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WOW ---- New and used cars from US up to 30% cheaper - Read post #1

Poll: Are Canadian cars overpriced

  • Total votes: 335. You have voted on this poll.
I have no voice, Canadian Dealers/Manufacturers are taking advantage of the Canadian consumer
 
112
33%
In most cases, new cars purchased in the US are almost always thousands cheaper
 
149
44%
I owe no one a living, competition is good. Thank you NAFTA!
 
61
18%
With the exchange rate factored in, Canadian prices are roughly the same
 
6
2%
With the exchange rate and financing, Canadian prices are cheaper - Buy Canadian!
 
7
2%

Poll ended at Dec 28th, 2006 1:46 pm

Deal Addict
User avatar
Feb 28, 2006
1356 posts
220 upvotes
Toronto, Ontario
cvrle1 wrote: Just a quick question. i will be doing export/import to Canada this Friday and was wondering about paying of HST/Duty. Can taxes and duty (as it is made in Germany vehicle) be paid with interac or does it have to be credit card? I know that RIV fees have to be with CC.

Thanks
Canada Customs is completely flexible. They accept all forms of payment. They even take personal cheques. As the clerk told me, "who in their right mind would bounce a cheque to the government"?
I've been on RFDs for over a decade. My award-winning thread from 2006 is still going strong and one of the most popular on this site!
Newbie
Dec 22, 2004
20 posts
1 upvote
Vancouver Island
[quote="michelb" post_id="15638441" time="1351512387" user_id="14671"]Let us know if you get more info.

The following is my email to RIV:

To quote the Importation of a class B motorhome on the website:

"THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE - TRANSPORT
CANADA AND THE REGISTRAR OF IMPORTED VEHICLES DOES NOT GUARANTEE ITS ACCURACY"

Listed on this page http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/SafeV...Section5_2.htm as admissible:
Roadtrek motorhomes Inc. - Admissible: - 2007 to 2013 Models - see Explanations.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/safev... Explanations.htm.

The part in EXPLANATIONS that concerns me most is this:
"Vehicles that have been modified from their original state, other than regular maintenance, may not be eligible for importation into Canada. For example, a van transformed into a motorhome (often known as Class B motorhome), a van equipped with raised roof and/or modified interior, a pick-up or a passenger car equipped with lift kit, a motorcycle converted to a motor tricycle (trike), etc."

I cannot afford to have bought a 2012/3 Roadtrek class B motorhome (not available in Canada) in the USA; bring it to the border and then be told that it is not admissible for importation into Canada!

Please, please give me an authorized answer to my question:
Is the 2012/3 "model number" Roadtrek Class B Motorhome admissible for importation into Canada?
Thank you so kindly.

Here is the answer to my email...?????

"You may check admissibility on your class B motorhome vehicle at the following link: http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/SafeVehi ... ion5_2.htm".
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 18, 2005
11955 posts
3699 upvotes
Kingston
They may be telling you that Roadtrek is clearly on the list. And it only says "may not be eligible". I would think this is more if you had a chevy van modified by a custom shop it may not meet Cdn standards.

Not sure if it is helpful, but EVERY manufacturer/line on the admissibility list for every type of vehicle (including plain old passenger vehicles) refers to the EXPLANATIONS page. It does not mean there is an issue with that manufacturer/model. In fact if there is a potential issue they seem to refer to a specific Explanation #.

Actually the whole Explanations page starts with:
[INDENT]THE LIST IS BASED ON INFORMATION SUPPLIED TO TRANSPORT CANADA AND THE REGISTRAR OF IMPORTED VEHICLES (RIV) BY VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS. ITS ACCURACY CANNOT BE GUARANTEED, NOR CAN A GUARANTEE THAT ANY VEHICLE DEEMED ADMISSIBLE CAN BE SUCCESSFULLY MODIFIED TO MEET CANADIAN REQUIREMENTS.

TRANSPORT CANADA AND THE REGISTRAR OF IMPORTED VEHICLES (RIV) CANNOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS LIST
(SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE).

PLEASE VERIFY THE ADMISSIBILITY OF A VEHICLE BEFORE PURCHASING
A VEHICLE IN THE UNITED STATES.

PLEASE CONTACT THE RIV AT 1-888-848-8240 OR VISIT THEIR WEB SITE AT www.riv.ca FOR DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE IMPORTATION PROCESS OF VEHICLES PURCHASED IN THE UNITED STATES.[/INDENT]

So NOTHING on any of the admissibility lists is guaranteed to be admissible. Try calling that 1-888 number to see if you can get some clarification on what the worrisome explanation means. It is unlikely that they will give you the concrete answer on a particular model since it is based on what the manufacturer submitted.

Try calling these guys as their web page seems to indicate they have a lot of experience exporting motorhomes: http://www.fretzrv.com/Page.aspx/pageId ... ports.aspx. If you bought from them they may even guarantee that it will be admissible or refund your $. Might be able to get that from any seller (less a day's rental charge)
Sr. Member
Sep 23, 2006
674 posts
829 upvotes
I just finished with the whole process of buying the car in US and going through export/import and all the other steps. All I can say is that it was by far the easiest experience I had when it comes to dealing with cars. Dealer in the US sent all the paperwork on Monday. I confirmed with US customs same day and they said I can come on Wednesday or after to export (so less then 72 hours). Drove the car yesterday morning to US customs, was in there for literally 1 minute. All they did is stamp title and that was it. Went to Canada customs, was there for 10 minutes, in and out. Went to RIV across the street, payed the fee and walked out in 5 minutes. Came home and printed out form from RIV and took the car to Canadian Tire. Left it overnight. They called this morning said car was good to go, no mods required at all. Now I am going to register the car with autoplan agent and its all done.

Overall saved between 8-10K. It would have been a bit more but I had to pay duty on the car as it was made in Germany.

Thanks to OP and few other threads on RFD about this. Made it so nice and simple. My folks are now talking about doing the same thing in the near future.
Member
User avatar
Sep 7, 2009
241 posts
34 upvotes
cvrle1 wrote: I just finished with the whole process of buying the car in US and going through export/import and all the other steps. All I can say is that it was by far the easiest experience I had when it comes to dealing with cars. Dealer in the US sent all the paperwork on Monday. I confirmed with US customs same day and they said I can come on Wednesday or after to export (so less then 72 hours). Drove the car yesterday morning to US customs, was in there for literally 1 minute. All they did is stamp title and that was it. Went to Canada customs, was there for 10 minutes, in and out. Went to RIV across the street, payed the fee and walked out in 5 minutes. Came home and printed out form from RIV and took the car to Canadian Tire. Left it overnight. They called this morning said car was good to go, no mods required at all. Now I am going to register the car with autoplan agent and its all done.

Overall saved between 8-10K. It would have been a bit more but I had to pay duty on the car as it was made in Germany.

Thanks to OP and few other threads on RFD about this. Made it so nice and simple. My folks are now talking about doing the same thing in the near future.
Great! Can you add some detail to help future importers?
-What car did you import?
-How did you arrange payment, and cost of that method?
-How did you get the recall clearance letter?
-What US state did you buy in, and how did state tax work?

Thanks!
Sr. Member
Sep 23, 2006
674 posts
829 upvotes
phlegm2 wrote: Great! Can you add some detail to help future importers?
-What car did you import?
-How did you arrange payment, and cost of that method?
-How did you get the recall clearance letter?
-What US state did you buy in, and how did state tax work?

Thanks!
Of course, here is the info :)

- car is 2009 Audi S5
- I put $1000 deposit over the phone on my credit card. I 1st went to see the car, test drive it, talk about the price and the details. Then I went home, crunched numbers and once I decided to pull the trigger, I called dealer back and put the deposit. I then did a wire transfer for the remainder of the sum in RBC. I had all the info from the dealer so it was really easy. Cost of the wire transfer was $30. Money took 12 hours to go through to the dealer.
- Recall letter was automatically provided by the dealer without me asking. They dealt with lots of Canadians so they knew exactly what paperwork I would need. There was no cost to any paperwork, as it should be.
- I got it from Washington State (Seattle) No tax was paid as the car was being exported. Dealer even told me this before I had to ask.

One thing to note as I didnt see this mentioned anywhere (maybe I missed it in all these pages :) ) When you pay PST to ICBC when registering the car, they add duty paid at the border to the overall cost of the car and then charge PST. So you get charged tax on duty. Not sure if this would happen to other provinces, but thats apparently "normal" in BC. I wasnt too happy about that to say the least.
Jr. Member
Oct 25, 2004
105 posts
12 upvotes
Thanks for sharing. This will help me as I am looking in West coast States for a Bimmer.

Question - are you able to negotiate on internet pricing?

cvrle1 wrote: Of course, here is the info :)

- car is 2009 Audi S5
- I put $1000 deposit over the phone on my credit card. I 1st went to see the car, test drive it, talk about the price and the details. Then I went home, crunched numbers and once I decided to pull the trigger, I called dealer back and put the deposit. I then did a wire transfer for the remainder of the sum in RBC. I had all the info from the dealer so it was really easy. Cost of the wire transfer was $30. Money took 12 hours to go through to the dealer.
- Recall letter was automatically provided by the dealer without me asking. They dealt with lots of Canadians so they knew exactly what paperwork I would need. There was no cost to any paperwork, as it should be.
- I got it from Washington State (Seattle) No tax was paid as the car was being exported. Dealer even told me this before I had to ask.

One thing to note as I didnt see this mentioned anywhere (maybe I missed it in all these pages :) ) When you pay PST to ICBC when registering the car, they add duty paid at the border to the overall cost of the car and then charge PST. So you get charged tax on duty. Not sure if this would happen to other provinces, but thats apparently "normal" in BC. I wasnt too happy about that to say the least.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 2, 2003
5265 posts
1623 upvotes
SK
cvrle1 wrote: Of course, here is the info :)

- car is 2009 Audi S5
- I put $1000 deposit over the phone on my credit card. I 1st went to see the car, test drive it, talk about the price and the details. Then I went home, crunched numbers and once I decided to pull the trigger, I called dealer back and put the deposit. I then did a wire transfer for the remainder of the sum in RBC. I had all the info from the dealer so it was really easy. Cost of the wire transfer was $30. Money took 12 hours to go through to the dealer.
- Recall letter was automatically provided by the dealer without me asking. They dealt with lots of Canadians so they knew exactly what paperwork I would need. There was no cost to any paperwork, as it should be.
- I got it from Washington State (Seattle) No tax was paid as the car was being exported. Dealer even told me this before I had to ask.

One thing to note as I didnt see this mentioned anywhere (maybe I missed it in all these pages :) ) When you pay PST to ICBC when registering the car, they add duty paid at the border to the overall cost of the car and then charge PST. So you get charged tax on duty. Not sure if this would happen to other provinces, but thats apparently "normal" in BC. I wasnt too happy about that to say the least.
Paying tax on Duty is normal. When companies import goods (example: snow shovels from China) they pay duty on those goods. When we buy the same goods from a store we are charged tax at the retail level which is combination of markups and one of those markups is the duty the importing company paid. Since we are the importer in this case, we are paying the duty and the final taxes.
shopper-X
Sr. Member
Sep 23, 2006
674 posts
829 upvotes
khaki wrote: Thanks for sharing. This will help me as I am looking in West coast States for a Bimmer.

Question - are you able to negotiate on internet pricing?
No worries. Yes I was able to negotiate on internet price. I dont think there is a difference really as the price that was listed on the car when i came there to see it was same as on the net. If dealer wants to negotiate, he will, no matter if the price is on internet or not. I was able to lower it by $600, but that was because it was already below the average for the same car, so dealer didnt want to go any lower then that.
Newbie
Sep 3, 2009
27 posts
2 upvotes
Toronto
JWL wrote: I'm in Kingston so I was looking for a dealer in Watertown or Syracuse. Several would not sell to Canadians, but two would: Romano Subaru and Bill Rapp Subaru. I asked them to match Van Bortel's price and save me the drive to Buffalo. I provided a link to Van Bortel's site for the trim level of vehicle I was looking for which was about $27,900 less $1,400 discount. I ignored Van Bortel's Cdn Import Fee. I emphasized that I am primarily interested in price since I won't be able to benefit from their great after sales service.
Great! Congrats and thanks for your detailed input, JWL.
Looking for the Outback too, since my 2000 Acura TL will die soon due to bad tranny. It was replaced twice(free) by dealer years ago, but showing problems recently. just too much to get it rebuilt, or risky to get a used one to installed in. Shopped around in Ottawa, no chance to find a good deal for outback.
Going to get one from across the border, outback premium would be good enough for me. Thanks for your post, just following your steps will save me a lot time and hassles, plus a better chance to get a nice deal. checked it is 24,995 US as MSRP, but you must've got something else. Is there any chance you could give a pm what you upgraded? Thanks in advance.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 18, 2005
11955 posts
3699 upvotes
Kingston
ah9978 wrote: Great! Congrats and thanks for your detailed input, JWL.

Checked it is 24,995 US as MSRP, but you must've got something else. Is there any chance you could give a pm what you upgraded? Thanks in advance.
You're welcome. Hope you can find something that suits you in the States. I frankly didn't do any shopping for an Outback in Canada because the price difference was SO big there wasn't any point to trying to get a similar deal in Canada.

The things that increased the Premium to over $28K were:
CVT Automatic $1000
PZEV 300 (required in NY)
All Weather Package 500
Floor Mats 72
Rear Bumper Cover 92
Cargo Net Rear 65
Other upgrades 340 (wouldn't have gotten these but decided to go with an available car rather than specific order)
Delivery 810
Other admin + taxes 125
Discount (1286)

The bolded items are unavoidable so you have to pay at least $1235 over the base price advertised on Subaru.com making the Outback Premium really start at $26,230.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 24, 2007
4053 posts
1127 upvotes
North York
For a US made car being imported into Ontario. Do I pay HST (13%) or just the PST (is there any such animal left)?
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 18, 2005
11955 posts
3699 upvotes
Kingston
sheriffabc wrote: For a US made car being imported into Ontario. Do I pay HST (13%) or just the PST (is there any such animal left)?
For any car being imported into Ontario you pay the federal 5% of the HST at the border and the provincial 8% of the HST when you register the car/get your plates.
Newbie
Sep 3, 2009
27 posts
2 upvotes
Toronto
Thanks JWL, that helps a lot.
Didn't know much about Subaru, just see this thread, the outback was so much talked in here, so checked around in Ottawa, and after read your post, decided it really pays to cross the border to grab one.
Newbie
Mar 16, 2008
10 posts
Does anyone have any information on importing a gl350 / gl450 into canada from the states ? Is it worth it in terms of savings. I am referring to a late model, 2010 / 2011. Not brand new.

Thanks..
Member
User avatar
Sep 7, 2009
241 posts
34 upvotes
In response to the "is it worth importing a GL"... simply check prices in Canada, then compare to various online car sites in the US.
Deal Addict
Nov 6, 2007
1373 posts
664 upvotes
North York
smacd wrote: US Toyota dealers are forbidden by Toyota to sell a new vehicle directly to a Canadian.
Lexus too right? I am looking to buy a NEW Lexus or Benz or BMW SUV from MA and we do have a Boston driver's license. Will that make any difference (do we have to pay the Boston taxes then HST again? is there a way around it?) ? I am reading a lot of this thread right now but I haven't found a post that answered my questions or provided enough info for me to make my decision.

thanks
Sr. Member
Sep 17, 2003
702 posts
13 upvotes
Aritzia wrote: Lexus too right? I am looking to buy a NEW Lexus or Benz or BMW SUV from MA and we do have a Boston driver's license. Will that make any difference (do we have to pay the Boston taxes then HST again? is there a way around it?) ? I am reading a lot of this thread right now but I haven't found a post that answered my questions or provided enough info for me to make my decision.

thanks
I'm not 100% sure but I think it can be done because I've done the opposite which was to bring my car from Ontario back to US without paying double taxes.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/ ... tcan.shtml

Sort of mentions a little bit... but basically you buy and register the vehicle in MA. The Bill Of Sale must show that you paid state tax. When you import the vehicle to Canada your Bill Of Sale will show proof of paying state tax and I believe they should let you through. Similarly when you register and plate at MTO (provided it is under the same name as the vehicle title) then I guess you shouldn't need to pay the remainig 7%/8% tax there.

But I'm not totally sure... but that's how the reverse was for me -- I didn't need to pay taxes again at my DMV.
Deal Addict
Jan 13, 2007
1033 posts
134 upvotes
Can anyone confirm that Ford Canada honours the warranty on US-purchased cars?
Deal Guru
Oct 6, 2007
11211 posts
10057 upvotes
Kootenays
I don't have personal experience with Ford, but according to the apa they do: http://www.apa.ca/CanadianWarrantyinfor ... ntheUS.asp

Ford
Ford Motor Company of Canada
1-800-565-3673
The Canadian Rd, Oakville, ON
L6J 5E4
U.S. warranty of 3 years/36,000 miles bumper-to-bumper and five years/60,000 miles on powertrain will apply.

Warranty Coverage

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