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

Are there still deals wit the exchange ? I`m looking for a 2 to 3 year old Pilot .

krazykh wrote: ↑ I apologize if the information I am looking for is already in this massive thread but i could not find it. My situation is as follows

My Sister who lives in the US wants to gift me her old car. The car is already in Canada right now, she drove it here then the car developed some issue so she left it here and flew back, I got the car fixed later. She bought a new car and does not need this one anymore so is letting me have it for free. Now my questions are:

1. Once she has received the ITN number and faxed the title to the Border crossing ,and after waiting a minimum of 3 business days (72 hours), can she fly in and drive the car across the border back into USA and then just turn around and come back to the border again or is there some sort of minimum duration that she would have to wait ?

2. How will the title transfer take place as the car would be in her name when imported into Canada and she does not have a Canadian driver's license nor insurance here, so will it be possible to then get the title transferred over to me ? or Do I need to have the title in my name before the vehicle is imported into Canada ?

I would be most grateful for any and all help in this matter. Thank you

1. I would contact the POE she will cross at to confirm as ultimately, it's the Border Agent's opinion that matters but I've driven a car from Canada into the US specifically for what you've described without waiting and returned to Canada immediately.
2. Either way works but it's probably easier if she transfers the car into your name (signs the title over) before she imports it and it should be imported in your name. Whoever's name it's imported in will have to pay Canadian taxes on it. She should confirm this with the US POE before as well but I don't believe this is a problem for them except she should probably have a letter from you authorizing her to export and import the vehicle in your name (if it was me, I'd go and meet her there but that might depend on the distance to the border. She can also do it in her name but that will be more of a pain because if it's imported in her name, she has to register it (again this applies to Ontario, not sure about other provinces) in her name before she transfers it to you (once it's imported in her name, then she can gift tax free). This will require her getting Canadian insurance, may require a DL from that province which could be problematic (I'm not sure if any / all Provinces require a license from that Province to register a vehicle).

pfbmgd wrote: ↑ Are there still deals wit the exchange ? I`m looking for a 2 to 3 year old Pilot .

The exchange definitely hurts but it ultimately depends on the price you find the car at. Note that an "in-warranty" Honda might not be the best choice for Canadian import because you'll be paying a premium for a car that still has a warranty which will get voided as soon as you register it in Canada.

I'm sure there are some cars that are cheaper in Canada and there are some cars that are cheaper in the US even after the exchange. There is also the condition of the car to keep in mind; it's most will agree that cars from the Southern US will have a lot less rust than Canadian cars)

Hard to believe this thread is 14 years old. Over the years, I got emails from 100s of Canadians who successfully imported cars from the US. I still own the car I imported and it runs like new. Sadly, I still occasionally find my free import instructions copied and posted on other sites that charge for the information. With the Canadian dollar in the dumper and Subaru getting bad press over the years, it’s no longer financially beneficial to buy new Subarus in the US. I’m currently pricing new cars and for the most part, the savings aren’t there anymore. You can still find great deals on some used cars in the US. The import rules for used cars are much simpler. My website is still up but admittedly the information might no longer be applicable.

Monsieurmaggot wrote: ↑ Hard to believe this thread is 14 years old. Over the years, I got emails from 100s of Canadians who successfully imported cars from the US. I still own the car I imported and it runs like new. Sadly, I still occasionally find my free import instructions copied and posted on other sites that charge for the information. With the Canadian dollar in the dumper and Subaru getting bad press over the years, it’s no longer financially beneficial to buy new Subarus in the US. I’m currently pricing new cars and for the most part, the savings aren’t there anymore. You can still find great deals on some used cars in the US. The import rules for used cars are much simpler. My website is still up but admittedly the information might no longer be applicable.

Oh wow! Welcome back OP! I first read your post years ago when I was looking, but never followed through with the import. Your info was really handy and I'm glad you were able to help many people. Initially I was looking to import a Porsche.

Thanks so much. Once Ryan left (one of the founders) and RFD was sold, the new owners quickly forgot my contributions and started putting restrictions on what I was able to post. Some insiders told me Canadian car manufacturers might have had a part in it. I simply stopped posting under my OP moniker and moved on. I would stop by from time to time. The thread was edited but it remains largely intact. I still have the thousands of emails I received thanking me for the thread. The highlight was when I appeared on CTV National News and CP24 with my story. The finance minister at the time was compelled to comment on why there was price inequity in Canada. Those prices have since stabilized and I’d like to think it was in part thanks to the negative publicity that National TV exposure could bring.

Great job OP!

The new Venza we bought in 2010 by following your advice remains one of our best RFD deals over the years. We saved $10,000. Thanks OP!!

michelb wrote: ↑Just an FYI, RIV has quietly increased the fee to $295 + tax as of Jan 1 2017. Not a huge deal but still an extra cost on what was already a money grab ...

http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/cn-a ... 0-eng.html

Not sure if it's been posted in the thread but I just noticed that the RIV fee is now $310 + tax (as of August 1st 2018 so it's been like that for a while).

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publication ... 6-eng.html

michelb wrote: ↑ Not sure if it's been posted in the thread but I just noticed that the RIV fee is now $310 + tax (as of August 1st 2018 so it's been like that for a while).

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publication ... 6-eng.html

I completely agree with this fee increase.

The lower Canadian dollar for the past decade must have massively reduced their workload. The only solution is to charge more, much more.

Monsieurmaggot wrote: ↑Those prices have since stabilized and I’d like to think it was in part thanks to the negative publicity that National TV exposure could bring.

I haven't compared car prices lately, but around mid 2010's, I've noticed many cars/motorcycles were cheaper here than US. Another example is the cheapest items at Dollarama/Dollartree Canada has been CAD1.25 for about a decade now, so as Dollartree USA has been USD1. There are countless other examples like Starbucks, McDonald's, etc, I wouldn't say the prices have 'stabilized', we, consumers don't make noises when the way things are happening in our favor. I'm pretty sure things get cheaper in USA when the loonie gets strong again.

maverikbc wrote: ↑ I haven't compared car prices lately, but around mid 2010's, I've noticed many cars/motorcycles were cheaper here than US. ...

I was wondering about this since I hadn't looked either, and you might be right.

I just did a super-quick check on something which I think is pretty standardized, the Ford F150. Looking at the least expensive XL trim, it seems to have identical features on ford.ca and ford.com. (Sometimes there are trim differences, but the list seems identical AFAIK.)

Canadian MSRP: 30,339 (CAD)
US MSRP: 28,745 (USD)
US MSRP converted at today's spot rate (1.35): 38,926 (CAD)

Seems like massively better for us, unless I'm missing something.

Certainly the CAD$ is not great to buy in the US at the moment but you really have to look at individual cases and you can't even just look at MSRP as you really have to look at the actual "out-the-door" price (e.g. in the US, as far as I can tell, dealers typically sell at invoice where as in Canada, dealers typically sell at MSRP (although maybe not the big 3)).

michelb wrote: ↑ Certainly the CAD$ is not great to buy in the US at the moment but you really have to look at individual cases and you can't even just look at MSRP as you really have to look at the actual "out-the-door" price (e.g. in the US, as far as I can tell, dealers typically sell at invoice where as in Canada, dealers typically sell at MSRP (although maybe not the big 3)).

Agreed - lots of other factors to consider, just a quick check starting with MSRP. The exchange rate is the key issue.

Probably American coming up here, if they could, to get some deals.

Monsieurmaggot wrote: ↑ Thanks so much. Once Ryan left (one of the founders) and RFD was sold, the new owners quickly forgot my contributions and started putting restrictions on what I was able to post. Some insiders told me Canadian car manufacturers might have had a part in it. I simply stopped posting under my OP moniker and moved on. I would stop by from time to time. The thread was edited but it remains largely intact. I still have the thousands of emails I received thanking me for the thread. The highlight was when I appeared on CTV National News and CP24 with my story. The finance minister at the time was compelled to comment on why there was price inequity in Canada. Those prices have since stabilized and I’d like to think it was in part thanks to the negative publicity that National TV exposure could bring.

I want to thank you for your work in helping me and many others save money and also force the manufacturers to stop (well....at least minimize) the great disparity between US and Canadian car prices. I went to a Subaru dealership in October 2007 and was dismayed at the price. I then went online and found your postings. I bought my car in the US in November 2007 - at an exchange rate of 1.03 US dollars to one Cdn dollar to boot - and saved $17k in the process.
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Does anyone have insight into taxes payable if a vehicle is inherited?
Family member passed and the estate (American) is being split up. The vehicle isn’t being sold to us. Do we pay HST in this case? On what value ?

not sure who you can reach out to in this caseto confirm but fairly certain it will be based on a retail value - similar to kbb.com private party. there will be other costs as well possibly duty, RIV.ca fee and also possibly not qualified to bring into canada....check out riv.ca for admissibility.
might be easier to have the estate sell the car there and give you the proceeds.

Devious wrote: ↑ Does anyone have insight into taxes payable if a vehicle is inherited?
Family member passed and the estate (American) is being split up. The vehicle isn’t being sold to us. Do we pay HST in this case? On what value ?

I was told by ON Ministry of Transport and CBSA that they don't extend the "tax exemption on family transfers" to imports and on import of a family gift, you will have to pay taxes (as well as the import fees) on an assessed value. (From my experience, at the border, CBSA will basically browse AutoTrader and Kijiji listings to estimate the value if you don't have a bill of sale / 3rd party estimate).