Topic: Importing used cars from US

[Mike-NB]

It seems that most of the posts in this forum are on new cars, but does anyone have any experience buying a used car in the US and importing it back to Canada?  I’m assuming that for a used car it must be just as easy as a new car.  I also suspect that if there are warranty transfer problems with new cars then the same problems exist for used cars.  But maybe there isn't.

I’m about an 8 hour drive north of the Boston area so I decided to do a little non-scientific research.  I went to autotrader.com and compared two higher-end used cars using trader.ca to search the GTA, which is about a 16 hour drive away.  I used a 2006 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro with manual transmission and a 2006 Cadillac STS V6 AWD.  They all had comparable mileage.  Here’s what I found (dollar figures rounded up):

Audi
   Boston: high $30K, low $23,500
   Toronto: high $40K, low $37K

Cadillac
   Boston: high $36K, low $29K
   Toronto: high $50K, low $37,500

I realize this isn’t an in-depth study, but it seems pretty simple: if you want to save $10K plus on a higher-end car then buying in the US probably makes sense. 

I know two people who have done this -one bought a 2006 350Z Convertible and the other bought a 2006 Viper – both are happy and say they saved a lot.  Does anyone on this board have any real world experience? 

(As an aside, the search engine on autotrader.com is far better than that used on trader.ca.  On the US site you can break your search down into specific models.  For example, with the Audi I could search for a manual transmission only, and on the Cadillac I could search for V6 only.  I could have search specific colours if I wanted to get that specific.  That saved a lot of time.)

[rrocket]

I've done this a few times.  It's easy, but a few things must be done. FIRST check with RIV to be sure car can be imported in the 1st place.....

1) At least 48 hours prior to crossing with the vehicle, you have to fax a copy of the ownership to US customs. They will check to make sure the car isn't stolen and whatnot.

2) Once you are crossing with the car, you have to bring in the ORIGINAL ownership so the US customs can verify it and put a stamp/US Customs seal on it.

3) Bring car and ownership to Canada customs.  Pay duty (if applicable) and GST.  In addition, you have to pay a fee for the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) if the car is newer than 15 years old.

4) You have to have a safety check, a Federal Inspection (for the RIV) and emissions prior to the car being licensed.  It will need to have daytime running lights to pass the Federal Inspection which is done at most any Canadian Tire.

5) You must have a letter from the Manufacturer stating the car is free from any safety-related recalls.

6) Mail all info and safety checks (or FAX to hurry things along) to RIV to get new Ownership.

7) Go to licensing office with new ownership and license car and pay PST.

Cool Done.

[Arthur Dent]

Kind of an annoying board but this thread is what you need to read: http://forums.beyond.ca/st/107279/jaymez-importing-from-the-states-thread-/

[airbalancer]

it appear with Nissan, all you have do is have it plated in the states for one day

[Mike-NB]

Thanks for the tips.  These are a big help.

I can see that some modifications would be fairly easy, such as adding DRLs, but how difficult is it to have a new speedometer installed?  Or is it even necessary if the US car has a kilometre scale?

[mmret]

Thanks for the tips.  These are a big help.

I can see that some modifications would be fairly easy, such as adding DRLs, but how difficult is it to have a new speedometer installed?  Or is it even necessary if the US car has a kilometre scale?

New speedo would be a royal pain

Thankfully as long as it has KM markings I think you are okay.

I remember reading something about the requirement that you have a sticker saying "this odometer reads in miles" or something. No big deal.

[No H2O]

In addition, you have to pay a fee for the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) if the car is newer than 15 years old.

A couple of questions.

A fee is paid to RIV directly? I thought there was a brokerage fee when crossing the border. Is that what you are refering to?

What if the vehcile is older than 15 years?

You must have a letter from the Manufacturer stating the car is free from any safety-related recalls.

What manufacturerer and where from? My friend was trying to import a BMW motorcycle from the US. He had the paperwork from the US side. RIV told him that he needed it from BMW Canada which they would happily produce...for $500 (middle finger extended to BMW Canada for 5 minutes worth of work). Now who better than BMW NA, the distributor of that particular vehicle, would know what recalls were performed?

[Cord]

1) At least 48 hours prior to crossing with the vehicle, you have to fax a copy of the ownership to US customs. They will check to make sure the car isn't stolen and whatnot.

Actually I believe the time frame required is 72 hours.

In my experience, one of the most time consuming aspects is securing the original title (not registration) and getting it signed off by the necessary parties (previous owner, previous lien holder, etc). Each state has there own way of managing titles and some are quite arcane. If the seller doesn't have a clean title in hand, it can delay the process significantly.

[FMJ]

can somebody define USED? as in minimum KM or Miles?
is a DEMO car used?

[Cord]

Used cars have been previously registered. Demos are usually not technically used because they have not been registered. There is no definition that involves age or mileage.

[tpl]

An ex colleague of mine just bought a 2006 Cadillac STS with every gadget know to man and only 25,000 miles in the US from a dealer, via Ebay, for 33KUS.   I suspect that is an incredible deal as the car still have 2.75 years warranty left which will be honoured in Canada.