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Importing Car into Canada from US

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Comments

  • bav_fan07bav_fan07 Member Posts: 68
    Easy to get around - find a registered broker who will buy the car and title the car in the state of New Hampshire.

    In NH, there is no sales tax. Import/Export the vehicle through that broker and you'll just have to pay the brokerage costs and taxes.

    That will save you from paying state taxes. There was a guy on this board who specialized in those services. Although you're going through a broker it it still cheaper in the long run I believe.
  • bav_fan07bav_fan07 Member Posts: 68
    Yes you are correct. Their cars were serviced under warranty for defects to the vehicle.

    Maintenance costs, like oil changes and so forth are not covered by Canadian dealers. Some US based BMWs even have ware and tear maintenance packages - those are also NOT honored by Cdn dealerships.

    Regards,
  • michelle60michelle60 Member Posts: 1
    Were you able to import an audi q5? We are thinking of getting one from the States and seems like noone is selling near the border.
  • darkseekerdarkseeker Member Posts: 2
    Hey guys!

    I need some help here, I've been calling different places and the information is so confusing.

    First a little background:

    I am married to an American girl, we are currently in the process of getting her permanent residency here.
    In the meantime she is going to Plattsburgh State University.

    Her uncle (lives in NYC) wants to give us his car, mint condition 2000 BMW 323i.

    I know to bring it here, I have to send in a form to the RIV (registry of imported vehicles).
    I know I also have to pay a 100$ tax for the A/C

    In quebec, they do not charge tax on a car that is 10+ years old, but they say if the border charges federal tax, they have to charge tax as well.

    The border says the use the Canadian Red Book for evaluation, how far back does that go?

    Can I get around this because it's a gift from her uncle, if not, we can always give it to her mom first and then to me.

    Also I was told I might have to pay duty because the car is made in Germany.

    Any experts on this here?
  • blangelaanblangelaan Member Posts: 31
    There are so many issues with importing a BMW into Canada, especially one that is 11 years old, that I would recommend that the uncle sell the BMW and give the money to your wife. Then buy an 11 year old BMW in Canada if that is really what you want. Or buy a used, but newer, Toyota or Lexus in the US with the money received from the uncle, which are much easier to import, and the warranty is honored here in Canada.

    Just my 2 cents worth :)

    Bob
  • pkfollypkfolly Member Posts: 7
    edited September 2011
    If the title is in your girlfriends name when she officially moves up here and takes up residence, there should be no sales tax or duties due. (they wrongly made me pay with my similar situation at the border, but I got it refunded later. I think the problem at the border is they mostly see Canadians importing cars to save some bucks, and aren't very familiar with the tax exemptions for people moving to Canada who already own the vehicle). Try and get a recall letter from a friendly dealer in the states before you bring the car to Canada. It's just a printout from their computerized car history confirming that any safety related factory recall work has been done. They don't need it at the border, but the crooks at BMW Canada charge $500 for this one or two page computer printout. My American service advisor did it for me in no time at allwhile I was getting my keys back from him after an oil change, he just asked that I not use his name if anyone asked where I got it. If the car has Idrive, you can turn on the daytime running lights yourself, that is all my 06 3 series neede to comply with Canadian laws. BMW Canada will also insist that you need a new instrument cluster with big kilometer numbers and little mph numbers, which is not a legal requirement, as long as the kilometer numbers are there. Good luck to you.
  • darkseekerdarkseeker Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the insight.
    If i do it now, do you know if I will pay taxes on a car that is gifted and 11 years old.
  • michaelnorbertmichaelnorbert Member Posts: 3
    Canadian border agents said they seized a brand new Porsche Cayenne SUV after a man failed to declare it at the Lansdowne international border crossing. The man told border officials he was borrowing the $67,000 vehicle from a friend. The Canada Border Services Agency said in a news release that an officer flagged the man for inspection on Sept. 28 as he attempted to drive the SUV over the Thousand Islands Bridge southwest of Brockville. Officers discovered documents showing the man had bought the luxury SUV in the United States four days earlier and had registered it under his friend's name. Police charged Mohammed Shakir of Richmond Hill, Ont., with smuggling, making false statements and evading compliance under the Customs Act. He was released on bail and is scheduled to appear in Brockville court on Nov. 4.
  • blangelaanblangelaan Member Posts: 31
    edited October 2011
    I wonder if he will be able to eventually keep the vehicle and how much of a fine he will have to pay on top of taxes owed.

    Also, how did he plan to insure the vehicle? If his friend insured the vehicle for the US and he then had an accident driving the vehicle in Canada, I'm pretty sure the insurance would have been null and void. It is pretty risky to drive around a vehicle without insurance, especially without public liability insurance.

    It would be very interesting to know the answers to these questions.

    Bob
  • vishhvishh Member Posts: 1
    Hello, I live in toronto/canada and my brother is US citizen. He has Honda Civic 2004 2 door coupe and i want to bring it here. Please advice me which would be the best way to bring it here and how much would be the cost including taxes and everything. Is it considered as gift from family and some benefits of that? Is it good to ship it or to drive it ? Should he sell it there and send me money to buy another car here if costs are more? Please guide me..

    Thanks..
  • artcareyartcarey Member Posts: 1
    Did you get the EIS problem resolved?
  • diveloopdiveloop Member Posts: 1
    Made the same mistake; bought a car with no compliance label. I know it's been years, but how exactly did you end up making it work? We're only 4 days into it, but it looks like a long road ahead...
  • oshuklaoshukla Member Posts: 3
    Hi All,

    Just to provide some background, I have US driver licence & insurance and planning to buy a new Honda CRV.
    I would appreciate if you could help me with few questions that I have before importing a New 2012 Honda CRV from the US?
    Honda told me that the warranty on the US Car will be valid in Canada, if I have US licence, US insurance and Registration- as they will issue me a recall clearance letter and the warranty will be transferable to Honda Canada.

    1) Do any of experience with what they (Honda)mean by registration if that means permanent registration or temporary is good enough to get the warranty transferred as the representatives of Honda are themselves not clear about this issue?

    1) I will get temporary licence from the dealer that is valid for 30 days, do I need to get a permanent licence plat and register the vehicle in US before importing it?

    2)After you get the vehicle into Canada, do any of you have experience with the odometer as it might only show miles ( The speedometer shows both Miles and KM), do we need to get it fixed?

    I would appreciate if you could provide me your experience or insight about this issue

    Thanks
  • awilliamawilliam Member Posts: 5
    My story is full of surprises although it started very smoothly. I am Canadian with family members who are US citizens and resident in US, also I have a US address and professional ties there. I purchased a new Acura MDX 2013 at a dealer in Virginia and imported it to Quebec, Canada. I drove it to the border. After 72 hours, the US export officer released it, then I drove to the Canadian customs and within 10 minutes, all paperwork was completed including getting Form 1 and paying the GST. They told me the next step is to wait for RIV inspection form and have the car inspected at Canadian Tire, then go and register it at the provincial office. The US and Canadian officers were very courteous, helpful and efficient.
    However, after 3 days the problems arose! RIV sent me an email and letter, to inform me that the car is “inadmissible” because the RDX 2013 model is not yet listed on the RIV website. Possibly because it is too new or because the car does not conform, although all Honda/Acura SUV ‘s of 2007-2012 is indeed admissible. RIV said that Acura must provide them with the specifications soon a voluntary basis. In the meantime the car is “illegal”. RIV and transport Canada advised me to return the car to USA. How can I do it without a big loss, it is already used!!

    Acura Canada and Acura USA not only did not want to help refusing to furnish the required information to RIV, or even give me a recall clearance or compliance letters ; they did not provide reasonable motif for their refusal. I spent several days trying to solve the problem without success. In the meantime, I am stuck with a car I cannot use and all my money is tied up. I decided to fight back since the process that I followed is legitimate. I contacted several consumer advocacy groups, newspapers, TV stations and activated legal channels. I contacted Acura one last time and asked to look at the file again but I am not hopeful they will help me. This is untypical of the gentelmanly japanese way of treating customers which I know well after having spent 2 years in Japan as foreign scientist.

    Can anyone help or give advice, I would be very grateful. Also, if anyone needs info on the importation process let me know.
  • shawnd3shawnd3 Member Posts: 11
    Although I have not imported a Honda vehicle before it is my understanding that the vehicle must be fully registered in the US in order to be able to transfer the warranty to Canada and get a recal clearance letter direct from Honda.
    You maybe able to get a letter from your dealer, which may allow you to import it, but you would still need to register it in the US for warranty.

    With regards to the odometer, there is no issue with it being in miles as long as the speedo has both.

    Shawn
  • shawnd3shawnd3 Member Posts: 11
    With regards to the 2013 MDX, while I sympathize withe you, you did not follow the most important and basic step of the importation process, which ad you know now is to ensure the vehicle is on the admissibility list.

    I'm sure Acura will eventually supply that information, but it is my understanding that they are under no time obligation to do it, and there is no guarentee that the vehicle will actually be admissible to Canada. The warranty will also be invalid.

    I would have waited until December for Nissan to update the RIV so I could import a current model Altima, I ended up purchasing the exact same car that was the previous model year in order to not have to wait. I'm glad I did, as to my surprise the current model was deemed in admissible due to a slight seat belt change.

    Hopefully in your case Acura will update the RIV soon, and the 2013 MDX will be allowed into Canada.

    Good Luck!

    Shawn
  • awilliamawilliam Member Posts: 5
    Thanks Shawn for your comments.
    You mentioned that the warranty for a US Acura will be invalid in Canada, is this true and is there a way around it ....like registering the car in US first ?
    William
  • timrileytimriley Member Posts: 6
    Wondering if anyone has had any luck / issues importing a Prius Plug-In into Canada from the US? I would buy from/in Canada but they aren't scheduled to be on sale here until early 2013.
  • blangelaanblangelaan Member Posts: 31
    edited June 2012
    Just make sure that the make, model and year of vehicle you are importing is on RIV.ca approved list:

    http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/safevehicles-importation-usa-vafus-menu-475.h- - tm

    I interpret on the web page provided by the link above that all 2012 Toyota/Lexus/Scion vehicles are approved. So as long as it is not a 2013 Toyota, you should be ok.

    Cheers,
    Bob
  • timrileytimriley Member Posts: 6
    Thanks Bob!
  • mcleandjmcleandj Member Posts: 1
    In process of Buying a BMW. Canadian citizen with american residence. The dealership dosent want to sell a 2008 650 out or warranty to a canadian address. So using my amercan address i have to pay state sales tax, register and insure the car. Then in due time when i import it Ill have to pay slaes tax again? I dont want to pay sales tax twice, any way around this or should I push harder for the dealership to let me export the car?

    Any help is apriciated.
  • bav_fan07bav_fan07 Member Posts: 68
    edited June 2012
    You're gonna have to push to export the car.

    OR another option is to talk to the State you are exporting from.

    Perhaps they have a tax refund process. Maybe talk to a lawyer or a tax official in your state.

    State your case. The dealer isn't playing nice, and your intention is to export and thus register and license the car in Canada.

    Maybe they will understand your case and waive or refund the state tax you have paid. of course, talk to these guys first before committing to purchasing the car.

    I am guessing the dealer doesn't want you to export the car because they want to sell you some warranty or extended service+warranty package. Or maybe they just want you to service the car at their dealership...I know that sounds funny, but dealerships have weird tactics and are not called stealerships for nothing...

    Just fyi, my experience is limited in your situation, so the above may or may not work at all.

    Regards.
  • awilliamawilliam Member Posts: 5
    edited June 2012
    I had a similar experience trying to buy an X3. The dealer had agreed first to sell me and give a 30 temporary tag but... the day of signing , he changed his mind when his financial officer intervened. I cancelled! Nothing to do I am afraid but pay the tax . BMW and Acura are nasty!
  • jlegresleyjlegresley Member Posts: 1
    edited June 2012
    Just FYI all MDX Acuras are made in Aliston, Ontario, CANADA....oh, and they are still over 12,000$ cheaper in the US!!!!
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    The more things change - the more they stay the same.

    Back in 1999-2001, people were paying MSRP for "used" Canadian market Honda Odysseys and getting them for about $5K less than the MSRP price here in the US.
  • awilliamawilliam Member Posts: 5
    I bought a new car from an Acura dealer in the US and Acura wants to penalize me (not providing the necessary recall clearance letter and warranty tranfer) can we get in touch for advice? My email is tony608@yahoo.com. Thanks
  • mdxsellermdxseller Member Posts: 1
    Hello theautobroker,

    How do I get a hold of you to find out about your services and rates?

    Thanks
  • iscraigiscraig Member Posts: 2
    I know it's been some time since your original post, but I wondered if you we able to successfully import a Bentley from the U.S.. Thanks
  • iscraigiscraig Member Posts: 2
    Good morning - I'm considering buying a 20 year old Bentley in the US and bringing it into Canada. I'd welcome any advice from folks who've done this in the past. Thanks very much.
  • Miatafanatic77Miatafanatic77 Member Posts: 1
    iscraig said:

    Good morning - I'm considering buying a 20 year old Bentley in the US and bringing it into Canada. I'd welcome any advice from folks who've done this in the past. Thanks very much.

    Try to use this online auction https://abetter.bid. They have a lot of salvage Bentleys for sale. I bought there my car. They also have shipping service and can ship outside the USA.
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