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

My US plated car is already legally in Toronto. I guess I would just drive to the depot and do the paper work plus paying the GST (I am waiting to Jan 08 to save another 1%). I wonder if the custom agent there will do it in my case?

joejack wrote: ↑If you hire a transportation company and don't have a customs broker, they will bring the car to Mississauga customs depot. You pay your GST and do the paper work.

Danno2005 wrote: ↑Your Florida dealer is correct - possession needs to be out of state to avoid State taxes.

Section 8, page 23.

http://www.1040.com/New1040/pdfs/2006/S ... 400400.PDF

Does anyone know if I need to pay state tax in Florida when purchasing a private sale vehicle there? The lady at the FL DMV seemed to think that I had to when trying to get in-transit temp tags, however her tone seemed questionable...

Thanks

dotcalamitie wrote: ↑Niagara Speedometer. $400 for complete Tribeca conversion.

495 Eastchester Avenue East
St. Catharines, ON
L2M 6S2
Voice: (905) 704-0645
Fax: (905) 704-1746

Dealers can't do this because it involves tampering with the odometer. I'm not going to take a picture of it, everything looks the same except the instruments are all factory metric now instead of Imperial. if you want to see what it looks like, go to a Subaru dealer and look inside their Tribeca...there is no difference. i could probably sell this car now and a buyer wouldn't have a clue it was from the US.

Hey everyone. Sorry for my absence. I have been sending as many Subies north as possible over the last few months. A very BIG thank you to everyone that has come so far to do business with us.

In regards to the above posting. Just my two cents here but be VERY careful making changes like this. One thing that I am sure has been mentioned in the previous 6 billion pages is that you can come back and trade, or out right sell, your car to us or any other US dealer down the road. It's a US car and we'd be happy to have it back. If you make changes to the gauge cluster this will render your car True Mileage Unknown, or TMU. A TMU car is worth a fraction of it's actual value.

I don't know the legalities of such changes but here in NY if you knowingly signed an odometer statement saying the the mileage displayed was true and accurate, when in fact it wasn't, HUGE problems. Just keep that in mind.

I hope everyone has an awesome holiday and that this continues as long as possible. Whether you buy your Subaru from me or not don't hesitate to E-MAIL (not PM) me with questions.

Karl

jrvic wrote: ↑(I am waiting to Jan 08 to save another 1%).

keep in mind your gst is now 10% higher than it would have been when the dollar was 1.10. if it drops much further it'll eat up any savings from waiting for the gst cut.

So which car can you safely buy now? (as in: US dealer will sell to Canadian, car is admissible, warranty is covered)

karl_at_vanbortel wrote: ↑Hey everyone. Sorry for my absence. I have been sending as many Subies north as possible over the last few months. A very BIG thank you to everyone that has come so far to do business with us.

In regards to the above posting. Just my two cents here but be VERY careful making changes like this. One thing that I am sure has been mentioned in the previous 6 billion pages is that you can come back and trade, or out right sell, your car to us or any other US dealer down the road. It's a US car and we'd be happy to have it back. If you make changes to the gauge cluster this will render your car True Mileage Unknown, or TMU. A TMU car is worth a fraction of it's actual value.

I don't know the legalities of such changes but here in NY if you knowingly signed an odometer statement saying the the mileage displayed was true and accurate, when in fact it wasn't, HUGE problems. Just keep that in mind.

I hope everyone has an awesome holiday and that this continues as long as possible. Whether you buy your Subaru from me or not don't hesitate to E-MAIL (not PM) me with questions.

Karl

Are you serious about taking back US vehicles now registered in Canada. Can you just take it back in trade, no import (to US issues).

elty wrote: ↑So which car can you safely buy now? (as in: US dealer will sell to Canadian, car is admissible, warranty is covered)

Open sales to Canadians and full warranty, no questions asked?

- Infiniti
- Subaru
- Ford (not 100% sure)

My own shopping list is now down to Infiniti and Subaru. Probably a G35, I am very worried Infiniti will shut sales down somehow soon....but I want that GST cut!!

ac328 wrote: ↑Open sales to Canadians and full warranty, no questions asked?

- Infiniti
- Subaru
- Ford (not 100% sure)

My own shopping list is now down to Infiniti and Subaru. Probably a G35, I am very worried Infiniti will shut sales down somehow soon....but I want that GST cut!!

The way I see it (AKA my two cents)...
BMW is now making sure we pay over $500 for the Recall Clearance letter and only BMW Canada can modify to the vehicle. Hyundai has closed the border on new sales and some more manufactures may follow. So do yourself a favour and buy whatever you want sooner then later. If you're waiting on a 1% tax cut that will amount to $400 on a $40,000 purchase and miss the boat on saving $5K-25k then wait, otherwise get in now before the border is closed.

warpdryv wrote: ↑keep in mind your gst is now 10% higher than it would have been when the dollar was 1.10. if it drops much further it'll eat up any savings from waiting for the gst cut.

Yes I know, but I was hoping the dollar will go to 1.20 by Jan 08, darn it! oh well, just have to declare my import at a lower price then i.e. more depreciation by then.

Candian dollar is going nowhere but down, it is already dropping in anticipation of the Bank of Canada cutting the interest rates next week. When that happens the dollar will drop even more.

R_Lefebvre wrote: ↑I hate to ask this question as I'm sure it's covered a million times, but with 600 pages... and I tried searching to no avail...

Which crossings would allow me to bring the car over on the weekend. I guess the most important is the US customs side.

I live near Belleville Ontario and am looking at cars in the Detroit area. So, I could take either crossing in Detroit, maybe the Blue Water bridge in Sarnia if I had to. Or I could cross at Niagara Falls, or maybe even near Kingston.

Any of the crossings in this area open for car import/export on weekends?

NO.

But don't take my word for it - have you gone to the site that's been mentioned a hundred times here already - all the info is there about border crossings.

RIV.ca?

That's the only one that jumps to mind. If it's another one... there are 670+ pages, and lots of website mentioned many times. You could have listed the website in less time that it took to write that retort.

R_Lefebvre wrote: ↑RIV.ca?

That's the only one that jumps to mind. If it's another one... there are 670+ pages, and lots of website mentioned many times. You could have listed the website in less time that it took to write that retort.

www.carburner.com

Hi all,
Well, my Subaru is now plated and the process is entirely complete! Here is some info for those that are interested:

1) Came across the border on Monday - the entire process took 1/2 hour max - it will depend on the lineup.

2) Called RIV on Wednesday and got through right away. I got an 800 fax number and faxed the recall letter that evening.

3) Got an e-mail from RIV on Thursday with form 2 attached.

4) Went to Canadian Tire this morning with form 2 - it took about 5 minutes for the guy to check out the car and then sign the papers. I thought that he would give me form 2 to take to MTO but he just signed form 1 and sent me on my way

5) Headed directly to MTO with forms, insurance, title, driver's license and bank card in tow (actually I took everything that I had just to be sure).

6) Got in line at MTO - waited about 1 minute - paid the PST, provided all the info & got new plates, sticker and ownership. That took all of about 5 minutes and then came home. Form 1 was all they required.

7) Got home put the plates on and took the temp. plate (provided free by Van Bortels) off and that took another 3 minutes.

Now for the extra good part - Total savings on the car - to a comparable Canadian model - is $16,442.97 including plates, sticker, PST and GST.

In addition (drum roll please) when I exchanged to U.S. dollars (BMO - when it was $1.07) I saved another $1300.00 and change. Total savings of............... $17,800.00 approximately. Yowsers!

A big thanks to this group, the original poster (MM) and of course Karl at Van Bortels - They/he looks after everything to make sure the process is as painless as possible (that is why we need their imput and advice! So let's be nice to them. Sure they are making money but that is what they do for a living).

The entire process is a little intimidating at first but with all the help here and from Karl it really is quite painless. If I happen to do it again it will be very smooth and quick.

Today, with some of the savings, I had 2 new front bay windows put into our home ($3500) just to do my part to help the Canadian economy . I would not have been able to afford this without the car savings. I also plan on making a donation to the cause as soon as I can read through all the posts to decide how and where. There is no doubt that we are getting screwed and it has to stop!

That's all for now,

SeeWhy2 wrote: ↑Hi all,
Well, my Subaru is now plated and the process is entirely complete! Here is some info for those that are interested:

Congratulations Carlos!

kingrukus wrote: ↑Does anyone know if I need to pay state tax in Florida when purchasing a private sale vehicle there? The lady at the FL DMV seemed to think that I had to when trying to get in-transit temp tags, however her tone seemed questionable...

Thanks

Just spoke with Florida DMV again. Even if the vehicle is a private used sale, I still have to pay state tax when getting the temp driving tags. This SUCKS!!

What if I were to have the vehicle sent to a neighboring state where this rule wasn't put into effect...could I theoretically get temp tags from a neighboring state and not pay the tax???

Thanks!!

Only way to avoid this usually is to either ship the vehicle directly from the dealership, or to have a dealers license showing you are exempt from paying sales tax

Just ship it to a state that is close with no tax

Non-Florida residents are responsible for state sales taxes:

* With out of state purchases there are no other registration or licensing fees - just the sales tax issue. Here's how it works...
o If you have the car shipped to you, therefore not driving the car on the state roads of Florida, we do not legally have to charge state sales tax or any other fees beyond the price of the car itself. Upon delivery, you will pay appropriate sales taxes to your state when you register the car.

o If you purchase a car in the state of Florida and intend on driving it home or in any way driving it on the state roads of Florida we must by law charge Florida State sales tax at 6%.


However, some states reciprocate - which means that by paying tax in Florida you are exempt from paying taxes again in your state. If your state reciprocates and you intend on driving your Corvette home, we must charge your states sales tax rate, whatever that may be, and you will be exempt from paying any tax whatsoever when you go to register the car in your state (because you've already paid it).

For example, if a customer from Texas (a state that reciprocates) intends on driving his/her Corvette home we then charge the Texas state sales tax rate of 6.25%. Off he/she goes on a merry trip and then is exempt from paying any tax whatsoever when registering the car upon arrival in Texas. As of January 2000, only 16 states do not reciprocate but these laws may change with each annual review.

IMPORTANT: Laws vary from state to state and may change without notice. Other possible registration/tag fees may apply according to each individual states' policies. We recommend that the customer contact his or her local Department of Motor Vehicles for their specific policy on reciprocation.

shopper-X wrote: ↑The way I see it (AKA my two cents)...
BMW is now making sure we pay over $500 for the Recall Clearance letter and only BMW Canada can modify to the vehicle. Hyundai has closed the border on new sales and some more manufactures may follow. So do yourself a favour and buy whatever you want sooner then later. If you're waiting on a 1% tax cut that will amount to $400 on a $40,000 purchase and miss the boat on saving $5K-25k then wait, otherwise get in now before the border is closed.

Agree with ya there. I may move in the next few weeks to grab the car while I still can. I wanted to wait because my current car's lease still has 7 months to run, as well.

I just realized Infiniti is completely alone among luxury brands that allow both unrestricted sales to Canadians and a full warranty.

BTW I heard that one of the other things BMW makes you do upon import, as of this week, is you MUST replace the ENTIRE US-spec gauge cluster with a Canadian metric one at a cost of...drum roll....$1408 + tax!!! If you don't, no recall letter. What a load of BS. I really like their cars (have an X3 now) but this just pissed me off.

So the extra costs BMW imposes is about $2,500 now. Pure cash grab for their dealers.

I have seen a lot about Subaru's and a few good dealer recommendations. I which I was importing one of those. I am looking at a coupe though, either the new Nissan Altima coupe or a used Infinity G35 (would love a new one but $$$$). Does anyone have a good contact for a Nissan dealer and/or Infinity dealer in the north east area. It seems like a good dealer makes the process so much easier and it would be nice to give a proven dealer more business.
Like others, I am thinking of waiting for the GST cut, but the dollar has been weakening. Canada will cut rates next week, but the US will follow suit. Any thoughts from the economists in the group.

ac328 wrote: ↑Agree with ya there. I may move in the next few weeks to grab the car while I still can. I wanted to wait because my current car's lease still has 7 months to run, as well.

I just realized Infiniti is completely alone among luxury brands that allow both unrestricted sales to Canadians and a full warranty.

BTW I heard that one of the other things BMW makes you do upon import, as of this week, is you MUST replace the ENTIRE US-spec gauge cluster with a Canadian metric one at a cost of...drum roll....$1408 + tax!!! If you don't, no recall letter. What a load of BS. I really like their cars (have an X3 now) but this just pissed me off.

So the extra costs BMW imposes is about $2,500 now. Pure cash grab for their dealers.

Man, does BMW suck or what!

Who do they think they are? Some car companies think they are alone in the market. Do they honestly think I will buy a BMW in Canada because of that? No, I will buy another type of car!

Is this required for used BMW cars also?