Importing Cars from the US

[siyan]

Anybody have experience importing cars from the US to Canada?

I'm thinking about getting a Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited (2007) from Buffalo and dragging it over to Hamilton. We'll see if its cheaper, but part of me suspects it is.

As the car is manufactured in Indiana if I recall correctly, I assume the duties should be very much minimal, if there are any. Is this right?

Any advice appreciated.

 

[desy]

driving television just did a video on just this the last wkened basically a cheap car you'd los money a BMW you'd break even and corvette you would save basically 15G, you would have to be at least 5G difference in price to break even a lot of work to maybe save not that much . . .

http://www.drivingtelevision.com/?epID=405

 

[Eos]

I have read in mulitple places that you must have a daytime running light circuit installed to bring the car into Canada.

 

[mrrman]

its best to call canada customs and ask them...tell them the make, model etc

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

I've been looking into this quite a bit. If you are interested in the Nissan 350Z, it seems like you could save over $10k CDN by importing it from the US.

As for the 335i that Driving Television discussed, they used the US price of $40k USD while I've heard you can get a 335i at invoice for $33k USD if you do European Delivery. If you choose regular delivery, its about $35k USD.

Anyway thats still pricey for me. In the case of a 350Z, you can get a used '05 for $25k USD while it costs about $40k CDN (used) for a similar model. Its outrageous.

Check www.riv.ca to for information on importation into Canada

 

[simms]

RFD has a whole thread about this, over 180,000 views.

 

[sandorski]

Also check the US Dealer. From what I understand, US Nissan Dealers will not Sell a vehicle to a Canadian Citizen. Reason being that it violates Dealership somethingorother rights. Other Dealerships may not have these kinds of stipulations though.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: eos
I have read in mulitple places that you must have a daytime running light circuit installed to bring the car into Canada.

confirmed. there are aftermarket kits to do this. my mom/ex-step-dad used to run a car importing business.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: sandorski
Also check the US Dealer. From what I understand, US Nissan Dealers will not Sell a vehicle to a Canadian Citizen. Reason being that it violates Dealership somethingorother rights. Other Dealerships may not have these kinds of stipulations though.

No, they will sell to anyone who has the money. The problem is that the manufacturers (Canada branch) won't honour the warranty if the car is bought in the US. So you'd have to goto the States for any warranty work, which is a pain unless you live really close to the border. Note not all manufacturers do this, but most do.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: eos
I have read in mulitple places that you must have a daytime running light circuit installed to bring the car into Canada.

confirmed. there are aftermarket kits to do this. my mom/ex-step-dad used to run a car importing business.

do you know how much it costs to do the DRL conversion? is there any other stuff that has to be done?

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN

Originally posted by: sandorski
Also check the US Dealer. From what I understand, US Nissan Dealers will not Sell a vehicle to a Canadian Citizen. Reason being that it violates Dealership somethingorother rights. Other Dealerships may not have these kinds of stipulations though.

No, they will sell to anyone who has the money. The problem is that the manufacturers (Canada branch) won't honour the warranty if the car is bought in the US. So you'd have to goto the States for any warranty work, which is a pain unless you live really close to the border. Note not all manufacturers do this, but most do.

Ah, ok, thanks for the headsup. I think I just had a case of deja vu though.

 

[eldorado99]

My uncle always buys his new F-350's down thar in the US. He says he saves 5-10 grand each time.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: eos
I have read in mulitple places that you must have a daytime running light circuit installed to bring the car into Canada.

confirmed. there are aftermarket kits to do this. my mom/ex-step-dad used to run a car importing business.

do you know how much it costs to do the DRL conversion? is there any other stuff that has to be done?

i will try to find out

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Awesome, thanks!