Topic: Feature: Importing my car from the U.S.

[aknutson]

I recently imported a 2006 Honda Pilot Ex-L from Ohio. Smoothest process ever. Salesman knew exactly what he was doing and even sent me pictures of the car being loaded for transport. I bought a Certified Used Honda and the vehicle was bought and serviced by the same dealership. If you compare certified used honda's in Canada with the same in the U.S it was ~6k savings.
The car was delivered to a bonded warehouse in Ottawa at 3:00 pm Thursday and I had it in Ontario plates by 9:30 am Sat morning. The RIV process is contracted out to a private company and it is very smooth.

So you had a private company do the import of the car? How much does that cost?

[mikemcm]

No, I imported the car myself. I had it shipped from Ohio to Ottawa, $800. That's why it goes to a bonded warehouse. You get the documents out of the car and then go to CBSA to import the car. Then once they stamp your Form 1 back you go and pick up your car.

[Snowman]

No comment because I would get banned for life 

[kwk1]

Not a bad saving if you want to go through all the trouble.
I'd have to change the speedo out as well, I hate those small kph numbers.

[aaaaaaaaaaaa]

According to the RIV website, there is another requirement for cars manufactured in September 2007 and onwards - an immobilizer. Aftermarket is apparently OK, but it's another cost.

[peter t]

I bought various cars in the US, all the cars in the last 6 years.
Acura MDX
Volvo XC90
Subaru impreza
BMW X3
Mazda 6
BMW 328iC
Audi A8
Travel trailer
and all of them were savings of $5000 to $20000. the high end cars have way more savings then the regular ones. some of them are more challenging to import, some are less. overall, I would not buy a car in Canada for a while. it just does not make sense. and I believe it supporting local economy to a degree where it makes sense. once you do it once, its easy enough to repeat. and the savings are after tax dollars.

once I had a bad experience, flew to Chicago, the car had badly worn transmission (black tranny fluid), they refused to change it, I flew home. cost me $1200. but they stuck to the promise to give me my money back if I dont like the vehicle.

[Calvin]

I recently imported a 2006 Honda Pilot Ex-L from Ohio. Smoothest process ever. Salesman knew exactly what he was doing and even sent me pictures of the car being loaded for transport. I bought a Certified Used Honda and the vehicle was bought and serviced by the same dealership. If you compare certified used honda's in Canada with the same in the U.S it was ~6k savings.
The car was delivered to a bonded warehouse in Ottawa at 3:00 pm Thursday and I had it in Ontario plates by 9:30 am Sat morning. The RIV process is contracted out to a private company and it is very smooth.

So you had a private company do the import of the car? How much does that cost?

The "Private Company" that does the RIV is...Cdn Tire.  They're the ONLY one's who are authorized to do it.  You  pay your $209 (or whatever it is now, at the border I beleive) and then take your car there to have it done.  Any other mechanic can perform the work to bring it up to snuff, but CT does the actual inspection and gives you the pass/fail.  Perhaps his importer did it all for him. 

[Calvin]

I'm curious about the recall letter though.  My neighbour bought a 2003 350Z (private sale - Ebay, $9200 US no reserve auction, two sets of wheels, nice clean car) about 3 weeks ago and he just drove to a Nissan dealer in Minneapolis and they handed him the letter for nothing (once they figured out what he wanted - only the sales manager knew - no one else knew what he was talking about).  What did it cost?  If anything for the G35?

Nissan/Infiniti Canada don't charge Canadians for the Safety Recall letters. Personally, I called Infiniti USA and got my letter from them. Either way will work for this particular manufacturer.
Interestingly, when I looked at importing an Audi, Audi Canada was really helpfull when answering questions about US importation and for the recall letter.
Railton

Well isn't that nice of them!! If I'm not mistaken, it costs about 2-300 from GM now, not sure about Ford, and I've heard the higher end German's charge up to $2000 for the recall letter.  What did Audi say?  I'd love an 05-06 S4 

[Railton]

I'm curious about the recall letter though.  My neighbour bought a 2003 350Z (private sale - Ebay, $9200 US no reserve auction, two sets of wheels, nice clean car) about 3 weeks ago and he just drove to a Nissan dealer in Minneapolis and they handed him the letter for nothing (once they figured out what he wanted - only the sales manager knew - no one else knew what he was talking about).  What did it cost?  If anything for the G35?

Nissan/Infiniti Canada don't charge Canadians for the Safety Recall letters. Personally, I called Infiniti USA and got my letter from them. Either way will work for this particular manufacturer.
Interestingly, when I looked at importing an Audi, Audi Canada was really helpfull when answering questions about US importation and for the recall letter.
Railton

Well isn't that nice of them!! If I'm not mistaken, it costs about 2-300 from GM now, not sure about Ford, and I've heard the higher end German's charge up to $2000 for the recall letter.  What did Audi say?  I'd love an 05-06 S4 

Suggest you reread the other recent topics on this subject - BMW Canada and MB Canada charge for this Safety recall letter. Audi Canada does not AND more importantly, has a better attitude than either of the two other German manufactures to the whole US importation process and warranty coverage. They have too much to lose in their preowned business. As a result of their negativity to Canadians purchasing US vehicles and bringing them back across the border both are being sued for unfair importation practices. Just watch what happens when the gavel comes down on those cases.
Railton

[rrocket]

My recall letter from Toyota USA and Yamaha USA were free.

[mikemcm]

The "Private Company" that does the RIV is...Cdn Tire.  They're the ONLY one's who are authorized to do it.  You  pay your $209 (or whatever it is now, at the border I beleive) and then take your car there to have it done.  Any other mechanic can perform the work to bring it up to snuff, but CT does the actual inspection and gives you the pass/fail.  Perhaps his importer did it all for him. 

No, Cdn Tire just does the final inspection, which is included in the price. Front page of riv.ca says that Livingston International has the riv contract. Again, I did the import process myself. Not a broker, not anybody, only me. My import process took exactly one business day, simple as that. I got the car safetied, air cleaned and DRL's installed all before I got my Form 2, you don't have to wait for Form 2 to arrive to do the work and my independent mechanic did the work.

[rrocket]

The "Private Company" that does the RIV is...Cdn Tire.  They're the ONLY one's who are authorized to do it.  You  pay your $209 (or whatever it is now, at the border I beleive) and then take your car there to have it done.  Any other mechanic can perform the work to bring it up to snuff, but CT does the actual inspection and gives you the pass/fail.  Perhaps his importer did it all for him. 

No, Cdn Tire just does the final inspection, which is included in the price. Front page of riv.ca says that Livingston International has the riv contract. Again, I did the import process myself. Not a broker, not anybody, only me. My import process took exactly one business day, simple as that. I got the car safetied, air cleaned and DRL's installed all before I got my Form 2, you don't have to wait for Form 2 to arrive to do the work and my independent mechanic did the work.

True..and if you want to speed it up further, you can just have everything faxed to RIV instead of snail mail.

[rrocket]

Suggest you reread the other recent topics on this subject - BMW Canada and MB Canada charge for this Safety recall letter. Audi Canada does not AND more importantly, has a better attitude than either of the two other German manufactures to the whole US importation process and warranty coverage. They have too much to lose in their preowned business. As a result of their negativity to Canadians purchasing US vehicles and bringing them back across the border both are being sued for unfair importation practices. Just watch what happens when the gavel comes down on those cases.
Railton

None of these manufacturers, or the domestics for that matter, were saying ANYTHING when our dollar was $hit and the Americans were coming here in droves to buy cars...new or used.

[Haney Louka]

Hi folks,

I would have liked to respond sooner, but this is the first chance I've had all day. A few notes on comments that were made throughout the day ...

The temporary insurance was obtained through my insurance broker from Manitoba Public Insurance. It was just a slip of paper displayed on my dashboard that allowed me two weeks (I picked the duration) to do whatever I needed to complete the federal and provincial requirements that would allow me to register and insure the car. The dealer did provide a temporary permit as well, which was valid until I crossed the border into Canada. So yes, the car had no plates on it when I crossed the border.

The speedometer is in both (with MPH being the dominant units) so there is no issue with respect to changing out the gauge cluster on this car. The odometer readouts are in miles and the climate control display is in degrees F, neither of which bother me so I haven't looked into whether there's an easy way to change them.

For the recall letter, I first contacted Infiniti Canada who then transferred me to Infiniti USA who were extremely helpful. They faxed me the letter and then sent the original in the mail at no charge.

As I said in the article, it was a positive experience and one that I'd certainly consider when looking at my next vehicle.

Haney

[rrocket]

Also, one of the requirements on my car was to have "bilingual safety notice" stickers on it.  Did anyone else have to have those stickers??

[Ex-airbalancer]

In regards to the Corolla, assembly is only part of the picture. The Corolla is still 'designed' in Japan, where all the R&D, finances, engineering, testing and development happens. The guys in the Canadian plant just get a big box of parts labeled 'Corolla' and are told to build it for good but not great wages - I guarantee the executives back in Japan are making a whole lot more than the guy on the line.

Can you name one company where the guy at the bottom makes the same or even close to the guy at the top?

Airbalancer International Inc.   is probably like that.   

Wife is the prez, I think I make more then her  by about $10 a year;D

[Railton]

Also, one of the requirements on my car was to have "bilingual safety notice" stickers on it.  Did anyone else have to have those stickers??

Nope.
Railton

[Julie]

Unless something big changes, I'm getting my next vehicle in the States.  The price difference and selection for some used models is ridiculous.

This thread is very helpful, and I'd like to thank the author and our fellow forum friends contributing to it!!

[initial_D]

^^^ mmm, we can smell an M3 already.

[johngenx]

Suppose I spend $27K instead of $40K on a new WRX.  What happened to the $13K?  Well, it might not have gone into the pockets of Subaru of Canada, but it might get spent elsewhere in the Canadian economy.  True the dealer missed out some money, but they'll get the service business, which is much more profitable anyway.

The REAL loser if you buy a Scoob in the US is SoC.  I shed no tears for them...