna LE + pckg 2 + DLR+Windshield de-icer+alloy wheels.
If you could share dealers name, please let me know, but I will complete understand if you want to finish all your transactions without letting others know about your dealer.
tonyedmunds, the place and date of manufacture is printed on the Vehicles Compliance Label. Make sure the dealer takes a digital photo, and emails it to you. You can't get that info from the VIN. make sure the VIN on the Compliance Label matches the VIN he gave you.
Wow, that RV experience would be a change of pants moment for most people!
This florida license angle sounds interesting. For your recent Sienna purchase or your upcoming Highlander purchase, did you use your Florida License to identify yourself as an American? Did you tell the dealer you were planning to title the car in Florida?
My wife and I are both planning to replace our vehicles in the coming year. Sounds like it might be worth it to plan a Florida vacation this winter.
I read a recent report that said something like 500,000 vehicles are coming off lease in 2008.
Lets assume that’s correct and lets assume the leasing companies take say a $4000 hit on the residual of each vehicle coming off lease due to the downward pressures on new car prices.
That’s a $2 BILLION hit. Even if the assumptions are off by a factor of 2 it’s still a $ Billion
No wonder the industry is working so hard to protect Canadian market pricing, even to the point of stretching the truth about immobilizers # Michael Buffy says: December 7th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
That’s a pittance compared to the $5 BILLION PLUS that Canadians have been paying in premiums over U.S. pricing for a long time.
OK how’d I get $5 BILLION
1,700,000 new vehicles sold each year in Canada (per Stats Can) $20,000 my guess at a conservative (low) price for the average car 15% my conservative guesstimate of percentage premium paid by Canadians but we can visit www.talesoftwoprices.com and find 25% to 45% premiums. $3,000 premium per vehicle $20,000 x 15% $5.1 BILLION Out of our pockets and out of our country for the most part (i.e. dividends to parent company) The auto industry has a partner called the Government of Canada that gets sales taxes so you can assume the $20,000 includes or excludes the sales tax but for the sake of this exercise I am assuming that the $20,000 excludes sales tax so the Government of Canada gets $250,000,000 to buy us off with all sort of wonderful announcements just before the next election.
:mad: Just was shown a Warranty/Policy Bulletin dated December 3,2007 issued by Hyundai Canada entitled "No Warranty Coverage for Imported Hyundai Vehicles". Basically, this bulletin states Hyundai Canada's policy that Hyundai warranties "apply only to Hyundai vehicles manufactured to Canadian specifications which are distributed in Canada by the Company through its authorized dealer body, and registered and normally operated in Canada."
It also states "There is no warranty coverage for Hyundai vehicles imported from the United States, its territories and/or possessions, or any other country/Global distributor, REGARDLESS OF IMPORTATION DATE. These are referred to as "Imported Vehicles" ".
Visit your local Hyundai dealer and ask to see the entire bulletin. I am sure they will bend over backwards to oblige!!
So, buyer beware. If you still want to save money impoting a Hyundai, better make arrangements to purchase a reputable aftermarket extended warranty because Hyundai has just left you up the proverbial creek.
I just got back from purchasing my 2008 highlander limited in New Hampshire. 13 hrs on the road but definitely worth it. I had a nice surprise when i got there . The dealer had the MSO ready so no 2 week wait this time. I dropped the papers off at vehicule export and as of wed. I'll be able to bring it in to Canada.
As for my dealer in North Carolina, I'll email the dealer info to anyone who wants to know, but I don't know if they'll sell to Canadians, from what I understand is if they sell to a cdn not only does toyota get mad but the dealer also loses some benefits like like car allocations and special financing offers. So chances are they won't sell to a cdn. As for the recall letter, it's real easy. You just call toyota USA and give them the vin and ask for a recall letter and they'll fax it that day no charge. I've actually received the recall letter before I ever paid for the van, just to make sure all is fine. As for faxing documents to export control, it depends on each individual border office. The one I use has always said it needs the original docs, I just drop them off in person but you can also fedex them. Don't worry about finding a Sienna with DRL it's a 2 min fix, basically you add a fuse to the fusebox. It's more important to find a pre sept build. An easy way to do this is buy a brand new 2007 model, nothing has changed in 2008 and the dealers will be willing to bargain even more.
I have to say again the only reason this has worked for me was because of my florida drivers license. I'm not saying you can't do it without one but it's going to be an uphill battle.And for those thinking about the florida drivers license all you need is your cdn license, passport and birth certificate. Most important you need a florida address because they mail you the license (it takes about 3 weeks). I don't think P.O box would work but you never know.
Yes I told them i was planning to drive it down to florida and pay tax and tags when i got to florida, That's why it was important that i buy a car in a state that doesn't collect the florida sales tax. Also I believe there are dealers in florida that will sell to a cdn but you will have to plate it in florida and pay the tax (about 6%). I was told by one dealer that once you title it in florida the dealer doesn't care what you do with it after. So there are ways to buy a new toyota as a cdn but it always costs more. Also they don't negociate very much because they know you want the car, add on top of that the tax you pay in florida and the fact that customs adds the tax to the value of your cars means you're paying tax on tax. You'll still be saving money but not as much.
The Toyota dealer we used in North Carolina didn't care that we were Canadian. We certainly didn't need a Florida driver's license. The sales manager explained that we were paying a bit more than an American, because they wouldn't get any bonus points or whatever for the sale; but the savings were so great that we didn't complain. This high-volume dealership sells 500 cars a month, so I think that's why they didn't care. I talked to someone in line at the RIV office who had just bought a Sienna in Atlanta, an Internet sale, and he got an even better price. Again, no US driver's license.
Comments
Were you able to compare the exchange rate offered by Globex with that of a bank and can you tell us what size of dollar savings were realized in your transaction?
I am trying to do the same. Getting the car shipped from Florida to Buffalo. Then I was planning to get the temp permit and then do the export thing at the border. I called NY DMV but they told me that in order to get a temp permit, i need to have insurance from the state of NY..
Can you ask your friend how did they do it?
Thanks!
Not too good. I am presently homeless and living in my inadmissible car
Plus, it was made near Toronto, so there's no extra import tax as it's technically a Canadian vehicle already.
Just something to think about. (dunno - but I think the replacements have the same setup - saves a lot of time and problems, IMO).
the good news is there is a solution to the problem. If you have florida drivers licence. which is easy to get if you have a U.S address ( yours or a friends). I have florida drivers and this is what I did. To avoid paying the florida tax and tags, I simply found a car in North Carolina. It was a $99 flight with southwest to raleigh and then a $10 taxi ride to the dealer. I drove my 2008 sienna up to a small town near the border and stored it for two weeks while i waited for the MSO. I got the MSO last week dropped it off at export control and waited the manditory 72hrs. On monday faxed the documents on to riv and I just recieved my form 2 by email and I'm on my way to canadian tire.Also if you buy in florida you have to pay the tax and that tax is added to the toal value of the car when you get to canada customs therefore more tax to pay. All the neighbouring states of florida will issue you a temporary tag and charge no tax.
Thanks gtxkarl1. When you say Canadians aren't allowed to drive US titled cars, I assume you mean in Canada? Is this an insurance issue as opposed to a Canadian law? Do they stop you at the border if you have a US vehicle and only a Canadian Drivers Licence?
Now if you have an address in florida and a valid Canada drivers license you can get a florida license. All it takes is your passport, birth certificate and your canada license. It costs $12 and it's a simple eye exam. It basically piggy backs onto your canadian license. It's only valid in Florida, so if you get stopped in a different state you use your cdn license. But when you buy a car you use that license to make your purchase and then just drive it home with the temp tag.
I just passed the inspection at cdn tire on my wife's Sienna and on friday I'm heading down to New Hampshire to pick myself up a Highlander Limited.
I've always been a Honda guy, but I just sold my pilot and I'm putting my acura for sale today. The way they handled this whole thing is disgraceful. At least Toyota honors it's warranty and will issue a recall letter no problem. I have heard that Subaru is easy to import, the dealers are all willing to help and Subaru is playing ball with transport canada by stating some models have immobilizers that are conform.
I can't believe the way you were treated! How were they to know you weren't just coming up for a couple of weeks to tour cottage country, visit relatives and then return? Surely it can't be illegal for a Canadian to bring a US vehicle to Canada? I'm sure there are a lot of Canadians who have retired to Florida, who retain their Canadian residences and come back to Canada for a few months a year. I can't believe Border Services treats them as criminals???? Are we living in a police state?
- Due to Canadian law, a Canadian resident is restricted from driving a US owned
vehicle into Canada.
But it is not uncommon for people to take trips whereby they fly one-way to the US, and then drive home with a one-way rental. Would the rental company have to issue some written authorization for these people to cross the border?
http://www.avis.com/AvisWeb/JSP/global/en/rentersguide/policies/us/US_Border_Cro- ssing.jsp
link title
Here’s an excerpt of an e-mail sent to Dan Davis @ Transport
Canada on December 4th. I suggest all of us consider the proposed wording and the potential loopholes that still exist for manufacturers to exploit.
As an aside, Tom S, where did you buy your 2500HD SLT?
That’s what I’m looking for, and if the price closely mirrors
the US price, would like to contact the dealer.
Thanks for the great website, and lets continue to keep the
pressure on!
I have read the proposed amendments and have concerns with
regards to Subsection 4.1 (b) “unless the manufacturer has indicated in writing that the vehicle cannot be fitted with an immobilization system.”
I believe the presence of this language will allow manufacturers to continue to use this issue to frustrate the import of their vehicles to Canada. I do not subscribe to the manufacturer’s logic that the vehicles’ safety could be compromised. The installation of an aftermarket immobilizer by a qualified installer should be sufficient to accomplish the goals of the amendment.
The manufacturer(s) have a vested interest in trying to frustrate any imports of cars from USA to Canada, due to significant pricing differential between the USA and Canada. Additionally, (and I have direct correspondence from GM to this effect) GM Canada is attempting to further frustrate consumers by stating that warranties on GM vehicles purchased in the US and imported into Canada are not valid for 6 months or 12,000km after a vehicle has been put into service.
In some cases, this applies to vehicles that are built in Canada!
Rather than adjust Canadian prices to be in line with their equivalent US counterparts, GM is using unfair (and I believe illegal) tactics to gouge consumers. If they are willing to use these tactics, rest assured they will exploit the presence of the above wording, too.
Given the language outlined above, a Manufacturer could simply declare that the vehicle cannot be outfitted with an immobilization system. There is no burden of proof required by the Manufacturer, nor a reasonableness test on behalf of the Manufacturer.
In this regard, for these reasons I implore Transport Canada to strongly consider omitting the words in Subsection 4.1 (b) “unless the manufacturer has indicated in writing that the vehicle cannot be fitted with an immobilization system.”
The deletion of this wording will not adversely affect the intent of the amendments.
E-mail addresss of the decision makers:
From mdbuffy -
link title
Great letter. You may wish to send this to the following people who have the ability to allow these vehicles to be imported and licensed this week, particularly the Treasury Board.
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, M.P. Ambrose.
R@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable John Baird, P.C., President of the Treasury Board Baird.J@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Maxime Bernier, P.C., Minister of Industry and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Bernier.M@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, M.P., Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
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The Honourable David Emerson, P.C., Minister of International Trade Emerson.D@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable James Flaherty, P.C., Minister of Finance
Flaherty.J@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Steven Fletcher, M.P.
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The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
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The Honourable Robert Nicholson, P.C., Minister of Justice and
Attorney General of Canada
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The Honourable Bev Oda, MP
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The Honourable Jim Prentice, M.P., Minister of Industry
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The Honourable Charles Strahl, M.P., Deputy Speaker
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The Honourable Vic Toews, P.C., President of the Treasury Board Toews.V@parl.gc.ca
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I think there are people on this forum that have already been rejected by the border and the RIV....
Unless you are trying to scam the letter.....
Also, I don't have any address in New Hampshire so how can I get register my vehicle and get temp tag. Do I register it in canada only and get it shipped from New Hampshire. What is the best solution.
The Subaru May not be your first choice but it would be the easiest way for you to benefit from the price difference in the US.
I can't imagine why Canada would pass a law saying a Canadian can't bring a U.S. plated vehicle into Canada if it was going back to the U.S.. The only law I can find on the issue is the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, which requires a foreign-owned vehicle to be plated with Ontario plates after 3 months in Ontario. And most of us can point to a person who has moved up from/back from the U.S. with a vehicle and didn't get plates within three months.
I can't believe there is a problem with a US car being brought into Canada by a Canadian. But you're probably right that getting a U.S. driver's licence would help answer some questions at the border.
If you cross the border you will pay even if you intend to drive back in a couple of weeks.
Sensibly, we have to exempt foreign tourists who come here with their own vehicles registered in their home countries.
But Canadians driving foreign registered vehicles in Canada cannot claim to be foreign tourists.
rutilus is saying that it is illegal to do so. It could be that there is some obscure law or regulation to this effect, but so far no one can point to anything definitive. It doesn't make sense to me that it would be "illegal" to drive a U.S. plated vehicle across the border. It could belong to your friend or relative, it could be the car you use in the states when you are down there, it could be you are intending to sell it if a friend wants to buy it. In my opinion, only in the latter case would CBS have a right to stop you from driving into Canada. Why does CBS need the US Customs Export Form, if they treat all U.S. plated vehicles as coming in for import? Something doesn't add up.
948 CA$ vs 700 US. Tried to buy from Dell USA and was told "we don't sell to Canadians".
Anybody knows how to check the built date? I got a VIN from the dealer, want to make sure it's made before sept. 1
Thanks.
I have a 2008 Sienna LE deal pending. Should I qualify for the $1000 cash back with a Canadian address?
As you can see I have a lot of questions. I am trying myself to find dealers that would sell to me Sienna LE + pckg 2 + DLR+Windshield de-icer+alloy wheels.
If you could share dealers name, please let me know, but I will complete understand if you want to finish all your transactions without letting others know about your dealer.
My e-mail : jstewart1957 .at. gmail.com
Thanks again
This florida license angle sounds interesting. For your recent Sienna purchase or your upcoming Highlander purchase, did you use your Florida License to identify yourself as an American? Did you tell the dealer you were planning to title the car in Florida?
My wife and I are both planning to replace our vehicles in the coming year. Sounds like it might be worth it to plan a Florida vacation this winter.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
I read a recent report that said something like 500,000 vehicles are coming off lease in 2008.
Lets assume that’s correct and lets assume the leasing companies take say a $4000 hit on the residual of each vehicle coming off lease due to the downward pressures on new car prices.
That’s a $2 BILLION hit. Even if the assumptions are off by a factor of 2 it’s still a $ Billion
No wonder the industry is working so hard to protect Canadian market pricing, even to the point of stretching the truth about immobilizers
# Michael Buffy says:
December 7th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
That’s a pittance compared to the $5 BILLION PLUS that Canadians have been paying in premiums over U.S. pricing for a long time.
OK how’d I get $5 BILLION
1,700,000 new vehicles sold each year in Canada (per Stats Can)
$20,000 my guess at a conservative (low) price for the average car
15% my conservative guesstimate of percentage premium paid by Canadians but we can visit www.talesoftwoprices.com and find 25% to 45% premiums.
$3,000 premium per vehicle $20,000 x 15%
$5.1 BILLION Out of our pockets and out of our country for the most part (i.e. dividends to parent company)
The auto industry has a partner called the Government of Canada that gets sales taxes so you can assume the $20,000 includes or excludes the sales tax but for the sake of this exercise I am assuming that the $20,000 excludes sales tax so the Government of Canada gets $250,000,000 to buy us off with all sort of wonderful announcements just before the next election.
Have I made an error anywhere here?
from link title
"No Warranty Coverage for Imported Hyundai Vehicles".
Basically, this bulletin states Hyundai Canada's policy that Hyundai warranties "apply only to Hyundai vehicles manufactured to Canadian specifications which are distributed in Canada by the Company through its authorized dealer body, and registered and normally operated in Canada."
It also states "There is no warranty coverage for Hyundai vehicles imported from the United States, its territories and/or possessions, or any other country/Global distributor, REGARDLESS OF IMPORTATION DATE. These are referred to as "Imported Vehicles" ".
Visit your local Hyundai dealer and ask to see the entire bulletin. I am sure they will bend over backwards to oblige!!
So, buyer beware. If you still want to save money impoting a Hyundai, better make arrangements to purchase a reputable aftermarket extended warranty because Hyundai has just left you up the proverbial creek.
As for my dealer in North Carolina, I'll email the dealer info to anyone who wants to know, but I don't know if they'll sell to Canadians, from what I understand is if they sell to a cdn not only does toyota get mad but the dealer also loses some benefits like like car allocations and special financing offers. So chances are they won't sell to a cdn. As for the recall letter, it's real easy. You just call toyota USA and give them the vin and ask for a recall letter and they'll fax it that day no charge. I've actually received the recall letter before I ever paid for the van, just to make sure all is fine. As for faxing documents to export control, it depends on each individual border office. The one I use has always said it needs the original docs, I just drop them off in person but you can also fedex them. Don't worry about finding a Sienna with DRL it's a 2 min fix, basically you add a fuse to the fusebox. It's more important to find a pre sept build. An easy way to do this is buy a brand new 2007 model, nothing has changed in 2008 and the dealers will be willing to bargain even more.
I have to say again the only reason this has worked for me was because of my florida drivers license. I'm not saying you can't do it without one but it's going to be an uphill battle.And for those thinking about the florida drivers license all you need is your cdn license, passport and birth certificate. Most important you need a florida address because they mail you the license (it takes about 3 weeks). I don't think P.O box would work but you never know.
ALL 2008
Audi, Chrysler Group, Ford-Lincoln-Mercury,Land Rover,Mazda,Volkwagen and Volvo.
I talked to someone in line at the RIV office who had just bought a Sienna in Atlanta, an Internet sale, and he got an even better price. Again, no US driver's license.