Importing

I am living in Canada, and am interested in purchasing a car in the USA and
bringing it to Canada. Does anyone know the proceedure and costs?
Regards

In article
<e6ee9c81d8f34eef97ab488caba360e5 (AT) localhost (DOT) talkaboutautos.com>,
"JPJ" <brandingiron2000 (AT) yahoo (DOT) ca> wrote:

I am living in Canada, and am interested in purchasing a car in the USA and
bringing it to Canada. Does anyone know the proceedure and costs?
Regards

The website <http://www.cars101.com/canada.html> describes in some
detail how to import a Subaru into Canada. I would imagine the
procedures are similar for other makes. I purchased a Subaru 2.5i Legacy
Outback (the US designation of that model; the same words are used in
Canada to designate what is in the US called the 2.5i Basic, a rather
different and inferior model) through Joe Spitz at Carter Subaru in
Seattle, WA and everything went quite smoothly. Joe knows what he is
talking about. I talked with people at other dealers before buying from
him, and I can't say the same about some of the other people.

The main reason I bought the Subaru in Seattle was that the particular
model, with the features I wanted, simply was not available in Canada
(it was, up until the 2007 model year). The color I wanted was also
unavailable in Canada. This is silly, since the Canadian models are
built on the same assembly line in Lafayette, Indiana, as the US models.

As it happens I saved a lot of money buying the car in Seattle, but that
wasn't the main reason I bought it there.

Be aware that some models of some cars are absolutely prohibited for
import into Canada. You should make sure that the car you buy isn't
going to be rejected at the border since that would be an unpleasant and
expensive surprise. Also check carefully about warranty coverage. At
present, US Subarus have satisfactory warranty coverage in Canada. That
may change. Other makes may vary.

What you can do with the vehicle once it crosses the border is at first
very limited. After clearing US Customs in Blaine, WA, and five minutes
later dealing with Canadian customs 100 metres to the north in White
Rock, BC, I was allowed to do exactly one thing -- drive the Outback
home and park it in my garage, waiting for various things to happen
involving Subaru USA and the Canadian government. (I had previously
arranged for temporary licencing and insurance, for the trip from
Seattle to the border and then on to my home, through BCAA.) The car
remained in my garage for over a week. Eventually I was authorized to do
exactly two things -- take it to Canadian Tire (no place else would be
accepted) to have various checks made (e.g., yes, it really does have
daytime running lights) and then get it properly registered and insured.
Again, temporary licencing and insurance for this trip to Canadian Tire
was arranged through BCAA the day before taking the car to Canadian
Tire. When these checks were completed satisfactorily, I was allowed to
drive the car to the insurance agent (again I used BCAA) where licence
plates, insurance, and provincial PST were dealt with. (GST, as well as
several hundred dollars in additional fees, had been paid earlier at the
border.) Only then could I do more prosaic things with the car, such as
drive it to the Safeway.

You must follow all these procedures exactly as they are specified.
Finding out just what all of them are isn't as easy as it sounds, and
dealing with someone who knows all the procedures is important. I
suspect that finding someone who helps set things up as smoothly as Joe
Spitz did may not be what always happens.

Was the trouble worth it? Yes. I got the car I really wanted, not a
stripped model lacking many important features, nor a loaded model with
things I actively dislike. And it's the color I wanted. I keep a car
about 10 years and drive it about 300,000 km before I give it to one of
my adult children, so driving a poor approximation to what I really want
simply won't do. And I did save a few dollars, too.

David

--
David Ryeburn
ryeburn (AT) sfu (DOT) caz
To send e-mail, use "ca" instead of "caz".