Import your car into Canada

[El Mariachi]

What exactly is the procedure to bring your car from abroad. I was thinking to do this recently...

What do you have to do exactly, any car parts that need to be replaced ??

How much does it cost to do this ?

How long does it take ?

Anyone here on tERb ever imported a car ??

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[oldjones]

There have been a couple of lengthy and informative threads, which included personal experiences on this before. There were several websites on the topic including a Canadian Government one—although the declining dollar may have hurt some of them—so Google and Search will pay off.

 

[tboy]

actually the dollar has been creeping back up so while it isn't as strong as it was when it was at par, it's still pretty good.

They are trying to give cars away in the US. When I looked at F150 king ranch pickups in 2006, they were priced about $20K less than here.

Make sure you do an apples to apples comparison because I recently bought an 2009 F150 new and got $16K off MSRP.....

And yes, do a search, there's at least 3 threads on this topic here.....

 

[Darkman5]

Here is some info for you: http://www.riv.ca/ImportingAVehicle.aspx

 

[Timbit]

It's pretty easy. Easier with an antique too.

Timbit

 

[raydeon]

I bought a new Porsche 944 in Germany in 1986. I drove it for 2 years in Europe and imported it to Canada in 1988.
The procedure was surprisingly simple. The undercarriage and engine part of th car had to be steamed cleaned. Since lead free gas was not used at the time in Europe, a Katalysator was installed by Porsche to meet the N.A emission standards and the car was shipped. It costed me US$ 800 at the time for the shipping for Bremen (D) to Albany (NY). I picked it up there and drove it accross the border in Buffalo where I had to pay CAD$1,200 for duty. Duty was established on depreciation value of the car after 2 years used.

That was a very good deal. Including shipping and duty, I saved over $ 11,000 over the price that this car was selling for in Toronto, plus I enjoyed travelling all over Europe driving it.

 

[BoringBob]

If the car is 15 years or older, it is a pretty easy deal. Newer cars have other sorts of restrictions, including bringing the car up to emission standards for that make in model in Canada.

 

[landscaper]

the vehicle also has to meet the safety standards of what ever province you are in, eg, daytime running lights are not required in a lot of American states they are here, as well some european cars do not meet collision guidelines , check into it if there is a dealer for the model in town ask them for info.

 

[tboy]

the vehicle also has to meet the safety standards of what ever province you are in, eg, daytime running lights are not required in a lot of American states they are here, as well some european cars do not meet collision guidelines , check into it if there is a dealer for the model in town ask them for info.

That's the biggie, but with the importation system in place you have x days to take it to Canadian Tire for certification and that is part of what they do.

It is a simple relay on most newer vehicles.

There are some vehicles that are restricted but not many. For the most part, if it passes US smog rules it will pass ours.