Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Smart Shopper Importing Canadian Vehicles to the U.S.
391 messages, Last post on Dec 07, 2008 at 6:29 AM
You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
|
|
|---|---|
|
Great... They want a 98 Corolla with 147K KMs?  )
|
|
|
If its clean and rust free....send it to Syracuse NY....They go for CRAZY money up here...Remember my post in real world trade values ? 3 guys ready to brawl over that 90 crx my friend brought up from Fla. with 125k miles on it............Geo BTW: Send up a few late model GM full size xcab 4x4s too...Crazy money too!!! |
|
|
brentwoodvolvo: New though, that is tough. Some Mfrs will also cancel your warranty (Honda) and some dont care (Nissan) I researched this a little and found the same thing: Nissan/Infiniti don't care if you import a car to the US, while Acura/Honda will not honor the warranty. I also think that most manufacturers, including Honda, will honor the warranty if you can prove that you did really live in Canada and then moved to the USA, rather than simply go to Canada to buy a vehicle for less money with the intention of importing it into the USA. Oh, and yes, the duty is negligible, Canadian tax refundable, you need to pay state tax though, and emissions are the same for all new vehicles. You can conceivably save 5K on a 25K car. It depends a lot on the car. There is less of a difference for some cars. Actually there is very little difference on some high end cars, e.g. Porsche 911. |
|
|
|
| the key is built in Japan vehicles. The US puts a 16% tariff(i've been told?)on japanese imports. Canada's tariff is only 6%. Factor in the weakness of the canadian dollar and that is why they are cheaper in Canada. On a forty thousand dollar Canadian vehicle a US buyer after tax rebate can save approximately $7,000 US dollars. Hope this helps. | |
|
...... Nothing personal for our northern neighbors. But, Canadian vehicles go for a lot less, because they are worth a lot less.. It has nothing to do with the workmanship or nothing like that. Honda will not honor the warranty work. Some GM dealers will give you a hassle, VW won't warranty the work, etc.. etc... Anything with "real klicks", is considered (as Bill has pointed out) .."TMU".. at any auctions or if it's a tradin-in -- whether it's NY, NJ or New Mexico. 2 Canadian TBirds, just ran through the auctions for $35,000 (American) ... that's a Ford deal, with the limited production. The Escapes will get warranty but when you change from Km to us, it drops the price by $3/$4,000++ depending on the vehicle .... I love Canada, I have been to Vancouver a bunch of times... but, this hoopla is a Canadian/US labor dispute. And as long as it stays that way, the Canadian vehicles when traded are still all TMU, whether the vehicle has 5,000 miles or $50,000 -- So, when you think you just saved $5,000, you just lost it. Hey, I'm going to Toronto next month .. Don't shoot the messenger. ..l.o.l.... Terry. |
|
|
txx3ddq442, I bought my Pathfinder in Canada a year ago and since then I know of over 60 others who have done the same thing. It's not difficult at all to save $4000 over US prices (even more on some other models). Email me and I'll send off all the info. See the Pathfinder forum - there are dozens of posts on this topic. For others... The vehicles in Canada are less than in the US because the US dollar is so strong. They are the exact same models as in the US and pass all US emissions and safety requirements. The importing is actually very easy. Years ago it was not possible - now it's done all the time. The sales tax you pay in Canada is refunded by mail when you get home. The duty at the border is a piddling 2.5%. However Nissan (and Infiniti) is one of the only manufacturers left that's allowing their Canadian dealers to sell to US customers. And the warranty is honored at all US dealers. As usual, I'm willing to help anyone out who wants help or information. Just drop me a note. -Jon |
|
|
....... You will be writing a .. whole different story when you go to trade that Pathfinder in .. you and the other 60 people you are "trying" to help. I'm sure you have very good intentions .... but, I guess sometimes you have to burn your hands first to find out ... Good luck ... Terry. |
|
| What about the metric instruments, daytime running lights, and block heaters, not to mention that Canadian option packages and even model designations are often quite different than on their US counterparts. | |
|
rroyce10: Terry, I know for a fact that many Canadian leasing companies have been taking their lease returns to the US auctions to sell. I doubt that they would be doing this if they were going to take a hugh loss like you say. Sure they may lose a little but not that much. When you consider that a new Altima 3.5 SE with everything except wood trim and HID headlights goes for about US$28,770 in the US while the same car goes for about CA$32,798 (or about US$20,550 with todays exchange rate) in Canada, it doesn't take long to realize that you could save a bundle if you bought the car in Canada. Now not all cars are that much cheaper in Canada but Nissans do tend to be much cheaper north of the boarder. landru2: Sure, there are some differences between models sold in the US and models sold in Canada, but most models are usually similar. Metric instruments can be replaced, daytime running lights are slowly becomming standard on all cars sold in the US also, and I doubt very much that the fact that a block heater is installed in a car will mean much to most buyers. lofquist: The difference in prices between the two countries has to do with more then just the exchange rate. It has to do more with what the different markets will support. If the Altima cost almost CA$46,000 (the American price converted into Canadian dollars using todays exchange rate) in Canada then no one would buy it. It is as simple as that. Sure, there are other factors involved (such as tariffs, as Infinitiseller mentioned, however this would not explain the difference in prices of the American built Altima) but the main reason for the difference is the different markets. |
|
|
gerapau: Yes, you are exactly right - it's not just all the exchange rate. I do understand how all these other items factor in. I was just too lazy to type it all like you did. Thanks. rroyce10: I will respectfully disagree with you on any impact at trade-in or resale (even after understanding you are in the business). After you change the speedo, you cannot differentiate between the US and Canadian models. The odo is set to the proper number of miles so TMU (true mileage unknown) does not play. It's just like if a defective odo was replaced. I checked with the DMV. But I'm willing to listen to any other comments. Do tell us what you see at the Toronto auctions when you go next month. I don't hear about much importing from there by dealers at all. The other differences are absolutely minor. The US emissions sticker is even under the hood. As gerapau says, the Seattle market is full of used cars from Canada. It's just plain good business and economics. How can you resist doing it yourself and saving $4000 - $7000? -Jon |
|
You are here:
Forums
Smart Shopper Importing Canadian Vehicles to the U.S.
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
