Cars from USA

[Quant]

Has anyone looked at importing cars from the US?

With current exchange rates, many cars are much cheaper across the borders, even with the GST & PST, and a couple of hundred dollars in fees and excise. I calculated the savings to be anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars.

[CSR]

um wtf....

CAN deals plz

[JustMike]

At one time, it was not possible to do this (because of NAFTA rules). They may have changed. Check with the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency for details.

BTW, wrong forum.

[walleye*guy]

Second - only cars greater than (I believe) 10 years old can be imported into Canada without modification.
You have to meet Canadian day-light running light and other safety issues - it will end up eating any savings you might make with the state of the US buck.

[pfdude]

And if buying new, don't forget about the warranty.

[actng]

man all the info above is incorrect.

1. It's 15 yrs or older cars that are exempt.
2. Warranty on my car is north america wide.
3. goto http://www.riv.ca for more info.
4. you suck, this is in the wrong forum.

[Cough]

Wrong forum. Please ask a mod to move.

[Enthrash]

In short, you can import ANY *new* car to Canada from the USA so long as it meets Canada standards and has been tested by Transport Canada. This usually means, so long as you can find it legally here, they will allow you to import it (after making any req'd minor modifications for metric speedos etc).

But hey....don't take my word for it:

Here are some relevant sites:

What can you import? Go here....
Tranport Canada:
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/menu.htm

Also, an award winning gov't program:
http://www.riv.ca/english/html/how_to_import.html

(This is what your car will be "enrolled" in once you get past Canada customs)

Complete list of admissable vehicles:

http://www.riv.ca/english/US_vehicle_admissibility.pdf

General article regarding importing from overseas:
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/mj/import.htm


Anyhow, this is probably more than you'll ever want to know. But it's actually quite easy, affordable and rewarding. I don't know why more people don't do it .
Rich...

[Rehan]

From http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/Web...13@.ef08332/63 :

Yesterday I received a quote of $46,640 from a US dealer on a loaded (all options) yellow SSR. Using currency exchange rates, the equivalent Canadian price should be $60,600. Instead it's $80,000. Something's rotten here.


This morning I received a call from a GM Canada public relations representative in response to my query about the MSRP price disparity. She advised that GM Canada and GM USA have different marketing departments and each operate their own way. She had no information on why the disparity exists, but said that to enforce it, GM cancels all warranty on any vehicle imported into Canada from the US. She went on to quote the party line that dealers are independents, and can sell for prices of their choosing. She admitted, though, that GM Canada sets the MSRP.


This would make an interesting consumer awareness story, especially for Canadians. I hope someone picks it up.

I don't know how accurate that comment about the warranty is. I imported a 2-year-old US vehicle into Canada several years ago and have had no problems getting repairs done under warranty. But it would be best to check with the manufacturer again.

Edit: similar warranty policy mentioned here.

[Quant]

I don't know why this is off-topic, since you can save thousands of dollars. That would be a HOT deal. Not wrong forum.

I moved here from the US four years ago in Aug 2000, and imported my 1999 model (2 year old) car here. Full waranty coverage from Chrysler. No customs duty. A couple of hundred dollars in Excise & fees.

I intend on doing the same thing again with my new car in two months. I have calculated potential savings of $9,000. Definately a hot deal.

[Rehan]

I don't know why this is off-topic, since you can save thousands of dollars. That would be a HOT deal. Not wrong forum.

I moved here from the US four years ago in Aug 2000, and imported my 1999 model (2 year old) car here. Full waranty coverage from Chrysler. No customs duty. A couple of hundred dollars in Excise & fees.

I intend on doing the same thing again with my new car in two months. I have calculated potential savings of $9,000. Definately a hot deal.

The issue may be different for US residents vs. non-residents. For example, US residents are not allowed to import "new" vehicles from Canada into the US. Perhaps there's a similar rule for Canadian residents buying in the US.

Also, apparently the warranty cancellation policy (for imports from Canada to US) was something introduced within the last couple of years. So info from before that may not apply.

[Enthrash]

This morning I received a call from a GM Canada public relations representative in response to my query about the MSRP price disparity. She advised that GM Canada and GM USA have different marketing departments and each operate their own way. She had no information on why the disparity exists, but said that to enforce it, GM cancels all warranty on any vehicle imported into Canada from the US. She went on to quote the party line that dealers are independents, and can sell for prices of their choosing. She admitted, though, that GM Canada sets the MSRP.

Funny....I wonder what a Judge would have to say about such a policy. As they say....put what you want on a piece of paper, but it won't necessarily make legal.

I liken the remark to those old GM policies of voiding your engine warranty if you put an after market air filter. A law suit or two later, this policy vanished .


Rich...

[Enthrash]

The issue may be different for US residents vs. non-residents. For example, US residents are not allowed to import "new" vehicles from Canada into the US. Perhaps there's a similar rule for Canadian residents buying in the US.

Also, apparently the warranty cancellation policy (for imports from Canada to US) was something introduced within the last couple of years. So info from before that may not apply.

What would stop anyone from having an American resident simply purchase the cars legally in the US, and sell them a day later to a Canadian.

Perfectly legal. A day later it is a "used" car, if only for a day or two.

At the end of the day, car companies are ripping people off while they can. I think they will inevitably drop their prices because people usually find ways around obtuse rules invented to protect often unreasonable profit margins.

Rich...

[Rehan]

Funny....I wonder what a Judge would have to say about such a policy. As they say....put what you want on a piece of paper, but it won't necessarily make legal.

I liken the remark to those old GM policies of voiding your engine warranty if you put an after market air filter. A law suit or two later, this policy vanished .

I don't know how well it would hold up in court, but this issue did get some press a couple of years ago.
http://www.detnews.com/2002/autosins...tos-503566.htm

At https://www.autoremarketing.com/ar/n...ry.html?id=934 it says, "In 1999, American Honda was one of the first automakers to void warranties on cars imported to the U.S. from Canada. Today, most automakers have enacted similar polices in an effort to curb the gray market."

[Rehan]

What would stop anyone from having an American resident simply purchase the cars legally in the US, and sell them a day later to a Canadian.

Perfectly legal. A day later it is a "used" car, if only for a day or two.

That's the 'legal grey market' that the manufacturers were discouraging when the Canadian dollar was weaker. So they may do the same (by cancelling warranties) for imports in the opposite direction (if they don't already do that).